PNNL

Abstract

"Leave No Trace" is a popular ethic for outdoor recreationists who advocate a natural landscape. Now it is also applicable to groundwater sampling collection sites along the Columbia River in southeastern Washington State. Hydrologists from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are using a simple apparatus of ¼-inch-diameter plastic tubing to collect samples at varying levels in the aquifer along the river's edge. Though a permanent installation, the low-cost, lightweight materials are easy to camouflage with indigenous rocks and vegetation so that the collection site appears undisturbed. Hydrologists compare the aquifer tube method to sipping groundwater through a long straw. The tube system was developed to provide supplemental monitoring in locations where traditional monitoring wells cannot be installed because of access constraints. It has proven to be economical, visually unobtrusive and effective in providing an accurate picture of the vertical distribution of contaminants in groundwater at a specific location.