NUREG-1710

Vol. 2

History of Water Development at

the Nevada Test Site: A Literature

Review

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste

Washington, DC 20555-0001
AI

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NUREG-1710

Vol. 2

History of Water Development at

the Nevada Test Site: A Literature

Review

Manuscript Completed: May 2004

Date Published: February 2005

Prepared by

M.P. Lee, N.M. Coleman

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste Staff

Washington, DC 20555-0001
NUREG-1710, Volume 2, has been

reproduced from the best available copy.
ABSTRACT

Historic accounts, geologic treatises, and

other key literature sources were used to

chronicle developments in the Nevada Test

Site (NTS) during the past 150 years. As

was the case in the nearby Amargosa Desert,

human activities in the area currently

occupied by NTS were initially influenced by

the location of cold springs. They provided

indigenous Native Americans with drinking

water. Later, as part of the Western

expansion, many of these same springs were

relied on by Euro-American pioneers as they

crossed the continent. By the time NTS was

engaged in activities related to the Nation's

defense, it was necessary to develop the

available subsurface ground-water supplies,

aided in part by improved geologic

knowledge of local resources. The first well

supporting this infrastructure was Army Well

No. 1. The 1253-foot well was completed in

May 1956. Today, 17 wells distributed

among four service areas supply NTS water

needs. Most were drilled in the mid-to-late

1950s or early 1960s in Yucca Flat,

Frenchman Flat, and Mercury Valley.

Overall, the welded volcanic tuff aquifer is

only locally important (in Jackass Flats)

whereas the lower carbonate aquifer serves

other portions of NTS.

This report is the second volume in the

NUREG-1710 series.

iii
CONTENTS

Abstract.................................................................. iii

Conversion Factors ............ vii

Acknowledgments ............... ix

Abbreviations ............. xi

1. Introduction . ......................................................... 1

1.1 Purpose of Report.. 1

1.2 Geographic Setting.. 2

1.3 Geologic Setting.. 2

1.4 Hydrology ...... 4 1~.4Hdooy......... ................... ;;..-.;.... 1.4.1 Cold Springs. 5

1.4.2 Tanks and Playas .5

2. Historical Developments.. 9

2.1 Native American Activities. 9

2.2 Homesteading .12

2.3 Mining .14

2.4 Land Withdrawals: 1930s-1950s .17

2.5 Atomic Programs .17

3. References .25

FIGURES

1. Current Boundaries and Subdivisions within NTS. 3

2. Hydrographic Areas within or adjacent to NTS. 6

3. Springs, Tanks, and Playas within NTS. 7

4. Map Showing Location of Recorded Cultural Resources within NTS .1

5. Wells within NTS .20

6. Completion Details for Well J-12 .23

7. Completion Details for Well .- 13 .24
TABLES

1. Types of Cultural Sites Found within NTS ...................................... 10

2. Possible Relay Stations within NTS ........................................... 13

3. Reported Mining Districts within NTS ......................................... 16

4. Possible Ranching Locations within NTS ....................................... 18

5. Perennial Yields and Peak Historic Water Demand for NTS Hydrographic Areas .... ......... 22

APPENDICES

A. Major Nevada Test Site Facilities and Water-Supply Source Areas ...................... A-I

B. Summary of Well Information for Nevada Test Site Service Areas ...................... B-I

vi
CONVERSION FACTORS

The preferred system of measurement today

is the metric system, or the "System

Internationale (SI)." However, for some

physical quantities, many scientists and

engineers (as well as drillers) prefer the

familiar, and continue to use inch/pound

units (the so-called U.S. customary system).

Therefore, for ease of comparison with

existing drilling practice, in this regard,

inch/pound units will be used in this report.

Multiply By To obtain

inch (in) 2.54 centimeter

feet (ft) 0.3048 meter

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer

square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer

gallon 0.00379 cubic meter

gallons per day (gpd) 0.00379 cubic meters per day

gallons per minute (gpm) 0.00379 cubic meters per minute

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (CF) may be converted to degrees Celsius

'C = (OF - 32)/1.8.

(CC) as follows:

vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank several individuals

who provided useful information, comments,

and reviews that have enhanced the substance

of this report as it was being developed.

These individuals include:

David Brooks (NMSS)

Jeff Ciocco (NMSS)

Bret Leslie (NMSS)

Larry McKague (CNWRA)

Tom Nicholson (RES)

Gordon Wittmeyer (CNWRA)

In addition, several individuals were helpful

in locating some of the references cited in

this report. They include Harold Drollinger

(Desert Research Institute/Las Vegas) and

Chad Glenn (NMSS). Ellen Kraus (NMSS)

provided editorial guidance.

These individuals do not necessarily approve,

disapprove, or endorse the views expressed

in this report. The views expressed herein are

the authors' and do not reflect an NRC staff

position, or any judgment or determination

by the Advisory Committee on Nuclear

Waste or the NRC, regarding the matters

addressed or the acceptability of a license

application for a geologic repository at Yucca

Mountain.

ix
ABBREVIATIONS

ACNW Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste

AEC Atomic Energy Commission

CNWRA Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses

CRWMS M&O Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System

Management and Operating (contractor to DOE)

DOE U.S. Department of Energy

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

ERDA Energy Research & Development Administration

HLW high-level radioactive waste (including spent nuclear fuel)

NAFR Nellis Air Force Range Complex

NBMG Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology

NMSS Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (within NRC)

NRC U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

NRDS Nuclear Rocket Development Station

NTS Nevada Test Site

RES Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (within NRC)

T and R township and range

URL uniform resource locator (on the Internet)

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

xi
1. INTRODUCTION

Water availability has been a long-standing

issue in the history of the arid Southwest

United States (Reisner, 1986). Natural

precipitation is generally insufficient for

farming. Most water, supplies in Western

Nevada originate in the Sierra Nevada

Mountains with little, if any, generated in the

lowlands. There are few perennial or

intermittent streams present.' For example,

the only major occurrences of surface water,

in Southern Nevada, are cold springs and the

Colorado River (and its impoundments).

There are many ephemeral stream channels'

present,- such as the Amargosa River. These

channels include those associated with the

major drainage systems. .Springs cause short

reaches of the Amargosa River (i.e., the

Carson Slough) to be perennial to

intermittent in their flow. Runoff occurs

irregularly in response to both convective

summer and frontal winter storms, with

stream discharge rates varying greatly 'in

magnitude.

On arriving in the arid Southwest, EuroAmerican pioneers initially adopted Native

American practices to supply fresh water

needs. Later, . during the Industrial

Revolution, water-management practices

from the mining industry were modified to

supply the agricultural and municipal water

requirements of growing western

communities. Advances in drilling and

pumping technology were adopted from the'

petroleum and natural gas industry at the

beginning of this century. These advances, - combined with increased geologic

knowledge, were ultimately instrumental in

exploiting heretofore inaccessible subsurface,

ground-water resources. '. The history 'of

water development in the Amargosa Desert

area generally follows the model typical of

the Southwestern United States.

1.1 Purpose of Report

The purpose of this report is to summarize

the history of water development within the

Nevada Test Site (NTS). In light of the

potential geologic repository for the disposal

of spent nuclear fuel and other high-level

radioactive waste (HLW) at the Yucca

Mountain site, understanding those waterdevelopment factors that have influenced the

pattern and growth in the area has been

studied. Although factors affecting water

development have been examined in the past

for several arid Western states (e.g., Baker

and others, 1973), based on a review of the

literature, such factors have not been

examined for Nevada, in general, and NTS in

particular. Consequently, the authors, while

formerly members of the U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff,

performed a review of the literature, both

printed and electronic, to identify key

references. After completion of that review,

it was determined that it would be useful to

summarize this information in a synthesis

report, as a way to preserve institutional

knowledge on this subject.

Also, it should be noted the history of the

area has been the subject of previous study,

for other reasons [e.g., Steward (1938);

Worman (1969); Pippin and Zerga (1983);

Lingenfelter (1986); McCracken (1990 and

1992); Stoffle and others (1990); Myrick

(1992); Drollinger and others (1999); and

Hartwell and Valentine (2002)].The Energy

Research & Development Administration''

(ERDA - 1977) and the-U.S. Department of

Energy (DOE) conducted environmentalassessments over'the years (DOE, 1984,

1986, 1996, 2002), for which 'some local

information on water' use was reported.

Land and water-use practices were- the

subject of preliminary study by DOE (1988)

following the designation of Yucca Mountain

by Congress as a candidate site for a mined

geologic repository. More recently, the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA1999) continued to examine land and wateruse practices as part of the development of its

radiation protection standards ' for the

proposed geologic repository. In preparing

1
this report, the authors relied on these and

other key sources to construct a

chronological framework for crafting the

discussions. No proprietary or unpublished

data sources were reviewed. - only

information in the public domain has been

cited.

This report is the second volume in the

series. In Volume 1 of NUREG-1710 (Lee

and others, 2005), historic accounts, geologic

treatises, and other literature sources were

used to chronicle water-use developments in

the Amargosa Desert area during the past

150 years. In this installment, designated

Volume 2, similar developments affecting

water use within NTS are described.

Finally, the views expressed herein are the

authors'. They do not reflect an NRC staff

position, or anyjudgment or determination by

the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste or

the NRC, regarding the matters addressed or

the acceptability of a license application for a

geologic repository at Yucca Mountain.

The use of firm, trade, and brand names in

this NUREG is for identification purposes

and does not constitute endorsement by the

NRC.

1.2 Geographic Setting

NTS is located 65 mi northwest of Las

Vegas, in Nye County. Geographically, it

may be considered the most dominant feature

in Nevada, covering approximately 1375 mi2

- a land area larger than the State of Rhode

Island. This remote site is surrounded by

thousands of additional acres of land

withdrawn from the public domain for use as

a protected wildlife range and for a military

gunnery range (the Nellis Air Force Range

Complex - NAFR), thereby creating an

unpopulated area comprising some 5470 miF

(Figure 1). Public access to both NTS and

NAFR is limited.

Initially established as the Atomic Energy

Commission's (AEC's) on-continent proving

ground, NTS has seen more than four

decades of nuclear weapons testing. Since

the nuclear weapons testing moratorium in

1992 and under the direction of DOE, the

test site use has diversified into many other

government programs within 27 designated

"areas." Although not publicly accessible,

NTS has about 400 mi of paved roads, 300

mi of unpaved roads, two airstrips, and 10

heliports, as well, as electric power

transmission and water supply systems. The

site has more than 1100 permanent buildings,

including a hospital,' post office, fire station,

sheriff's substation, and movie theater; a

motor pool (complete with a repair complex);

training facilities, and waste water treatment

plant. Overall, the estimated value of capital

improvements to the NTS site is about $700

million. In the late 1960s, NTS employment

was as high as 8000 personnel (Miller, 1968;

p. 2). In the 1990s, employment at NTS was

estimated to be about 3000 personnel (TRW

Environmental Safety Systems, Inc., 1995;

p. 4-3).

Finally as regards climate, Nevada is the

most arid State in the conterminous United

States (Geraghty and others, 1973; Plate 3) - the present climate is classified as a midlatitude desert. Local temperatures range at

NTS from an average daily minimum of

about 270F, in January, to an average daily

maximum of over 990F in July, with wide

daily and seasonal variations. The annual

precipitation is less than 6 in. The

distribution of precipitation is related to the

elevation of the land surface and the latitude.

Precipitation is usually lower in the valleys

and higher in the surrounding mountain

ranges and mesas. Most of the precipitation

falls in the winter, although summer

thunderstorms are not uncommon. The

humidity is low and wind movement

moderate most of the year.

1.3 Geologic Setting

NTS is located in the Basin and Range

physiographic province (Dohrenwend, 1987).'

This region is distinguished by its

topographically-closed (intermontane) basins,

which are separated by mountain ranges,

2
-- Ab

C "Cc 

tA, T

SDTt 5 28 Is<S

Figure 1. Current Boundaries and Subdivisions within NTS. The NTS subdivisions are referred to as "Areas." Figure available from DOE.

3

co I

U
hills, and mesas, with internal drainage into

the basins (valleys). The mountain ranges

average from 5 to 15 mi in length but can

exceed 50 mi, with elevations of 1000 to

11,000 ft above the valley floors. -By

contrast, altitudes of the valley floors range

from below sea level (Death Valley) to about

5500 ft (Kaivich Valley). Within NTS,

elevations range from 3080 ft at Jackass:

Flats (a basin), in the southwest corner of the

site, to 7675 ft at Rainier Mesa, toward the

northern boundary of NTS.

Rocks in the northern and southwestern

portions of NTS are principally volcanics:

basalts, rhyolites, and tuffs. The mountains

are the principal areas of erosion and are

characterized by relatively barren, steep

topography. Elsewhere, the basins are filled

with Tertiary- and Quaternary-age alluvial

deposits. They range from semi- to

unconsolidated, including the following

major lithologies: river-channel and playa

lake deposits, alluvial fan sediments; eolian

sands, and Tertiary-age conglomerates.

Sometimes sequences of ash-fall tuffs are

present. Overall, the alluvial-fill deposits

range in thickness from an average of 2000 ft

to about 4500 ft.

Mountainous areas generally have a thin soil

veneer because of weathering in-situ and

have a low moisture-holding capacity. Soils

within the alluvial basins were formed on

recent alluvium deposited by the Amargosa

River and its tributaries. The soils found in

the alluvial basin are medium- to finetextured, with somewhat higher-moisture

holding capacities. Because they have a low

organic matter content and drain rapidly,

these soils are generally considered nonarable

and not suitable for farming.

1.4 Hydrology 1

The principal topographic features in the

southern end of NTS are the ephemeral

stream channels of the Amargosa River and

its tributaries. This river basin system

generally defines the geographic extent of the

Amargosa Desert.2 The land area also

approximately corresponds to the Amargosa

Desert hydrographic area used to define

hydrographic regions, areas, or basins

subject to water-resource investigations in

Nevada (Rush, 1968). This basin covers an

area of about 900 mi2 in Nye County and 470

mi2 in Inyo County, and is the largest of nine

subbasins of the greater Death Valley

hydrographic area (Figure 2).

Short reaches of the Amargosa River near

Beatty and south of Amargosa Farms to

Shoshone (California) are perennial to

intermittent in flow because of local cold

springs or the intersection of the water table

with'the ground surface (French and others,

1984; Waddell and others, 1984). Some

places contain wet playas from which ground

water is continuously discharged by evapotranspiration. The Amargosa River and its

tributaries, therefore, only carry significant

amounts of water after periods of infrequent

but intense precipitation - in the form of

cloudbursts or thunderstorms.

There are no perennial streams within NTS.

Fortynile Wash is the principal drainage

feature within NTS. But it, like most of the

other tributaries within the Amargosa River

system, is ephemeral. Thus, before

development of ground-water resources, the

only reliable water supplies within NTS were

IThis section is intended to provide the reader with

additional background on water availability in the NTS

area. It is not designed to be a comprehensive review of

the geologic literature. Instead, the goal here is to identify

what physical factors influence the occurrence and

availability of fresh water, and in doing so provide the

reader with an appreciation of the timing and the manner

of how this resource within the site was developed.

2Sometimes more commonly referred to as the

Amnargosa Valley.

4
the many cold springs, as well as a few

natural tanks.

1.4.1 Cold Springs

Cold springs are located sporadically but

frequently in and around NTS. Thordarson

and Robinson (1971) reported that there are

about 750 springs within 100 mi of the site.

Springs occur when the water table or a

perched ground-water body intersects the

ground surface. Changes in structure,

lithology, and/or topography lead to changes

in aquifer permeability, causing spring

localization. Springs are typically of two

types (Bryan, 1919): the contact variety - where a permeable rock overlies a rock of

much lower permeability, such as a contact

between the more permeable alluvial deposits

and less permeable bedrock, or the

depression variety - in which ground water

seeps into topographic depressions that are

covered with a veneer of detrital material,

usually gravel.

Most springs display variations in rates of

flow or discharge. Flow rates can be

constant or variable (seasonal). Most springs

in the area discharge around 10 gpm or less

(Thordarson and Robinson, 1971). So-called

perennial springs (those associated with the

water table) have generally constant flow

rates, whereas ephemeral or "wet-weather"

springs are likely to have more variable flow

rates because of their close proximity to

recharge areas. In the Yucca Mountain

area, for example, perched water occurs

primarily in the foothills and ridges that flank

the basins (French and others, 1981; p. 49)

and creates flow in ephemeral springs in

direct response rainfall or snowmelt.4

Springs were the earliest sources of water

supply to both the indigenous inhabitants of

the area as well as the more recent EuroAmerican arrivals. Their location in arid

areas can be easily identified by the general

abundance of unique types of foliage and

wildlife ( Ball, 1907; pp. 22-24) -so-called

riparian zones -when compared with their

surroundings. 5 In general, standing or

pooled water can be found throughout the

year at several of the higher-discharging

spring locations.

Major spring locations within portions of

NTS are shown in Figure 3.

1.4.2 Tanks and Playas

Tank are naturally occurring cisterns found

.,in impervious rock. Most can be found at

higher elevations, within the boundaries of

NTS. They are impermeable, topographic

depressions that form natural collection

basins for precipitation and snow. The

volume and quality of water in tanks

typically decrease in the summer months. By

August, many tanks within NTS are dry and

the water in others is scarcely drinkable

(Ball, 1907; pp. 23-24). Major tank

locations within NTS are also shown in

Figure 3.

Playas also occur in the Frenchman Flat,

Franklin Lake, Gold Flat, Kawich Valley,

and Yucca Flat areas, and they collect

surface-water run-off from periodic

thunderstorms. Because thunderstorms are

infrequent and because the surface water

typically evaporates within a few days or

weeks, playas have never been considered a

reliable source of water supply.

3Also includes weeps and seeps - springs with low

discharge rates, typically too small to measure, and

phreatophyte areas - locations of plants with deep root

systems capable of obtaining their water from the

saturated zone. The principal phreatophyte areas can be:

found in the Amargosa Valley (Walker and Eakin, 1963;

p. 22).

4The aquifers supplying ephemeral springs are

perched aquifers, separated from the wa ter table by a layer

of reduced permeability (aquitard). Because the amount of

water they discharge fluctuates during periods of high

precipitation, it has been suggested that many of the

I perched springs possess juvenile, meteoric water (Ball,

1907; p. 21).

5Native Americans or later explorers often erected

stone markers to mark their locations (Op cit.).

5:

1
NDWR Area Approximate Approximate Hydrographic Number Area Altitude

Area on Map (sq ml) (if) tp

Gold Flat 147 684 52005

Kawich Valley 157 350 5500 ,

Emigrant Valley 158 767 4600 '2'a B W s9 8g

Yucca Flat 159 305 4000

Frenchman Fiat 160 463 3200 FA~

Mercury Valley 225 225 3200

RockValley 226 82 3300 6' i; j -

Fortyrnile Canyon:

Jackass Flats 227A 279 3500

Buckboard Mesa 2278 240 5000 /

Oasis Valley 228 460 3800

Crater Flat 229 182 3200

Amargosa Desert 230 890 2600 I

Figure 2. Ilydrographic Areas within or adjacent to NTS. Hydrographic area boundaries shown in the figure are defined by the Nevada

Division of Water Resources (NDWR). Summary table data taken from Rush (1968). Figure (scale 1" 42 mi) taken from

Hevesi and others (2003, p. 9). See the USGS URL site at http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/wri/wriO340901.

;
SPRINGS (S) *

Si Tub

S2 Oak

S3 Ranier Mesa

S4 White Rock

S5 Captain Jack

So Tlppipah

S7 Reitman Seep

So Unnamed

S9 Twin

S10 Topopah

S11 Yetlow Rock

S12 Cane

S13 Pavits

S14 Tupapa Seep

TANKS (T) A

T1 Unnamed

T2 Small

T3 Ammonia

T4 Triple (Ralroad)

T5 Iron

PLAYAS (P) M

P1 Yucca (Tippipah)

.

.

.

P2 Frenchman

0 5 10 MILES

VrLII

0 5 10 KILOMETERS

Figure 3. Springs, Tanks, and Piayas within NTS. Some of the springs and tanks identified are described in Ball (1907) andThordarson and Robinson

(1971, Table 4).
II.

This page is intentionally left blank.

8
2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS

As was the case in the nearby Amargosa

Desert, the literature suggests that human

activities in the area currently occupied by

NTS were initially influenced by the location

of cold springs. They provided indigenous

Native Americans with drinking water as

they foraged for food. Later, as part of the

Western expansion, many of these same

springs were relied on by Euro-American

pioneers as dependable sources of fresh water

as they crossed the continent. During the

first half of this century, prospectors and

newer homesteaders continued to rely on

these springs. However, by the time NTS

was engaged in activities related to the

Nation's defense, the discharge from these

springs proved inadequate and the subsurface

ground-water resource beneath the site was

developed.

2.1 Native American Activities

In historic times, Southern Nevada (including

the area containing the Amargosa Desert and

NTS) was occupied by the Western Shoshone

and Southern Paiute. 6 These peoples were

descendants of Paled-Native American

cultures believed to have occupied the region

during the preceding 10,000 years. The

Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute were

regarded as nomadic hunter-foragers who

relied on the numerous springs found

throughout the area as well as for the animals

and vegetation these springs attracted and

sustained (Stoffle and others, 1990). Ball

(1907, pp. 22-23) notes that the placement

of many of the early Indian trails in the area

was influenced by the locations of the various

springs and tanks, and the distance between

these sites rarely exceeded 40 mi (Op

cit.). Thordarson'andRobinson(1971,Table

4) identified about 80 springs of various sizes

6The reader is also referred to Section 2 ("Historical

Developments Before 1900") of Volume I of this NUREG

series for additional historical background on Native

American activities in Southern Nevada, including lands

now part of NTS.

in Southern Nye County, in and around NTS

(south of the 37'15' parallel).

The literature indicates that Native

Americans lived within the current NTS site

and regularly traversed it while gathering

pifionnuts (a staple) and hunting for game.

Investigations have shown evidence of the

Southern Paiute culture in caches of artifacts

(beads, pottery, etc.) at camp sites, rock

shelters, stone circles, and other

archeological sites within NTS. Over 1700

cultural resource sites have been identified

and cataloged within NTS (Table 1). Most

of these sites are generally located to the east

and to the north of the proposed repository

site - in the vicinity of Fornymile Canyon and

Buckboard and Pahute Mesas, respectively

(Figure 4). Many are in close proximity to

major springs and tanks (Figure 3). Near

Yucca Mountain, for example, the terraces

adjacent to Fortymile Canyon contain

abundant artifacts in the form of projectile

points, blanks, and flakes (Worman, 1969;

Pippin and Zerga, 1983). Several of the

NTS spring locations had rock shelters,

including food caches; but some of these

locations have been interpreted by the

literature for use principally during seasonal

harvesting/hunting' excursions (Worman,

1969; Stoffle and others, 1990). Manly

(1927, p. 151) notes that California-bound

miners (the "Forty-niners") encountered

Southern Paiute growing maize and squash at

a permanent camp at Cane Springs. Steward

(1938, pp. 93-99, 182-185) also reports that

at least nine Shoshone family (or familygroups), totaling about 40 individuals, where

in residence in a series of permanent camps

in the vicinity of White Rock Spring as late as

1880. In general, though, the literature

indicates that the function and role of many

of the NTS archeological sites changed with

time in response to the Western'migration'of

Euroamericans.

By the 1900s, the size of the indigenous

9
Table 1. Types of Cultural Sites Found within NTS. The following reports the results of 501 archeological investigations to identify possible

cultural resources within NTS. These investigations covered 40,383 acres or 5 percent of NTS and are indexed to NDWR

hydrographic areas. The number and kinds of Native American sites can be used to evaluate the relative importance of a particular

foraging area. Residential Base Camps have been interpreted to be locations of extended occupation, such as Cane and Caplain Jack

Springs. Temporary camps likely supported activities at the other localities listed. Taken from DOE (1996, pp. 4-155 - 4-159).

0

NDWR Site Type Totals

Hydrographic

Area Residential Temporary Extractive Processing Unspecified Cache Station' Untyped

Base Camp Locality" Locality b Locality

-Mercury Valley 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3

Rock Valley 0 1 1 0 15 0 0 0 17

Fortymile Canyon/ 1 35 15 59 236 7 1 9 363

Jackass Flats

Buckboard Mcsa 0 103 6 94 203 5 1 54 466

Oasis Valley 0 14 1 20 82 0 0 2 119

Gold Flat 0 25 1 96 124 10 0 1 257

Kawick Valley 0 9 0 25 37 0 0 8 79

Emigrant Valley 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 5

Yucca Flat 4 54 10 34 126 56 0 13 297

Frenchman Flat 1 2 2 38 52 0 0 0 95

TOTALS 6 243 36 366 883 78 2 87 1701

a. Resource procurement areas, such as quarries, water catchment basins, hunting blinds, or plant resource extraction locations.

b. Areas where resources, such as stone tools, plants, and animals were processed. c. Lack of specific information to permit interpretation, as compared toResiderntial Base Camps or Temporary Camps.

d Temporary locations for storing resources or artifacts. e. Special-purpose locations, including sites designated for the communication of information and rituals, including rock cairns, geoglyphs, observation points, and overlooks.
Figure 4. Map Showing Location of Recorded Cultural Resources within NTS. Taken from

DOE (1996, Figure 4-47).

11
I,

population had decreased for a variety of

reasons. What had once been prime foraging

and hunting areas used seasonally, because of

its remoteness and lack of commercial

potential, NTS lands had now become an

unofficial Native American refuge (Stoffle

and others, 1990; p. 114). More regular use

would be consistent with the large number of

sites interpreted in the literature as

Temporary Camps. Native Americans

occupied and maintained both a subsistence

and residential relationship with NTS until

the late 1930s, when public lands there were

withdrawn from use for the first time during

the outbreak of the Second World War.

2.2 Homesteading

Before 1900, relay stations were constructed

at several of the major spring locations

within NTS (Table 2) for the stage, freight,

and mail lines that had begun to operate

between Southern California and Utah.

Hartwell and Valentine (2002, p. 61)

identified three routes through current NTS

lands - two along the ephemeral stream beds

of Beatty Wash and Fortymile Canyon, and a

third (the so-called "Stagecoach Road")

running east-to-west, connecting the southern

foothills of Yucca Mountain and Steves Pass

(in Crater Flat). All of these trail routes can

be located on the 1986 metric edition of the

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 1:100,000-

scale topographic map for Beatty, NevadaCalifornia quadrangle. Relay station

construction frequently included

improvements to the spring-discharge points.

However, the significance of these sites was

short-lived because of fluctuations in mining

activity regionally and the establishment of

other, more direct, thoroughfares to the

West.

To encourage agricultural development of the

West, the Federal government implemented

a series of homesteading policies - e.g., the

Desert Lands Act of 1877, the Carey Act of

1894, and the Federal Reclamation Act of

1902 (Reisner, 1986) - intended to achieve

reclamation of arid lands through irrigationbased farming. However, as noted in

Volume 1 of this NUREG series, these

policies have had limited success in the

Amargosa Desert area, for a variety of

reasons. To the extent that any homesteading

did take place in the area before 1900, it was

confined mostly to discrete locations outside

of current NTS boundaries, in the lower

reaches of the valley. This literature review

did not identify reports or other archeological

evidence to suggest that homesteading

(specifically farming) took place within the

confines of current NTS boundaries.

Nevertheless, it is likely that some limited

ranching may have taken place at some of

these sites, including wild horse or mule

herding, since corrals and barbed wire fences

are reported in the literature. Long (1950,

pp. 112-113, 116) provides a detailed

account of activity in and around the

Emigrant Valley and Amargosa Desert areas

in the late 1930s-early 1940s, and noted that

some ranching (cattle and sheep) was taking

place at White Rock Spring, Tippipah Spring,

Cottontail Tank, and the Sheahan Ranch.

However, the ranchers and their families

lived in near-by communities outside of

present NTS boundaries (Fehner and

Gosling, 2000; p. 10). Because water

supplies were limited to cold springs,

ranchers had to modify spring discharge

points and build storage tanks to collect

spring- water (Worman, 1969). Also, as

previously noted, Mendenhall (1909)

recommended that travelers passing through

the area carry adequate supplies of grain and

hay for their horses because of inadequate

forage at the lower elevations. It is likely

that ranching took place at elevations above

4900 ft.7

7It should be noted that there is an extensive variety of

vegetation throughout the site. However, the type of

vegetation depends on elevation (temperature); slope;

slope orientation; precipitation (climate); and soil

properties. See Romney and others (1973); Beatley

(1974, 1975); and Collins and others (1982). In general,

steep slopes, especially those that face south or west at

NTS, have little or no vegetation. Desert scrub (mesquite,

salt grass, greasewood, and rabbit brush) which makes

poor livestock forage, can be found at elevations of less

than 4900 ft. At elevations of 4900 ft and above, higherdensity cover and better livestock forage occur. At

elevations of about 5900 ft and above, piflon pines, Joshua

trees, and grasses begin to dominate.

12
I - .

Table 2. Possible Relay Stations within NTS. This table identifies the probable nearby sources of water supply.

Location Latitude Longitude Water-Supply Comments Reference(s)

Source

Captain Jack Spring 370 10 ' 06" N. 1160 10 ' 12' W. Captain Jack Spring Small corral. Worman (1969, p. 40)

Cane Spring 36047'56"N. 116005'45"W. Cane Spring I stone and 2 frame cabins, corrals. Long(1950,pp. 112-113);

Wormnan (1969, pp. 12-15)

Fortymile Canyon Multiple locations. See table below. 3 rock shelters. Long (1950, p. 186); Anonymous

(1969); Pippin and Zerga (1983, p.

54); Stoffle and others (1990, pp.

118-119)

'Tippipah Spring 37002'34"N. 116 12' 13 'W.- Tippipah Spring 2 stone cabins, stable, corrals, and Long (1950, p. 112-113); Wortnan,

barbed-wire pasture fence. (1969, pp. 10-11)

Topopah Spring ' 36059' 19" N. 1160 16' 17" W. Topopah Spring Ranch debris from fire (ca. 1951 ). Anonymous (1969, pp. 7-8);

Worman (1969, pp. 15-16); Brady (1975, p. 9),

White Rock Spring' 37° 12'04 "N. 1160 07'04'W. White RockSpring Cabin and corral. Wornan (1969, pp. 36-40)

a. Author inference based on literature.

U3

Fortymile Canyon Sprlngsb

Name Location

unidentified Section 16, T12S, R50E

Twin Springs Section 27, TI IS, R50E

(at Water Pipe Butte)

Yellow Rock Spring Section 23, TI IS, R50E

b. Black Spring (?) and Belted Mountain Spring also

shown on Ball's 1907 map.
There were some indigenous game animals in

the area at the time so it is also likely that

some of the abandoned sites may have also

been used as lodges for hunting excursions.

2.3 Mining 8

Some of the more common mineral resources

identified in Southern Nevada include

mercury, lead, zinc, and uranium. These

resources occur frequently along faults and

fracture zones in volcanic rocks. Despite

extensive prospecting within NTS, no major

occurrences of these metals have been

reported. This conclusion would be

consistent with regional mineral resource

assessments of the area, including NTS (e.g.,

Schalla and Johnson, 1994; Sherlock and

others, 1996). In general, most major mining

activity in Southern Nevada has taken place

outside of current NTS boundaries in

the Bare Mountain, Bullfrog-Rhyolite,

Goldfield, and Johnnie Mining Districts. See

Lincoln (1923), Kral (1951), and Tingley and

others (1993).

The first reported mining claim inside current

NTS boundaries was in the Timber Mountain

Mining District (Area 17), in 1869 (Angel,

1958; p. 486). Several prospects and mine

shafts are depicted in the 1962 edition of the

1:24,000-scale USGS topographic map for

the Thirsty Canyon, Southeast quadrangle,

which includes this area. Although some

chrysocolla, copper, and silver ores were

produced between 1905 and 1917, this

mining district's production was not

considered significant. Other USGS

topographic sheets covering current NTS

boundaries depict additional small,

unrecorded prospect pits and claims, some of

which have unspecified production. Bell and

Larson (1982) describe some of these

locations. In general, most of these locations

were worked or staked before acquisition of

the site by the Government and were not

economically viable.9 There are other

examples of significant prospecting and

mining that took place within NTS

boundaries, as noted below:

Ball (1907, pp. 128-130) reported

prospects being developed in the Oak

Spring Mining District (in Area 15)

for precious metals and polymetallics

as early as 1905; mining claims were

reported as early as 1889 (McLane,

1996, p. 137). McLane also reports

that the Bower Family took up

residence near Oak Spring in 1920,

building two stone ranch houses and

establishing a mining company (El

Picacho) to work near-by copper

deposits between 1922 and 1928'°

Scheelite ore containing tungsten

(CaWO3) and molybdenite

(PbMoWO 3) was discovered in the

Climax Group in 1936 or 1937,

followed by development and

production in the early 1940s (Kral,

1951); but significant tungsten

production did not begin until the

1950s. After 10 years of co-use

during the period of nuclear testing,

the principal mining claims (Climax

and Crystal Mines) were acquired

through routine condemnation

procedures and subsequently closed,

because of the accidental releases of

radiation to the site during the Hard

Hat (1962), Tny Tot (1965), and Pile

I

8Only metallic resources are discussed here. A large

variety of non-metallic resources (industrial rocks and

minerals) are present in large quantities throughout

Southern Nevada. They include principally ceramic silica,

zeolites, allunite, fluorite, sand, gravel, and lightweight

construction aggregate (volcanic cinders, perlite, and

pumice). See Nevada Bureau of Mines (1964). In

general, these materials are found close to the ground

surface and can be mined using near-surface, open-pit

methods. Because the mining methods for these materials

typically do not require water, the occurrence of nonmetallic mineral resources is not addressed in this report.

9Approximately 123 mining claims are purportedly

located on or near Yucca Mountain (Raney, 1988; p. 1)

and only a few of these have been actually staked within

the boundaries of the proposed repository site. In 1989,

the staked claims were sold to DOE (Castor and others,

1990; p. 5).

10The Bower camp was ultimately abandoned about

1926 and was reported to be used in the early 1930s by

criminal fugitives from Utah and Arizona (Op cit.).

14
Driver (1966) detonations (ERDA,

1977; p. 2-11). Overall, mining

returns were small and frustrated by

the incorporation of the claims into

the Federal reservation." The total

extraction of ore was between 7 and

8 [short] tons containing 50 percent

W03 concentrate (Johnson and

Hibbard, 1957; pp. 380-381).

* A mercury mine and retort, at Mine

Mountain (in Area 6), are frequently

cited in the literature; claim notices

indicate exploration in 1928

(Cornwall, 1972; p. 39). A number

of prospects, shafts, and adits can be

found in the 1961 edition of the

1:24,000-scale USGS topographic

quadrangle map that bears the same

name. Mercury was recovered from

the mineral cinnabar occurring in

seams and spheres in silicified and

opalized rhyolite tuff (Cornwall and

Kleinhampl, 1961), but no significant

production is reported.

* In Area 26, high-grade silver-gold

deposits were discovered in the

Wahmonie Mining District in 1928

(Hewett and others, 1936; p. 71).

The mining district attracted a

population of between 1500 and

2000, supported by an extensive tent

city comprised of hotels, saloons, a

post office, and other commerce

(Paher, 1980; pp. 322-324). Initial

claims were mined-out in about 3

months. Despite the staking of about

1500 claims over an area of about 2

mi2, and the development of multiple

underground shafts (one at least 500

ft), no new ores were discovered

(Miller, 1979; p. 157). As a

consequence, the mining district was

mostly abandoned by 1929.

* In the Calico Hills portion of Area

25, several prospect pits can be found

on the 1961 edition of the 1:24,000-

scale USGS topographic map for the

Jackass Flats quadrangle. Castor and

others (1990, p. 3) suggest that these

particular workings are about the

same age (ca. 1905) as workings at

the Horn Silver mine (in the

Wahmonie Mining District). Myrick

(1992, p. 494) notes that the Calico

Hills prospects were worked, without

production, by the Quartz Gold

Mining Co., an affiliate of the Sante

Fe Railroad.

* At the northwest end of Yucca

Mountain, in Township 11 South,

Range 48 East (THiS, R49E), slightly

to the west of the NTS boundary, a

small amount of mercury was

produced in Section 29, at the

Thompson mine (Bailey and Phoenix,

1944; p. 144). There was more

moderate production of ceramic silica

at the Silica Mine (ca. 1918-29), in

Section 19 (Kral, 1951; p. 68). The

1954 edition-of the 1:63,500-scale

USGS topographic map for the Bare

Mountain quadrangle shows these

mines.

* Base metals were discovered in the

Groom Lake Mining District about

1864, slightly to the east of the

current NTS boundary (Humphrey,

1945). However, the mining district

was not surveyed until about 1915.

Most of the principal mining activity

took place at the Sheahan Groom

Mine from 1918-42, with limited

mining until the early 1950s (Tschanz

and Pampeyan, 1970; p. 148).

Table 3 summarizes the principal mining

districts and identifies water supply sources.

Overall, mineral exploration and mining had

no impact on the development of water

resources within NTS. The existing network

of springs provided the mining districts with

the supplies needed to support the scale of

the respective operations.

15
Table 3. Reported Mining Districts within NTS.

Mining District Latitude Longitude Water-Supply Comments Rcfcrcncc(s)

Source

Groom Lake 37021 'N. 115046'W. Not reported. However, several Polymetallic replacement deposits llumphrey (1945, pp. 13, 35-45);

springs reported in the mining mined periodically from 1864 to Long (1950, p. 120); Tschanz and

district - Disappointment. White 1955; largest mine is the Groom mine Pampcyan (1970, pp. 148-149)

Blotch, NaQuinta. (T7S, R55E), acquired by the Sheahan

Fainly in 1885.

Mine Mountain 370 00 ' N. 116° 07' W. ' Not reported. Mercury retort associated with adits Cornwall (1972, p. 39); Worman

and shafts in TI IS, R52E. (1969, p. 8); Brady (1975, p. 10).

Oak Spring 370 14'N. 1160 13'W. Initially Oak Spring, 900 ft Climax mine worked tungsten skam Kral (1951, p. 138); Cornwall

southwest of the Horseshoe claim, deposit until the early 1960s; other (1972, p. 39); MeLane (1996, p.

Later, a 351-ft-deep well, 7 mi east polymetallic claims reported to be 138)

of mine. worked in mining district before the

Second World War.

Wahmonie 36° 49 'N. 1160 49' W. Cane Spring Comstock vein-type of deposits - Hewett and others (1936; p. 71);

Horn Silver Mine, ca. 1905 (in T5S, Brady (1975, pp. 8-9)

R47E).

a. Author inference based on literature.

0%

I.... ..
I I

The exception was the Oak Spring District.

Local springs were not sufficient for milling

operations. Kral (1951, p. 138) noted that to

provide the district with an adequate water,

the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Company

drilled four exploration wells locally. Water

was located 7 mi to the east, at 291 ft below

the ground surface. To get the water to the

place of need, it was also necessary to lift the

water an additional 860 ft over the Rhyolite

Hills promontory."

2.4 Land Withdrawals: 1930s-1950s

Most of the lands in Southern Nevada have

historically been public. Establishment of a

national system of parks in the United States'

resulted in the 1935 dedication of the Desert

National Wildlife Refuge, in which the first

2482 mi2 adjacent to current NTS boundaries

were withdrawn from development and

established for public use. However, it

wasn't until the early 1940s that land within

current NTS boundaries was withdrawn from

public use.Originally, 640 mi2 of public lands

were withdrawn to create an aerial bombing

and gunnery range for the Army Air Corps

(formerly the Las Vegas Bombing and

Gunnery Range; presently NAFR) in October

1940 (Fehner and Gosling, 2000; p. 20). At

the time, more than 90 percent of the area

was in the public domain. Brady (1975,

p. 7) reports that between 300 and 400 cattle

openly ranged at Topopah, White Rock, and

Cane Springs before the war, when native

grasses were taller and more plentiful. This

type of activity would be' consistent -with

available historic and, archeological

information. However, there were a number

of grazing, mining, and homesteading claims

on the land which made taking government

possession difficult. In August 1941, the

Government began condemnation

proceedings against the outstanding parcels

of land. In October of the same year, the

courts finalized the land condemnations and

"Using Kral's description, scaling the reported 7-mi

distance to a 1:250,000-scale geologic map of Southern

Nye County (Cornwall, 1972) would place the 350 ft. 8-in

cased well in alluvial deposits of Emigrant Valley.

federal marshals cleared any remaining

stragglers off of the range (Fehner and

Gosling, 2000; p. 20).

2.5 Atomic Programs

At the end of the war, training activities'at

NTS were briefly discontinued. Some cattle

ranching is reported to have returned, but

only at Topopah Spring, Frenchman

Flats, and Emigrant Valley (Anonymous,

1969; pp. 7-8). One individual obtained a

grazing lease to two-thirds of the test area

and ran about 40 horses and 250 cattle

(Fehner and Gosling, 2000; p. 51). Table 4

lists the grazing locations, along with the

water supply sources. However, at the time,

there was growing concern about the

strategic vulnerability of the United States

atomic testing programs in the Pacific

Ocean (Op cit., pp. 39-40). Relying on a

top-secret feasibility study, code-named

Nutmeg and conducted by the Pentagon, the

AEC selected the Las Vegas Bombing and

Gunnery Range as the site of the United

States continental nuclear test site in

December 1950.12 ' Control of the site was

later assumed by the AEC. Open-range

cattle ranching was allowed well into the

1950s, in the Yucca Flat area (Op cit., p. 51)

provided certain provisions were met.

12There were several reasons for the selection.

Foremost among these were the vast open spaces, within

closed topographic basins at the site, needed to minimize -

the risks of atmospheric testing, as well as favorable

climatic conditions (ERDA, 1977; pp. 2-12 - 2-13).

Other important criteria included the remoteness of NTS

and the fact that the site was already under Federal

control.

'

3Although developed to allow mining within the Oak

Spring Mining District, the following provisions were also

applied to ranching operations on-site (Boyer, 1952):

(a) that all ranching personnel have the appropriate

security clearance; (b) all ranching personnel would

evacuate affected areas during atomic tests; (c) access to

NTS from the north would discontinue; (d) the AEC

retained the right of unfettered site inspections; (e)

ranching personnel would have to adhere to the same

regulations as NTS workers; and (f) ranch owners could

not file claims for damages resulting from [these]

restrictions or government operations.

17
Table 4. Possible Ranching Locations within NTS.

Location Latitude Longitude Water Supply Comments Reference(s)

Source

Bowen Ranch 370 14'23 "N. 116002 ' 30" W. Local springs (Oak and Tub Two stone cabins and corral. McLanc (1996)

Springs) provided sufficient Sitc later scrvcd as basc for

water for domestic usc. mining operations.

Emigrant Valley Cottontail Tank Open grazing in Southern Belted Long (1950, pp. 116-117)

Mountains area.

George Lathrop Lathrop Well (in vicinity of Highway Concrete water tank at Lathrop Bcfore the Second World War, Fehner and Gosling (2000, p. 10)

Ranch 95 and State Road 373 intcrsection a Well; water hauled by wagon livestock grazed in Jackass Flats

from Fairbanks Spring (36029 ' (NTS Area 25).

N, 115020' W); water tank used

in earlier construction of Las

Vegas and Tonopah Railroad.b

Shcahan (or Sheehan) 37026 'N.' 1160 53 ' W.' Exact supply of water not Emigrant Valley ranch operated Long (1950); Worman (1969,

Ranch reported; Caotle Springs closest until 1955. Now referred to as p. 8); Solnit (1994)

water supply (?). "Area 51." Elevation = 6400 ft.

Tippipah Spring 370 02 ' 34" N. 1160 12 ' 13 " W. Tippipah Spring 2 stone cabins, stable, corrals, Long (1950, pp. 112-113);

and barbed-wire pasture fence. Womian (1969, pp. 10-lI)

Occupied late 1930s-carly

1940s.

Topopah Spring' 36059' 19" N. 1160 16 ' 17" W. Topopah Spring Ranch debris from fire (ca. Anonymous (1969, pp. 7-8);

1951)- NaQuinta Ranch(7). Worman (1969, pp. 15-16);

Brady (1975, p. 9)

White Rock Spring' 370 12'04" N. 116°07'04" W. While Rock Spring Cabin and corral. Occupied Worman(1969,pp.36-40) during late 1930s-carly 1940s.

a. Kensler (1982) reports (unspecified) historic ruins at Lathrop Wells.

b. Kcn GarcyBar-B-Q Ranch (Amargosa Valley), personal comnmunication, November 1998. c. Approximate location.

d. Author inference based on literature.

00
Ultimately, water and grazing rights for the

remaining ranches and leases were acquired

by negotiated purchase in 1955 (ERDA,

1977; p. 2-12). Many of the cattle purchased

subsequently became part of a governmentowned herd that was allowed to range freely

until the early 1960s . 4 Further land

withdrawals by the AEC to the west (in

1954) and the north (in 1964) established the

current dimensions of NTS (Figure 1).

Today, under the direction of DOE, NTS is

approximately 1350 mi2 and is surrounded by

a 4120 square mile-buffer zone (that includes

NAFR and the Tonopah Test Range).

Over the years there have been a number of

atomic programs and activities within NTS,

and they have had the greatest influence on

the development of water supply within the

site. The first atmospheric nuclear test at the

NTS, named ABLE, took place at Frenchman

Flat on January 27, 1951. After the Limited

Test Ban Treaty of 1963, nuclear tests were

conducted underground, based in large

measure on the conclusion that there were

favorable (and extensive) subsurface geologic

conditions at the site (Houser, 1968; p. 21);?

In addition to the approximately 900 nuclear

weapons tests, other notable atomic programs

and activities at NTS have included nuclear

rocket experiments, the Plowshare Program

and the MX (Peacekeeper) mobile missile

siting studies. Since the nuclear weapons

testing moratorium in 1992, test site use has

diversified into many other programs such as

hazardous chemical spill testing, emergency

response training, conventional weapons

testing, and* waste management and

environmental technology studies.

In the late 1950s. and early 1960s, the

geohydrology of the area 'was subject to

detailed study. for' the first time to better

understand the potential effects of atomic'

testing activities at NTS on regional groundwater supplies. These studies were

conducted by the USGS on behalf of the then

14In 1963, through an interagency agreement, the

cattle came under the jurisdiction of EPA's radionuclide

environmental monitoring program. See Appendix A.

AEC. In addition to this work, the USGS

supported the Nevada Department of

Conservation and Natural Resources in the

-conduct of basin-wide, ground-water

resource analyses for the state. After the

creation of the United States' HLW

management program, in the 1980s, there

was a renewed interest in the ground-water

hydrology of NTS because of the focus on

Yucca Mountain as a candidate site for a

potential geologic repository. Since then,

there have been hundreds of new

geohydrologic studies added to the

literature.15

To support its mission, an infrastructure has

been created within NTS over time to

provide the necessary services, including

construction of the Mercury base camp in the

fall of 1950. Originally, Mercury was a

temporary staging site used to support atomic

testing in nearby Frenchman Flat. It was

initially designed to be used no more than 18

weeks per year, and included buildings to

house scientific,. communications and

computing equipment, weather monitoring

installations, and radiological safety

facilities. Residential barracks were present

as well as a mess hall and an administrative

center. At the time, Mercury had a peak

housing capacity of about 412 personnel

(Fehner and Gosling, 2000; p. 81). As it

became apparent that testing would become

more routine at the site, the camp's capacity

was expanded to 1100, and included the

construction of additional barracks, a second

mess hall, a recreation facility, warehouses,

and laboratories (Op cit., pp. 81-82).

This infrastructure has been described by

DOE (1996, pp. 4-19 - 4-25), including

information on water supply (Op cit., pp. 4-

22, 4-24). i Most of the major geologic

investigations of NTS included the sinking of

one or more exploratory and test wells,

15Slate (1999) includes an annotated bibliography

compiled by Morrow and Machette (1999) that provides a

comprehensive summary of the literature on the local and

regional hydrogeology of Southern Nevada. including

NTS.

19
II

M Wter savice area

* Acts water spply wol

o InteM watar supply wol

6 I 0 5 IC

5 0 loxlometeus

Figure 5. Wells within NTS. Activities and water supply wells within these areas are described in

the appendices. Taken from DOE (1996, p. 4-25).

20
sometimes leading to the development of a

production well. As a -result, todayseventeen wells supply the freshwater needs

for NTS (Figure 5). Most of the wells are

located in Yucca Flat, Frenchman Flat, and

Mercury Valley, and were drilled in the midto-late 1950s or- early'' 1960s, 'using'

conventional cable tool and rotary-air drilling

technology. Wells were drilled by private

contractors, with USGS oversight. NTS

water-supply needs are presently met by 12

of these wells - 11 of the 12 wells are

potable. Cold springs within NTS are not

sufficient to meet the water supply needs.

The first water-supply well supporting this

infrastructure was Arny Well No. 1. It is

located in Mercury Valley, near Highway 95

(Section 4 of T16S, R53E). The 1253-ft well

was completed in May 1956.16 This well

initially met the fresh water needs for Camp

Desert Rock 17 and later, the Mercury base

camp, which it still supports today.

In contrast to wells in the Amargosa Desert

area to the south, which pump ground water

from a shallow alluvial aquifer (depths of 100

ft or less), most NTS ground water is

pumped from relatively deep volcanic or

regional carbonate aquifers (depths of 1000 ft

or more). Also, unlike alluvial 'aquifers,

where ground water is contained in a porous

granular matrix, carbonate and volcanic

rocks are essentially non-granular media so

the amount of ground water available from''

these aquifers depends on the presence of

hydraulically conductive' faults, fractures,

and joint sets (e.g. California Department of

Water Resources, 1991). These networks 6f

structural features within the rock 'mass

18See the NDWR URL site at www.ndwr.state.nv.us/ a

IS/vlogAvlog.htm.

'

7Camp Desert Rock was a military installation

established in NTS Area 22 to house the U.S. Army's

Atomic Maneuver Battalion participating in military

operations during atomic testing. It was under the

command of the U.S. Sixth Army, Presidio, San

Francisco, California. At the peak of its operations,

Camp Desert Rock had 100 semi-permanent buildings,-

more than 500 tents, a 7500 ft runway, and some 6000

troops in residence.

control the movement of ground water.

Claassen (1973), citing other references,

contains descriptions of many of the NTS

well designs. All the wells are lined, and

perforated well casings act as screens.

Casing diameters decrease telescopically with

depth, and range from 24 in (outside

diameter), at the ground surface, to 43/4in,

at depth. None of the wells is operating at

full capacity, and only one, Army Well No.

1, has a capture zone that extends beyond

current NTS boundaries. Because the

combined capacity of these wells exceeds

demand, many wells are used on a rotating

basis. NTS has six water transmission

systems, totaling about 100 mi, that

distribute the water supply among four

service areas (Appendix B). Potable water

is piped underground, whereas non-potable

water is piped above ground. Pipe diameters

range from 4 to 12 in. To meet peak

demand, this distribution system is

complemented by 27 storage tanks. In 1996,

five additional water storage tanks were

under construction (DOE, 1996; p. 4-20).

Potable water (including bottled water) 'is

trucked to support facilities and operations

that are not connected to this system.

Peak historic water demands within NTS 'are

shown in Table 5. In 1994, NTS used 450

million gallons of water .(DOE, 1996;

p. 4-23). The Mercury site was the primary

consumer, accounting for about 40 percent of

total use (Op cit.). In general, the effects of

well pumping at NTS have resulted in the

lowering of water levels in the vicinity of the

particular water'"supply'-well' and some

localized changes in ground-water flow

directions. Pumping effects are mostly

limited to within a few thousand meters of

the operating wells (Op cit., p. 4-117). As

shown by Table 5, the 'peak water demand

associated with historic NTS activities has

been a small fraction of the estimated

perennial yield of most of the affected

individual hydrographic areas. .

For the purposes of DOE's Yucca Mountain

site characterization programs, Wells J-12

21
Table 5. Perennial Yields and Peak Historic Water Demand for NTS Hydrographic Areas.

Taken from DOE (1996, p. 4-118). Hydrographic areas are shown in Figure 2.

NDWR Estimated DOE Peak Historic Demand

Hlydrographic Perennial Water

Area Yield Supply lglosYa (10' gallonslyr) Well s 10' gallons

Gold Flat 6100 1 1100 1989

Kawich Valley 7100 1 1400 1989

Emigrant Valley 8200 None b No DOE Demand

Yucca Flat 1100 8 2600 1989

Frenchman Flat 50,000 3 1200 1962

Mercury Valley 25,900 1 ? 1992

Rock Valley 25,900 None b No DOE Demand

Fortymile Canyon 25,000 3 1100 1988

Oasis Valley 6600 None b No DOE Demand

Amargosa Valley 76,600 None b No DOE Demand

a. Additional information on these wells can be found in the appendices. b. No DOE water supply wells are located in this basin.

and J-13, located in Jackass Flats, are the

current sources of water supply. These two

wells (and a third well, J-11) were drilled in

the early 1960s, when Jackass Flats was the

site of the Nuclear Rocket Development

Station (NRDS - see Young, 1972).8 Fresh

water was needed for NRDS facility

construction, test-cell and exhaust cooling,

and thermal shielding. To meet NRDS

program needs, the time, a welded tuff

aquifer - the Topopah Spring Member of the

18Located roughly in the center of Area 25, NRDS

occupied about 123 mie and was selected as the site for a

series of ground tests of reactors, engines, and rocket

stages for possible use in the Nation's space program.

(This program was first initiated in the early 1950s at this

site under the name Project Rover.) NRDS was jointly

administered by AEC and the National Aeronautics and

Space Administration's Nuclear Propulsion Office.

NRDS consisted of three test cells, an engine test stand,

and reactor and engine maintenance assembly and

disassembly facilities, as well as other administrative,

support, and storage areas. The program ended in 1972.

During its operational life, more than $100 million was

spent on NRDS facility construction and equipment,

including the development of water supplies (Anonymous,

1993a; pp. 22-23).

Paintbrush Tuff. The average consumption

of water for NRDS in 1967 was 522,000

gpd, and peak consumption was 720,000 gpd - all of which was supplied by Well J-13

(Young, 1972; p. 18). Well J-12, as the

stand-by well, had an additional capacity of

1 million gpd (Op cit.). Well J-11 was

ultimately abandoned because of the poor

chemical quality of the water (sulfate content

of about 480 mg/L) and the fact that casing

corrosion had reduced well yield.

Completion details for Wells J-12 and J-13

can be found in Figures 6 and 7,

respectively.

An additional well that could be used as a

potential source of ground-water supply is

Test Well JF-3, also in Jackass Flats, located

about 2600 ft south of Well J-12 (Plume and

La Camera, 1996). It was completed in the

Topopah Spring tuff in 1992. The well

penetrated 479 ft of alluvium and 817 ft of

volcanic rock. The average hydraulic

conductivity of the tuffs beneath the water

table was estimated to exceed 330 ft/day.

22
CASING DIAMETER

DEPlTl BELOW 953.4 m

LAND SURFACE (3128 Et)

LAND SURFACE ABOtE

METERS FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL - s r

Sand and -

gravel -_ 

C.

______ ___ _ _ _o .,

Moderately\-0-

welded ashflow, tuff

_Y V.

Vitric< bedd

4 Y. V 170.7

_ _ , 192.0

7 -7S-*--7

515

560

and reworked 630

tuff j

226.1 742 (aver:ce static * vwter level)

2'4.8 5o6 (pump Intake)

264.6 868 (bottom of casing)

310.6 1019

-328.3 . 3 47.

I. 347. i

1077

1139

Figure 6. Completion Details for Well J-12. Includes lithiology. Taken from Claassen (1973,

p. 24).

23
DEPTH SBELO

LAND SUE ACE

METERS FEET

1011.3 m

(3318 Ct)

LAND SURFACE ABOVE

MEAN SEA LEVEL _

425

587

710

870

892

928

1200

1301

1310

1395

i475

1546

1820

1990

(average static

water level)

(pu:p intake)

(bottom of casing)

I

i

i

i

I

I

II

I

i

i

i

I

i

I

I

i

i

I

I

II

i

i

I

I

(Iottom a: casing)

2260

2655

2850

3385

3488

(bottom of casing)

Figure 7. Completion Details for Well J-13. Includes lithology.

p. 32).

Taken from Claassen (1973,

24
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26
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28
APPENDIX A

MAJOR NEVADA TEST SITE (NTS) FACILITIES

AND WATER SUPPLY SOURCES

NTS AREA PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY

Nuclear Test Zone 100 atmospheric detonations before August 1993

Limited Test Ban Treaty; about 800 underground

nuclear tests before 1992 nuclear weapons testing

moratorium.

High-Explosive Test Zone 61 underground nuclear tests between 1957-92.

Reserved Area Controlled-access area that provides a buffer between

defense and non-defense research, development, and

testing activities; Department of Defense currently

operates a high explosives research & development

facility.

Critical Assembly Zone Area used for nuclear explosive operations - staging,

assembling, modification.

A-1
Location Water Supply Comments Reference(s)

Source

NUCLEAR TEST ZONE

Yucca Flat weapons tcst basin Scc Appendix B. DOE (1996, pp. 4 -10 - 4-17)

Area 1 27 mi2 Nuclear testing from 1952-90.

Area 2 20 mi2 Nuclear testing from 1952-90.

Area 3 32 mi2 Nuclear testing from 1952-92.

Area 4 16 mi2 Nuclear testing from 1952-91.

Area 7 20 mi2 Nuclear testing from 1964-91.

Area 8 13 mi2 Nuclear testing from 1958-88.

Area9 20 mi2 Nuclear testing from 1951-92.

Area 10 20 mi2 Nuclear testing from 1961-91 under

Plowshare Program.

Frenchman Flat test basin

Area 6 82 mi2 Nuclear testing from 1957-90.

Plutonium Vallcy test basin

Area 11 26 mi2 Includes some "Reserved Area."

Pahute Mesa

Area 19 150 mi2 Nuclear testing from mid-1960s - 1992.

Area 20 100 mi2 Nuclear testing from mid-1960s- 1992.

t
L4

Location Water Supply Comments Reference(s)

Source

HIGH-EXPLOSIVE TEST ZONE

Rainier Mcsa See Appendix B DOE (1996, pp. 4-10 - 4-17)

Area 12 40 mi 2

RESERVED AREA

Area 5 95 mi2 See Appendix B. DOE (1996, pp. 4-10 - 4-17)

Area II 26 mi2

Area 14 26 mi2

Area 15 37mi 1 Rehabilitated well UE-15d 3 underground tests conducted during DOE (1996, pp.4-10 - 4-17)

US. Environmental Protection (and 3 acre-fl reservoir). 1962-65.

Agentcy Bioenvironmental Experimental Farm

27-acre farm and dairy operated from Anonymous (1993, p. 26);

1964-81. 30 Holstein cows, 100 Hereford ERDA (1977, pp. 2-17,2-

beefcattle and otherhorses, pigs, goats, and 137); DOE(1996, p 4-15)

chickens raised on farm-grown forage and

vegetables. Site included 15 acres of - agricultural, plots, 2 acres of microplots,

and irrigated greenhouse. Elevation '4501

ft.

Area 17 31 mi2 Waterpond at Test Well 8 Small herds of beefcattle (75 to I00 head) ERDA (1977, pp. 2-135-2-

Animal Investigation Program (Timber Mountain Moat used for on-site radiological surveillance 137)

area*). a from 1955 through the 1970s. Elevation

5696 ft.

Area 18 9o mi2 See Appendix B. Site of 5 nuclear weapons tests (1962- 65) DOE (1996, pp. 4-10-4-17)

and Plowshare Program cratering tests.

Area 22 32 mi2 Pre-existing Las Vegas and ca. 1951-57. Anonymous (1993, pp. 2, 4);

Camp Desert Rock Tonopah Railroad wells. DOE (I 996, pp. 4-15 - 4-16)

Area 23 5 mi2 Wells 513 and SC 1951- present. DOE (1996, p. 4-16t)

Mercury (Frenchman Flats) and

Army Well I (Mercury

Valley).

Area 25 223 mi2 DOE (1996, pp. 4-10 - 4-17)

Nuclear Rocket Development Station (NRDS) Wells J-1 1, J.-12, and J.-13 Mid-1950s to 1972. Young (1972)

(Jackass Flats).
Location Water Supply Comments Reference(s)

Source

Rock Valley Study Area None. Controlled-study area selected in 1960 for DOE (1996, p. 4-17)

desert ecosystem studies.

Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Program WcllsJ-12 andJ-13 Early 1980s-present; potential geologic Young(1972); DOE(1988)

(Jackass Flats). repository for high-level radioactive waste.

Area 26 22 mi2 See Appendix B3. Project Pluto nuclear rarnjet tests. DOE (1 996, p. 4-17)

Area 29 62 mi2 See Appendix B.

Area 30 58 mi2 See Appendix B. Limited nuclear testing; site of 1968 DOE (1996, p. 4-17)

Operation Buggy as part of Plowshare

Program.

CRITICAL ASSEMBLY ZONE

Area 27 50 mir See Appendix B. DOE (1996, p. 4-17)

a. And possibly other areas in which there had been nuclear testing activities.

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1996.

Young, RA., "Water-supplyfor Nuclear Rocket Development Statiorat the

Atomic Energy Commission's Nevada Test Site," U.S. Geological Survey

Water-Supply Paper 1938, 1972.
APPENDIX B

SUMMARY OF WELL INFORMATION FOR NEVADA TEST SITE SERVICE AREAS

Adopted from DOE (1996, pp. 4-21 - 4-22, 4-133), unless otherwise noted.

I.

Well Location. Service Aquifer Water Well Static Water Pump Yield' Status

Area(s) Type Quality Depth Level Depth (gpm)

(ft) (ft) Setting (ft)

SERviCE AREA A

UE-19e Area 19 19, 20(?) Volcanic Not reported 6005" 2218b 2300" Inactive

UE-19c Area 19 19, 20 Volcanic Nonpotable 8489 359 Inactive

UE-19g-s Area 19 19, 20(7) Volcanic Not reported 75 06 b 2044" 2183b Inactive

UE-20a d Area 20 19,. 20 Volcanic Nonpotable 4500 b 2066 b 2302" 280 Active

SERVICE AREA B

Well 2 Area 2 2,4,7,9, 10 Carbonate Potable (with 3423b 2055b 2814b 169 Inactive

chlorination)

Well 8 Areas 18 and 2, 12. . Volcanic Potable 5490 1073 1228 399 Active

19

UE-lr Area I I Nonpotable Inactive

UE-lSd" Area 15 2,4, 7, 8, 9, Volcanic Potable (with 5940 668 1659 270 Inactive

10, 12, 15, chlorination) d

17,18

UE-16D Area 17 1 Carbonate Potable 3000 755 1083 193 Active
Well Location Service Aquifer Water Well Static Water Pump Yield' Status

Area(s) Type Quality Depth Level Depth (gpm)

(ft) (Mt) Setting

(ft)

SERVICE AREA C

Army Wel Area 22 22,23 Carbonate Potable (with 1946 690 9S 1 531 Active

No. I chlorination)d

Well 3 Area 6 3 Alluvial Nonpotable 1799 b 1595 b 1717 b none Inactive

Well 4 Area 6 6 Alluvial Potable 1479 941 1271 650 Active

Well 4a Area 6 6 Volcanic Potable 230 Active

Well 5A AreaS 27 Volcanic NonpotabIc 910b 707 b 781 b 90 Abandoned

Well SB Area 5 5,22, 23 Alluvial Potable 900 684 753 b 270 Active

Well 5C Area 5 5,22,23 Alluvial Potable 1187 693 693 325 Active

WellA Area3 3(?) Alluvial Potable (with 187 0b 16 14b 18 23 b 161' Inactive

chlorination) d

Well C Area5 3, 6 Carbonate Potable 1701 1544 1553 270 Active

Well Cl AreaS 3,6 Carbonate Potable 1707 1548 1591 280 Active

Well F Area 27 27 Nonpotable 238 Inactive

UE-5c ' Area 5 5 Alluvial Nonpotabic 349 Inactive

SERVICE AREA D

i-l Area 25 25 Volcanic Nonpotable 1432 1120 none Inactive

J-12 Area 25 25 Volcanic Potable 1139 798 d 822 817 Active

J-13 Area 25 25 Volcanic Potable 3755d g99d 1151 679 Active

a. Well yields calculated from controlled pump tests are typically within one order of magnitude of well drillers' estimates.

b. Claassen (1973).

c. DOE (1988, p.3-124).

d. Construction water and environmental sampling.

e. Young (1972).

b1)
References

Claassen, I.C., "Water Quality and Physical Characteristics of Nevada Test

Site Water Supply Wells," Lakewood, Colorado, U.S. Geological Survey,

USGS-474-158 [NTS-242], 1973.

U.S. Department of Energy, "Chapter 3. Hydrology," in "Site

Characterization Plan, Yucca Mountain Site, Nevada Research and

Development Area, Nevada," Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste

Management, DOE/RW-0199, Vol. I1, Part A, December 1988.

U.S. Department of Energy, "Final Environmental Impact Statement for the

Nevada Test Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada," Nevada

Operations Office, DOE/EIlS 0243, 3 vols. (and appendices), August 1996.

Young, R.A., "Water-supply for Nuclear Rocket Development Station at the

Atomic Energy Commission's Nevada Test Site," U.S. Geological Survey

Water-Supply Paper 1938, 1972.

tZ
NRC FORM 335 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 1. REPORT NUMBER

(9-2004) (Assigned by NRC. Add Vol.. Supp.. Rev.,

NRCMD 3.7 and Addendum Numbers, If any.)

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA SHEET

(See Instrnctions on the reverse) NUREG-1710, Volume 2

2. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 3. DATE REPORT PUBLISHED

History of Water Development at the Nevada Test Site: A Literature Review MONTH YEAR

Fe 2005

4. FIN OR GRANT NUMBER

5. AUTHOR(S) 6. TYPE OF REPORT

M.P. Lee and N.M. Coleman Technical

7. PERIOD COVERED (nclusive Dates)

8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION -NAMEAND ADDRESS (IfNRC. provide DMslen. OftrceorRegion U.S. NudearReguta.'oyCommissbn, andmalirg address; Icontreacic

provide name and maling address )

Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste Staff

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

9. SPONSORING ORGANIZATION- NAME AND ADDRESS (ff NRC, type Same as above'; 1fwntractor, provide NRC Diision. Office orRegon, U.S. NuclearReguiatoryCommisson. and maing address.)

Same as above.

10. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

11. ABSTRACT (200 words orless)

Historic accounts, geologic treatises, and other key literature sources were used to chronicle developments in the Nevada Test

Site (NTS) during the past 150 years. As was the case In the nearby Amargosa Desert, human activities in the area currently occupied by NTS were initially influenced by the location of cold springs. They provided Indigenous Native Americans with

drinking water. Later, as part of the Westem expansion, many of these same springs were relied on by Euro-American

pioneers as they crossed the continent. By the time NTS was engaged in activities related to the Nation's defense, it was

necessary to develop the available subsurface ground-water supplies, aided In part by Improved geologic knowledge of local

resources. The first well supporting this Infrastructure was Army Well No. 1. The 1253-foot well was completed in May 1956.

Today, 17 wells distributed among four service areas supply NTS water needs. Most were drilled in the mid-to-late 1950s or

early 1960s In Yucca Flat, Frenchman Flat, and Mercury Valley. Overall, the welded volcanic tuff aquifer Is only locally important (in Jackass Flats) whereas the lower carbonate aquifer serves other portions of NTS.

This report is the second volume In the NUREG-1 710 series.

12. KEY WORDS/DESCRIPTORS (List words orpfrases that wilassstresearciws h esating thVerepayt) 13. AVAILABTlY STATEMENT

ground water unlimited

mining 14. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Native Americans - (ThPage)

Nevada Test Site unclassified

springs (rhis Repo)

water resources unclassified

well drilling

Yucca Mountain . 15. NUMBER OF PAGES

16. PRICE

NRC FORMv 335 (9-2004) PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
II

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II

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I

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Federal Recycling Program
NUREG-1710, Vol. 2 HISTORY OF WATER DEVELOPMENT AT THE NEVADA TEST SITE: A FEBRUARY 2005

LITERATURE REVIEW

UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20555-0001

OFFICIAL BUSINESS