This document presents the water-level monitoring plan for the Hanford Groundwater Monitoring Project, conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Water-level monitoring of the groundwater system beneath the Hanford Site is performed to fulfill the requirements of various state and federal regulations, orders, and agreements. The primary objective of this monitoring is to determine groundwater flow rates and directions. To meet this and other objectives, water-levels are measured annually in monitoring wells completed within the unconfined aquifer system, the upper basalt-confined aquifer system, and in the lower basalt-confined aquifers for surveillance monitoring. At regulated waste units, water levels are taken monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, depending on the hydrogeologic conditions and regulatory status of a given site. The techniques used to collect water-level data are described in this document, along with the factors that affect the quality of the data and the strategies employed by the project to minimize error in the measurement and interpretation of water levels.
Revised: January 17, 2013 |
Published: September 7, 1999