Numerical Simulation of Inter-basin Groundwater Flow into Northern Yucca Flat, Nevada National Security Site, Using the Death Valley Regional Flow System Model

Models of groundwater flow for the Yucca Flat area of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) are under development by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for corrective action investigations of the Yucca Flat-Climax Mine Corrective Action Unit (CAU). One important aspect of these models is the quantity of inter-basin groundwater flow from regional systems to the north. This component of flow, together with its uncertainty, must be properly accounted for in the CAU flow models to provide a defensible regional framework for calculations of radionuclide transport that will support determinations of the Yucca Flat-Climax Mine contaminant boundary. Because characterizing flow boundary conditions in northern Yucca Flat requires evaluation to a higher level of detail than the scale of the Yucca Flat-Climax Mine CAU model can efficiently provide, a study more focused on this aspect of the model was required