Conceptual Models of the Potentiometric Surface at Yucca Mountain, NV
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is evaluating Yucca Mountain (YM) Nevada, as the potential site for geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste (HLW). If approved, the repository would be located approximately 244 to 305 m (800-1,000 ft) above the present water table. Total-system performance assessments that consider both engineered and geologic barrier systems are one method used to evaluate whether the potential repository can meet regulatory requirements. Flow paths interpreted from the potentiometric surface in the saturated zone beneath YM are incorporated into the performance assessment codes. Therefore, it is important that our understanding of the potentiometric surface is sufficient to assess potential repository performance. The addition of new water-level data from the Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program (EWDP) has helped constrain the conceptual model of the site-scale potentiometric surface at YM, specifically in the southern portion of the site along U.S. Highway 95. The EWDP was initiated in 1998, with the purpose of identifying the flow paths for contaminants should they egress from the proposed repository into the groundwater system. A revised site-scale potentiometric surface map for YM utilizing the new water-level data obtained from the EWDP is presented. The revised site-scale potentiometric surface map and other existing site-scale potentiometric surface maps interpreted from water-level data, are compared to structural, geophysical, and chemical data to evaluate whether consensus exists among the different data types concerning groundwater flow at YM. This abstract documents work performed in part by the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses under contract No. NRC-02-97-009. The report is an independent product and does not reflect the regulatory position of the NRC.
- Publication:
-
AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2002
- Bibcode:
- 2002AGUSM.H41D..04H
- Keywords:
-
- 1800 HYDROLOGY;
- 1829 Groundwater hydrology