Completion report for Well Cluster ER-20-5

Abstract

The Well Cluster ER-20-5 drilling and completion project was conducted for the US Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV), in support of the Nevada Environmental Restoration Project at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) in Nye County, Nevada. Its primary tasks include collecting geological, geophysical, hydrological, and water chemistry data from new and existing wells to define groundwater quality in addition to pathways and rates of groundwater migration. A program of drilling wells near the sites of selected underground nuclear tests (near-field drilling) was implemented to obtain site-specific data about the nature and extent of migration of radionuclides that might have been produced by an underground nuclear explosion. Well Cluster ER-20-5 is the first near-field drilling project initiated at the NTS. This document presents construction data and summarizes the scientific data gathered during the drilling and well-installation phases for all three holes drilled at Well Cluster ER-20-5. Some of this information is preliminary and unprocessed, but was released so that drilling, geotechnical, well design, and completion data could be rapidly disseminated. Additional information about water levels, aquifer testing, and groundwater sampling will be reported after any of this work is performed. Any additional geologic and/or geophysical investigations conducted for this project is described in one or more analysis and interpretation reports. The lithologic and stratigraphic logs, however, are provided in final form.