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NEW HAMPSHIRE-VERMONT WATER SCIENCE CENTER PROJECTS:

Remediation Effectiveness of the OU1 Area
at Savage Municipal Well Superfund Site

Study area:
Milford, NH		  

Project Summary:

Map of the barrier wall and remedial wells at the Superfund SiteThe USGS, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Region 1, has been conducting a long-term study of the transport of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) (primarily tetrachloroethylene, PCE) in contaminated ground water at the Savage Municipal Well Superfund site. The former OK TOOL facility, designated as Operable Unit 1 (OU1), has been identified as the primary source of the contaminant. In 1998, USEPA and NHDES installed a low permeability barrier wall and remedial wells to contain the source and remediate the contaminant plume.

This study has been evaluating effectiveness of remedial operations at the OK Tool facility, helping improve long-term effects of remedial operations on surficial aquifers, identifying important processes that affect contaminant transport, and working with project partners to improve long-term monitoring strategies.


Vertical profiling of VOCs with a new sampling tool designed for this study
  

Work completed through September 2008 included subsurface characterization of the area inside the barrier wall and continued hydrologic monitoring of the remedial system. Subsurface characterization focused on mapping glacial stratigraphy and identifying stratigraphic controls on distribution of VOCs. Temporal declines of VOCs are being tracked in relation to stratigraphy and potential source inputs. Hydrologic monitoring has been directed at understanding the hydraulic gradients around the barrier wall, and evaluating the effect of remedial operation on ground-water flow and contaminant capture.

 
Project duration:
2005 - 2010

Cooperators:
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Project chief:
Philip Harte
Contact information:
ptharte@usgs.gov
603-226-7813
Project number:
NH A6Y00
 

Cooperator Contacts:

NHDES, Robin Mongeon, (603) 271-7378
USEPA, Region 1, Richard Goehlert, (617) 918-1335

Related Links:

NH DES Waste Site Remediation: Savage Well Site, Milford

USEPA Waste Site Cleanup and Reuse: Savage Municipal Water Supply

Related Publications:

Measured river leakages using conventional streamflow techniques: the case of Souhegan River, New Hampshire, USA Article in Hydrogeology Journal, 2008
Differential rates of PCE declines in a sand and gravel aquifer Abstract for Groundwater Summit, 2008
Influence Of Heterogeneity On Effectiveness Of ISCO Treatment: Step 1 Abstract for Conference on Soils, Sediments, and Water, 2006
Simulation of solute transport across low-permeability barrier walls Article in Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, v. 85, 2006
Effects of a Remedial System and its Operation on Volatile Organic Compound-Contaminated Ground Water, Operable Unit 1, Savage Municipal Well Superfund Site, Milford, NH, 1998-2004 USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5083
Results of a Monitoring Program of Continuous Water Levels and Physical Water Properties at the Operable Unit 1 Area of the Savage Municipal Well Superfund Site, Milford, NH, Water Years 2000-03 USGS Open-File Report 2005-1303
Simulation of Solute Transport of Tetrachloroethylene in Ground Water of the Glacial-Drift Aquifer at the Savage Municipal Well Superfund Site, Milford, NH, 1960-2000 USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5176
Use of Passive-Diffusion bag Samplers to Estimate Vertical Distribution of DNAPLsAbstract for National Groundwater Association Conference, 2002
Comparison of temporal trends in VOCs as measured with PDB samplers and low-flow sampling methods Forum article in Ground Water Monitoring
    and Remediation Journal, Spring 2002
Results of a monitoring program of continuous water levels, specific conductance, and water temperature at the OK Tool Facility of the Savage Municipal Well Superfund Site, Milford, NH USGS Open-File Report 01-338
Testing and application of diffusion samplers to identify temporal trends in volatile-organic compounds USGS Open-File Report 00-196
Construction and calibration of numerical ground water flow models of the western half of the Milford-Souhegan glacial-drift aquifer, Milford, NH USGS Open-File Report 99-462
Information on hydrologic and physical properties of water to assess transient hydrology of the Milford-Souhegan glacial-drift aquifer, Milford, New Hampshire USGS Open-File Report 97-414
Effects of historical withdrawals on advective transport of contaminated ground waters in a glacial-drift aquifer, Milford, NH USGS Fact Sheet FS-162-97
Geohydrology of, and simulation of ground-water flow in, the Milford-Souhegan glacial-drift aquifer, Milford, NH USGS Water Resources Investigations Report 91-4177

 

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
New Hampshire/Vermont Water Science Center, USGS, 331 Commerce Way, Pembroke, NH 03275, USA
Comments and feedback: NH/VT webmaster-nh@usgs.gov
Last Updated October 27, 2009
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