Groundwater

Groundwater discharges to the Snake River from numerous volcanic rock springs along the northern canyon wall between Milner Dam and King Hill. Water-resource managers need to be able to quantify the amount of this water to understand the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer's recharge, storage, and discharge. When completed, this study will provide the Idaho Department of Water Resources with an...

Two species of aquatic snails, the Banbury Springs limpet ( Idaholanx fresti ) and the Bliss Rapids snail ( Taylorconcha serpenticola ) live in springs along the middle Snake River in south-central Idaho. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed these species as Endangered (Banbury Springs limpet) and Threatened (Bliss Rapids snail). Both species need clean, cold spring water to survive.

Groundwater-quality and groundwater-level data have been collected by the USGS and various state agencies in the mid-Snake area since at least the early 1990s. However, no trend analyses have been conducted on the data since 2012. Assessing groundwater-quality trends will help resource managers determine if they should continue or modify current nutrient management practices. Groundwater-level...

In cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, we are working to improve the scientific understanding of the Big Lost River basin's water resources. This improved understanding will support effective resource management.

in partnership with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) and the Idaho Water Resource Board (IWRB), we are developing a numerical groundwater-flow model of the Treasure Valley and surrounding area. Resource managers will use the model to simulate potential human and climatic effects on groundwater for water-supply planning and management.

In cooperation with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, we sampled groundwater from 15 wells during spring 2018 near the city of Marsing in rural northwestern Owyhee County, southwestern Idaho. Samples were analyzed for field parameters, nutrients, trace elements, major inorganics, and dissolved gas, including methane. To examine trends in individual wells and in the region, ammonia and...

We monitor groundwater and surface-water quality as well as streamflow and reservoir levels at nine surface-water sites. Water samples are collected and analyzed for selected common ions, trace elements, nutrients, radiochemical constituents, and organic compounds. Samples are analyzed by the Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory and the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory. Since...

Numerical models are being used to better understand the flow of groundwater and the transport of radiochemical and chemical constituents in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer system. The models, developed at the INL, afford scientists a framework to organize their knowledge and concepts of groundwater systems and to provide insights for water-resource managers for future water demands and...

We drill and maintain wells around the INL to monitor and sample groundwater, obtain basalt and sediment cores for study and analysis, and study the physical properties of the subsurface (geophysical logging). This information helps us to improve the scientific understanding of the eastern Snake River Plain and its aquifer. In particular, we are examining the subsidence of the plain and the...

Since 1966, we have archived over 6000 samples of about 500 mL each of "raw" (unfiltered and unpreserved) water from groundwater and surface-water quality sites collected during our monitoring activities. Through the years, we've kept the water samples in a secure room and tracked which samples researchers have requested and analyzed for various projects. Contact us for more information about the...

Relatively little is known about the Yellowstone-Snake River "hotspot" system. To increase our knowledge, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Program provided over $4.5 million of this $6.7 million project using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.

The U.S. Department of Energy has proposed a location for a new facility to store waste at the INL. In the unlikely event that waste leaks from the facility, it will be important to monitor whether the contamination reaches the aquifer and baseline information is need before the facility is built. Because we need to know how water and contaminants may travel through the aquifer, we need to gather...