U.S. Department of Energy Legacy Management recently installed six new aerial-survey quality-control monuments at the Falls City, Texas, disposal site.
The monuments will be essential for survey control maintenance to provide "a geographically consistent point of reference for ensuring the quality of future terrestrial and aerial surveys," according to a March 15 news release.
"These monuments are important for the long-term stewardship of the site," Legacy Management Site Manager Charlee Boger said in the news release. "Utilization of these monuments during baseline and future aerial surveys ensures LM can monitor any surface level changes that may occur. They are very important to assess the precision and accuracy of the data."
DOE's Legacy Management staff has installed additional monuments at other sites for similar reasons, such as facilitating the quality control process, the release reported.
Each monument at the Falls City site is a 3-foot-long smooth-finished concrete slab, about 6 inches thick, centered on a special stainless steel rod, according to the news release. The size, shape and smoothness of the monuments are intended to ensure good visibility during regular aerial surveys conducted by drones during the day.
Legacy Management uses the drone surveys to collect imagery and accurate topographic-elevation data for a given site's surface conditions, the news release reported. The baseline aerial survey at the Falls City disposal site is expected next year 2024.
Falls City's disposal site is the former uranium ore-processing facility that once operated in Karnes County, Texas, about 40 miles southeast of San Antonio, Texas, according to the release. Legacy Management, in accordance with the site’s Long-Term Surveillance Plan, inspects the site each year and monitors the area's groundwater as a best management practice, in addition to controlling vegetation and performing necessary site maintenance.
For more information on the Falls City disposal site, visit the Department of Energy's website.
