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This report reviews a set of two-dimensional ground water flow and contaminant transport simulations in the upper aquifer materials beneath Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The transport simulations focus on the migration, dilution, extraction, and potential degradation of existing aqueous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ground water, under both ambient flow and remedial pumping conditions. Simulations are used to show how, where, and at what rate vertically-averaged concentrations decrease to acceptable levels. Both the flow and transport calculations are made with a slightly modified version of the CFEST finite-element code. The hydrogeologic study area is defined to be the upper 200 feet of the saturated sediments within a 25 square mile area surrounding LLNL. Migration calculations focus on a single surrogate total-VOC (TVOC), equal to the sum of all VOC concentrations. Under natural flow conditions, and in the absence of intrinsic contaminant degradation, the results indicate that 800 y are required for the vertically-averaged TVOC concentrations to reduce to 5 parts per billion (ppb) or less in all parts of the study area. Although contaminant levels at several nearby agricultural wells may exceed 5 ppb during this time, levels at the municipal pumping wells in downtown Livermore never exceed 1 ppb. Under non-remedial conditions with an assumed linear TVOC degradation model corresponding to a 50 y half-life, simulation results indicate that all concentrations reduce to 5 ppb in 160 y, with very little impact on water quality at neighboring agricultural or municipal wells. Results of three additional simulations of TVOC migration under the influence of remedial pumping wells indicate that vertically-averaged TVOC concentrations uniformly reach 5 ppb (or below) within 50 to 75 y with little or no impact on water quality at nearby agricultural and municipal wells.
This surface water protection plan (plan) provides an overview of the management efforts implemented at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) that support a watershed approach to protect surface water. This plan fulfills a requirement in the Department of Energy (DOE) Order 450.1A to demonstrate a watershed approach for surface water protection that protects the environment and public health. This plan describes the use of a watershed approach within which the Laboratory's current surface water management and protections efforts have been structured and coordinated. With more than 800 million acres of land in the U.S. under federal management and stewardship, a unified approach across agencies provides enhanced resource protection and cost-effectiveness. The DOE adopted, along with other federal agencies, the Unified Federal Policy for a Watershed Approach to Federal Land and Resource Management (UFP) with a goal to protect water quality and aquatic ecosystems on federal lands. This policy intends to prevent and/or reduce water pollution from federal activities while fostering a cost-effective watershed approach to federal land and resource management. The UFP also intends to enhance the implementation of existing laws (e.g., the Clean Water Act [CWA] and National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA]) and regulations. In addition, this provides an opportunity for the federal government to serve as a model for water quality stewardship using a watershed approach for federal land and resource activities that potentially impact surface water and its uses. As a federal land manager, the Laboratory is responsible for a small but important part of those 800 million acres of land. Diverse land uses are required to support the Laboratory's mission and provide an appropriate work environment for its staff. The Laboratory comprises two sites: its main site in Livermore, California, and the Experimental Test Site (Site 300), near Tracy, California. The main site is largely developed yet its surface water system encompasses two arroyos, an engineered detention basin (Lake Haussmann), storm channels, and wetlands. Conversely, the more rural Site 300 includes approximately 7,000 acres of largely undeveloped land with many natural tributaries, riparian habitats, and wetland areas. These wetlands include vernal pools, perennial seeps, and emergent wetlands. The watersheds within which the Laboratory's sites lie provide local and community ecological functions and services which require protection. These functions and services include water supply, flood attenuation, groundwater recharge, water quality improvement, wildlife and aquatic habitats, erosion control, and (downstream) recreational opportunities. The Laboratory employs a watershed approach to protect these surface water systems. The intent of this approach, presented in this document, is to provide an integrated effort to eliminate or minimize any adverse environmental impacts of the Laboratory's operations and enhance the attributes of these surface water systems, as possible and when reasonable, to protect their value to the community and watershed. The Laboratory's watershed approach to surface water protection will use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Watershed Framework and guiding principles of geographic focus, scientifically based management and partnerships1 as a foundation. While the Laboratory's unique site characteristics result in objectives and priorities that may differ from other industrial sites, these underlying guiding principles provide a structure for surface water protection to ensure the Laboratory's role in environmental stewardship and as a community partner in watershed protection. The approach includes pollution prevention, continual environmental improvement, and supporting, as possible, community objectives (e.g., protection of the San Francisco Bay watershed).
It is well recognized that half the countries in the world will face significant fresh water shortages in the next 20 years, due largely to growing populations and increased agricultural and industrial demands (Gleick, 1997). These shortages will significantly limit economic growth, decrease the quality of life and human health for billions of people, and could potentially lead to violence and conflict over securing scarce supplies of water. In the Middle East, groundwater represents an important part of water supply in most locations, yet it is the least understood and one of the most fragile components of the entire water resource system. The occurrence of water underground contributes to the illusion of an infinite resource that is immune to anthropogenic activities. Nevertheless, as has been learned in the West, it can become highly impaired through the actions of man--through the disposal of human, animal, or industrial wastes, from excessive irrigation and fertilization practices in agriculture, or from simple overproduction and overexploitation--and can remain so for decades or even centuries. Finding solutions to groundwater resource and quality problems can be complex, time consuming, and costly. As is the case in many places in the world, but especially in the Middle East, there is a large gap between professionals, policy makers, and the general population with respect to their understanding of groundwater, its abundance, distribution, movement, and pollution. In a region where water supply and quality problems can be extremely acute, it becomes that much more necessary to protect and preserve the water that does exist. To sustain groundwater as a long-term reliable resource, increased understanding of factors affecting both the quality and quantity of groundwater must be better understood by all aspects of society. This report describes the outcome of a collaborative project between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the US and the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI), and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), all in Jordan. The project was funded by the United States Information Agency (now known as the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California. It was designed to develop, utilize, and distribute a series of educational tools across a wide spectrum of the population in Jordan to illustrate the impact of human activities and policies on the use and preservation of groundwater as an increasingly precious resource. The educational tools involved (1) portable, two-dimensional physical groundwater models for use in educating primary-aged children, laypersons, academic, government, other technical professionals, and farming communities on basic groundwater issues, and (2) computer-based simulation software, which can be used to assess the accrual and movement of groundwater in actual geologic formations, as well as the fate of contaminants that reach and dissolve within groundwater. These tools have an uncommon capacity to illustrate the impact of human activities and policies to a broad spectrum of the population that includes school children, college and post-graduate students, government officials, civic groups, professional organizations, and all, citizens.