Minutes
January 14, 1999
University of Idaho - McClure Hall # 304
Calvin C. Warnick Hydrogeological Library
MEMBERS
PRESENT:
Steve Gill (Executive
Secretary), Sue Hinz (Pullman), Derek Pohle (Whitman County), Gary Presol
(Moscow), Tom Townsend, Chair (Latah County), Mark Workman (Pullman).
MEMBERS
Absent:
Jay Becker (WSU),
Craig Benjamin (WSU), Steve Busch (Moscow), Don Huskey (UI), Larry Kirkland,
Vice Chair. (UI), Loreca J. Stauber (Latah County), Les Wigen (Whitman County).
VISITORS:
Ron Cooper (Pullman),
Dave Dittmer (WSU), Dane Drenford (Whitman County), Bob Haynes (Idaho
Department of Water Resources), Tom Lamar (PCEI), Scott King (King Groundwater
Sciences).
Call
to Order
The meeting was
called to order by PBAC Chairman Tom Townsend at 8:35 a.m.
Approval
of Minutes
Approval of the minutes from the November 12, 1998 meeting
was delayed until the February 11, 1999 PBAC meeting.
GeoTechnical
Presentation:
The geophysics
presentation scheduled for the January meeting was delayed until the February
meeting. Kent Johnson with Aquila Geosciences will lead a discussion on the estimated scope and
cost that a comprehensive basin–wide geophysical investigation might
entail.
S. Gill noted that
specific research issues that will be explored in the coming months include:
a. Revising the USGS ground water model (Lum and others, 1990).
b. Estimating ground water recharge:
Recharge estimates used in the model may be as much as ten times greater than
actual recharge (Larson, 1997). Kent
Keller, WSU, believes that the next "push" should be fairly large and
integrated, involving geophysics, more/better age-dating, perhaps another good
modeling effort; and involve UI and WSU folks.
c. Determining the “shape of the bathtub”: The basin’s shape may resemble a series of deep paleostream channels
in-filled with basalts and not a smooth bathtub shape as used in Lum and others
(1990) (personal communication with John Bush, UI, Geology).
d. Are we living on a “closed ground water basin”: WDOE
Hydrogeologist, John Covert notes that throughout the Columbia River Basalt
Basin wells developed in the Grande Ronde Basalt have show an increase in water
levels as a response to the high precipitation years of 1995-1997. This increase in Grande Ronde water levels
is fairly uniform and does not appear to be a function of decreased ground
water pumpage because many of the areas experiencing an increase in water
levels since 1995 have also experienced an increase in ground water pumpage
during the same time. Mr. Covert
suggests that the continued steady decline in water level for Grande Ronde
Basalt wells in the Pullman-Moscow Basin may indicate that the Pullman-Moscow
Basin is a closed ground water system (personal communication with Mr. Covert,
November 12, 1998).
Reports
and Announcements:
PBAC
Aquifer Recharge Subcommittee:
T.
Townsend noted that since no other members from the PBAC Aquifer Recharge
Subcommittee (D. Huskey, L. Kirkland, and L. Stauber) were present that
discussion would be delayed until the February meeting.
PBAC
Personnel Discussion: Hydrologic Technician, Conservation Coordinator, and
Executive Secretary: T. Townsend delayed discussion about PBAC personnel until
the February meeting.
Request for Proposals (RFP)
for WDOE Well:
S. Gill
distributed a draft of the RFP for the WDOE Well that was approved at the
November 12, 1998 PBAC meeting with an initial PBAC funding commitment of
$3,000.
Description of Problem:
The Palouse
Basin Aquifer Committee is requesting bids to clean out the Washington
Department of Ecology’s Test Well located adjacent to State Highway 270 between
the cities of Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, Washington (figure 1). The purpose of the well is to monitor the
aquifer’s hydraulic response to pumping from the two cities and two
universities
The well was
drilled in 1974 to a depth of 982 feet and consists of 980 ft. of 6 in. casing
with no well screen and an open bottom that originally had 5-10 feet of loose
fill (figure 2). The original sanitary
seal and locking cap had been replaced with a partially open cap to allow for
water level measurements. In 1996 and
1997, flood events caused Paradise Creek to overtop the well for period of
several days resulting in filling the well casing with sediment and debris from
the creek. Downhole video of the well
found that the casing is plugged beginning at 760 ft. below land surface.
The well will
require cleaning and may require drilling an additional 20-50 ft. to assure
that any sediment which has found its way into the aquifer formation is removed
to allow accurate monitoring of hydraulic response. There is easy access to the well site with no nearby power
lines. The site is located within 20
ft. of Paradise Creek. Water produced
during the cleaning/deepening operation will need to be diverted so there is no
direct discharge to the system. The
well casing should be extended to approximately 5 ft. above land surface with a
new sanitary seal and locking cap.
Bid Form:
|
ITEM |
UNIT |
ESTIMATED QUANTITY |
COST/UNIT |
COST |
|||
|
1) Mobilization & Demobilization |
- |
1 |
|
|
|||
|
2) Clean Well |
Hour |
20 Hours |
|
|
|||
|
|
Feet Cap |
3 Ft Casing 1 Cap |
|
|
|||
|
4) Drill Additional Hole |
Feet |
50 Feet |
|
|
Proposal
Inquiries and Deadlines: Direct questions
to Steve Gill:208/ 885-4569. Bid
Submittal Deadline: February 28, 1999
New
Business
Change in City of Moscow Elected Representative to the PBAC:
G.
Presol reported that the City of Moscow’s elected representative to the
committee, Steve Busch, has been assigned to other council committees and will
no longer be the City’s PBAC representative.
T. Townsend noted that Steve’s exemplary attendance, clear-sighted
comments, and insightful questions will be missed by the committee.
Pam Palmer will take Steve’s place as the PBAC
representative. Pam previously served
in the position as PBAC representative from January 1996 through January
1998.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:15 A.M.
Next
Meeting
The next meeting will be held:
8:30 am Thursday
February 11, 1999
University of Idaho McClure
Hall # 304
Respectfully
Submitted,
Steve
W. Gill, PBAC Executive Secretary/Technical Advisor