In 1971, four wells were drilled just outside a radioactive solid waste storage and disposal facility located on the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory in southeastern Idaho. This facility, the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC), has been in use since 1952. These wells serve several purposes: to study the geology and hydrology at the RWMC, to determine the potential for radioactive waste migration, and to obtain water samples to determine if waste products are migrating downward into the Snake River Plain aquifer.
Special efforts are made to insure that surface contamination does not enter the wells by either water, wind, or contaminated equipment. A submersible pump and a continuous water-level measuring device were installed in each well. Permanent installation of this equipment allowed the well heads to be sealed while providing for collection of data from these wells.
The water-level measuring device is a small diameter, differential-pressure, transducer probe. The transducer produces a variable-reluctance signal which is converted to an analog signal and recorded as the depth to water on a strip chart recorder. Windmill-charged storage batteries provide power for the water-level measuring system. This system is reliable, sensitive, and relatively maintenance free.
