LOS ANGELES—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today released a document designed to help develop and evaluate long-term solutions to the impacts of perchlorate in groundwater at Santa Clarita, Calif. The report will be available for review at www.clwa.org. Corps representatives will present their findings at the Citizens Advisory Group meeting to be held Wednesday, October 13, 2004, at 4 p.m. at the Santa Clarita City Hall Council Chambers, 23920 Valencia Blvd, Santa Clarita.

Groundwater in the study area is impacted by perchlorate, a contaminant salt that is a component of solid propellants, flares, fireworks and other explosives. The data gathered during the study describes  the area affected by perchlorate and furthers efforts to trace the contaminant migration pathways.  This data will assist in the effort to determine a treatment strategy for removing the perchlorate from the groundwater and containing further migration.

The report, titled Draft Final Conceptual Hydrogeology Technical Memorandum for the Eastern Santa Clara Sub-basin Groundwater Study, identifies the unique aquifer properties and groundwater flow in the study area and catalogs the occurrence of perchlorate. During the course of the study, the Corps:
• Drilled wells at 11 different locations within the study area
• Drilled a total of more than 8,500 feet at those 11 locations
• Drilled one well to a depth of 1,600 feet below ground surface
• Installed 41 groundwater monitoring points at varying depths within the 11 wells
• Conducted two 72-hour aquifer pump tests to obtain and evaluate hydraulic conditions
• Developed a conceptual site model of contaminant migration

The project is part of the Corps’ Civil Works program, in which a local sponsor jointly funds and performs study activities. In April 2002, the Castaic Lake Water Agency (Contact: Dan Masnada, General Manager, (661) 297-1600), the local sponsor, and the Corps agreed to share the project’s cost equally. The agencies also formalized the project management plan for the study at that time. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (Contact: Jose Diaz, Project Manager (818) 551-2171) provided oversight of the project planning and implementation.

The Technical Memorandum will be available for review and public comment at the Canyon Country Library, 18601 Soledad Canyon Road, Canyon County, Calif., 91351, (661) 251-2720, and the Valencia County Library, 23743 West Valencia Boulevard, Valencia, Calif., 91355, (661) 259-8942. After approximately 45 days, the Corps will finalize the report. For information on the Technical Memorandum, or the Eastern Santa Clara Sub-basin Study please contact Greg Fuderer at the Corps’ Los Angeles District Public Affairs, 213-452-3923.