Ground water flow velocity in the bank of the Columbia River, Hanford, Washington

摘要

To properly characterize the transport of contaminants from the sediments beneath the Hanford Site into the Columbia River, a suite of In Situ Permeable Flow Sensors was deployed to accurately characterize the hydrologic regime in the banks of the river. The three dimensional flow velocity was recorded on an hourly basis from mid May to mid July, 1994 and for one week in September. The first data collection interval coincided with the seasonal high water level in the river while the second interval reflected conditions during relatively low seasonal river stage. Two flow sensors located approximately 50 feet from the river recorded flow directions which correlated very well with river stage, both on seasonal and diurnal time scales. The magnitudes of the flow velocities recorded by the flow sensors were lower than expected, probably as a result of drilling induced disturbance of the hydraulic properties of the sediments around the probes.