Flow Through Fractured-Rock Aquifer Characterized at Waste-Disposal Site in the Vicinity of Byron, Illinois Using Innovative Technologies

Geophysical, water-level, and water-quality data collected at a waste-disposal site near the town of Byron, Illinois were used to characterize the rates and pathways of ground-water flow at the site. Information collected as part of this investigation has helped determine the usefulness of the heat-pulse flowmeter and borehole ground-penetrating radar tomography for identifying pathways of ground-water flow in fractured-rock aquifer. Information collected as part of this investigation has allowed calculation of the rate of ground-water flow through the fracture networks underlying the site, and may be used to help plan aquifer remediation. This information is presented in a report released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Department of the Interior. The study was done by the USGS in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Robert Kay, USGS hydrologist and principal author of the report, noted that use of borehole ground-penetrating radar and heat-pulse flowmeter logs at the site, which are not widely available for use at this time, identified a network of interconnected fractures through which water was moving at the site. Injection of a bromide tracer in a representative fracture permitted calculation of the rate of tracer movement through the fracture during conditions of natural flow and pumping. "Knowledge of the rate and pathways of ground-water flow is important for identifying the extent of contamination and the most efficient and effective methods of aquifer remediation," Kay said. "The new techniques used to characterize this aquifer have resulted in more efficient characterization of flow pathways at other sites."

The report titled, "Geology, Hydrology, and Results of Tracer Testing in the Galena-Platteville Aquifer at a Waste-Disposal Site Near Byron, Illinois" by Robert T. Kay, Douglas J. Yeskis, Scott T. Prinos, William S. Morrow, and Mark Vendl is published as U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-640. Copies are available at the U.S. Geological Survey, 122 North Broadway Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801. Paper and microfiche copies can be purchased at cost from the U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services Section, Box 25286, MS 517, Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225-0046 (telephone (303) 202-4700). Orders must include check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of Interior--USGS and must specify report number OFR 98-640.