Wellhead protection area delineation under uncertainty

Abstract

A program to protect groundwater resources used for water supply from all potential threats due to contamination was established in the Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Goal of the State Wellhead Protection (WHP) Program is to ``protect wellhead areas within their jurisdiction from contaminants which may have any adverse effect on the health of persons.`` A major component of WHP is the determination of zones around water-supply wells called Wellhead Protection Areas (WHPAs) within which contaminant source assessment and management should be addressed. WHPAs are defined in the SDWA as ``the surface and subsurface area surrounding a water well or wellfield, supplying a public water system, through which contaminants are reasonably likely to move toward and reach such water well or wellfield.`` A total of 14 water-supply wells are currently being used at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Eleven of the wells are used for potable water supplies and the remaining three wells are used for construction purposes only. Purpose of this study is to estimate WHPAs for each water-supply well at the NTS. Due to the limited information about the hydraulic properties needed for estimating the WHPAS, an approach that considered the uncertainty in the estimates of the hydraulic properties was developed and implemented.