Search USGS⌕ Search

Geology topics

William M. Kappel

Publications and source records attributed to William M. Kappel.

62 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS1987

Geohydrologic conditions at the nuclear-fuels reprocessing plant and waste-management facilities at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, Cattaraugus County, New York

A nuclear-fuel reprocessing plant, a high-level radioactive liquid-waste tank complex, and related waste facilities occupy 100 hectares (ha) within the Western New York Nuclear Service Center near West Valley, N.Y. The facilities are underlain by glacial and postglacial deposits that fill an ancestrial bedrock valley. The main plant facilities are on an elevated plateau referred to as the north plateau. Groundwater on the north plateau moves laterally within a surficial sand and gravel from the main plant building to areas northeast, east, and southeast of the facilities. The sand and gravel ranges from 1 to 10 m thick and has a hydraulic conductivity ranging from 0.1 to 7.9 m/day. Two separate burial grounds, a 4-ha area for low-level radioactive waste disposal and a 2.9-ha area for disposal of higher-level waste are excavated into a clay-rich till that ranges from 22 to 28 m thick. Migration of an organic solvent from the area of higher level waste at shallow depth in the till suggests that a shallow, fractured, oxidized, and weathered till is a significant pathway for lateral movement of groundwater. Below this zone, groundwater moves vertically downward through the till to recharge a lacustrine silt and fine sand. Within the saturated parts of the lacustrine unit, groundwater moves laterally to the northeast toward Buttermilk Creek. Hydraulic conductivity of the till, based on field and laboratory analyses , ranges from 0.000018 to 0.000086 m/day.

New York↗
USGS1987

Surface-water hydrology of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center Cattaraugus County, New York

Precipitation data were collected from October 1980 through September 1983 from three recording gages at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, and surface water data were collected at three continuous-record gaging stations and one partial-record gage on streams that drain a 0.7 sq km part of the site. Seepage from springs was measured periodically during the study. The data were used to identify runoff characteristics at the waste burial ground and the reprocessing plant area, 400 meters to the north. Preliminary water budgets for April 1982 through March 1983 were calculated to aid in the development of groundwater flow models to the two areas. Nearly 80% of the measured runoff from the burial ground area was storm runoff; the remaining 20% was base flow. In contrast, only 30% of the runoff leaving the reprocessing plant area was storm runoff, and 70% was base flow. This difference is attributed to soil composition. The burial ground soil consists of clayey silty till that limits infiltration and causes most precipitation to flow to local channels as direct runoff. In contrast, the reprocessing plant area is overlain by alluvial sand and gravel that allows rapid infiltration of precipitation and subsequent steady discharge from the water table to nearby stream channels and seepage faces. Measured total annual runoff and estimated evapotranspiration from the reprocessing plant area exceeded the precipitation by 35%, which suggests that the groundwater basin is larger than the surface water basin. The additional outflow probably includes underflow from bedrock upgradient from the plant, water leakage from plant facilities, and groundwater flow from adjacent basins. (Author 's abstract)

New York↗
USGS1987

Effect of Niagara power project on ground-water flow in the upper part of the Lockport Dolomite, Niagara Falls area, New York

The Niagara River Power Project near Niagara Falls, N.Y., has created recharge and discharge areas that have modified the direction of groundwater flow east and northeast of the falls. Before construction of the power project in 1962, the configuration of the potentiometric surface in the upper part of the Silurian Lockport Dolomite generally paralleled the buried upper surface of the bedrock. Ground water in the central and east parts of the city of Niagara Falls flowed south and southwestward toward the upper Niagara River (above the falls), and ground water in the western part flowed westward into Niagara River gorge. The power project consists of two hydroelectric powerplants separated by a forebay canal that receives water from the upper Niagara River through two 4-mi-long, parallel, buried conduits. During periods of nonpeak power demand, some water in the forebay canal is pumped to a storage reservoir for later release to generate electricity during peak-demand periods. Since the power project began operation in 1962, groundwater within 0.5 mi of the buried conduits has seeped into the drain system that surrounds the conduits, then flows both south from the forebay canal and north from the Niagara River toward the Falls Street tunnel--a former sewer that crosses the conduits 0.65 mi north of the upper Niagara River. Approximately 6 million gallons of ground water a day leaks into the Falls Street tunnel, which carries it 2.3 mi westward to the Niagara River gorge below the falls. Daily water-level fluctuations in the forebay canal affect water levels in the drain system that surrounds the conduits, and this , in turn, affects the potentiometric surface in the Lockport Dolomite within 0.5 mi of the conduits. The drains transmit changes in pressure head near the forebay canal southward at least as far as the Falls Street tunnel area and possibly to the upper Niagara River. Some water in the pumped-storage reservoir recharges ground water in the Lockport Dolomite by seepage through bedding joints, which are exposed in the unlined reservoir bottom, and through the grout curtain beneath the reservoir 's dike. Water-level fluctuations in the reservoir cause slight ground-water fluctuations near the reservoir. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1986

Quantity and quality of urban storm runoff in the Irondequoit Creek basin near Rochester, New York: Part 2,.Quality of storm runoff and atmospheric deposition, rainfall-runoff-quality modeling and potential of wetlands for sediment and nutrient retention

Water quality data collected at 17 sites in urbanized and rural parts of the 438 sq km Irondequoit Creek basin from July 1980 through August 1981 were used to compute annual loads of eight selected constituents. Of the total annual loads of these constituents, 50 to 70% was transported to Irondequoit Bay during a 3.5-month period from late January to early May. Of six mixed-land-use subbasins, the two most highly urbanized had the highest loads of all constituents. Of the four sites representing single land uses, the high density residential site and the housing construction site had the highest loads of all constituents except cadmium. A rainfall-runoff model was used to predict quantity and quality of storm runoff leaving one commercial site, two residential sites, and a large mixed-land-use subbasin. Predicted volume and peak discharges were within 10 to 30% of the measured values; predicted runoff loads of most constituents were within 40 to 60% of measured values. Stormflow modification in the Irondequoit Creek wetlands by two hypothetical control structures was simulated. Results indicate that outflow from the upper wetland could be decreased and stormflows dispersed to a greater part of the upper wetland to increase retention of suspended solids and associated chemical constituents.

New York↗
USGS1985

Quantity and quality of storm runoff in the Irondequoit Creek basin near Rochester, New York; Part 1. Data-collection network and methods, quality-assurance program, and description of available data

A 14-month data collection program of quantity and quality of storm precipitation and runoff was conducted in the Irondequoit Creek basin, a 438-sq km area along the south shore of Lake Ontario in north-central New York, from July 1980 through August 1981. The data from a basis for study of nutrient inflow to Irondequoit Bay. This report describes the methods used to collect and verify the data and includes some representative examples of the data base. Stream discharge and water quality data were collected at 17 sites representing rural and urban land uses. Precipitation data were collected at five continuous-record gages and 11 daily total gages. Evaporation data were collected at one site; chemical quality of precipitation and dustfall data were collected at four sites. Tables list watershed characteristics, precipitation data (including chemical quality of atmospheric deposition, monthly precipitation, and evaporation), and annual loadings of eight selected nutrients and heavy metals from the five major subbasins and three discrete land-use site. Examples of computer printouts of streamflow, precipitation, and water quality data available from the Geological Survey 's WATSTORE computer system are included. (USGS)

New York↗
USGS1985

Geohydrology of the Irondequoit Creek Basin near Rochester, New York

Geohydrologic information on the area within and surrounding the Irondequoit Creek basin near Rochester, in north-central New York, is presented on five maps at 1:24,000 scale indicating: (1) locations of glacial geomorphic features, (2) surficial geology, (3) soil permeability, (4) potentiometric-surface altitude and directions of groundwater movement, and (5) groundwater recharge and flow patterns. Also included are 20 geologic sections showing statigraphic relationships, aquifer composition, and depth to bedrock. Each map includes a short text and a list of references. Results indicate that groundwater within the basin flows northward to Irondequoit Bay and Lake Ontario and that the groundwater drainage system is considerably smaller than the overlying surface drainage area. These maps, based on available records and published data, depict the location of major recharge areas, relative rates of recharge, and the direction and rates of groundwater flow within the basin for use in aquifer management. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗