Digital Operational Management Model of Northwest Boundary Barrier System at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Near Denver, Colorado.
Abstract
The U.S. Army's Rocky Mountain Arsenal is a former chemical munitions production facility near Denver, Colorado. Past activities have contaminated a shallow alluvial aquifer at the arsenal. Subsequent clean up efforts have included the construction of three groundwater contaminant containment barriers along the north and northwest boundaries of the arsenal. These groundwater barriers consist of pumping and injection well arrays separated by clay-slurry walls. Arsenal personnel have found these barrier systems difficult to operate due to the complex hydrogeologic conditions at the arsenal. To assist arsenal operators in barrier management, a highly detailed finite element groundwater flow model was constructed of the northwest barrier system. This model was written and programmed by the principal investigator and is part of a groundwater modeling package developed by the groundwater program at Colorado State University. The model was calibrated to observed pre-barrier equilibrium water table conditions. The model was then verified for transient conditions using observed water table fluctuations and the actual pumping history for the northwest barrier. Selected nodes in the model corresponded to the location of monitoring wells in the field at the arsenal. Model calculated water levels were then compared to field observations for these monitoring wells. The results of this comparison were then used to refine the calibration of the model. (MM)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA291959
Entities
People
- Denise D. Walker
- G. Ward
- Jeffrey H. Warner
Organizations
- Colorado State University