DOE/ID-22220

Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy

Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the 

Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5230
Cover: Photograph of basalt core (foreground) and U.S. Geological Survey drilling crew 

and drill rig at a drill site on the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho. Photograph taken by 

Brian V. Twining, Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey Idaho National Laboratory Project 

Office, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Completion Summary for Borehole 

USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor 

Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

By Brian V. Twining, Roy C. Bartholomay, and Mary K.V. Hodges

DOE/ID-22220

Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy

Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5230

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

KEN SALAZAR, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Marcia K. McNutt, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2012

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reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report.

Suggested citation:

Twining, B.V., Bartholomay, R.C, and Hodges, M.K.V., 2012, Completion summary for borehole USGS 136 near the 

Advanced Test Reactors Facility, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations 

Report 2012–5230 (DOE/ID-22220), 32 p., plus appendixes.
iii

Contents

Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................................1

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

Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................3

Geohydrologic Setting .........................................................................................................................3

Drilling and Borehole Construction Methodology....................................................................................6

USGS 136 Drilling Methods and Completion ....................................................................................6

Borehole USGS 136 Construction .....................................................................................................6

Geologic and Geophysical Data................................................................................................................11

Geology.................................................................................................................................................11

Geophysical Logs................................................................................................................................11

Natural Gamma Logs.................................................................................................................11

Caliper Logs ................................................................................................................................13

Neutron Logs ..............................................................................................................................13

Gamma-Gamma Dual Density Logs ........................................................................................13

Gyro Deviation Survey ..............................................................................................................15

Aquifer Test...................................................................................................................................................16

Aquifer-Test Procedures....................................................................................................................16

Analysis of Aquifer-Test Data ...........................................................................................................18

Hydraulic Property Estimates ...........................................................................................................20

Water-Sample Collection............................................................................................................................21

Sample Collection Methods..............................................................................................................21

Analytical Methods.............................................................................................................................25

Guidelines for Interpretation of Analytical Results ......................................................................25

Inorganic Chemistry Data.........................................................................................................25

Organic Chemistry Data............................................................................................................26

Stable Isotope Data...................................................................................................................26

Radiochemical Data ..................................................................................................................26

Summary........................................................................................................................................................27

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................27

Appendixes ...................................................................................................................................................31

Appendix A. Core Logs for Borehole USGS 136 (0–1,048 ft BLS) ................................................31

Appendix B. Borehole USGS 136 Geophysical Logs (480–1,048 ft BLS) ....................................31

Appendix C. Memorandum: Aquifer Test Borehole USGS 136 ..................................................31

Appendix D. Water-Chemistry Data................................................................................................31
iv

Figures

Figure 1. Map showing location of selected facilities and borehole USGS 136, Idaho

National Laboratory, Idaho ............................................................... 2

Figure 2. Map showing location of borehole USGS 136 and selected monitor wells,

Advanced Test Reactor Complex and vicinity, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho ... 3

Figure 3. Diagram and graphs showing idealized typical olivine tholeiite pahoehoe 

basalt flow.................................................................................... 4

Figure 4. Map showing water-table contours, measured March–May 2010, and monitor

wells at and near the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho .............................. 5

Figure 5. Diagram and photographs showing PQ-size coring system similar to one used 

for coring borehole USGS 136, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho..................... 7

Figure 6. Diagram showing final constructed borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor

Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho ............................................. 10

Figure 7. Geophysical and lithologic logs run from total depth to land surface 

for borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho ........................................................................... 12

Figure 8. Expanded geophysical and lithologic logs with focus on depths 485–560 feet 

below land surface for borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor

Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho ............................................. 14

Figure 9. Diagram of gyroscopic deviation data collected for borehole USGS 136, 

Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho ............... 15

Figure 10. Diagram showing idealized placement of sensors during aquifer testing at

borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho ........................................................................... 16

Figure 11. Graphs showing changes in compensated pressure head, fluid temperature,

barometric head, and air temperature through time during aquifer testing 

at borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho, August 31, 2011, through September 1, 2011 ..................... 17

Figure 12. Graph showing pumping rates during aquifer testing at borehole USGS 136,

Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, August 31,

2011, through September 1, 2011 ......................................................... 19

Figure 13. Plot showing relation between transmissivity and specific capacity as applied

to the aquifer test in borehole USGS 136 ................................................ 19

Figure 14. Graph showing analyses of drawdown time series for aquifer test at borehole 

USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho ... 20

Tables

Table 1. Summary of geophysical and video logs collected at borehole USGS 136,

Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho ............... 8

Table 2. Location and completion of well used in the aquifer tests ........................... 9

Table 3. Gyroscopic deviation survey summary from borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test

Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho.................................... 16

Table 4. Comparison of transmissivity values estimated from aquifer tests conducted at

wells within the vicinity of borehole USGS 136, near the Advanced Test Reactor

Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho ............................................. 21

Table 5. Concentrations of selected chemical and radiochemical constituents in water

from borehole USGS 136, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho ........................... 22
v

Conversion Factors, Datums, and Abbreviations and 

Acronyms

Conversion Factors

Multiply By To obtain

Length

inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm)

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

Area

square foot (ft2) 0.09290 square meter (m2)

Volume

ounce, fluid (fl. oz) 0.02957 liter (L) 

gallon (gal) 3.785 liter (L) 

cubic foot (ft3) 28.32 cubic decimeter (dm3) 

cubic foot (ft3) 0.02832 cubic meter (m3) 

liter (L) 33.82 ounce, fluid (fl. oz)

Flow rate

foot per day (ft/d) 0.3048 meter per day (m/d)

gallon per minute (gal/min) 0.06309 liter per second (L/s)

Pressure

atmosphere, standard (atm) 101.3 kilopascal (kPa)

pound per square inch (lb/in2) 6.895 kilopascal (kPa) 

Radioactivity

picocurie per liter (pCi/L) 0.037 becquerel per liter (Bq/L) 

Hydraulic conductivity

foot per day (ft/d) 0.3048 meter per day (m/d)

Hydraulic gradient

foot per mile (ft/mi) 0.1894 meter per kilometer (m/km)

Transmissivity*

foot squared per day (ft2/d) 0.09290 meter squared per day (m2/d) 

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

°F=(1.8×°C)+32.

Specific conductance is given in microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius (μS/cm at 

25 °C).

Concentrations of chemical constituents in water are given either in milligrams per liter (mg/L) 

or micrograms per liter (μg/L).

*Transmissivity: The standard unit for transmissivity is cubic foot per day per square foot times 

foot of aquifer thickness [(ft3/d)/ft2]ft. In this report, the mathematically reduced form, foot 

squared per day (ft2/d), is used for convenience.
vi

Datums

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 

(NGVD 29).

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27).

Altitude and hydraulic head, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviation or

acronym Definition

ATA Aquifer test archive

ATRC Advanced Test Reactor Complex

BEA Battelle Energy Alliance

BLS below land surface

CFA Central Facilities Area

DOE U.S. Department of Energy

ESRP eastern Snake River Plain

GWSI Groundwater site inventory

LRL Laboratory reporting level

INL Idaho National Laboratory

INTEC Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center

LT-MDL Long-term method detection level

MFC Materials and Fuels Complex

MRL Minimum reporting level

N Nitrogen

NOSAMS National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry

NWQL National Water Quality Laboratory (USGS)

P Phosphorus

PS Pipe size

RESL Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory (DOE)

RWMC Radioactive Waste Management Complex

SS Stainless Steel

s Sample standard deviation

TAN Test Area North

TRA Test Reactor Area

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

VOC Volatile organic compound

Conversion Factors, Datums, and Abbreviations and 

Acronyms—Continued
Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the 

Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho

By Brian V. Twining, Roy C. Bartholomay, and Mary K.V. Hodges

Abstract 

In 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with 

the U.S. Department of Energy, cored and completed borehole 

USGS 136 for stratigraphic framework analyses and long‐term 

groundwater monitoring of the eastern Snake River Plain 

aquifer at the Idaho National Laboratory. The borehole was 

initially cored to a depth of 1,048 feet (ft) below land surface 

(BLS) to collect core, open-borehole water samples, and 

geophysical data. After these data were collected, borehole 

USGS 136 was cemented and backfilled between 560 and 

1,048 ft BLS. The final construction of borehole USGS 136 

required that the borehole be reamed to allow for installation 

of 6-inch (in.) diameter carbon-steel casing and 5-in. diameter 

stainless-steel screen; the screened monitoring interval 

was completed between 500 and 551 ft BLS. A dedicated 

pump and water-level access line were placed to allow for 

aquifer testing, for collecting periodic water samples, and for 

measuring water levels. 

Geophysical and borehole video logs were collected 

after coring and after the completion of the monitor well. 

Geophysical logs were examined in conjunction with the 

borehole core to describe borehole lithology and to identify 

primary flow paths for groundwater, which occur in intervals 

of fractured and vesicular basalt. 

A single-well aquifer test was used to define hydraulic 

characteristics for borehole USGS 136 in the eastern Snake 

River Plain aquifer. Specific-capacity, transmissivity, and 

hydraulic conductivity from the aquifer test were at least 

975 gallons per minute per foot, 1.4 × 105 feet squared per 

day (ft2/d), and 254 feet per day, respectively. The amount 

of measureable drawdown during the aquifer test was about 

0.02 ft. The transmissivity for borehole USGS 136 was in 

the range of values determined from previous aquifer tests 

conducted in other wells near the Advanced Test Reactor 

Complex: 9.5 × 103 to 1.9 × 105 ft2/d. 

Water samples were analyzed for cations, anions, 

metals, nutrients, total organic carbon, volatile organic 

compounds, stable isotopes, and radionuclides. Water samples 

from borehole USGS 136 indicated that concentrations of 

tritium, sulfate, and chromium were affected by wastewater 

disposal practices at the Advanced Test Reactor Complex. 

Depth‐discrete groundwater samples were collected in the 

open borehole USGS 136 near 965, 710, and 573 ft BLS using 

a thief sampler; on the basis of selected constituents, deeper 

groundwater samples showed no influence from wastewater 

disposal at the Advanced Test Reactor Complex.

Introduction

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with 

the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has collected borehole 

information at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) since 

1949 to provide baseline data concerning the migration and 

disposition of radioactive and chemical wastes in the eastern 

Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer. The USGS identified the 

need for additional geohydrologic and corehole information 

near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex (ATRC) for 

evaluating numerical and stratigraphic framework models. 

Additionally, the INL groundwater monitoring plan update 

(U.S. Department of Energy, 2003) suggested the need for 

additional monitor wells (screened in the upper 50 ft of 

the aquifer) downgradient from the ATRC (fig. 1) to better 

monitor radiochemical and chemical waste discharged to 

infiltration ponds at the ATRC (Davis, 2010).

On October 27, 2010, the USGS INL Project Office 

began coring borehole USGS 136 (fig. 2). The USGS collected 

data and completed borehole USGS 136 in two stages. In 

the first stage, the borehole was cored continuously to a 

depth of 1,048 ft below land surface (BLS). Geophysical and 

water‐quality data were collected to that depth before the 

borehole was backfilled with cement and drill cuttings from 

about 560 to 1,048 ft BLS. In the second stage, the borehole 

was reamed in stages to the total completion depth of 560 ft 

BLS to allow for setting casing, annular seal, and well screen 

before a submersible pump was installed for long-term 

water‐quality monitoring. The final design for borehole USGS 

136 allows for sampling and aquifer testing of approximately 

50 ft of the ESRP aquifer, about 0.5 mi southwest of the 

ATRC. The final monitor well, including an aquifer test, was 

completed September 22, 2011. 
2 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

tac12-0774_fig01

Terreton

Mud

Lake

RWMC

CFA

NRF

INTEC

ATRC

MFC

TAN

Arco

Big

Lost River

Mud

Lake

Little

Lost

River

Birch

Creek

BITTERROOT

RANGE

Big Lost

River playas

and sinks

Birch Creek

sinks

Atomic

City

26 20

26

33

28

20

Howe

LEMHI

RANGE

LOST

RIVER

RANGE

RWMC

ATRC

INTEC

CFA

TAN

NRF

MFC

Well location and identifier USGS 136

Mountain ranges

Rhyolite domes

Approximate area of volcanic rift zones 

(VRZ) and axial volcanic zone

Approximate location of mountain

front

EXPLANATION

Advanced Test Reactor Complex

Central Facilities Area

Idaho Nuclear Technology and 

Engineering Center

Materials and Fuels Complex

Naval Reactors Facility

Radioactive Waste Management 

Complex

Test Area North 

Idaho National Laboratory facility 

and identifiers

113°

44°

112°30'

43°

30'

0 5 10 15 MILES

0 105 15 KILOMETERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:24,000 and 

1:100,000Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 12Datum 

is North American Datum of 1927

IDAHO

BOISE

Eastern 

Snake River

Idaho Plain

National

Laboratory

Twin

Falls

Pocatello

Idaho

Falls

USGS 136

See Figure 2

Middle

Butte

Spreading

areas

Big

Southern

Butte

East

Butte

IDAHO NATIONAL

LABORATORY

BOUNDARY

Figure 1. Location of selected facilities and borehole USGS 136, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho.
Introduction 3

tac12-0774_fig02

Big Lost River

LINCOLN BOULEVARD

Advanced

Test Reactor

Complex

Idaho Nuclear

Technology and

Engineering Center

Central

Facilities

Area

USGS 136

USGS 76

USGS 65

TRA Disposal

Well

MIDDLE-1823

USGS 58

SITE 19 MTR Test

EXPLANATION

Well location and identifier USGS 136

0 1 MILES

0 1 KILOMETERS

Figure 2. Location of borehole USGS 136 and selected monitor 

wells, Advanced Test Reactor Complex and vicinity, Idaho 

National Laboratory, Idaho.

Purpose and Scope

In 2011, the USGS, in cooperation with the DOE, 

cored and completed borehole USGS 136 for stratigraphic 

framework analyses and long-term groundwater monitoring of 

the ESRP aquifer. This report presents information collected 

during the drilling, completion, and water testing of borehole 

USGS 136, a new aquifer monitor well drilled south of the 

ATRC for downgradient monitoring of the facility. Drilling 

methods and construction of borehole USGS 136 are presented 

for the cored borehole drilled to 1,048 ft BLS and the final 

monitor-well construction completed near 551 ft BLS. General 

lithologic descriptions of the drill core to 1,048 ft BLS 

along with geophysical data from the land surface to 560 ft 

BLS are presented; additional geophysical data are included 

in an appendix. The results for a single-well aquifer test 

conducted in borehole USGS 136 are presented and analyzed. 

Results of a comprehensive suite of water samples collected 

after the well was completed and analyzed for inorganic, 

organic, stable isotopes, and radionuclide constituents are 

presented. Additionally, depth-discrete groundwater samples 

collected with a thief sampler near 965, 710, and 573 ft 

BLS are included in an appendix, and results from a routine 

water‐quality sample collected from the well after completion 

are provided for comparison. 

Geohydrologic Setting

The INL is in the west-central part of the ESRP (fig. 1). 

The ESRP is a northeast-trending structural basin about 

200 mi long and 50–70 mi wide. The ESRP was caused by 

the passage of the North American tectonic plate over the 

Yellowstone Hot Spot (Pierce and Morgan, 1992). The ESRP 

is subject to continuing basaltic volcanism and subsidence, 

because disruption to the crust resulted in increased heat flow 

(Blackwell and others, 1992) and emplacement of a dense, 

mid-crustal sill (Shervais and others, 2006). The subsiding 

ESRP basin was filled with interbedded terrestrial sediments 

and Pleistocene to late Pliocene basalt, 0.6 to 1.2 mi thick 

(Whitehead, 1992). The basaltic rocks and sedimentary 

deposits make up the ESRP aquifer.

The ESRP is composed mostly of olivine tholeiite basalt 

flows, which erupted as tube-fed, inflated, pahoehoe flows that 

make up more than 85 percent of the subsurface volume of the 

ESRP at the INL (Anderson and Liszewski, 1997). A diagram 

of a lobe of a tube-fed pahoehoe ESRP basalt flow, showing 

cooling fractures that develop perpendicular to the exterior 

surfaces, vesicle zones and sheets, pipe vesicles, interior 

mega vesicles, and a diktytaxitic to massive core, is presented 

in figure 3. The distribution of basalt flows is controlled by 

topography, rate of effusion, and duration of eruption. Nearvent flows are thinner than distal flows, and accumulations 

of thin flows have a larger volume of high conductivity 

zones than the same volume of thick flows (Anderson and 

others, 1999). 

The part of the Snake River Plain aquifer that underlies 

the ESRP is one of the most productive aquifers in the United 

States (U.S. Geological Survey, 1985, p. 193). Groundwater 

in the ESRP aquifer generally moves from northeast to 

southwest, eventually discharging to springs along the Snake 

River downstream from Twin Falls, Idaho—about 100 mi 

southwest of the INL (Whitehead, 1992). Water moves 

through basalt fracture zones at the tops, bases, and sides 

of basalt flows. Infiltration of surface water, groundwater 

pumping, geologic conditions, and seasonal fluxes of recharge 

and discharge locally affect the movement of groundwater 

(Garabedian, 1986). Recharge to the ESRP aquifer is primarily 

from infiltration of applied irrigation water, streamflow, 

precipitation, and groundwater inflow from adjoining 

mountain drainage basins (Ackerman and others, 2006). 
4 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Across the INL, the March 2010 altitude of the water 

table ranges from about 4,560 to 4,390 ft (fig. 4); at borehole 

USGS 136, the altitude of the water table is about 4,447 ft. 

Depth to water ranges from about 200 ft BLS in the northern 

part of the INL to more than 900 ft BLS in the southeastern 

part; depth to water near the ATRC is about 490 ft BLS. 

A major portion of the groundwater moves through the 

upper 200–800 ft of basaltic rocks (Mann, 1986, p. 21). 

The estimated transmissivity for the upper part of the ESRP 

aquifer is 1.1 to 760,000 ft2/d reported by Ackerman (1991, 

p. 30) and Bartholomay and others (1997, table 3). The 

hydraulic gradient at the INL ranges from 2 to 10 ft/mi; the 

average is about 4 ft/mi (Davis, 2010, fig. 9). Horizontal flow 

velocities of 2 to 20 ft/d have been calculated on the basis of 

the movement of various chemical/radiochemical constituents 

in different areas of the ESRP aquifer at the INL (Robertson 

and others, 1974; Mann and Beasley, 1994; Cecil and others, 

2000; Busenberg and others, 2001). These flow rates equate to 

a travel time of about 70–700 years for water beneath the INL 

to travel to springs that discharge at the terminus of the ESRP 

aquifer near Twin Falls, Idaho (fig. 1). Localized tracer tests 

at the INL have shown vertical and horizontal transport rates 

as high as 60 to 150 ft/d (Nimmo and others, 2002; Duke and 

others, 2007).

tac12-0774_fig03

Pahoehoe

lobe surface

Unfractured

Highly

fractured

0 1 2 3

Fracture frequency Vesicle characteristics

Fractured

upper crust

(most

conductive)

Diktytaxitic

to massive

interior

(least

conductive)

Lower crust

(moderately

conductive)

Fracture

Mega vesicle

Vesicle cylinder

Pipe vesicle

Vesicle sheet

Vesicle zone

Vesicle zone

Vesicle zone

Vesicle zone

0 40

Percent volume

0 1 2 3

Vesicle Mean diameter, in inches

4 20

Figure 3. Idealized typical olivine tholeiite pahoehoe basalt flow (modified from Self and others, 1998, fig. 3, p. 

90). The basalt flow is divided into three sections on the basis of vesicle characteristics and fracture frequency. 

Hydraulic conductivity is highest for the fractured upper crust, moderate for the lower crust, and lowest for the 

diktytaxitic to massive interior. The photograph of the pahoehoe lobe surface is courtesy of Scott Hughes, Emeritus 

Professor, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho.
Introduction 5

Figure 4. Water-table contours, measured March–May 2010, and monitor wells at and near the Idaho National Laboratory, 

Idaho.

tac12-0774_fig04

Mud

Lake

Big

Lost

River

Little

Lost

River

Birch

Creek

Camas

Creek

Big 

Southern

Butte

Middle

Butte

BITTERROOT

RANGE

LEMHI RANGE

LOST RIVER RANGE

IDAHO NATIONAL 

LABORATORY BOUNDARY

33

26

26

20

20

Atomic

City

Howe

Arco

Mud

Lake Terreton

SPREADING

AREAS

East

Butte

Big Lost River

playas and sinks

4,390

4,400 4,410

4,420

4,430

4,440

4,450

4,460

4,470

4,480

4,490

4,500

4,510

4,520

4,520

4,530

4,540

4,550

4,560 4550

4560

USGS

136

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:24,000 and 1:100,000

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection, standard parallels 42°50’N, 44°10’N; 

central meridian 113°00’W; North American Datum of 1927.

113°15’ 113°00’ 45’

44°

00’

43°

30’

45’

112°30’

EXPLANATION

4,400

Interpolated water levels—in feet above mean sea level and based on National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929

Well USGS 136

Well in the U.S. Geological Survey water-level 

monitoring network at which water level was

measured

4,380 4,400 4,420 4,440 4,460 4,480 4,500 4,520 4,540 4,560

Water-table contour—Shows altitude of 

the water table, March−May 2010. 

Contour intervals are 10 feet. Datum is 

National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 

1929.

0 5 10 MILES

0 5 10 KILOMETERS
6 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Drilling and Borehole 

Construction Methodology

The USGS determined the location and final design 

of borehole USGS 136 in discussion with DOE and the 

INL contractor Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA). Drilling, 

well construction, and hydraulic testing by the USGS 

INL Project Office took place between October 27, 2010, 

and September 22, 2011. All activities were performed in 

accordance with the USGS INL Site Safety Plan and the INL 

Environmental Checklist (INL-10-063); additionally, the 

USGS performed and documented regular safety inspections 

and safety briefings. 

Prior to drilling startup, all drill rods, casing components, 

screen(s), pump, and drilling equipment were cleaned using a 

Hotsy® HSS-80389E diesel pressure washer. Protective tarps 

were placed under the drill rig, and equipment was checked on 

a daily basis for signs of hydraulic leaks. No reportable spills 

occurred while drilling at this location.

USGS 136 Drilling Methods and Completion

Borehole USGS 136 was continuously cored using 

a ChristensenTM CS 1500 rotary drilling rig and PQ- and 

HQ-size coring systems, where PQ refers to core rod sizing 

(pipe size about 4.6-in. outside diameter and drill-bit size 

about 4.8 in.) and HQ refers to core rod sizing (pipe size 

about 3.5-in. outside diameter and drill-bit size about 3.8 in.). 

The coring system uses CrisdrillTM and diamond drill bit(s), 

core catchers, and latch assembly (fig. 5). Core was retrieved 

in 5- and 10-ft sections using a four-part wireline latching 

mechanism (quadlatch) at the top of the core-barrel assembly. 

After removal from the borehole, core was marked for 

vertical direction and depth in the field before boxing. Cores 

were photographed and archived at the INL Lithologic Core 

Storage Library (Davis and others, 1997), which is operated 

by the USGS INL Project Office at the Central Facilities Area 

(CFA) (fig. 1).

On October 28, 2010, surface casing was driven using 

a casing driver mounted to a MOBILETM-B80 drill rig; a 

hydraulically operated downhole hammer was used to advance 

the 10-in. surface casing through surficial alluvium to about 

48 ft BLS. Reaming, setting steel casing, and setting well 

screen were performed using a GEFCOTM SD-300 drill rig; 

tri-cone drill bits were used to enlarge (ream) sections of the 

borehole prior to setting the casing and screen. 

Drilling fluids included water and pressurized air 

supplied using a SullairTM diesel air compressor. Air and water 

mist were supplied continuously during coring and reaming of 

borehole USGS 136 to cool the bit face and to evacuate drill 

cuttings. Water used for drilling was transported from well 

MTR Test using a water truck with a capacity of 3,000 gal; 

approximately 7,500 gal of water was consumed for coring 

and reaming. Groundwater from well MTR Test was used 

because the well is close to borehole USGS 136 (fig. 2) but 

upgradient from the ATRC; it was believed that the water 

chemistry of the drill water was not affected by recent ATRC 

wastewater disposal. During drilling, the rate of water usage 

ranged from 2 to 7 gal/min, and air pressures ranged from 

90 to 350 lb/in2. 

The annular space in the 7.9-in. diameter borehole 

between the 6-in. casing and the borehole wall was sealed 

by pressure grouting a Portland Type II cement/bentonite 

mixture (about 5 percent bentonite) down the annular space 

using 1-in. diameter tremmie pipe. The mixture of cement 

and bentonite was mixed at the job site and pumped down the 

annular space until the cement/bentonite mixture reached land 

surface. Approximately 45 ft3 of the cement/bentonite mixture 

were used to seal the annular space from land surface to about 

486 ft BLS.

Borehole USGS 136 Construction 

Borehole USGS 136 was PQ-cored from 48 to 563 ft 

BLS and HQ-cored from 563 to 1,048 ft BLS. Before coring, 

10-in. diameter carbon-steel surface casing was set through 

48 ft of surficial sediment that included calcified gravel and 

sand layers. Calcite-cemented sediment made setting surface 

casing difficult; therefore, compressed air was introduced to 

blow cuttings while simultaneously driving the casing. 

Starting November 2, 2010, borehole USGS 136 was 

drilled and PQ-cored from 48 to 364 ft BLS. A winter storm 

with drifting snow and sub-zero temperatures made road and 

equipment access difficult, so drilling and coring were halted 

after November 18, 2010. Equipment was removed from the 

drill site, and the borehole was secured for about 5 months. 

Drilling and coring were resumed after April 12, 2011, 

and continued through April 19, 2011. PQ-size core was 

obtained from 364 to 563 ft BLS. From April 20, 2011, 

through May 5, 2011, HQ-size core was obtained from 563 to 

1,048 ft BLS. Drilling and coring were halted at 1,048 ft BLS, 

about 5 ft into a sediment layer consisting of silt and clay. This 

silt and clay layer is also found in borehole MIDDLE-1823 

(fig. 2), which is less than 1 mi south of borehole USGS 136. 

Neutron, temperature logs, and core collected from borehole 

MIDDLE-1823 indicate the bottom of the ESRP aquifer to 

be near 1,030 ft BLS (Helm-Clark and others, 2005). For 

the purpose of hydraulic testing in borehole USGS 136, the 

sediment layer near 1,043 ft BLS represents the base of the 

ESRP aquifer. 

Geophysical logs of USGS 136 were collected through 

steel drill pipe on May 5, 2011; open-hole logs were collected 

for several days starting May 11, 2011 (table 1). Details of 

the geophysical logging operations are provided in table 1

and in the section “Geologic and Geophysical Data.” 
Drilling and Borehole Construction Methodology 7

tac12-0774_fig05

A. Quadlatch assembly

B. Core catcher with inner barrel

C. Core bit

Quadlatch

finger

Pivot

bearing

Bearing

assembly

Inner core

barrel

Core bit

Tension

spring

Outer core

barrel

Check ball

Core 

catcher

PQ drill rod

Inner barrel

Core catcher

Drill Rod

Modified from Christensen(TM) product brochure, 1997.

Figure 5. PQ-size coring system similar to one used for coring borehole USGS 136, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho.
8 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Borehole video logs were collected during the removal of the 

drill pipe to identify obstructions in the borehole. Analysis 

of geophysical log data, core material, and drilling notes 

indicated the location of unstable layers in the aquifer (zones 

that have the potential to collapse); neutron log traces were 

used to confirm zones of increased porosity for collection of 

groundwater samples. 

Depth-discrete groundwater thief samples were collected 

within the open borehole on May 10, 2011. To prevent 

borehole collapse and to limit mixing with the upper parts of 

the aquifer, drill pipe was positioned just below unstable zones 

near 950, 690, and 460 ft BLS; depth-discrete groundwater 

thief samples were collected from 965, 710, and 573 ft 

BLS, respectively. Therefore, analytical results of the water 

chemistry may represent mixing within the aquifer from the 

location where the rods were set to the bottom of the hole. No 

efforts were made to purge water from the borehole prior to 

sample collection. After logging and sampling, the borehole 

was backfilled with a mixture of cement and drill cuttings 

from about 560 to 1,048 ft BLS on May 16, 2011.

Table 1. Summary of geophysical and video logs collected at borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho.

[Geophysical data presented in this report were taken from one or more of the following logging tools listed below. Log type: Description of geophysical log 

trace presented. Logging tool identifier: CenturyTM tool number as referenced on web site http://www.century-geo.com/; B&W Cam, black and white camera. 

Depth: Refers to logging depths that data were collected; ft BLS, feet below land surface. Hole condition: Open, refers to logging without casing; Cased, 

specifies that casing was present when logging; Screened, specifies that well screen was present during logging. Log direction: Logs generally were run from 

total depth to land surface. Comments: Explanations where needed. Abbreviations: ft, foot; ft/min, foot per minute; gal/min, gallon per minute; in., inch. NA, 

not applicable]

U.S. Geological Survey geophysical logging files

Log type Logging tool 

identifier

Depth (ft BLS)

Date Hole 

condition

Log 

direction

Logging tool 

uncertainty Comments

Top Bottom

Natural gamma 9057A 0 1,044 05-05-11 Cased Down ±5 percent Run after coring, casing set on bottom

Caliper 9065A 455 731 05-11-11 Cased/Open Up ±0.15 in. Run after coring, casing set near 

480 ft BLS

9065A 709 1,046 05-12-11 Cased/Open Up ±0.15 in. Run after coring, casing set near 

727 ft BLS

Neutron 9057A 0 1,043 05-05-11 Cased Down ±5 percent Run after coring, casing set on bottom

Normal resistivity and 

spontaneous potential

9057A 460 730 05-11-11 Open Down ±5 percent Casing set near 480 ft BLS—see 

appendix B

9057A 0 1,046 05-11-11 Open Down ±5 percent Casing set near 727 ft BLS—see 

appendix B

Gamma-gamma density 0024A 0 1,043 05-05-11 Cased Up ±5 percent Run after coring, casing set on bottom

Temperature and 

specific conductance

9042A 0 730 05-11-11 Cased/Open Down ±5 percent Casing set near 480 ft BLS—see 

appendix B

9042A 0 1,045 05-11-11 Cased/Open Down ±5 percent Casing set near 727 ft BLS—see 

appendix B

Gyro deviation 9095 0 1,032 05-05-11 Cased Down NA Run after coring, casing set on bottom

9095 0 1,032 05-05-11 Cased Up NA Run after coring, casing set on bottom

Electromagnetic flow (EM) 

meter

9741 736 1,038 05-16-11 Open Down ±0.005 gal/min Ambient log run trolling down 

10 ft/min—see appendix B

9741 736 1,038 05-16-11 Open Up ±0.005 gal/min Ambient log run trolling up 

10 ft/min—see appendix B

9741 736 1,037 05-16-11 Open Stations ±0.005 gal/min Ambient log station measurements—

see appendix B

9741 489 550 09-08-11 Screened Stations ±0.005 gal/min Ambient log station measurements—

see appendix B

Borehole video B&W Cam 480 727 05-10-11 Open Down NA Run after coring, casing set near 

480 ft BLS

B&W Cam 729 1,044 05-11-11 Open Down NA Run after coring, casing set near 

727 ft BLS

R-2000 0 551 08-24-11 Cased/Open Down NA Installed 6 in. casing—no screen

R-2000 0 551 09-08-11 Cased Down NA Installed 6 in. casing and screen
Drilling and Borehole Construction Methodology 9

Starting May 17, 2011, the drill pipe was removed from 

borehole USGS 136, and the borehole was reamed from 48 to 

486 ft BLS using a 7.8-in. diameter tri-cone bit. Reaming 

to 486 ft BLS was completed on August 10, 2011, and 6-in. 

diameter carbon-steel casing was placed near the bottom of 

the reamed hole. The annular space in the 7.9-in. diameter 

borehole between the 6-in. casing and the borehole wall was 

sealed by pressure grouting a cement/bentonite mixture on 

August 15, 2011. The annular seal was allowed to cure for 

about 1 week before reaming into the aquifer. 

A 6-in. diameter tungsten and carbide tri-cone drill bit 

was used to ream borehole USGS 136 from 486 to 551 ft BLS 

on August 23, 2011. On August 24, 2011, after removing the 

drill bit and drill rods, a borehole video was recorded between 

486 and 551 ft BLS to confirm that the reamed borehole 

section was clear from obstructions prior to setting well 

screen. A 5-in. diameter wire-wrap stainless steel (SS) screen 

was placed in borehole USGS 136 on August 24, 2011 (fig. 6). 

Drill rod was used to lower the screen assembly to the bottom 

of the borehole on a reverse threaded casing adapter. After the 

drill rod was removed, a final borehole video was recorded to 

examine the condition of the casing and screen.

A temporary pump, discharge line, and water-level 

measuring line were set to run a 24-hour aquifer test starting 

August 31, 2011. After the results of the aquifer test were 

examined, the temporary pump and measurement line were 

removed. The temporary submersible pump was used to 

evacuate drill cuttings and purge the well prior to setting the 

final submersible pump. 

The final submersible pump, pump wire, discharge line, 

and water-level measurement line included a GrundfosTM 

5-horsepower SS submersible pump, 4-wire (7 gauge) pump 

wire, 1.25-in. SS discharge line, and 1-in. SS water-level line 

placed September 22, 2011 (fig. 6). The submersible pump 

intake was set near 528 ft BLS, and the 1-in. measuring line 

was capped at about 520 ft BLS; the top of the ESRP aquifer 

was measured near 488 ft BLS. 

The configuration of the completed monitor well 

(fig. 6 and table 2) includes (1) 10-in. diameter steel casing 

extending from 1 ft above land surface to 48 ft BLS; (2) 6-in. 

diameter steel casing extending from 2 ft above land surface 

to 486 ft BLS; (3) figure k-packer with 6-in. diameter rubber 

sealing wipers by 5-in. diameter pipe size from 439 to 440 ft 

BLS; (4) 5-in. diameter PS 304 SS casing blank extending 

from 440 to 500 ft BLS; and (5) 5-in. diameter PS 304 SS 

wire‐wrap well screen (20-slot) equipped with a screen bottom 

cap extending from 500 to 551 ft BLS (fig. 6). Below 551 ft, 

drill cuttings prevent the screen from moving deeper. 

Surface completion consisted of a 4-ft diameter concrete 

pad complete with a brass survey marker, steel impingement 

guard posts around the well, and a locking wellhead. Drilling 

equipment was demobilized September 22, 2011.

Table 2. Location and completion of well used in the aquifer tests.

[Local name: Local well identifier used in this study. Location of well is shown in figure 1. Site identifier: Unique numerical 

identifier used to access well data (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis). Aquifer thickness: Aquifer base estimated from 

MIDDLE-1823 (Helm-Clark and others, 2005). BLS, below land surface; NAD 27, North American Datum of 1927; NGVD 29, 

National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929. ft, feet; in., inch]

Local name USGS 136

Site identifier 433447112581501

Longitude 112°58'12.0" (NAD 27)

Latitude 43°34'47.7" (NAD 27)

Measurement point elevation 4935.0 ft (NGVD 29)

Aquifer thickness 550 ft, estimated distance between top of aquifer (near 490 ft BLS) and 

estimated aquifer base (near 1,040 ft BLS)

Drilled borehole depth 1,048 ft BLS

Completion depth 551 ft BLS

Borehole diameter (485–551 ft BLS) 6.25 in. 

Well screen diameter 5 in.

Well screen slot size 20-slot (0.020-in. openings)

Top of screen 500 ft BLS

Bottom of screen 550 ft BLS

Depth to water 488.17 ft BLS, measured August 31, 2011, at 10:27 a.m. prepumping
10 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

tac12-0774_fig06

USGS 136

Site identifier: 433447112581501

Water Level - 488.17 ft BLS

(measured 08-31-2011 @ 10:27 a.m.)

6-in. diameter carbon steel casing

(+ 2–486 ft BLS)

10-in. diameter carbon-steel casing

(+1–48 ft BLS)

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

 7.8-in. diameter borehole

(48–486 ft BLS)

Portland Type II cement and bentonite

(0–486 ft BLS)

Borehole completion 

depth: 551 ft BLS Screen Cap: 550–551 ft BLS

5-horsepower pump (525–530 ft BLS)

Pump Type: Grundfos 25S50-26

1.25-in. diameter stainless steel 

discharge line set near 525 ft BLS

1-in. diameter stainless steel waterlevel access line set near 520 ft BLS

6-in. diameter figure k-packer by 5-inch pipe

(439–440 ft BLS)

5-in. diameter PS 304 stainless-steel screen blank

(440–500 ft BLS)

5-in. diameter PS 304 stainless steel 20-slot screen

(500–550 ft BLS)

Depth, in feet

below land

surface Concrete pad w/USGS marker

Locking well head

500

550

600

Note: ft BLS - feet below land surface

Figure 6. Final constructed borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho.
Geologic and Geophysical Data 11

Geologic and Geophysical Data

Geologic and geophysical data were collected from core 

material and geophysical logs. Core material from borehole 

USGS 136 was photographed and described to provide 

detailed lithologic descriptions from 48 to 1,048 ft BLS. 

Geophysical data were collected from land surface to 1,048 ft 

BLS; select geophysical logs are presented from land surface 

to 560 ft BLS, which were used to provide data for the final 

borehole construction and aquifer test. Core photographs 

and lithologic logs are presented in appendix A. Additional 

geophysical data, not described below but included in table 1, 

are presented in appendix B and include a composite of 

geophysical log traces extending from 485 to 1,040 ft BLS. 

Geologic contacts were taken from geophysical traces 

and reported in feet BLS. Missing intervals and sediment 

zones not recovered, along with human error marking the core 

depths correctly, may cause discrepancies in the location of 

geologic contacts on core material; geophysical traces provide 

a continuous unbiased log that better represents the location of 

geologic contacts. 

Borehole geophysical logs included natural gamma, 

neutron, gamma-gamma dual density, and caliper log traces. 

Gyro deviation surveys were run from 0 to 1,040 ft BLS to 

determine the direction and magnitude of borehole deviation. 

Several borehole video logs were recorded to look at the 

condition of the drilled borehole and final monitor well. 

Geophysical data were displayed using WellCADTM software 

and were used to describe geologic and hydrologic features. 

Raw geophysical data are available upon request through the 

USGS INL Project Office.

Geology

The sparsely vegetated surface at borehole USGS 136 

is underlain by 48 ft of surficial sediment. Geoprobe® cores 

were collected to the point of refusal in plastic liner sleeves 

down to about 25 ft BLS (Geoprobe® cores were not logged 

for this report, but were collected within a 30 ft radius of 

borehole USGS 136 and are available for inspection at the INL 

Lithologic Core Storage Library). Sediment descriptions were 

from Geoprobe® cores, driller notes, and sediment returns 

observed while driving 10-in. diameter surface casing to the 

top of the first basalt contact. Surficial materials consisted of 

(1) loess exposed at the surface; (2) about 39 ft of sand, gravel, 

and cobble material from about 5 to 44 ft BLS; and (3) about 

4 ft of fine sand mixed with silt and clay just above the upper 

basalt contact at about 44 to 48 ft BLS. 

Excluding surficial sediment, seven sediment layers 

were described from 48 to 551 ft BLS in borehole USGS 

136; where core material was not recovered, sediment layers 

were described from examination of geophysical and video 

logs. Sediment-layer boundary depths were reported near 96, 

159, 189, 210, 253, 329, and 503 ft BLS. Borehole USGS 

136 sediment, including surficial sediment, makes up about 

15 percent of the unsaturated zone by volume (0 to 488 ft 

BLS). Composition of the sediment layer ranged in grain 

size from fine silt to coarse sand. In the completed borehole 

USGS 136 (0 to 551 ft BLS), excluding surficial sediment, the 

thickness of the sediment layer ranged from 1 to 22 ft. 

On the basis of a visual inspection of core and 

geophysical data, about 25 basalt flows were observed from 

48 to 551 ft BLS (appendix A). In the completed borehole 

USGS 136 (0 to 551 ft BLS), Quaternary olivine tholeiite 

basalt flows ranged in thickness from 1 to 75 ft (average 

18 ft) and varied from highly fractured to dense, with high to 

low vesiculation and aphanitic to fine-grained texture. The 

basalt is mostly medium to dark gray in color. Detailed core 

descriptions and photographs, from 48 ft to 1,048 ft BLS, are 

included in appendix A. 

Geophysical Logs

Wireline geophysical logs were run after completion 

of coring and during construction of borehole USGS 136. 

Geophysical data were collected using Century Geophysical 

CorporationTM logging equipment, and the resulting data 

files were processed using WellCADTM analytical software. 

Borehole video log(s) were recorded using one of two 

cameras: a Laval Underground SurveysTM black and 

white camera or a Laval Underground SurveysTM R-2000 

downhole color camera system. USGS INL Project Office 

calibrates geophysical logging equipment annually using 

modified procedures established by CenturyTM Geophysical 

Corporation; tool uncertainty is specified in table 1.

Natural gamma, caliper, neutron, gamma-gamma 

dual density, gyro deviation, and borehole video logs were 

collected during various drilling stages at borehole USGS 136 

(table 1). A composite of natural gamma, caliper, neutron, and 

gamma-gamma dual density logs and general lithology from 

land surface to 560 ft BLS is shown in figure 7. 

Natural Gamma Logs

Natural gamma logs record gamma radiation emitted by 

naturally occurring radioisotopes. The USGS uses these logs 

at the INL to identify sedimentary layers in boreholes and to 

distinguish between basalt flows that display different amounts 

of potassium-40. The natural gamma detector measures total 

gamma radiation without distinguishing between individual 

contributions of the various isotopes. 

Natural gamma logs were collected after coring on 

May 5, 2011, and displayed for the interval 0 to 560 ft BLS 
12 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

tac12-0774_fig07

Description

Surficial sediment: About 8 feet of loess with sand to 

cobble-size particles from about 8 to 44 ft BLS. Goes into 

fine sand and silt/clay layer just above upper basalt 

contact near 48 ft BLS.

Olivine tholeiite basalt – alternating fractured and dense. 

Texture described as mostly aphanitic, vesicular, massive, 

and diktytaxitic basalt.

Sediment layer – sandy sediment with some fine material. 

Top of sediment layer near 96 ft BLS.

Olivine tholeiite basalt – alternating fractured and dense. 

Texture described as mostly aphanitic, vesicular, massive, 

and diktytaxitic basalt.

Sediment layer – fine-grained silty clay with sand. Top of 

sediment layer near 159 ft BLS.

Olivine tholeiite basalt. Texture described as mostly 

aphanitic and vesicular basalt.

Sediment layer – fine-grained brown/orange silty clay with 

sand. Top of sediment layer near 189 ft BLS.

Olivine tholeiite basalt - alternating fractured and dense. 

Texture described as mostly aphanitic, vesicular, 

diktytaxitic basalt.

Sediment layer - fine-grained brown silty sand. Top of 

sediment layer near 210 ft BLS. 

Olivine tholeiite basalt – mostly dense basalt. Texture 

described as mostly medium-grained phaneritic, aphanitic, 

vesicular, diktytaxitic basalt.

Sediment layer – not recovered. Top of sediment layer 

near 253 ft BLS. 

Olivine tholeiite basalt – appears to be one large basalt 

flow. Texture described as mostly aphanitic, diktytaxitic 

basalt.

Sediment layer – red fine-grained sand. Top of sediment 

layer near 329 ft BLS. 

Olivine tholeiite basalt – alternating fractured and dense. 

Texture described as mostly aphanitic, vesicular, massive, 

diktytaxitic basalt. 

Sediment layer – mostly fine-grained, reddish-orange in 

color. Top of sediment layer near 503 ft BLS.

Olivine tholeiite basalt – alternating fractured and dense. 

Texture described as mostly aphanitic, vesicular, massive, 

diktytaxitic basalt. 

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

0

Units

USGS 136 Lithology

Depth below land surface, in feet

EXPLANATION

Gam(Nat)

0 150API in. in.

Natural

gamma

Neutron

0 API-N 3,600

Por(Neu)

0 Percent 100

Neutron

Den(SS)

50,000 160,000

Den(LS)

0 75,000Cps

Cps

Gamma

Cal(L) Cal(R)

57 5 7

Caliper

Definition of terms

API - American Petroleum 

Institute

BLS - below land surface

Cal(L) - left-side caliper

Cal(R) - right-side caliper

Cps - counts per second

Den(SS) - short-spaced 

density

Den(LS) - long-spaced 

density

ft - feet

Gam(Nat) - natural gamma 

radiation

in. - inches

Neutron - hydrogen index

Por(Neu) - liquid-filled 

porosity

Figure 7. Geophysical and lithologic logs run from total depth to land surface for borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test 

Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho. 
Geologic and Geophysical Data 13

(fig. 7). The log trace depicts a 48-ft surficial sediment layer 

and confirms the tops of six sediment-layer contacts near 96, 

159, 189, 210, 253, and 329 ft BLS. One sediment layer near 

503 ft BLS was not depicted in the natural gamma traces, 

but it was described in the core lithologic log from small 

amounts of sediments in the overlying and underlying basalt 

core. Because there was little or no natural gamma response 

at or near this depth, the sediment on the basalt core at this 

depth may have been deposited there during drilling and 

does not represent an actual stratigraphic layer. Alternatively, 

the sediment may contain very little radiogenic material, 

making it indistinguishable from the basalt above and below 

it (appendix A). The thickness of the sediment layers ranged 

from about 1 to 22 ft. 

Caliper Logs

The caliper tool makes a continuous log of the drill-hole 

diameter by using three extendable, spring-loaded arms that 

press against the sides of the borehole and detect changes 

in the diameter as the tool is brought up from the bottom of 

the borehole. The caliper tool can detect changes in borehole 

diameter greater than or equal to 0.15 in.

Open-hole caliper logs were collected after coring on 

May 11, 2011, and were displayed between 485 and 560 ft 

BLS (fig. 8); emphasis was placed on the screened interval 

500 to 551 ft BLS. Caliper logs were used to confirm the 

presence of fractured and (or) vesicular basalt areas; fractured 

and (or) vesicular zones correlate with elevated neutron 

porosity traces. Dense, fractured, and sediment zones make 

up about 60, 38, and 2 percent, respectively, of the lithology 

within the screened interval (500 and 551 ft BLS) in borehole 

USGS 136. Groundwater flow is expected to occur more 

readily in the zones identified as either fractured and (or) 

vesicular basalt.

Neutron Logs

Neutron measurements are a general indicator of 

hydrogen content; when they are combined with natural 

gamma logs for sediment location, they can be used to identify 

perched water zones in the unsaturated zone. The neutron 

log records the continuous measurement of the induced 

radiation produced by bombarding surrounding media (casing, 

formation, and fluid) with fast neutrons (energies greater than 

105 electron volts (eV)) from a sealed neutron source, which 

collide with surrounding atomic nuclei until they are captured 

(Keys, 1990, section 5, p. 95). The neutron tool used by the 

USGS INL Project Office has an americium/beryllium neutron 

source and a Helium-3 detector that counts slow (thermal) 

neutrons (those that have energies less than 0.025 eV). 

Neutron logs were run through casing on May 5, 2011, 

and displayed for the interval 0 to 560 ft BLS (fig. 7). Review 

of the neutron trace revealed no evidence of perched water 

in the unsaturated zone (land surface to about 488 ft BLS). 

Neutron logs, examined for the section of aquifer extending 

from about 488 to 560 ft BLS, were used to identify areas 

of high and low hydrogen content in borehole USGS 136 

(fig. 8). A vertical gradient, ranging from red (higher hydrogen 

content) to white (lower hydrogen content), was applied using 

WellCADTM software to estimate areas containing fractured 

and (or) vesicular basalt. The neutron log shows good 

agreement with the drill-core lithology log (fig. 8, appendix B) 

once depths were adjusted vertically down about 3 ft because 

of discrepancies between core depth and geophysical data 

depth. Areas of low hydrogen content correlate with areas 

of dense and massive basalt, and areas of high hydrogen 

content correlate with areas of fractured and vesicular basalt. 

On the basis of basalt-hydrogen correlations, neutron logs 

show evidence for fractured and vesicular basalt, indicative of 

more productive water-producing zones, within the screened 

intervals from 504 to 506, 513 to 518, 523 to 527, and 543 to 

549 ft BLS in borehole USGS 136. 

Gamma-Gamma Dual Density Logs

The gamma-gamma dual density log, also known as 

the induced gamma-density log, measures bulk density of 

the formation in the immediate vicinity of the borehole. Two 

separately spaced detectors record induced gamma-radiation 

intensity from an encapsulated radioactive source after it is 

backscattered or absorbed in a drill hole, borehole fluid, or 

surrounding media (Chase and others, 1964). Very dense 

materials increase scatter and cause increased absorption of 

gamma radiation; the increased absorption of gamma radiation 

results in fewer particles returning to the detector. The 

opposite is true for fractured and low-density materials. The 

induced gamma signal is attenuated in direct proportion to the 

bulk density of a formation. 

Gamma-gamma dual density logs were run through 

casing on May 5, 2011, and displayed for the interval 0 to 

560 ft BLS (fig. 7). Density logs were used to reference areas 

of dense as opposed to fractured basalt, and they correlate well 

with the depth-adjusted lithology log (figs. 7 and 8). Density 

logs confirm the presence of fractured basalt within the 

intervals from 504 to 506, 513 to 518, 523 to 527, and 543 to 

549 ft BLS in borehole USGS 136 (fig. 8). 
14 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

tac12-0774_fig08 Depth below land surface, in feet

EXPLANATION

Gam(Nat)

0 API 100

Natural

gamma

Definition of terms

API - American Petroleum 

Institute

Cal(L) - left-side caliper

Cal(R) - right-side caliper

Cps - counts per second

Den(SS) - short-spaced 

density

Den(LS) - long-spaced 

density

Gam(Nat) - natural gamma 

radiation

in. - inches

Neutron - hydrogen index

Por(Neu) - liquid-filled 

porosity

Neutron

0 API-N 1,300

Por(Neu)

0 Percent 100

Neutron Lithology

USGS 136 Lithology

Dense basalt

Fractured and vesicular basalt

Lithology

Screened interval

Water level prior to pumping

Loose rocks and sediment

Well completion

Well casing

Sediment 

in. in.

Den(SS)

55,000 85,000

Den(LS)

2,000 Cps 6,000

Cps

Gamma

Cal(L) Cal(R)

57 5 7

Caliper

Borehole

490

485

500

510

520

530

540

550

560

Figure 8. Expanded geophysical and lithologic logs with focus on depths 485–560 feet below land surface for borehole 

USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho.
Geologic and Geophysical Data 15

Gyro Deviation Survey

A borehole gyroscopic deviation survey was run through 

casing on May 5, 2011, before the borehole was backfilled 

from 560 to 1,048 ft BLS. The gyroscopic deviation survey 

measures the change in horizontal deviation from vertical 

through drill steel or casing where magnetic rocks occur. 

Deviation was measured every 0.1 ft and displayed in 50 ft 

increments from 50 to 1,000 ft BLS; deviation measurements 

below 551 ft BLS are represented by a dashed line because 

this portion of borehole USGS 136 was backfilled (fig. 9). 

The lowest measurement in the completed portion of borehole 

USGS 136 (near 550 ft BLS) indicates a 16.3 ft (1.8 degree) 

horizontal deviation from vertical (fig. 9). To account for 

deviation near the water table in borehole USGS 136 (near 

488 ft BLS), a deviation correction of -0.22 ft was applied to 

water-level measurements during the aquifer test and ongoing 

water-level measurements. A summary of borehole-deviation 

measurements is presented in table 3.

0° 15°

30°

45°

60°

75°

90°

105°

120°

135°

150°

165° 180° 195°

210°

225°

240°

255°

285°

300°

315°

330°

345°

 270°

5

10

15

20

25

30

35 Feet

Depth below land surface, in feet

0°

 270°

180°

90°

EXPLANATION

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1,000

-35 -25 -15 -5 5 15 25 35 Feet 

Cylinder View Bulls Eye View

Horizontal deviation

from vertical = 16.3/1.8 

degrees; Azimuth = 62.3°

Bottom of completed 

borehole USGS 

136–551 ft BLS

Bottom of cored

section in 

borehole 

USGS 136–1,048 

ft BLS Borehole USGS 136 completed as monitoring well

Magnetic North

Gyro Deviation Measurement at 50-foot increments

Gyro Deviation Measurement at 550 feet below land surface (ft BLS)

Borehole USGS 136: Backfilled section – 

geophysical logs included in appendix B 

Figure 9. Gyroscopic deviation data collected for borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho.
16 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Aquifer Test

A single-well aquifer test was conducted in the ESRP 

aquifer to define the hydraulic characteristics of borehole 

USGS 136 once it was completed as a monitor well. The 

aquifer test started at 1101 on August 31, 2011, and ended at 

1134 on September 1, 2011. Results from the test were used to 

determine the average hydraulic properties of rock material for 

the screened portion of borehole USGS 136. A memorandum, 

dated March 21, 2012, from the USGS Western Region 

Groundwater Specialist states that the aquifer-test package is 

adequately documented and the analyses are technically sound 

(see appendix C). The hydraulic-property estimates were 

recorded in the USGS Groundwater Site Inventory (GWSI) 

database, and data collected during the aquifer test were 

archived in the USGS Idaho Water Science Center Aquifer 

Test Archive (ATA). 

The aquifer-test data were analyzed for relative trends. 

Prolonged aquifer tests confirmed that borehole USGS 136 

met sustained discharge rates of about 20 gal/min. Water 

samples, collected after purging the well for about 24 hours, 

indicate that no residual drilling fluid was introduced during 

construction of borehole USGS 136. 

USGS 136 

measurement 

depth

(ft BLS)

Horizontal 

deviation 

from vertical 

(ft)

Deviation 

from vertical 

(degrees)

True

drillhole 

depth

(ft)

Drillhole 

azimuth

(ft)

50 0.9 1.1 49.99 58.2

100 1.9 0.9 99.98 55.2

150 3.1 1.6 149.97 55.4

200 4.4 1.8 199.95 56.9

250 6.0 2.0 249.92 58.7

300 7.7 1.9 299.89 59.6

350 9.3 1.7 349.87 60.2

400 11.0 1.7 399.84 60.6

450 12.8 2.0 449.81 61.0

500 14.6 2.0 499.77 61.5

550 16.3 1.8 549.74 62.3

600 17.8 1.9 599.72 63.4

650 19.4 1.8 649.69 63.6

700 21.0 1.8 699.67 63.8

750 22.5 1.9 749.65 64.0

800 24.1 1.7 799.62 63.7

850 25.7 1.8 849.59 63.3

900 27.2 1.7 899.57 62.9

950 28.7 1.8 949.55 62.8

1,000 30.3 1.8 999.52 62.7

Table 3. Gyroscopic deviation survey summary from borehole 

USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho.

[Borehole USGS 136 deviation profile shown in figure 9; red circles represent 

measurements taken at 50-ft increments. Survey performed using a Century 

Geophysical CorporationTM 9095 logging tool. A tripod was used to hold the 

tool vertical during warmup. During warmup, the following information was 

noted: reference sighting azimuth, land surface drilling datum height, and 

magnetic declination (13.9 degrees). ft, foot; BLS, foot below land surface] 

Aquifer-Test Procedures

Fluid pressure head, barometric head pressure, fluid 

temperature, and air temperature were measured continuously 

throughout the test. The fluid pressure head, Ψw, and water 

temperature were measured with a Solinst® Levelogger®, 

a self-contained water level and temperature datalogger 

suspended on a wireline and positioned below the water 

table (fig. 10). The barometric head pressure, Ψatm, and air 

temperature were measured with a Solinst® Barologger®, 

a self-contained atmospheric pressure and temperature 

datalogger suspended on a wireline and positioned above the 

water table (fig. 10). The pressure head was compensated for 

changes in atmospheric pressure (fig. 11) and calculated by 

using the following equation:

where

is compensated pressure head,

is fluid pressure head, and

is barometric head pressure.

w atm

w

atm

Ψ =Ψ −Ψ

Ψ

Ψ

Ψ

(1)

Water table

Land surface

Barometric pressure

and air temperature

sensors

Fluid pressure

and temperature

sensors

Submersible pump

Paddlewheel

flowmeter sensor

Figure 10. Idealized placement of sensors during aquifer 

testing at borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor 

Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho.
Aquifer Test 17

tac12-0774_fig11

EXPLANATION

Compensated pressure head

Fluid temperature

EXPLANATION

Barometric head

Air temperature

14.0

14.5

15.0

15.5

16.0

1.95

2.00

2.05

2.10

2.15

2.20

2.25

2.30

Barometric head (

ψatm), in feet

1000 1200 1400 1600

August 31, 2011 September 1, 2011

1800 2000 2200 2400 0200 0400 0600 0800 1000 1200 1400

1000 1200 1400 1600

August 31, 2011 September 1, 2011

1800 2000 2200 2400 0200 0400 0600 0800 1000 1200 1400

12.5

13.0

13.5

18.6

18.8

19.0

19.2

19.4

19.6

19.8

20.0

Temperature, in degrees Celsius Temperature, in degrees Celsius

USGS 136 aquifer tests

Compensated pressure head (

ψ), in feet

Figure 11. Changes in compensated pressure head, fluid temperature, barometric head, and air temperature through 

time during aquifer testing at borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 

August 31, 2011, through September 1, 2011.
18 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

After the pump was turned off, aquifer-test recovery data 

were collected, but they were not analyzed. 

The flow rate, Q, associated with well discharge was 

monitored periodically using a Blue-White Industries® F-2000 

paddlewheel flowmeter (figs. 10 and 12). Measured flow rates 

remained relatively constant throughout the tests and ranged 

from 19.3 to 20.0 gal/min (fig. 12). 

Analysis of Aquifer-Test Data

The data from the single-well aquifer test at borehole 

USGS 136 were analyzed using a specific-capacity method 

to estimate transmissivity (Ackerman, 1991). This method 

uses linear regression to estimate transmissivity in the vicinity 

of the well from specific capacity (fig. 13). The specificcapacity method uses a modified Theis equation (Theis and 

others, 1963, p. 332, eqn. 1) and assumes constant values 

for the storage coefficient and the effective well radius to 

estimate transmissivity. Because of the limited drawdown 

response (less than 0.1 ft) and no observation well data, the 

specific-capacity method was the only method considered 

for estimating the hydraulic properties of the aquifer near 

borehole USGS 136. 

Specific capacity (SC) is an expression of the productivity 

of a well commonly expressed as the ratio of the flow rate (Q) 

in gallons per minute to the total measured drawdown (Δs) in 

feet; however, in this case, average drawdown was determined 

only for the data between 10 and 500 minutes. Early time data 

(less than 10 min) were not considered because of variations 

in discharge rates and possible borehole storage effects. Late 

time data (greater than 500 min) were not considered because 

of the substantial rise in barometric pressure that occurred 

at about the same time as the water-level rise in borehole 

USGS 136. Additional data from longer-term water-level 

trends in response to changes in barometric pressure should 

be examined for this area to develop a water-level response 

model. Borehole USGS 136 displays small changes in water 

levels in response to pumping; this response is common for 

fractured basalt media that displays high transmissivities 

(Ackerman, 1991).

The specific-capacity method estimates transmissivity (T)

through the use of the following equation(s):

Q SC

s

  =     ∆

(2)

( )

1.1853

1.1853 40.62 40.62

where

is the transmissivity, in feet per day;

is the specific capacity, in gallons per minute

per foot;

is the pumping rate, in gallons per minute; 

and

is the av

Q T SC

s

T

SC

Q

s

  = ×= ×     ∆

∆ erage drawdown, in feet.

(3)

The drawdown in the well, s, at any given time, t, is 

determined by subtracting the compensated pressure head 

at time t from the initial compensated pressure head prior to 

pumping, Ψ0. Drawdown as a function of time is expressed as:

0 st t () () =ψ −ψ (4)

Estimates of horizontal hydraulic conductivity were 

based on the aquifer thickness, b, rather than the screen length 

because Halford and others (2006) found that in most cases 

using aquifer thickness as the divisor gave better estimates of 

transmissivity for unconfined aquifers with partial penetration. 

The horizontal hydraulic conductivity, K, was calculated using 

the following equation:

where

is aquifer transmissivity, and

is aquifer thickness.

T K

b

T

b

= (5)
Aquifer Test 19

tac12-0774_fig12

EXPLANATION

Flow rate

1000 1200 1400 1600

August 31, 2011 September 1, 2011

1800 2000 2200 2400 0200 0400 0600 0800 1000 1200 1400

19.2

19.4

19.6

19.8

20.0

20.2

Flow rate, in gallons per minute

USGS 136 aquifer test flow-rate data

Figure 12. Pumping rates during aquifer testing at borehole USGS 136, Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho 

National Laboratory, Idaho, August 31, 2011, through September 1, 2011.

1

10

1,000

100

10,000

100,000

1,000,000

Transmissivity, in feet squared per day

Theis type curve data

Neuman type curve data

EXPLANATION

0.1 1

Specific capacity, in gallons per minute per foot

10 100 1,000 10,000

Figure 13. Relation between transmissivity and specific capacity as applied to the aquifer test in borehole USGS 

136 (modified from Ackerman, 1991). 
20 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Hydraulic Property Estimates

The hydraulic properties of the geohydrologic column 

at borehole USGS 136 were defined with transmissivity 

and horizontal hydraulic conductivity (conductivity). 

Transmissivity was estimated by an interpretive approach; 

all data were not honored and only relevant data were 

used. The specific-capacity method applied to the 

aquifer test is shown in figures 13 and 14. The specific 

capacity, transmissivity, and conductivity were estimated at 

975 (gal/min)/ft, 1.4 × 105 ft2/d, and 254 ft/d, respectively. 

Calculations of these three parameters are as follows:

19.5gal/min 975(gal/min)/ft 0.02ftQ SC

s

  = = =     ∆

(6)

( ) ( ) 1.1853 1.1853

5 2

40.62 975(gal/min)/ft

40.62 1.4 10 ft /d

T SC = ×=

× =×

(7)

5 2 1.4 10 ft /day 254ft / d

550ft

T K

b

× = = = (8)

A comparison between the estimated USGS 136 

transmissivity and transmissivity values determined from 

past aquifer tests conducted at wells in the vicinity of the 

ATRC shows the transmissivity of borehole USGS 136 is in 

the range of other wells in this area (table 4). The estimated 

transmissivity values from these past aquifer tests (Ackerman, 

1991; Bartholomay and others, 1997) ranged from 9.5 × 103 

to 1.9 × 105 ft2/d (table 4). The average hydraulic conductivity 

for borehole USGS 136 was well within the range of values 

reported in the literature for similar rock types; Freeze and 

Cherry (1979) report hydraulic conductivity values for 

permeable basalt ranging from 5.7 × 10-2 to 5.7 × 103 ft/d. The 

hydraulic conductivity of the ESRP aquifer at or near the INL 

ranges from about 1.0 × 10-2 to 3.2 × 104 ft/d (Anderson and 

others, 1999).

USGS 136 aquifer test, August 31–September 1, 2011

-0.10

-0.08

-0.06

-0.04

-0.02

0.00

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10

1 10 100 1,000 10,000

Drawdown, in feet

Time since beginning of aquifer test, in minutes

EXPLANATION

Data used

Data ignored

Linear (data used)

Figure 14. Analyses of drawdown time series for aquifer test at borehole USGS 136 (August 31 through 

September 1, 2011), Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho.
Water-Sample Collection 21

Table 4. Comparison of transmissivity values estimated from aquifer tests conducted at 

wells within the vicinity of borehole USGS 136, near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, 

Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho.

[Data from Ackerman (1991) and Bartholomay and others (1997). Local name: Local well identifier used 

in this study. Locations of wells are shown in figure 2. Site identifier is the unique numerical identifier 

used to access well data (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis). Longitude, Latitude: Referenced to NAD 27 

(North American Datum of 1927). Distance to borehole USGS 136: Straight line distance within the aerial 

dimension to borehole USGS 136. Abbreviations: ft2/d, foot squared per day; mi, mile]

Local name Site identifier Longitude Latitude Transmissivity

(ft2

 /d)

Distance to

borehole 

USGS 136

(mi)

USGS 76 433425112573201 112°57'32" 43°34'25" 1.9×105 0.7

USGS 58 433500112572502 112°57'25" 43°35'00" 3.7×104 0.6

USGS 65 433447112574501 112°57'47" 43°34'47" 9.5×103 0.5

Site 19 433522112582101 112°58'21" 43°35'22" 3.1×104 0.7

TRA disposal 433506112572301 112°57'37" 43°35'06" 6.2×104 0.5

Water-Sample Collection

Sample Collection Methods

Water-sample collection at borehole USGS 136 generally 

followed guidelines documented in the USGS National 

Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data (U.S. 

Geological Survey, variously dated) and in Knobel and 

others (2008); water-quality samples were collected during 

three sampling events. After coring to 1,048 ft BLS on 

May 10, 2011, initial water-quality samples were collected 

near 573, 710, and 965 ft BLS using a pre-cleaned SS thief 

sampling bottle that was opened at intervals within the open 

borehole to test if chemical constituents discharged into the 

Test Reactor Area (TRA) Disposal well from 1964 to 1982 

(Davis, 2010) (fig. 2) at deeper parts of the ESRP aquifer were 

present in groundwater at borehole USGS 136. Discussion 

of the analytical results from the thief samples is given 

in appendix D.

After the monitor well was completed and the 24-hour 

aquifer test was performed, water-quality samples were 

collected on September 1, 2011. Water samples were collected 

from a 0.25-in. SS sample port installed off piping at the 

wellhead after the well was purged with a submersible 

pump and field measurements were stable. The constituents 

sampled after well completion were selected to provide a 

characterization of baseline water chemistry and radionuclide 

concentrations. Sample results are given in table 5. 

A third round of water samples was collected on 

October 25, 2011, after a permanent submersible pump was 

installed near 525 ft BLS; results of these samples are also 

given in table 5. The constituents selected for the third round 

of sampling were based on the needs for long-term monitoring 

downgradient from the ATRC. Field measurements of pH, 

specific conductance, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen 

were collected during all three sample rounds, and alkalinity 

was measured after well completion; results are presented 

in table 5. 

Samples were processed in the field according to 

protocols for the constituents for which analyses were 

requested. Samples to be analyzed for chemical constituents 

by the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) 

were placed in containers and preserved in accordance with 

laboratory requirements specified by Knobel and others 

(2008, appendix D). Containers and preservatives used were 

supplied by the NWQL and had gone through a rigorous 

quality-control procedure (Pritt, 1989, p. 75) to minimize 

sample contamination. Samples requiring field filtration 

were filtered through a disposable 0.45-μm cartridge that 

had been pre-rinsed with at least 1 L of deionized water. 

Samples to be analyzed for radionuclides by the Radiological 

and Environmental Sciences Laboratory (RESL) at the INL 

were placed in containers and preserved in accordance with 

laboratory requirements specified by Bodnar and Percival 

(1982) and Knobel and others (2008, appendix D). Samples 

for isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen were containerized 

in bottles provided by the USGS Reston Stable Isotope 

Laboratory - Isotope Fractionation Project in Reston, Va., and 

analyzed by that laboratory. Samples for isotopes of carbon 

were containerized in bottles provided by the NWQL, and 

these samples were analyzed at the National Ocean Sciences 

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility (NOSAMS) (http://

www.whoi.edu/nosams/page.do?pid=40137, accessed June 5, 

2012) in Woods Hole, Mass. 
22 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Table 5. Concentrations of selected chemical and radiochemical constituents in water from borehole USGS 136, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho.

[Location of well is shown in figure 1. Analytical results in micrograms per liter unless otherwise noted. Thief samples from USGS 136 were collected on May 

10, 2011, from 965, 710, and 573 feet below land surface (BLS). Samples collected on September 1, 2011, and October 25, 2011, were from a 5-horsepower 

submersible pump at 525 feet below land surface. Samples were analyzed at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory in Lakewood, Colo., unless otherwise 

noted. Abbreviations: NOSAMS, National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.; RSIL, USGS Reston Stable 

Isotope Laboratory in Reston, Va.; oC, degrees Celsius; μS/cm, microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius; mg/L, milligrams per liter; CaCO3, calcium 

carbonate; pCi/L, picocuries per liter; N, nitrogen; P, phosphorus; RESL, Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory; E, estimated; NC, not collected; 

NA, not analyzed. <, less than; ±, plus or minus. Uncertainty of radiochemical constituents is 1 standard deviation. Uncertainity of deuterium and oxygen-18 

is ±1.5 per mil. Uncertainty of carbon-13 is ±0.3 per mil. Concentrations that meet or exceed the reporting level of 3 times the 1 standard deviation value are 

shown in bold type]

Constituent or measurement May 10, 2011, at September 11, 

2011, at

October 25, 

2011, at

965 ft BLS 710 ft BLS 573 ft BLS 525 ft BLS 525 ft BLS

Time 1025 1305 1524 1058 1041

Water temperature (oC) 13.2 13.4 13.7 13.5 13.1

Air Temperature (oC) 9.2 11.4 13.4 17.4 4.0

pH 7.84 7.93 7.96 7.49 7.93

Specific conductance (μS/cm) (field) 377 377 376 438 429

Specific conductance (μS/cm) (lab) NA NA NA 415 427

Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) 10.3 10.9 9.8 9.04 7.69

Alkalinity (mg/L as CaCO3) NC NC NC 168 NC

Total dissolved solids (mg/L) NC NC NC 252 NA

Calcium (mg/L) NC NC NC 50 NC

Magnesium (mg/L) NC NC NC 17.4 NC

Potassium (mg/L) NC NC NC 1.95 NC

Silica (mg/L) NC NC NC 22.2 NC

Sodium (mg/L) 8.66 8.76 8.78 11 11

Bromide (mg/L) NC NC NC 0.027 NC

Chloride (mg/L) 10.4 10.5 10.6 12.9 13

Fluoride (mg/L) NC NC NC 0.143 NC

Sulfate (mg/L) 21 20.8 21.5 32.4 32.8

Ammonia as N (mg/L) <0.010 E0.012 E0.011 <0.010 <0.010

Nitrite as N (mg/L) <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.001

Nitrate plus nitrite as N (mg/L) 0.895 0.886 0.911 1.13 1.09

Orthophosphate as P (mg/L) 0.025 0.022 0.024 0.023 0.022

Aluminum NC NC NC 6.84 6.35

Antimony NC NC NC 0.088 0.094

Arsenic NC NC NC 1.55 1.69

Barium NC NC NC 48.1 57.6

Beryllium NC NC NC <0.1 <0.006

Boron NC NC NC 21.9 NC

Cadmium NC NC NC <0.016 <0.016

Chromium 3.58 2.8 3.93 13.3 15.1

Cobalt NC NC NC E0.031 0.047

Copper NC NC NC <0.5 <0.8

Iron NC NC NC E4.97 NC

Lead NC NC NC <0.015 0.032

Lithium NC NC NC 2.04 NC

Manganese NC NC NC 0.404 0.399

Mercury NC NC NC <0.005 <0.005

Molybdenum NC NC NC 1.16 1.24

Nickel NC NC NC E0.154 0.425

Selenium NC NC NC 1.22 1.36

Silver NC NC NC <0.005 <0.005

Strontium NC NC NC 241 NC

Thallium NC NC NC <0.010 NC

Tungsten NC NC NC 0.18 NC
Water-Sample Collection 23

Table 5. Concentrations of selected chemical and radiochemical constituents in water from borehole USGS 136, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho.—Continued

[Location of well is shown in figure 1. Analytical results in micrograms per liter unless otherwise noted. Thief samples from USGS 136 were collected on 

May 10, 2011, from 965, 710, and 573 feet below land surface. Samples collected on September 1, 2011 and October 25, 2011, were from a 5-horsepower 

submersible pump at 525 feet below land surface. Samples were analyzed at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory in Lakewood, Colorado, unless 

otherwise noted. Abbreviations: NOSAMS, National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.; RSIL, USGS Reston 

Stable Isotope Laboratory in Reston, Va.; oC, degrees Celsius; μS/cm, microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius; mg/L, milligrams per liter; CaCO3, 

calcium carbonate; pCi/L, picocuries per liter; N, nitrogen; P, phosphorus; RESL, Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory; E, estimated; NC, not 

collected; NA, not analyzed. <, less than; ±, plus or minus. Uncertainty of radiochemical constituents is 1 s. Uncertainity of deuterium and oxygen-18 is ±1.5 per 

mil. Uncertainty of carbon-13 is ±0.3 per mil. Concentrations that meet or exceed the reporting level of 3 times the 1s value are shown in boldface type]

Constituent or measurement May 10, 2011, at September 11, 

2011, at

October 25, 

2011, at

965 ft BLS 710 ft BLS 573 ft BLS 525 ft BLS 525 ft BLS

Uranium NC NC NC 1.53 1.76

Vanadium NC NC NC 3.78 NC

Zinc NC NC NC <1.4 2.9

Total organic carbon (mg/L) NC NC NC E0.472 <0.5

Tritium (pCi/L) (RESL) 80±50 -40±50 50±50 2,260±120 1,910±100

Strontium-90 (pCi/L) (RESL) 1.0±0.6 1.4±0.6 1.3±0.6 0.1±0.8 0.5±0.6

Technetium-99 (pCi/L) (RESL) NC NC NC 0±0.03 NC

Iodine-129 (pCi/L) (RESL) NC NC NC 0.01±0.011 NC

Carbon-14 (pCi/L) (RESL) NC NC NC -20±70 NC

Cesium-137 (pCi/L) (RESL) 80±50 20±20 8±8 13±6 18±9

Gross alpha (pCi/L) (RESL) NC NC NC -2±3 3±2

Gross beta (pCi/L) (RESL) NC NC NC 3.8±0.9 2.0±0.8

Americium-241 (pCi/L) (RESL) NC NC NC 0.003±0.012 -0.003±0.012

Plutonium-238 (pCi/L) (RESL) NC NC NC -0.003±0.003 -0.006±0.004

Plutonium-239,240 (pCi/L) (RESL) NC NC NC 0.003±0.012 -0.003±0.003

Uranium-234 (pCi/L) NC NC NC 1.37±0.12 NC

Uranium-235 (pCi/L) NC NC NC 0.047±0.019 NC

Uranium-238 (pCi/L) NC NC NC 0.423±0.067 NC

Carbon-13 (per mil) (NOSAMS) NC NC NC -8.33 NC

Carbon-14 (percent modern) (NOSAMS) NC NC NC 1,747±6.10 NC

Deuterium (per mil) (RSIL) NC NC NC -136.9 NC

Oxygen-18 (per mil) (RSIL) NC NC NC -17.90 NC

Volatile organic compounds

Acrylonitrile NC NC NC <2.5 <2.5

Benzene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

Bromobenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Bromochloromethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Bromomethane NC NC NC <0.4 <0.4

CFC-11 NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

CFC-12 NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

CFC-113 NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

CHBrC12 NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

Chlorobenzene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

Chloroethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Chloromethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

cis-1,2-dichloroethene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

cis-1,3-dichloropropene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Dibromochloropropane NC NC NC <0.5 <0.5

Dibromochloromethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Dibromomethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Dichloromethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Ethylbenzene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

Hexachlorobutadiene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2
24 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Table 5. Concentrations of selected chemical and radiochemical constituents in water from borehole USGS 136, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Idaho.—Continued

[Location of well is shown in figure 1. Analytical results in micrograms per liter unless otherwise noted. Thief samples from USGS 136 were collected on 

May 10, 2011, from 965, 710, and 573 feet below land surface. Samples collected on September 1, 2011 and October 25, 2011, were from a 5-horsepower 

submersible pump at 525 feet below land surface. Samples were analyzed at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory in Lakewood, Colorado, unless 

otherwise noted. Abbreviations: NOSAMS, National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.; RSIL, USGS Reston 

Stable Isotope Laboratory in Reston, Va.; oC, degrees Celsius; μS/cm, microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius; mg/L, milligrams per liter; CaCO3, 

calcium carbonate; pCi/L, picocuries per liter; N, nitrogen; P, phosphorus; RESL, Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory; E, estimated; NC, not 

collected; NA, not analyzed. <, less than; ±, plus or minus. Uncertainty of radiochemical constituents is 1 s. Uncertainity of deuterium and oxygen-18 is ±1.5 per 

mil. Uncertainty of carbon-13 is ±0.3 per mil. Concentrations that meet or exceed the reporting level of 3 times the 1s value are shown in boldface type]

Constituent or measurement May 10, 2011, at September 11, 

2011, at

October 25, 

2011, at

965 ft BLS 710 ft BLS 573 ft BLS 525 ft BLS 525 ft BLS

Volatile organic compounds—Continued

Isopropylbenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

MTBE NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Naphthalene NC NC NC <0.5 <0.5

n-butylbenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

n-propylbenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

sec-butylbenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Styrene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

tert-butylbenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Tetrachloroethene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

Tetrachloromethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Toluene NC NC NC 0.28 <0.1

trans-1,2-dichloroethene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

trans-1,3-dichloropropene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Tribromomethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Trichloroethene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

Trichloromethane NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

Vinyl chloride NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

Xylene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,1,1-trichloroethane NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

1,1,1,2-tetrachloroethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,1,2-trichloroethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,1-dichloroethane NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

1,1-dichloroethene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

1,1-dichloropropene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,2,3-trichloropropane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,2,3-trichlorobenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,2,4-trichlorobenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,2,4-trimethylbenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) NC NC NC <0.5 <0.5

1,2-dibromoethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,2-dichlorobenzene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

1,2-dichloroethane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,2-dichloropropane NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

1,3-dichlorobenzene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

1,3-dichloropropane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,3,5-trimethylbenzene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

1,4-dichlorobenzene NC NC NC <0.1 <0.1

2-chlorotoluene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

2,2-dichloropropane NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

4-chlorotoluene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2

4-isopropyltoluene NC NC NC <0.2 <0.2
Water-Sample Collection 25

Analytical Methods

Analytical methods used by the USGS for selected 

organic, inorganic, and radionuclide constituents are described 

by Goerlitz and Brown (1972), Thatcher and others (1977), 

Wershaw and others (1987), Fishman and Friedman (1989), 

Faires (1993), Fishman (1993), Rose and Schroeder (1995), 

and McCurdy and others (2008). Analytical methods used for 

selected isotopic constituents were summarized by Busenberg 

and others (2000). A discussion of procedures and methods 

used by the RESL for the analysis of radionuclides in water is 

provided by Bodnar and Percival (1982), Sill and Sill (1994), 

and the U.S. Department of Energy (1995). 

Guidelines for Interpretation of 

Analytical Results 

Concentrations of radionuclides are reported with 

an estimated sample standard deviation, s, which is 

obtained by propagating sources of analytical uncertainty 

in measurements. McCurdy and others (2008) provided 

details on interpreting radiological data used by the USGS. 

The guidelines for interpreting analytical results are based 

on an extension of a method proposed by Currie (1984) 

that is given in Davis (2010). In this report, radionuclide 

concentrations less than 3s are considered to be less than a 

“reporting level.” The reporting level should not be confused 

with the analytical method detection limit, which is based on 

laboratory procedures. 

Concentrations of inorganic and organic constituents are 

reported with reference to laboratory reporting levels (LRLs) 

or with reference to minimum reporting levels (MRLs). 

Childress and others (1999) provide details about the approach 

used by the USGS regarding detection levels and reporting 

levels. USGS Office of Water Quality Technical Memorandum 

2010.07 (U.S. Geological Survey, 2010) outlines changes to 

data reporting by the NWQL for the inorganic and organic 

constituents. The method detection limit is the minimum 

concentration of a substance that can be measured and 

reported with 99-percent confidence that the concentration 

is greater than zero. The LRL is the concentration at which 

the false negative error rate is minimized to be no more than 

1 percent of the reported results. The MRL uses a censor-limit 

based reporting level below which no data are reported and 

is set at a concentration greater than the detection limit of 

the analyte. The LRL generally is equal to twice the yearly 

determined long-term method detection level (LT-MDL), 

which is a detection level derived by determining the 

standard deviation of a minimum of 24 MDL spike-sample 

measurements over an extended time. These reporting 

levels may be described as preliminary for a developmental 

method if the levels have been based on a small number of 

analytical results. These levels also may vary from sample 

to sample for the same constituent and the same method, if 

matrix effects or other factors arise that interfere with the 

analysis. Concentrations measured between the LT-MDL 

and the LRL may be described as estimated values. For most 

of the constituents in this report, reported concentrations 

generally are greater than the LRLs or MRLs, but some 

concentrations are given as less than the LRL or MRL, and 

some concentrations are estimated. 

As a matter of convention, concentrations of stable 

isotopes are reported as relative isotopic ratios (Toran, 1982). 

Busenberg and others (2000) described stable isotope data in 

more detail. 

Inorganic Chemistry Data

Water samples collected in September from borehole 

USGS 136 were sent to the NWQL to be analyzed for 

dissolved concentrations of cations of calcium, potassium, 

magnesium, silica, and sodium; anions of bromide, chloride, 

fluoride, and sulfate; and trace elements of aluminum, 

antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, boron, cadmium, 

chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, lithium, manganese, 

mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silver, strontium, 

thallium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, and zinc. In addition, 

samples were collected and sent to the NWQL to be analyzed 

for dissolved concentrations of ammonia as nitrogen (N), 

nitrite as N, nitrate plus nitrite as N, and orthophosphate as 

phosphorus (P) (table 5). 

A comparison of the data for the sample collected 

after well completion in September 2011 and the sample 

collected for the routine water-quality sampling program 

in October 2011 indicates very similar chemistry of the 

aquifer water between sample periods (table 5). Background 

concentrations of dissolved chromium in the ESRP aquifer 

are generally around 2-3 μg/L (Orr and others, 1991; Knobel 

and others, 1992), so concentrations of 13.3 and 15.1 μg/L 

in this well in September and October, respectively (table 5), 

can probably be attributed to wastewater disposal at the 

ATRC. Sulfate concentrations of 32.4 and 32.8 mg/L (table 5) 

were about 10 mg/L higher than background concentrations 

around the ATRC (20 to 25 mg/L; Robertson and others, 

1974, fig. 27). Concentrations of chloride, sodium, and nitrate 

plus nitrite as N were near background levels for the aquifer 

in the vicinity of the ATRC but were slightly higher than 

concentrations from thief samples collected from deeper in the 

aquifer at this borehole prior to well completion (table 5). 
26 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Organic Chemistry Data

The water samples collected in September and October 

2011 from USGS 136 were analyzed at the NWQL for total 

organic carbon and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). 

Concentrations of VOCs were all below the LRL except 

toluene, which was detected in the sample collected in 

September at a concentration of 0.28 μg/L but was below the 

LRL in the sample collected in October (table 5). Toluene is 

a product of grease used on pipe threads and is a product in 

fuels, so the small September concentration may have been a 

remnant of drilling activities.

Stable Isotope Data

Water samples collected in September 2011 were 

analyzed for relative concentrations of stable isotopes of 

hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), and carbon (C). Because the 

absolute measurement of isotopic ratios is analytically 

difficult, relative isotopic ratios were measured instead (Toran, 

1982). For example, 18O/16O of a sample is compared with 

18O/16O of a standard: 

18

18 16

18 16

18

Delta O (R / R 1) X 1,000

where

R is the O/ O ratio in the sample,

R is the O/ O ratio in the standard, and

Delta O is the relative concentration, in units of

parts per thous

sample standard

sample

standard

= −

and.

(9)

Delta 18O is referred to as delta notation; it is the value 

reported by isotopic laboratories for stable isotope analysis. 

2H/1H and 13C/12C are defined in a similar manner with the 

respective ratios replacing 18O/16O in Rsample and Rstandard. The 

standard used for determining Delta 18O and Delta 2H in water 

is standard mean ocean water as defined by Craig (1961). The 

PeeDee Belemnite reference standard was used to determine 

Delta 13C in water (Timme, 1995, p. 71). The carbon-14 was 

measured by accelerator mass spectrometry, and concentra‐

tions are given as percent modern carbon.

Stable isotope concentration data for deuterium, 

oxygen-18, and carbon-13 samples collected in September 

2011 from USGS 136 were similar to concentrations of 

those constituents in two other wells (Site 19 and USGS 76; 

fig. 2) sampled in the vicinity of the ATRC (Busenberg and 

others, 2000), but concentrations were quite different from 

samples collected from USGS 65 (Knobel and others, 1999). 

For example, concentrations in USGS 136 (table 5) were 

-8.33, -136.9, and -17.9 per mil for carbon-13, deuterium, 

and oxygen-18, respectively. For Site 19, the respective 

concentrations were -8.35, -139.0, and -18.04; for USGS 76, 

the respective concentrations were not collected, -138.3, and 

-18.0 (Busenberg and others, 2000, table 11). Concentrations 

in USGS 65, which is relatively close to USGS 136 (fig. 1), 

were -10.4, -133, and -16.9 for carbon-13, deuterium, and 

oxygen-18, respectively. 

The stable isotope data, along with other water-chemistry 

information, indicate that groundwater at USGS 136 is not 

being affected by wastewater disposal nearly to the extent 

that USGS 65 is but that the groundwater is affected (based 

on concentrations of tritium, sulfate, and chromium) to some 

extent by wastewater disposal at the ATRC. Historically, 

water samples from Site 19 and USGS 76 have not shown 

concentrations of constituents such as tritium, chromium, 

and sulfate at levels representative of wastewater disposal 

at the ATRC. However, water samples from USGS 65 

(http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/id/nwis/qwdata/?site_

no=433447112574501&agency_cd=USGS& accessed 

April 17, 2012) have shown measurable concentrations of 

tritium, chromium, and sulfate through the entire history of 

sampling (Davis, 2010). 

Radiochemical Data

Water samples were collected from borehole USGS 

136 after well completion in September 2011 and analyzed 

at the RESL for tritium; strontium-90; gross alpha, beta, and 

gamma radioactivity; iodine-129, technetium-99, carbon-14, 

plutonium-238, and plutonium-239, -240 (undivided); and 

americium-241. In addition, samples were collected for 

uranium isotopes and analyzed by a USGS NWQL contract 

laboratory (table 5). Results for all the radionuclides analyzed 

by the RESL were below the reporting level, except for tritium 

in samples collected in September and October 2011 and gross 

beta collected in September 2011 (table 5). Uranium isotope 

concentrations in samples collected from USGS 136 were 

within the range of other uranium isotope concentrations in 

the ESRP aquifer in other samples collected from wells in 

the southwestern part of the INL (Bartholomay and Twining, 

2010). The elevated tritium concentrations indicate some 

influence from past wastewater disposal at the ATRC.

In addition to the carbon-14 sample analyzed by the 

RESL (table 5), a sample was sent to the NOSAMS facility 

to radiocarbon date the water sample. The sample result for 

carbon-14 of 1,747 percent modern carbon indicates that 

levels in this well are greater than what would be expected in 

nature, but they should not be confused with radioactivity in 

the sample, which is below the reporting level (table 5). 
References Cited 27

Summary

In 2011, the USGS, in cooperation with the DOE, 

cored and completed borehole USGS 136 for stratigraphic 

framework analyses and long-term groundwater monitoring of 

the ESRP aquifer. The borehole was initially cored to a depth 

of 1,048 ft BLS to collect core, open-borehole water samples, 

and geophysical data. Following data collection, borehole 

USGS 136 was cemented and backfilled between 560 and 

1,048 ft BLS. The final construction of borehole USGS 136 

required the borehole to be reamed to allow for 6-in. and 

5-in. diameter casing and screen, respectively; the screened 

monitoring interval was completed between 500 and 551 ft 

BLS. A dedicated pump and water-level access line were 

installed to allow for aquifer testing and for collecting water 

samples and water-level data. 

Borehole video and logs for natural gamma, caliper, 

neutron, gamma-gamma dual density, and gyro deviation were 

collected after coring and after the final completion of the 

monitor well. Geophysical logs were examined in conjunction 

with the borehole core to confirm the presence of fractured and 

(or) vesicular basalt areas where groundwater flow is expected 

to occur more readily and to describe borehole lithology. 

A single-well aquifer test was used to define 

hydraulic characteristics for borehole USGS 136 in the 

ESRP aquifer. Specific-capacity, transmissivity, and 

hydraulic conductivity from the aquifer tests were at least 

975 (gal/min)/ft, 1.4 × 105 ft2/d, and 254 ft/d, respectively. 

Transmissivity was estimated by an interpretative approach 

in which all data were not honored and only relevant data 

were used. The amount of measureable drawdown reported 

during the aquifer test was about 0.02 ft. The transmissivity 

for borehole USGS 136 was in the range of values 

determined from past aquifer tests in other wells near the 

ATRC—9.5 × 103 to 1.9 × 105 ft2/d. 

Water samples collected after well completion were 

analyzed for cations, anions, metals, nutrients, total organic 

carbon, VOCs, stable isotopes, and radionuclides. Water 

samples collected within the screened interval (500 to 550 ft 

BLS) indicate concentrations of tritium, sulfate, and chromium 

were affected by past wastewater-disposal practices at the 

ATRC. Depth-discrete groundwater samples were collected 

within the open borehole near 965, 710, and 573 ft BLS 

using a thief sampler; selected constituents in the deeper 

groundwater samples showed no influence from wastewater 

disposal at the ATRC. 

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Appendixes 31

Appendixes

Appendixes A–D are available for download as a PDF at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5230/.

Appendix A. Core Logs for Borehole USGS 136 (0–1,048 ft BLS)

Appendix B. Borehole USGS 136 Geophysical Logs (480–1,048 ft BLS)

Appendix C. Memorandum: Aquifer Test Borehole USGS 136 

Appendix D. Water-Chemistry Data
32 Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

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Twining and others— Completion Summary for Borehole USGS 136 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho—Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5230