Idaho Water Science Center
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USGS INL Project Office

Working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy and the
Idaho National Laboratory

Ground Water Monitoring

Checking levels. Click to view larger image in a new window.

Portable water sampling and testing lab with generator. Click to view larger image in a new window.

Hydrolab® instruments used for water testing in the field. Click to view larger image in a new window.

Containerizing purged water. Click to view larger image in a new window.

The Snake River Plain aquifer is an important resource for both the state of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Part of the Snake River Plain aquifer lies beneath the Idaho National Laboratory. The entire water supply for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) including drinking water is obtained from the Snake River Plain aquifer. The Snake River Plain aquifer is part of an extensive geohydrologic system that also includes a thick overlying unsaturated zone; perched ground-water zones; and ephemeral streams, playas, and water-diversion areas.

From 1952 to 1984, in accordance with disposal practices of the time, DOE contractors injected aqueous wastes directly into the aquifer through disposal wells or discharged aqueous waste to infiltration ponds. As a result, in places, the unsaturated zone and perched ground-water zones contain measurable amounts of radioactive- and chemical-aqueous wastes generated by activities at the INL. Following construction of a percolation pond, routine effluent discharge to the last remaining wastewater disposal well was discontinued in February 1984, though emergency use continued through 1986.

The USGS INL Project Office has a continuing data-collection program to provide a detailed description of the migration of radioactive and chemical solutes in the subsurface. Additionally, INL operational activities and the disposal of wastes to the environment are continually changing and require frequent monitoring and interpretation of their effects on the Snake River Plain aquifer. The monitoring networks and studies also provide the baseline data that will be needed to support future geohydrologic research designed to resolve problems concerning the migration and disposition of radioactive and chemical wastes.