Laserfiche WebLink
July 19,2019 18107649 <br /> within the Niobrara Formation are thought to occur in oxidized zones directly adjacent to strata with increased <br /> organic carbon contents. Other representative examples of barium concentrations within the Niobrara and <br /> associated surrounding formations can be found in Dean and Arthur(1998)and Landis(1959). <br /> 3.2 Hydrogeology <br /> The Site is located in the Colorado Piedmont subprovince. The Dakota-Cheyenne aquifer is the principal aquifer <br /> of the Colorado Piedmont subprovince, and is comprised of the Early Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone and the <br /> Cheyenne Sandstone Member of the Purgatoire Formation (Topper and others 2003), and is overlain by the <br /> Carlile Formation and Niobrara Formation (Figure 3). The Niobrara Formation and Carlile Formation are not <br /> considered to be part of a principal aquifer system, but portions of these units can yield some water to a few stock <br /> wells in parts of the Colorado Piedmont(Topper and others 2003). The Niobrara formation is described by the <br /> Colorado Geological Survey as a fractured limestone that locally may yield small amounts of poor quality water <br /> (Pearl 1974). Previous mining activities and the existing monitoring wells at the Site are limited to the Niobrara <br /> Formation and the top of the Carlile Formation (the Codell sandstone), and do not penetrate into the Dakota- <br /> Cheyenne aquifer. <br /> jGroundwater at the Site has been thought to occur along the contact of the Codell sandstone and the Fort Hayes <br /> limestone(A band) members(Secor 1998). While fractures are noted in borehole logs and previous hydraulic <br /> studies, the joint structure is unknown and does not appear to be continuous(SEC 1990). An approximately 20- <br /> foot thick sandstone interval at the top of the Codell Sandstone is thought to be the only significant groundwater <br /> flow unit near the CKD disposal area (DRMS 2014). The groundwater flow direction has been observed to <br /> generally flow easterly. Hydraulic testing was performed on six of the monitoring wells at the Site. Hydraulic rising <br /> and falling head slug tests were performed on MW-1, MW-2, MW-3, MW-4 and MW-5(Secor 1998, Golder 2010 <br /> and Golder 2012). Hydraulic packer injection testing was performed during the advancement of borehole MW-7 <br /> (Golder 2013). Hydraulic testing results are summarized in Table 9. <br /> Figure 4 presents a graph of the monitoring well water elevations measured during each sampling. Wells MW-1 <br /> 1 and MW-5 exhibit minimal drawdown during sampling and are relatively stable through time, indicating little <br /> seasonal influence on groundwater elevation. Historical (1999-2000)water level measurements in MW-2 and <br /> MW-4 slowly increased with time, indicating that the water levels in these wells had not stabilized and may not <br /> have been in equilibrium with the surrounding formation at the time of this sampling. The water level recorded <br /> when monitoring resumed in 2010(prior to well redevelopment), were higher than the historical measurements <br /> and may have reflected recovery to static conditions. Once quarterly monitoring began in 2011, the water levels in <br /> MW-2 and MW-4 decreased further. Since changing to semi-annual sampling in 2017, water levels have been <br /> stable in MW-3. However, water levels in MW-2, MW-4, MW-6, and MW-7 showed an increase following the <br /> change to semi-annual sampling indicating increased recharge between sampling events. The variations in water <br /> level elevation over time for wells MW-2, MW-3, MW-4, and MW-6, and MW-7 from 2011 through 2018 correlate <br /> with the number of days elapsed between sampling events i.e. the amount of recharge observed in these well <br /> increases with time elapsed (Figure 5). This pattern of slow and time dependent recharge is consistent with the <br /> observations related to groundwater age discussed below. Additionally, these patterns in water level support the <br /> observation that many of the site wells took an extended period of time to reach equilibrium with the surrounding <br /> formations and early data (both hydrogeologic and chemical)was likely not representative of actual formation <br /> conditions. <br /> A review of the well permits near the Boettcher Quarry included a search of the Colorado Division of Water <br /> Resources (DWR)online database for information on local well permits. This review resulted in permits for <br /> ,> GOLDER 3 <br />