Results of hydrologic tests and water-chemistry analyses, wells H-4A, H-4B, and H-4C, at the proposed waste isolation pilot plant site, southeastern New Mexico

Data were collected during hydrologic testing at wells H-4A, H-4B, and H-4C in the southern part of the proposed Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site in southeastern New Mexico. The three water-bearing zones tested, the Magenta and Culebra Dolomite Members of the Rustler Formation and the Rustler Formation-Salado Formation contact, yield water to wells at rates less than 0.9 gallon per minute. Throughout the testing, water-pressure response in the tested zone was monitored by a pressure transducer system. Shut-in and slug tests were conducted to acquire the data from which the following values were derived. Calculated transmissivities for the Magenta, Culebra and the Rustler-Salado contact at wells H-4A, H-4B, and H-4C were 0.06, 0.9, and 0.0006 foot squared per day respectively. Water samples from the Magenta and Culebra had dissolved-solids concentrations of 22,300 and 18,100 milligrams per liter, respectively. The major chemical constituents of ground-water samples from these two zones were sodium, chloride, and sulfate. Water samples from the Rustler-Salado contact had a dissolved-solids concentration of 322,000 milligrams per liter and magnesium, sodium, and chloride were the major constituents. Radium-226, a naturally occurring radioactive element, was present in samples from all three zones. (USGS)