Water Quality Sampling Locations Along the Shoreline

140 Pages·2010·4.36 MB·English

PNNL-19052
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy
under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830
Water Quality Sampling Locations
Along the Shoreline of the Columbia
River, Hanford Site, Washington

RE Peterson
GW Patton

December 2009

PNNL-19052

Water Quality Sampling Locations
Along the Shoreline of the Columbia
River, Hanford Site, Washington

RE Peterson
GW Patton

December 2009

Prepared for
the U.S. Department of Energy
under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, Washington 99352

Summary
As environmental monitoring evolved on the Hanford Site, several different conventions were used to
name or describe location information for various sampling sites along the Hanford Reach of the
Columbia River. These conventions range from handwritten descriptions in field notebooks to the use of
modern electronic surveying equipment, such as global positioning system receivers. Because of the
diverse methods, inconsistent archiving of analytical results in various electronic databases and published
reports occurred, including use of multiple names for the same site and inaccurate location information.
This document provides listings of sampling sites that are associated with groundwater and river
water sampling. The report identifies names and locations for sites associated with sampling: (a) near-
river groundwater using aquifer sampling tubes; (b) riverbank springs and seepage areas; (c) pore water
collected from riverbed sediment; and (d) Columbia River water. Included in the listings are historical
names used for a particular site and the best available geographic coordinates for the site, as of 2009.
In an effort to create more consistency in the descriptive names used for water quality sampling sites,
a naming convention is proposed in this document. The convention assumes that a unique identifier is
assigned to each site that is monitored and that this identifier serves electronic database management
requirements. The descriptive name is assigned for the convenience of the particular project and
subsequent data user. As the historical database is used more intensively, this document may be revised
as a consequence of discovering potential errors and the need to gain consensus on a proposed naming
convention for some water quality monitoring sites.
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Acknowledgments
This report has drawn on the efforts of numerous individuals who have worked along the Columbia
River shoreline at the Hanford Site, to whom the authors extend their sincere appreciation. Of particular
help in sorting out the locations and names associated with riverbank springs were Roger Dirkes,1 who
provided detailed recollections of his early work on the river, and Richard Mahood,2 who spent countless
days in the field documenting locations and collecting samples. Rich was also the principal developer of
methods to install aquifer sampling tubes along the shoreline and provided leadership to several
campaigns that resulted in the comprehensive monitoring network available today.
William Webber2 and JoAnne Rieger2 engaged the senior author in extensive discussions regarding
site location information from the perspective of database developers, which certainly helped guide the
level of detail provided in this report. JoAnne patiently responded to numerous requests for assistance in
querying existing databases, for which the authors are grateful. Lynn Bisping1 graciously provided peer
review of the report and offered numerous suggestions that improved clarity and accuracy. Kyle Parker1
developed the location maps found in the appendix, using coverages available from the Hanford Site’s
central mapping services. His efforts to assemble this geographic information system provides a very
useful tool for shoreline investigations. Mike Parker1 masterfully put all this material together in a report
format that will prove useful to numerous Hanford Site field workers and database management staff.
Finally, the authors would like to thank in advance those who choose to respond to the proposal to
develop more consistent conventions for descriptive names for monitoring sites. We also appreciate
feedback on any errors and omissions that are discovered.

Bob Peterson and Greg Patton
December 2009

1Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
2CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company
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Acronyms and Abbreviations

BHI Bechtel Hanford, Inc.
BNWL Battelle Northwest Laboratory
CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980
CHPRC CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company
DOE U.S. Department of Energy
DOE-RL U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office
DOH Washington State Department of Health
Ecology Washington State Department of Ecology
EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
ERC Environmental Restoration Contractor
GIS geographic information system
GPS global positioning system
GW groundwater media code (HEIS)
HEIS Hanford Environmental Information System
HGIS Hanford Geographic Information System
HRM Hanford River Mile (pre-1999); Hanford River Marker (post-1999)
HWIS Hanford Well Information System
PNL Pacific Northwest Laboratory (prior to 1995)
PNNL Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (post-1995)
PSRPP Public Safety and Resource Protection Program
RCBRA River Corridor Baseline Risk Assessment
RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
SESP Surface Environmental Surveillance Project
SW surface water media code (HEIS)
USGS U.S. Geological Survey
TPA Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement)
Tri-Parties DOE, EPA, and Ecology
WAC Washington State Administrative Code
WCH Washington Closure Hanford, LLC
WHC Westinghouse Hanford Company
WIDL Well Information and Document Lookup (user interface with HWIS)
WIDS Waste Information Data System
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