Old News

Sept, Oct, November 2001

1. EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc (the environmental consulting firm employed by the U.S. Navy) collected water quality samples on September 10-21. Mercer County Airport did not allow access to wells on Airport property because of security risks as a result of events in NYC on September 11. The results of the sampling will soon be available.

2. Richard Hodges, Barbara Corland, and Alton Anderson (USGS) collected neutron logs in about 40 wells using a single detector tool and a duel detector tool during September 18-21. Preliminary interpretations of the data suggest that well construction information must be intimately tied to interpretation of the neutron log data.

3. EA Engineering and Pierre Lacombe of the USGS collected synoptic stressed water-level data in 100 wells at NAWC on October 23. This is part of the biannual sampling events that are required by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. The water levels are very low as a result of continued extraction at about 65 gpm for treatment and the near drought conditions in the area.

4. Frank Chapelle, Kinga Revesz, and Paul Bradley (USGS) collected water samples and dissolved gasses samples in 15 wells during November 5-7. The dissolved gasses were analyzed using their portable GC unit set up at the NJ District Lab. The water samples will be analyzed.

5. Pierre Lacombe (USGS) collected static and stressed heat pulse flow logs on 10 wells during September and October but ceased when the fluid temp fluid resistance probe failed. Preliminary results show that in shallow bedrock wells the water transmissive zone is typically 4 to 6 ft broad and in deep wells the water transmissive zones are less than 1 foot broad.

6. WRIR “Water Levels and Potentiometric Surfaces, Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, N.J., 2000” has been approved, is in drafting, and should be published by December 2001. The report includes static and stressed water- level maps and sections. It also includs "change in water levels" maps and sections and hydrographs for 2000 from 8 wells.

7. Allen Shapiro (USGS) is compiling the research directions from the various hydrologist, geologist, microbiologist, chemist, modelers, and other scientist for the 2002 research year. Please forward your research directions to him.

8. David Morganwalp (USGS) has added the NAWC toxics site to the USGS Toxics Program Web Page. http://toxics.usgs.gov/investigations/.

July, August, and September 2001

1. John Williams and Alton Anderson of the Office of Ground Water, Branch of Geophysical Application and Support spent the week of August 13 training Pierre Lacombe on how to use the Acoustic Televiewer, Optical Televiewer, Heat Pulse Flow meter under static and injecting scenarios, and EM Conductivity Probe.  Alton logged about 20 wells with the Acoustic Flow meter and a caliper tool. John and Pierre logged five wells with the remaining logging tools. John also taught Pierre how to use Well CAD, a computer program that marries together all of the various types of geophysical logs.

2.  John and Pierre analyzed geophysical and geological logs and previously collected hydraulic and water quality characteristics from 4 of the wells. John’s observation is that the shale and sandstone units of NAWC do not give as distinct a core wall signal as were collected at Mirror Lake soothe fractures are not as distinct. It appears that in the shallow environment the fissile shale strata are the water bearing units and the more indurated sandstone and shale are not water bearing units. It will be curious to see if this condition exists in the deeper strata.

3. The plan is to log with the full suite of tools the many wells along sections E, F, G, and H. The geophysical logs will be analyzed in conjunction with the geologist logs, core logs, slug test data, water level, and water quality data. All data from each well will be compiled and analyzed and then the multitude of well will be analyzed as a system.

4.  It is anticipated that geophysical logging of the wells along the 4 sections will take about 2 to 3 weeks. The interpretation will take the same length of time. Initial report preparation will take a similar length of time.

5. The Navy and EA plans to collect water quality samples during September 10- 21 the plan is to collect samples from 40 to 45 wells. Kinga Revesz please take note as you had planned on coordinating with this fall sampling event.

6.  Roger Moran will be logging wells during mid October using a Neutron logging tool to determine the porosity of the strata.

7. The Navy installed about 6 shallow wells (less than 10 ft deep) near the storm sewer drains along Parkway Avenue.

8. P Lacombe sent 15 cores July 23, 2001 to John Lane on July 25. The cores will be tested for electrical resistivity by late August.

9. If you would like any further information on any topic with respect to NAWC, please let me know. If you would like copies of the March 2001 water level maps and sections or copies of the March 2001 TCE, DCE, and VC maps and sections then email me a request and I will send them out.

June, July, and August 2001

1. The Navy, USGS, and EA collected synoptic water levels on March 29, 2001. Pierre Lacombe contoured the water levels in map and section views. The figures show the cones of depression caused by the new arrangement of pumping wells.

2. Water samples were collected from about 60 wells and 4 surface water stations and analyzed during mid March 2001. The TCE, DCE, and VC data are contoured in map and section views. The sections include graphs of TCE, DCE, and VC concentration since 1992. The TCE, DCE and VC graphs for the recovery wells include bars showing the duration of operation of the recovery wells. The addition of the time dimension to the TCE, DCE, and VC maps and sections shows the impact of the contaminant recovery program on the respective concentrations.

3. The Navy plans to complete a performance report for the NJDEP by December 2001. The report will deal with the performance of the existing extraction system and the present ground-water monitoring scheme. As a result, the Navy has asked the NJDEP if they can reduce or eliminate the number of wells they will sample for water quality this fall (2001). The Navy has not received a response from the NJDEP yet. If the Navy does not have to sample this fall, then that will impact Kinga Revesz investigation.  She planned to coincide her QW sampling with the Navy’s fall sampling effort. I will keep you informed of the Navy’s work plans.

4. The Navy intends to install about 6 shallow wells (less than 10 ft deep) near the storm sewer drains along Parkway Avenue. The six new wells, about 5 shallow wells adjacent to the storm sewer line, and the active recovery wells likely will be sampled this fall. Kinga may coordinate some of her sampling needs with some or all of these wells.

5. John Williams and company will be driving from NY with the acoustic and optical televiewer as well as the heat-pulse flow meter on August 16 or 17. They will train P Lacombe how to operate these tools and interpret the data. P. Lacombe initially will log 34 wells at NAWC and if time permits he will log additional wells as outline in his work plan.

6. P Lacombe will be selecting the sections of core to mail to John Lane to be tested for the electrical resistivity during the week of July 23, 2001. John’s summer assistant will be ending his duty by late August.

7. P Lacombe spoke with Bill Burton and Wright Horton of the GD at a recent conference in Virginia. They expressed interest in working on aspects of the hydrogeology of the NAWC site.

8. If you would like any further information on any topic with respect to NAWC, please let me know. If you would like copies of the March 2001 water level maps and sections or copies of the March 2001 TCE, DCE, and VC maps and sections then email me a request and I will send them out.