Ground Water at Yucca Mountain How High Can It Rise? (1992) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix B: Yucca Mountain: Ground-Water Flow
Appendix B: Yucca Mountain: Ground-Water Flow
Pages 172-189
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From page 172... ...
The ground-water flow within all the three subbasins is generally in a north-south direction (Figure 1~. The principal aquifers in the Alkali lPlat/Furnace Creek subdivision are in Cenozoic (66 Ma-Present)
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From page 173... ...
: 0 <42; ~ 42-63; ~ 63-84; a 84-105; 0 >105. Abbreviations: AV, Amargosa Valley OR, Belted Range; CF, Crater Flat; CH, Calico Hills; FOR, Furnace Creek Ranch; FF, Frenchman Flat; (OF, Gold Flat; GR, Groom Range; is, Indian Springs; M, Mercury TM, Timber Mountain; YF, Yucca Flat; YM, Yucca Mountain.
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From page 174... ...
HYDROLOGIC DATA SET The fluid flow in the saturated zone of the Alkali Flat/Furnace Creek subbasin (especially in the northern part of the subbasin) occurs mainly within fractures in the rocks.
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From page 175... ...
have analyzed the frequency response of water levels in wells UE-25C#1, UE-25C#2, UE-25C#3, and UE-25p#1 to earth tides and atmospheric loading; the inferred vertical permeability ranges from 0.8 x 10~ m/d to 5 x 1~3 m/d (or equivalently i~~iml = 0 9 to 6 mdar~. Me Wff vertical permeabilities derived by Galloway and Rojstaczer (1988)
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From page 176... ...
map of the saturated zone. Yucca Mountain.
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From page 177... ...
are significantly lower than those obtained from hydraulic fracturing tests whereby water forced into the rocks unpiler high pressure cause the rocks to break in directions that tell something about the crustal state of stress. Despite our misgivings regarding Szymanski's interpretation of slug tests, it is fair to state that the pressure responses seen in "slug tests" have not been satisfactorily explained so far and deserve further investigation.
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From page 178... ...
Stated somewhat differently, there is poor depth control for hydraulic head measurements. As noted above, temperature data indicate internal flow (and hence variations in hydraulic potential with depth)
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From page 179... ...
The total discharge rate at the Furnace Creek Ranch is estimated to be 1.932 x 104 m3/d (Czarnecki and Waddell, 1984~. The present day evapotranspiration at Franklin Lake Playa has been investigated by Czarnecki (19901; the estimates for ev~apotranspiration range from ~0.1 cm/d during winter months to ~0.3 cm/d during summer months.
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From page 180... ...
180 36°30' APPENDIX B 1 1 6°30' 37o ~ .\00 1 furnace Creek Ranch ~ \ \ \ S \ &,undarv of / MOUNS4JN `~/ modeled areas .1 - ED C .1 / 'A 1~.~ ~Z.8i ~ Cal.> — primary ~ \~w in ~ / repository ' ~ / / area | ~ J^C~AS / jay//,,! ,' / ~ ,_ ~ Mercury .' <~throp Wells ~ L~\~N it, \ Death Valley Junction \\ a_ \~ / ' EAGLE \ :~.,~s MOU - ~ ~ S to 15 20 2S 30 cILS3~ES£Rs 0 5 10 IS atL£S Figure 3 Location of subregional area modeled by Czarnecki and Waddell (1 984~.
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From page 181... ...
is negligible compared to the recharge from the Pahute Mesa area and the Fortymile Wash (Czarnecki, 1985~. Carbon isotope data imply that the water present in the deeper parts of the Alkali Flat-Furnace Creek Ranch subbasin was recharged about 10-15 ka (Dudley, 1990a)
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From page 182... ...
used parametric~stimation techniques to model steady areal ground-water flow in the Alkali Flat/Furnace Creek subbasin. A slightly modified form of the latter model was employed by Czarnecki (lgS5; 1991)
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From page 183... ...
APPENDIX B 183 1 1 6°30' 1 1 6 o 37o 36°30' 'I _ Beatty O _ moCeleC areas ~'-"""2 2 """I 'I''/ it, ,, Jo Q
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From page 184... ...
The prescribed flow conditions along the Furnace Creek Ranch and Alkali Flat were changed to constant head condi
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From page 185... ...
36°30' O S 10 15 ~ . I O S tO 15 ~l'ce 2S 30 X1~0~ETtHS Figure S Simulated hydraulic heads.
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From page 186... ...
RECOMMEN DATIONS Modeling studies by Czarnecki have identified increased recharge associated with increased precipitation as a potential cause for water-table rise beneath the primary repository area. Because of our present uncertain knowledge of the hydrologic regime in the Yucca Mountain area, it is impossible at this time to state with any degree of certainty that the water-table will not rise sufficiently to flood the repository within the next 10,000 years.
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From page 187... ...
. —A/~8J o' figure Jo Mercury o ECPI~AnON _ \ ~ Figure 6 Differences in simulated hydraulic head between baseline simulation representing present day conditions and the simulation involving a postulated 1 00 percent increase in precipitation.
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From page 188... ...
These wells should be drilled deep enough to penetrate the Paleozoic carbonates underlying the luffs. Hydraulic head and permeability (both pumping and interference tests)
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From page 189... ...
1989. Conceptual considerations of the Yucca Mountain ground water system with special emphasis on the adequacy of this system to accommodate a high-level nuclear waste repository.
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