Test well installation and water quality, Hollywood Dump area, Memphis, Tennessee

The Hollywood Dump in north Memphis, Tennessee is known to contain hazardous wastes. Monitor wells were installed and sampled to determine if contaminants have entered the underlying Wolf River alluvium and concentrated near the base of this unconfined aquifer. Four water-quality samples were collected from each of nine monitor wells screened in the Wolf River alluvium at the Hollywood Dump between June 1982 and June 1983. Also sampled during this period was one well screened in the fluvial (terrace) deposits, about one-half mile upgradient from the dump, and three nearby wells screened in the Memphis Sand artesian aquifer. Low levels of several organic compounds, including heptachlor, chlordane and chlordene, were detected in water from the Wolf River alluvium. High concentrations of barium and arsenic were also detected. Water from the Memphis Sand showed no traces of synthetic organic compounds. Other constituents and properties were found to be at levels that are normal for that aquifer. Five of the Wolf River alluvium wells sampled were newly installed. Geophysical logs made in these wells, supplemented by drillers logs and split spoon samples, show that clay underlies the alluvial aquifer at the well locations. (USGS)