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<br />Plan for Controlling Salt Inflow <br /> <br />The Definite Plan Report was completed <br /> <br />in <br /> <br />1978 <br /> <br />recommending <br /> <br />constructing a system of wells into the brine aquifer adjacent to known <br /> <br />brine inflow areas. <br /> <br />These wells would <br /> <br />be <br /> <br />pumped <br /> <br />to lower the <br /> <br />freshwater-brine interface below the level of the river channel (see <br /> <br />figure 3). A pumping rate of 5 cfs was estimated necessary to control 90 <br /> <br />percent (180,000 tons) of the brine inflow. The collected brine would be <br /> <br />disposed of in an evaporation pond located in Dry Creek Basin. <br /> <br />In March 1980, a verification program was begun to evaluate the <br /> <br />proposed plan. Pump testing and monitoring was initiated using 18 brine <br /> <br />production wells, 100 monitoring wells, and a temporary brine holding <br /> <br />pond. Tne brine production wells are located on both sides of the river <br /> <br />and vary in depth from 50 to 300 feet. These wells are grouped into an <br /> <br />upper and lower well field, located adjacent to brine inflow areas. The <br /> <br />monitoring system consists of 93 piezometers varying in depth from 50 to <br /> <br />225 feet deep and 63 water table observation wells. Because of the <br /> <br />limited capacity of the brine holding pond, the production wells were <br /> <br />pumped on a rotating basis in order to evaluate the efficiency of each. <br /> <br />The testing program has shown this plan to be a highly effective <br /> <br />method of controlling brine inflow to the river. In the area of wells <br /> <br />being pumped, the freshwater-brine interface was lowered and the inflow of <br /> <br />brine to the river was greatly reduced, and in some locations totally <br /> <br />stopped. <br /> <br />We found that approximately 60 percent of the brine inflow can <br /> <br />be eliminated by pumping selected wells at a rate of 1,2 cfs (see figure <br /> <br />4). <br /> <br />During the testing program, an additional area of brine inflow was <br /> <br />iuentified between ttle upper and lower well fields. <br /> <br />To control this <br /> <br />inflow, 5 new brine pruduction wells and 23 water table observation wells <br /> <br />"'1-570 <br /> <br />7 <br />