UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, MERCED Groundwater Surface
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED Groundwater Surface Water Interactions in a Gold-Mined Dredged Floodplain of the Merced River A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Environmental Systems by Lynn Sager Sullivan Committee in charge: Professor Martha H. Conklin, Chair Professor Teamrat A. Ghezzehei Professor Joseph E. Merz 2013 Copyright Lynn Sager Sullivan, 2013 All rights reserved The Thesis of Lynn Sager Sullivan is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: ______________________________ Teamrat A. Ghezzehei, Ph.D. ______________________________ Joseph E. Merz, Ph.D. ______________________________ Martha H. Conklin, Ph. D. Committee Chair University of California, Merced 2013 iii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction, Background, and History 1 1.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.1 Merced River Site Description ....................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Hydrogeologic Setting of the Dredger Tailings Reach .............................................. 6 1.2.3 Description of Dredger Tailings Reach ........................................................................ 9 1.2.3.1 History ............................................................................................................................ 9 1.2.3.2 Current Description of the Dredger Tailings Reach and Floodplain .................. 11 1.2.4 Historic and Current Salmon Habitats in the Merced River .................................... 13 1.2.5 Factors That Influence Reproductive Success of Salmon ...................................... 15 1.2.6 Hydrological Connectivity of the River Corridor ........................................................ 18 Chapter 2 Methods 23 2.1 Hydrology Methods and Analyses ................................................................................. 23 2.1.1 Monitoring Wells, Ponds, and Pressure Transducers ......................................... 23 2.2 Groundwater Flow-Modeling Methods .......................................................................... 26 2.2.1 2-D Model Conception & Description ..................................................................... 26 2.2.2 3-D Modeling Using Groundwater Vistas as User Interface with MODFLOW with the Assistance of David Bean, Amex ....................................................................... 28 2.3 Water Quality Sampling and Hydrologic Measurements ............................................ 32 Chapter 3 Results 36 3.1 Surface Water and Groundwater Elevations ................................................................ 36 3.2.1 2-D Groundwater Modeling .......................................................................................... 41 3.2.2 3-D Modeling with Groundwater Vistas ..................................................................... 42 3.3 Water Quality Sampling and Chemistry Results .......................................................... 47 Chapter 4 Discussion 59 4.1 Flow Paths ......................................................................................................................... 59 4.2 Carbon-to-Nitrogen Ratio Analysis ................................................................................ 63 4.3 Ratio Chemistry to Support Flow Paths ........................................................................ 66 4.4 Fe Redox Chemistry ........................................................................................................ 70 iv 4.5 Merced River Ranch Swale Ponds ................................................................................ 73 4.6 Implications at the Seepage Sites .................................................................................. 75 Chapter 5 Conclusions 77 References 82 Appendix 99 v List of Figures Figure 1 Location of the Merced River Ranch study site in the Dredger Tailings Reach of the Merced River. Map courtesy of Stillwater Sciences. ........................................................................ 3 Figure 2 Local site map near Snelling, CA. ..................................................................................... 3 Figure 3 Arial view of the Merced River Ranch. .............................................................................. 4 Figure 4 Merced River Hydrograph of the Merced Falls Reach, downstream from Crocker Huffman Dam and the Main Canal. .................................................................................................. 5 Figure 5 Mehrten Formation found on the south bank of the Merced River in the Merced Falls Reach………………………..…………………………………………………………………..…………..6 Figure 6 Historical soils map of an area from the Tuolumne River to a region south of the Merced River . ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 7 Schematic section (north to south) three miles west of Merced Falls in Merced County, California. ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 8 Schematic cross-section (east to west) north of the Merced River .................................. 8 Figure 9 Historical photo, designated ABF-12-45 by the United States Geological Survey, depicting parallel river flows and initial dredging efforts at the northeast corner of the MRR, dated 08/02/1937. .................................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 10 This photo depicts the harvesting fish at Calaveras Trout Farm for export to the sporting industry ………………………………………………………………………………………….12 Figure 11 Newly created side channel of the Merced River located in the northeast corner of the MRR. ………………………………...…………………………………………………………………….13 Figure 12 Estimated natural production of Merced River adult fall-run Chinook salmon .............. 14 Figure 13 Conceptual diagram showing the complex interaction of processes that can influence salmon embryo survival. ................................................................................................................ 18 Figure 14 Locations of the pressure transducers and water quality sample sites. ....................... 23 Figure 15 Drilled down to the Mehrten Formation for the Forest Wells. Note the dry yellow, white, and red fine porous material ………….………………………….……………………………………..24 Figure 16 Forest MW-6 casing designed to protect the wells against vandals………….………...25 Figure 17 Actual water pressure (A) is equal to the levelogger pressure (L) - barometric pressure (B) (Solinist Levelogger Manual)………………………………………………………………………..26 Figure 18 Thalweg profile and cross-sections within the Dredger Tailings Reach…………...…...29 Figure 19 The framework of the MODFLOW numeric model of the Merced River Ranch and its upstream river influences ............................................................................................................... 30 Figure 20 The four hydraulic conductivity zones of the MRR and upstream to the Crocker Huffman Dam ................................................................................................................................. 31 vi Figure 21 A panorama view of the newly created side channel of the Merced River ................... 33 Figure 22 Surface water and groundwater elevations MW 1-4 and for the Main Canal (MC) and Merced River (River) for 2006-2007 .............................................................................................. 37 Figure 23 Surface water and groundwater elevations MW 1-4 and for the Main Canal (MC) and Merced River (River) in 2011 and 2012. ........................................................................................ 37 Figure 24 Conceptual diagram depicting an accumulation of fine particles within the pore spaces (Teunissen, 2007). ……………………………………………………………………………………….38 Figure 25 Groundwater levels in the Forest Monitoring Wells and precipitation for 2011-2012 ... 39 Figure 26 Surface water elevations in MRR ponds for 2011-2012. .............................................. 40 Figure 27 Results from two MODFLOW simulations .................................................................... 41 Figure 28 Calibration results for the MODFLOW model with Groundwater Vistas as a user interface. ........................................................................................................................................ 43 Figure 29 MODFLOW groundwater modeling results for the Merced River Ranch and its upstream influences. ...................................................................................................................... 44 Figure 30 One-year particle-tracing results for modeling year March 2011-March 2012 ............. 45 Figure 31 Five-year particle tracking predictions .......................................................................... 46 Figure 32 Measured conductivity for the period of May 2011-March 2012. .................................. 47 Figure 33 Dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in MW 1-4, Main Canal (MC), and Merced River (River) for May 2011-March 2012.