Water-level data and selected field notes for aquifer-interval-isolation tests at and near the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 2018-19 (ver. 2.0, January 2024)
Dates
Publication Date
2020-11-19
Start Date
2018
End Date
2019
Revision
2024-01-16
Citation
Senior, L.A., Zarr, L.F., Olson, L., and Rosman, R., 2020, Water-level data and selected field notes for aquifer-interval-isolation tests at and near the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 2018-19 (ver. 2.0, January 2024): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9TC92B5.
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted aquifer interval isolation (packer) tests of discrete water-bearing zones using straddle packers in 13 wells in Northampton, Warminster, and Warwick Townships and Ivyland Borough, Bucks County, Pennsylvania during 2018-19 to support detailed groundwater investigations at and near the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Warminster, where groundwater contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) had become a concern since 2014. The area is underlain by the Triassic-age Stockton Formation, which forms a fractured-sedimentary-rock aquifer used for private, industrial, and public drinking-water supply. The packer tests were conducted in 7 former production wells ranging in depth [...]
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted aquifer interval isolation (packer) tests of discrete water-bearing zones using straddle packers in 13 wells in Northampton, Warminster, and Warwick Townships and Ivyland Borough, Bucks County, Pennsylvania during 2018-19 to support detailed groundwater investigations at and near the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Warminster, where groundwater contamination with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) had become a concern since 2014. The area is underlain by the Triassic-age Stockton Formation, which forms a fractured-sedimentary-rock aquifer used for private, industrial, and public drinking-water supply. The packer tests were conducted in 7 former production wells ranging in depth from 160 to 604 feet (ft) near NAWC Warminster and 6 new monitoring wells drilled in 2018 to depths of about 600 ft. on NAWC Warminster. The tested intervals were selected using geophysical and video logs previously collected by USGS to characterize the boreholes and identify potential water-bearing fractures. During the packer tests, water levels in intervals above the upper packer, within the straddled (mid) interval, and below the lower packer were measured during packer inflation, pumping, recovery, and packer deflation. Pumping rates and sampling times were noted. Version 2.0 of data release also includes Appendix 1) summary tables for pumping rates, drawdown, calculated specific capacity, and estimated volume of water pumped before sampling and Appendix 2) results of field and laboratory chemical analysis for water samples from isolated intervals. While previous version is available from the author, all of the records in the previous version can be found in version 2.0.
First posted - November 19, 2020
Revised - January 16, 2024 (version 2.0)
Senior, L.A., and Fiore, A.R., 2024, Results of 2018–19 water-quality and hydraulic characterization of aquifer intervals using packer tests and preliminary geophysical-log correlations for selected boreholes at and near the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster, Bucks County, Pennsylvania: Open-File Report, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241007.
Water level data in aquifer intervals isolated by packers in wells were collected during packer inflation, pumping, and recovery to provide information about hydraulic properties in isolated intervals and to support collection of water samples from isolated intervals to be analyzed for concentrations of selected per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and major ions. Man-made compounds, including PFAS, are present in groundwater in parts of the study area at concentrations that exceed human health advisory levels or other standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2016 for drinking water. The packer test data can be used to describe vertical distribution of hydraulic properties and the relation between those properties and the vertical distribution of PFAS in the aquifer.
