ADVANCES IN MULTI-LEVEL GROUNDWATER MONITORING AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE

The Savannah River Site (SRS) located in Aiken, South Carolina is part of the U. S. Department of Energy nuclear materials complex. Fluvial erosion has developed a rolling terrain in the gently sloped coastal plain sediments that underly SRS. The network of terraces, uplands, and streams combined with the heterogeneous sediments produce 3 dimensional groundwater flow systems as groundwater migrates from recharge to discharge areas. Historical operations in chemical plants at the SRS have resulted in the contamination of groundwater that migrates through the 3 dimensional flow regime. The SRS has developed a new multi-level groundwater monitoring well, “StrataSampler”, to study the complex groundwater flow patterns that commonly occur at SRS. StrataSamplers are constructed of traditional well screen and are used to create multiple depth discrete sampling zones within a well. The unique design of the StrataSampler allows the use of standard well construction materials as wells as standard development, sampling and monitoring equipment. This talk will include a discussion of the installation, development, hydraulic testing, and sampling of the StrataSampler.