INVENTORY OF WELLS NEAR A FORMER WASTE-DISPOSAL SITE, NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, JUNE 1993 U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Open-File Report 94-398 Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION I ------- 950R94013 INVENTORY OF WELLS NEAR A FORMER WASTE-DISPOSAL SITE, NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, JUNE 1993 By SARAH M. FLANAGAN U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Open-File Report 94-398 Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION I Bow, New Hampshire 1994 ------- U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Gordon P. Eaton, Director For additional information write to: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey 525 Clinton Street Bow, NH 03304 Copies of this report can be purchased from: U.S. Geological Survey Earth Science Information Center Open-File Reports Section Box 25425, Mail Stop 517 Federal Center Denver, CO 80225-0425 Inventory of Welle Near a Former Waste-Disposal Site, Nashua, New Hampshire ------- CONTENTS Abstract 1 Introduction 1 Data-Collection Methods 1 Well-Numbering System 3 Well-Inventory Results 3 Domestic Wells 3 Landfill Wells 3 Public-Supply Wells 3 Observation Wells 5 Summary 5 References Cited 5 ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Map showing location of the well-inventory study area, the Gilson Road waste-disposal site, and the Nashua "Four Hills" Landfill in Hollis and Nashua, New Hampshire 2. Map showing location of domestic, public-supply, and observation wells in and near the study area in Hollis and Nashua, New Hampshire TABLES 1. Records of selected wells and one boring in Hollis and Nashua, New Hampshire 2. Lithologic logs of selected wells and one boring in Hollis and Nashua, New Hampshire., Contents III ------- CONVERSION FACTORS AND VERTICAL DATUM Multiply foot (ft) gallon per minute (gal/min) inch (in.) mile (mi) square mile (mi ) By 0.3048 0.06308 25.4 1.609 2.59 To obtain meter liter per second millimeter kilometer square kilometer Vertical Datum Sea Level: In this report, "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929—a geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea Level Datum of 1929. iv Inventory of Wells Near a Former Waste-Disposal Site, Nashua, New Hampshire ------- Inventory Of Wells Near A Former Waste-Disposal Site, Nashua, New Hampshire, June 1993 By Sarah M. Flanagan ABSTRACT Domestic, public-supply, and observation wells near a former waste-disposal site along Gilson Road in Nashua, New Hampshire, were inventoried in June 1993. Data include hydrogeologic information on 13 domestic wells, 11 observation wells in an adjacent municipal landfill, 3 abandoned public-supply wells, 3 observation wells, and 1 test boring drilled by the U.S. Geological Survey. INTRODUCTION Domestic, public-supply, and observation wells near a former waste-disposal site along Gilson Road in Nashua, New Hampshire, were inventoried in June 1993. This inventory was done by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Region I. During the 1960's and early 1970's, disposal of haz- ardous and nonhazardous liquid waste around a pri- vately owned garage along Gilson Road caused local ground-water contamination (Weston, 1989). In 1981, chemical analyses of ground-water samples from domestic wells downgradient from the Gilson Road site indicated that the wells were contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOC's) and other hazard- ous substances (Weston, 1989). The site is currently undergoing remediation under the authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa- tion, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. The purpose of this report is to (1) inventory the location and status of existing domestic, land-fill, pub- lic-supply, and observation wells in the study area, and (2) list available hydrogeologic data associated with these wells. The area of the inventory was limited to about 1.7 mi near the Gilson Road waste-disposal site in a residential area in southwestern Nashua, New Hampshire (fig. 1). During the 1980's, the population expanded rapidly because of the increase in trailer parks and single-family homes. In addition, the munic- ipal landfill north of, and adjacent to, the Gilson Road waste-disposal site is currently (1993) undergoing expansion (fig. 1). The major surface-water bodies in the study area include Lyle Reed and Trout Brooks, tributaries to the Nashua River. The Nashua River is a major tributary to the Merrimack River. The town of Hollis is just west of the study area across the Nashua River (fig. 1). The State and town boundaries between Nashua, New Hampshire, and Pepperell, Massachusetts, are less than 1 mi to the south of the study area. The surficial geology of the Pepperell Quadrangle in which the study area is located, was mapped at a scale of 1:24,000 by Koteff and Volkmann (1973). The hydrogeology of the Nashua area was studied by Toppin (1987) as part of a regional study to map the stratified-drift aquifers and determine their basic hydraulic properties. The authors thank the personnel from the Nashua Public Works Department for assisting in the location of observation wells in the "Four Hills" landfill, and a private drilling company for providing aquifer-test data. DATA-COLLECTION METHODS Private homes were surveyed door-to-door in the study area, and resident responses from 13 homes are compiled in table 1 (at back of report). Observation wells in the Nashua "Four Hills" Landfill, which were Data-Collection Methods ------- 42°45' 71 "32' 71 "30' 42°43' NASHUA "FOUR HILLS LANDFILL GILSON ROAD WASTE-DISPOSAL SITE Base modified from U.S. Geological Survey Pepperell, Mass.-N.H. 1:25,000, 1965, photorevised 1979 Polyconic projection, Zone 19 1,000 2,000 3,000 FEET I . I.I EXPLANATION STUDY AREA BOUNDARY —- LANDFILL BOUNDARY 400 800 METERS Figure 1. Location of the well-inventory study area, the Gilson Road waste-disposal site, and the Nashua "Four Hills" Landfill, in Hollis and Nashua, New Hampshire. 2 Inventory of Wells Near a Former Waste-Disposal Site, Nashua, New Hampshire ------- within the boundary of the study area (fig. 1), also were inventoried and field checked during the survey. In addition, original well-log, construction, and aquifer- test data were obtained for an abandoned public-supply well once owned by a private water company in the study area. well depth but not the depth to bedrock or depth of cas- ing, with the exception of the homeowner for well NAW-227. Landfill Wells WELL-NUMBERING SYSTEM Local numbers assigned to wells and test borings consist of a two-letter town designation—"HS" for Hol- lis and "NA" for Nashua; a supplemental letter designa- tion ("A", borings for hydrogeologic purposes with no casing set and "W", for all wells in which a casing was set); and a sequential number in each town. For exam- ple, the 220th well inventoried in Nashua is designated NAW-220. About 35 observation wells were installed in the Nashua "Four Hills" Landfill from 1983 to 1992. Eleven of these wells were within the boundary of the study area and were inventoried as part of this study (fig. 2). The well in the landfill that is closest to and downgradient from the Gilson Road waste-disposal site is well NAW-237 (also known as MW-5). Public-Supply Wells WELL-INVENTORY RESULTS The hydrogeologic data presented in this section include site records, well-construction records, explora- tion-borehole logs, and aquifer-test field data. A sum- mary of the well inventory is presented in the following sections for domestic, landfill, public-supply, and obser- vations wells (table 2, at back of report). Locations of inventoried wells and borings were plotted on the l:25,000-scale Pepperell, Massachusetts-New Hamp- shire USGS topographic map and are shown in figure 2. Lithologic logs for 18 wells and 1 exploration borehole are summarized in table 2. Domestic Wells Of the 25 private homes surveyed, 9 are still con- nected to domestic wells, 3 switched to a private water- supply company but still have existing domestic wells in place, 12 switched to a private water-supply company and removed their domestic wells, and 1, across the Nashua River in Hollis (HSW-70), has a bedrock well that is used exclusively for restroom facilities (for a private hunting club). Attempts to obtain hydrogeologic data for domestic wells from the 25 homeowners were mostly unsuccess- ful. Residents who still used their own wells knew the During the 1960's, three public-supply wells were in use in the inventory area and downgradient from the Gilson Road waste-disposal facility (fig. 2). All three wells have since been removed from service, and their well casings were removed during the early 1970's. Two of the three wells (NAW-157 and NAW-158) were owned by a local trailer park and installed in 1959. Attempts to obtain hydrogeologic data for these two wells were unsuccessful. A third, public-supply well (NAW-220) was owned and operated by a private water-supply company on land owned by a local trailer park. This 24-inch- diameter gravel-packed well was drilled in November 1969. A 192-hour aquifer test, using five observation wells, was done from December 1-9, 1969, and a 3-day recovery test was done after the pump was shut off. A constant volume of 1,210 gal/min of ground water was pumped from well NAW-220 for the duration of the aquifer test resulting in a total drawdown at the well of 29.29 ft (unpublished data on file with the Bow, New Hampshire office of the U.S. Geological Survey). In 1976 or 1977, the decision was made to abandon the well (Bernard Rousseau, Pennichuck Water Works, oral commun., 1993). Written documentation is not avail- able about the conditions around the well at the time the decision was made to abandon the well and remove the casing. Well-Inventory Results ------- 71° 32' 71" 30' 42°45' 42U43' NASHUA "FOUR HILLS" LANDFILL EXPLANATION LANDFILL BOUNDARY WELLS — Records for wells are in table 1 NAW-231 ^ Observation well and number NAW-225 0 Domestic supply well and number NAW-220 (T> Abandoned public-supply well and number Test boring NAA-219 1,000 2,000 3,000 FEET 400 I 800 METERS Figure 2. Location of domestic, public-supply, and observation wells in and near the study area in Hollis and Nashua, New Hampshire. Inventory of Wells Near a Former Waste-Disposal Site, Nashua, New Hampshire ------- Observation Wells On July 12-13, 1993, test-well drilling was done by the U.S. Geological Survey on private property west of West Hollis Street near the present-day storage facilities (J.D. Ayotte, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1993). Three test sites were selected for drilling—wells NAW-240 (29 ft) and NAW-241 (14 ft) nested together at one site, well NAW-242 at another site, and boring NAA-219 at the third site (fig. 2). SUMMARY An inventory of 13 domestic, 3 abandoned public- supply, and 14 observation wells, and 1 boring was completed in June 1993 near a former waste-disposal site along Gilson Road in Nashua, New Hampshire. Hydrogeologic data, including aquifer-test data, were obtained for one of the former public-supply wells (NAW-220). Lithologic, ground-water level, well- construction, and other data were collected and tabulated. REFERENCES CITED Koteff, Carl and Volkmann, R.P., 1973, Surficial geologic map of the Pepperell Quadrangle, Middlesex County, Massachusetts and Hillsborough County, New Hamp- shire: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Quadrangle Map GQ-1118, scale 1:24,000. Toppin, K.W., 1987, Hydrogeology of stratified-drift aquifers and water quality in the Nashua Regional Planning Commission Area, South-Central New Hampshire: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 86-4358,45 p., 6 pi. Weston, Roy R, Inc., 1989, Remedial program evaluation, Gilson Road site, Nashua, New Hampshire: Concord, N.H. References Cited ------- Table 1. Records of selected wells and one boring in Hollis and Nashua, New Hampshire [Site No.: First two characters are the town code (HS for Hollis, New Hampshire; NA for Nashua, New Hampshire). Third Latitude, Longitude: Accurate to 5 seconds. Type of well: Bor, test boring; BrW, bedrock well; Dug, dug well; Dvn, driven unused. Water level: reported as feet below land surface; gal/min, gallon per minute] Site No. Latitude Longitude Owner's name Other Year Type Use of Depth identification completed of well water of well HSW-37 HSW-70 NAA-219 NAW-155 NAW-156 NAW-157 NAW-158 424419 424334 424315 424307 424306 424347 424349 713152 713218 713205 713107 713213 713144 713158 Hollis Gagnon Lone Pine Hunting Club Nashua Dobbens, John Poirier, Camil Lagios Jensen's Trailer Park do. 1955 — 1993 — 1936 1959 1959 Dug BrW Bor Dug Dug GPW GPW H H U U H U U 14.1 — 20.3 53.1 45 80 NAW-220 424321 713139 Pennichuck Water Works Jensen W-l 1969 GPW U 67.5 NAW-221 NAW-222 424327 424250 NAW-223 424308 713151 713035 713102 Morey, Mary Kane, Maryanne Taylor, Richard 165.0023 1943 1987 1957 BrW BrW Dug H H H 300 200 20 NAW-224 424325 713156 Shaw, Steven Dug U NAW-225 NAW-226 NAW-227 NAW-229 NAW-230 NAW-231 NAW-232 NAW-233 NAW-234 NAW-235 NAW-236 NAW-237 NAW-238 NAW-239 NAW-240 NAW-241 NAW-242 NAW-243 NAW-244 424308 424303 424305 424307 424314 424319 424352 424352 424358 424355 424349 424340 424337 424354 424333 424333 424322 424322 424326 713142 713213 713156 713155 713202 713106 713122 713122 713116 713122 713131 713134 713115 713109 713200 713200 713203 713110 713112 Lambert, Romeo Humphry, Lawrence & Ellen Benson, Alfred Whynott, Bob (renter) Fortier, William J. Nashua "Four Hills" Landfill do. do. do. do. do. do. do. do. Dobbens, Don do. do. Nashua "Four Hills" Landfill do. 7 19 B-3S MW-1 MW-1S MW-3 MW-4 MW-5 MW-7 MW-8 __ _- __ B-4 B-15-T — — - 1970 1972 1964 — 1963 1990 1983 1990 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1992 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 Dvn BrW BrW Dug BrW Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs Obs H H H H H U U U U U U U U U U U U U U 15 150 200 — 150 30 93.5 49.5 45 85 33 76 14 28 29 14 30 84.5 132 Inventory of Wells Near a Former Waste-Disposal Site, Nashua, New Hampshire ------- character—W, indicates well; A, indicates boring. The numbers are sequential in the order the wells were inventoried. well; GPW, gravel packed well; Obs; observation well. USGS: U.S. Geological Survey. Use of water: H, domestic use; U, Casing Screened interval (ft) Water level Site No. Height above ground (ft) Depth to bottom (ft) Dia- meter (in.) Top of opening Bottom to opening Altitude above D; sea level Depth itC (ft) Remarks HSW-37 HSW-70 NAA-219 NAW-155 NAW-156 NAW-157 NAW-158 NAW-220 NAW-221 NAW-222 NAW-223 NAW-224 2.5 52 12 36 8 36 24 Hollis 175 185 Nashua 185 193 197 195 170 6-20-63 7-13-93 7-16-93 7-31-62 8.5 14 15.8 21.4 52 67.5 170 11-01-69 8 1.0 60 3.0 36 180 210 190 185 10-08-87 6-08-93 25 10.3 Not used for drinking water Boring; drilled by USGS Not in use Destroyed in 1992. Not in use, casing removed Not in use, casing removed Originally used for public supply. During aquifer test, well was pumped 1,210 gal/min for 192 hours from Dec. 1-9, 1969. Casing was removed in 1976-77 because of ground-water contamination. Drilled by R.E. Chapman In use Owner reports "hard water" from well. Drilled by Skillings Dug well in cellar of house. Owner also uses a driven point well about 300 ft from house. Water from this well is used for the garden and lawn Not in use NAW-225 NAW-226 NAW-227 NAW-229 NAW-230 NAW-231 NAW-232 NAW-233 NAW-234 NAW-235 NAW-236 NAW-237 NAW-238 NAW-239 NAW-240 NAW-241 NAW-242 NAW-243 NAW-244 - - 3.29 .54 3.29 .65 1.24 2.41 1.95 4.22 3.24 „ 3.0 35 - 10 90 39.5 5 15 13 6 4.5 20 26.5 11.5 27.5 117 6 - 1.5 1.5 1.5 2 2 2 2 2 1.5 2 2 2 1.5 1.5 - - 10 90 39.5 5 15 13 6 4.5 20 26.5 11.5 27.5 — 117 - - 30 93.5 49.5 45 85 33 76 14 28 29 14 30 84.5 132 190 210 190 180 195 199.37 187.67 188.53 173.6 185.3 178.3 177.9 184.6 177.14 165 165 185 235 305 - - 12-19-90 12-19-90 2-11-92 12-19-90 12-19-83 12-19-90 12-19-90 1-09-91 2-11-92 7-13-93 7-13-93 7-13-93 - — - — 12.5 22.8 20.9 4.3 18.1 10.5 10.1 8.77 .9 11 11 21 — -- In use Do. Do. In use; in cellar of house In use A bedrock well also is nested here. Drilled by All Terrain Drilling Drilled by Soils Exploration Shallow well nested with NAW- 232 (MW-1) Drilled by All Terrain Drilling Drilled by Soils Exploration Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Drilled by USGS Do. Do. Drilled by Soils Exploration Do. Table 1 ------- Table 2. Lithologic logs of selected wells and one boring in Nashua, New Hampshire Description of material Depth (ft) From To Description of material Depth (ft) From To NAA-219 Sand, fine to very fine; few pebble 0 Silt and sand till; few pebbles and cored cobbles 7 Refusal, firm; probably bedrock 16 NAW-155 Sand and gravel 0 Bedrock 20 NAW-220 Sand, fine, brown 0 Sand, fine to medium 30 Sand, coarse and medium gravel 48 Gravel, coarse 50 Bottom of hole 67.5 7 16 20 30 48 50 67.5 NAW-222 Sand and gravel 0 9 Bedrock 50 -200 NAW-223 Sand and gravel 0 20 Bottom of hole 20 NAW-224 Sand and gravel 0 NAW-225 Sand 0 15 Bottom of hole 15 NAW-231 Sand, brown, organic 0 0.5 Sand, fine to medium, brown; trace of silt 0.5- 3 Sand, fine to coarse, brown 3 15.7 Silt, brown, and fine sand 15.7 - 24 Sand, fine, brown 24 28 Silt, brown, and fine sand 28 32.3 Till, sandy, gravelly; some silt and cobbles 32.3 - 36.6 Bedrock (cored 6 in.) 36.6 NAW-232 Sand, fine to medium, dark brown; some silt.... 0 5.5 Sand, fine to medium, light brown 5.5- 41 Sand, fine, brown 41 87 Till (possible, no recovery) 87 90 Bedrock (cored 5 ft) 90 NAW-234 Top soil, reddish-brown, fine sand and pebbles 0 2 Sand, fine, light brown; little silt 2 8 Silt, light brown; little fine sand 8 24 Sand, fine to medium, light brown; little silt; trace of gravel 24 30 Sand, fine to medium, and silt, light brown 30 33.5 Sand, medium to coarse, light brown; few gravel 33.5- 36 Sand, fine, light brown; few gravel 36 40 Sand, fine to medium, light brown 40 50 Till, silt and gray fine sand, some pebbles; trace of clay 50 56 Bottom of hole 56 NAW-235 Fill, fine sand and silt, dark brown; pebbles 0 2 Sand, fine to coarse, brown; trace of silt 2 10 Sand, fine, light brown 10 45 Sand, fine to medium, light brown 45 75 Sand, fine, light brown 75 83 Till; silt, brown-gray; fine sand; little clay; pebbles 83 85 Bottom of hole 85 NAW-236 Top soil, silt and fine sand, dark brown 0 1 Sand, fine to medium, light brown 1 25 Sand, fine to coarse, light brown; few gravel... 25 33 Till, silt, gray fine sand, pebbles; very compact 33 37.5 Bottom of hole 37.5 NAW-237 Sand, medium to coarse, light brown 0 8.5 Sand and gravel, medium to coarse, light brown 8.5 - 14 Sand and gravel, medium to coarse, light brown; some rock fragments 14 19 Sand and gravel, coarse, brown 19 24 Sand, coarse, brown 24 29 Sand, medium to coarse, brown 29 49 Sand, medium to coarse, brown; trace of silt.... 49 60 Sand and gravel, medium to coarse, brown; trace of silt 60 67 Sand, fine to medium, brown; trace of silt 67 74 Sand, fine to coarse, brown; little silt 74 75.5 Till, silt to fine sand and pebbles, gray-brown 75.5. 76 Bottom of hole 76 8 Inventory of Wells Near a Former Waste-Disposal Site, Nashua, New Hampshire ------- Table 2. Lithologic logs of selected wells and one boring in Nashua, New Hampshire—Conf/nued Description of material Depth (ft) From To NAW-238 Till, silt, sand, and pebbles 0 7.5 Bedrock (possible); cored 6.5 ft 7.5 NAW-239 Sand, brown, and organic silt 0 0.7 Sand, fine to medium, brown; some coarse sand; little silt 0.7- 2 Gravel, brown, and fine to coarse sand; some cobbles; little silt 2 8 Sand, fine to medium, brown; trace of silt and coarse sand 8 18.4 Gravel, and fine to medium sand, brown; little silt and coarse sand 18.4- 29.3 Bedrock (cored 5 ft) 29.3- 35 NAW-240 Sand, very fine to fine, tan; coarser with depth 0 10 Sand, medium to coarse, tan; moderately to well sorted 10 21 Sand, fine with some coarser layers 21 31 Till; loosely compacted, mostly coarse sand.... 31 40 Refusal, firm; probably bedrock 40 Description of material Depth (ft) From To NAW-242 Sand and silt, very fine 0 12 Till, sandy 12 15 Sand, very fine and silt 15 24 Till; loosely compacted; more compact with depth 24 33.5 NAW-243 Tree stump 0 1.4 Sand, gravel, clay, silt 1.49 Till, sandy, gravelly, clayey, silty 9 84.5 Bottom of hole 84.5 NAW-244 Till; fine-medium silty sand; gravel and cobbles 0 -100 Till; same as above, but more cobbles 100 -125 Boulder 125 -126 Till, many cobbles; weathered bedrock 126 -137 Bedrock (cored 3 ft) 137 -140 «U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE:! 9 94-502-42 1 /00035 Table 2 ------- |