Letter Report: Borehole Flow and Horizontal Hydraulic Conductivity with Depth at Well ER-12-3

Borehole flow and fluid temperature during pumping were measured at well ER-12-3 at the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada. This well was constructed to characterize the carbonate aquifer. The well is cased from land surface to the total depth at 1,487 m (4,880 ft) below ground surface (bgs). Slotted screen is placed in an upper screened section from 1,095 to 1,160 m bgs (3,591 to 3,805 ft bgs) and in the lower screened section from 1,278 to 1,474 m bgs (4,191 to 4,834 ft bgs). Borehole flow velocity (LT-1) with depth was measured with an impeller flowmeter from the top of the screened section to the maximum accessible depth while the well was pumped and under ambient conditions. A complicating factor to data interpretation is that the well was not filter packed and there is significant upward and downward vertical flow in the open annulus under ambient and pumping conditions. The open annulus and large vertical flow velocities in the well casing result in the measured borehole flow rates being potentially highly nonrepresentative of conditions in the aquifer. Hydraulic conductivities calculated under these conditions would require unsupportable assumptions and would be subject to very large uncertainties. Borehole hydraulic conductivities are not presented under these conditions