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An inventory of suspended sediment stations and type of data analysis for Pennsylvania streams, 1947-1970

Data concerning suspended sediment concentrations and loads, frequency of occurrence of suspended sediment concentrations, and long-term trends of annual suspended sediment loads are important tools for today's environmental manager. These data are required background for those concerned with establishing and enforcing erosion and sedimentation control regulations and sediment concentration or turbidity standards for water-quality criteria, or those concerned with designing for adequate long-term water storage in reservoirs (sediment load), for efficient municipal and industrial plant operation (sediment concentration frequency), etc. This is a compilation of the location, period of record, sampling frequency and type of data synthesis for suspended sediment carried by Pennsylvania streams. Figures 1 and 2 show the approximate locations of sediment sampling stations in Pennsylvania. All of the sediment data listed were collected by the U. S. Geological Survey mainly in cooperation with the following Federal, State, and local agencies. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources Bureau of Engineering and Construction Soil and Water Conservation Commission Pennsylvania Department of Transportation City of Philadelphia Brandywine Valley Association Delaware Geological Survey Conestoga Valley Association Lehigh County Soil and Water Conservation District Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army

Pennsylvania

Water resources data, Pennsylvania, water year 2000, Volume 1. Delaware River Basin

The Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with State, municipal, and Federal agencies, collects a large amount of data pertaining to the water resources of Pennsylvania each water year. These data, accumulated during many water years, constitute a valuable data base for developing an improved understanding of the water resources of the State. To make these data readily available to interested parties outside the Geological Survey, these data are published annually in this report series entitled "Water Resources Data - Pennsylvania, Volumes 1, 2, and 3." Volume 1 contains data for the Delaware River Basin; Volume 2, the Susquehanna and Potomac River Basins; and Volume 3, the Ohio River and St. Lawrence River Basins. This report, Volume 1, contains: (1) discharge records for 76 continuous-record streamflow-gaging stations, 7 partial-record stations, and 13 special study and miscellaneous streamflow sites; (2) elevation and contents records for 14 lakes and reservoirs; (3) water-quality records for 28 gaging stations and 14 ungaged streamsites; (4) water-quality records for 77 special-study stations; (5) water-level records for 53 network observation wells; and (6) water-quality analyses of ground water from 101 ground-water wells. Additional water data collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data-collection program may also be presented. Publications similar to this report are published annually by the Geological Survey for all States. For the purpose of archiving, these official reports have an identification number consisting of the two-letter State abbreviation, the last two digits of the water year, and the volume number. For example, this volume is identified as "U.S. Geological Survey Water-Data Report PA-00-1." These water data reports, beginning with the 1971 water year, are for sale as paper copy or microfiche by the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. The annual series of Water Data Reports for Pennsylvania began with the 1961 water-year report and contained only data relating to quantities of surface water. With the 1964 water year, a companion report (part 2) was introduced that contained only data relating to water quality. Beginningwith the 1975 water year the report was changed to its present format of three volumes (by river basin), with each volume containing data on quantities of surface water, quality of surface and ground water, and ground-water levels. Prior to the introduction of this series and for several years concurrent with it, water-resources data for Pennsylvania were published in U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Papers. Data on stream discharge and stage, and on lake or reservoir contents and stage, through September 1960, were published annually under the title "Surface-Water Supply of the United States," which was released in numbered parts as determined by natural drainage basins. For the 1961-70 water years, these data were published in two 5-year reports. Data prior to 1961 are included in two reports: "Compilation of Records of Surface Waters of the United States through 1950," and "Compilation of Records of Surface Waters of the United States, October 1950 to September 1960." Data for Pennsylvania are published in Parts 1, 3, and 4. Data on chemical quality, temperature, and suspended sediment for the 1941-70 water years were published annually under the title "Quality of Surface Waters of the United States," and ground-water levels for the 1935-74 water years were published under the title "Ground-Water Levels in the United States." The above mentioned Water-Supply Papers may be consulted in the libraries of the principal cities of the United States and may be purchased from the U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services, Box 25286, Denver, CO 80225. Information for ordering specific reports may be obtained from the Pennsylvania District Office at the address given on the back of the title page or by phoning the Scientific and Technical Products Section, at (717) 730-6940. Information on the availability of unpublished data or statistical analyses may be obtained from the District Information Specialist by telephone at (717) 730-6916 or by FAX at (717) 730-6997.

Water Data Report

Memorial to Jack B. Epstein 1935-2020

Jack Burton Epstein, a career geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) passed away in May 2020 at his home in Great Falls, Virginia. His career and contributions to the USGS spanned more than 60 years from his time as a summer field assistant while attending college, through 40 years as a research geologist, and more than 15 years as an emeritus scientist. Jack was born December 27, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York and attended CUNY- Brooklyn College where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in geology in 1956. He earned his Master of Science degree in 1958 from the University of Wyoming, and his doctorate degree in geology in 1970 from The Ohio State University. His master’s thesis was geologic mapping of the Fanny Peak quadrangle, Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota, and his Ph. D. dissertation focused on the geology of the Stroudsburg quadrangle and adjacent areas, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Geological Society of America Memorials

Characterization of ambient groundwater quality within a statewide, fixed-station monitoring network in Pennsylvania, 2015–19

Pennsylvania leads the Nation in the number of individuals that use groundwater for private domestic water supply; more than 3 million rural and suburban Pennsylvania residents rely on private domestic supplies for drinking water. These supplies are not regulated nor routinely monitored; thus relevant groundwater-quality information is not widely available. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP) Safe Drinking Water Bureau, established a statewide, fixed-station ambient groundwater quality network in 2015. The goals for the Pennsylvania Groundwater Monitoring Network (GWMN) include characterizing ambient groundwater quality conditions in rural areas of the State and documenting potential changes in conditions over time. Seventeen wells were selected for monitoring at 6-month intervals beginning in 2015. Since then, several wells have been added to the GWMN, bringing the total number of wells sampled in the fall of 2019 to 28. Routinely monitored constituents included physical characteristics and chemical concentrations in filtered and unfiltered samples (major and trace elements, nutrients, and organic compounds). Samples for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radionuclides, and dissolved hydrocarbon gases were collected during the first sampling event at each well. To offer insights on the quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in Pennsylvania, summary statistics for the 221 GWMN samples collected during 2015–19 are compared to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking-water standards, which are applicable to public water supplies. Results show that samples across the GWMN generally meet drinking-water standards for inorganic and organic constituents; however, a percentage of samples had concentrations that exceeded maximum contaminant level (MCL) thresholds for nitrate (3 percent) and secondary maximum contaminant level (SMCL) thresholds for iron (32 percent), manganese (36 percent), and aluminum (5 percent). Radon-222 activities, which were sampled only during the initial visit to a well, exceeded the lower proposed drinking water standard of 300 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) in 64 percent of wells in the GWMN; additionally, 7 percent of wells exceeded the higher proposed standard of 4,000 pCi/L. There were no exceedances for VOCs, but one well had a tribromomethane detection. Three wells had detectable concentrations of methane, with one sample exceeding the Pennsylvania action level of 7 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The pH and dissolved oxygen concentrations varied widely across the GWMN and were correlated with dissolved metal concentrations and other chemical characteristics of groundwater samples. Considering all samples collected for the study, the pH ranged from 4.2 to 8.3; 42 percent of pH values were either above or below the SMCL range of 6.5–8.5. The highest pH values resulted from contamination of loose grout used in the construction of one well and decreased to levels consistent with other wells in the vicinity after repeated sampling rounds. Dissolved oxygen (DO), which ranged from 0 to 13.9 mg/L, influences the mobility and prevalence of constituents with variable oxidation state, including iron, manganese, and nitrogen species. Samples with acidic pH (less than 6.5) and (or) low DO had the highest concentrations of manganese and iron, whereas those with neutral to alkaline pH values had the highest concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and other major ions. Analysis of major ions indicates that calcium/bicarbonate water types are the most common, with a few characterized as calcium/chloride or sodium/chloride, and most others as mixed water types including calcium-magnesium/bicarbonate, sodium-magnesium/bicarbonate, and sodium/bicarbonate-chloride. Nonparametric statistical methods were used to evaluate the data for spatial and temporal trends. A principal components analysis (PCA) model developed with ranked data values for the entire network resulted in three components, (1) dissolved solids, (2) redox, and (3) sodium-chloride, which explained 74.5 percent of variance in the dataset. On the basis of individual contributions to the PCA, certain wells were identified through hierarchical cluster analysis that shared relevant water-quality characteristics. The spatial distribution of sampling locations and the temporal trends of constituent concentrations indicate that hydrogeologic setting and topographic position as defined in the PCA model are important factors affecting the spatial and temporal patterns of groundwater quality in the GWMN.

Pennsylvania

Water resources of southeastern Bucks County, Pennsylvania

This report has been prepared as a contribution to the development of southeastern Bucks County, Pa. It summarizes available information on the water resources of this 90-square mile area and evaluates current supplies. Future development of the area may change both the available quantity and the quality of the water supply. The effective development of the area demands a continuing knowledge of the water used and the potential quantity and quality of water available from both underground and surface sources. The area is strategically important to a great industrial section of the Bast. Its eastern boundary is a 26-mile segment of the Delaware River along the extreme southeastern border of Bucks County, Pa. (fig. 1). The present.population of the area is about 40,000, including 24,800 in Bristol Borough and Township and 6,770 in Morrisville. The area is traversed by both the Pennsylvania and the Reading Railroads and also by U.S. Highways 1 and 13. These are main transportation routes connecting the great market outlets of Philadelphia and New York. The Delaware River'is navigable from Morrisville to the sea. The area is only a short distance upstream from the Port of Philadelphia, which ranks second only to New York as the most important seaport in the United States. The area is mostly flat, open land 10 to 60 feet above mean sea level. It contains several large Industries, concentrated chiefly in the Bristol area (pi. 1). There are also scattered industries in the Morrisville, Langhorne, and Bensalem areas. However, Bucks County retains some of the characteristics of a farming region. Truck farming and gardening are still carried on to a considerable extent. Along Delaware River below Morrisville the mining of sand and gravel is an Important industry. The facts summarized in this report have been accumulated over a period of 25 years or more by Federal, State, and local agencies in connection with Investigations for other purposes. Most of the data used in this report have been obtained by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the Pennsylvania Department of Internal Affairs, the Pennsylvania Department of Commerce, and State Planning Board, the City of Philadelphia, the Corps of Engineers, and the Interstate Commission on the Delaware River Basin. This report was prepared in the Water Resources Division of the U.S.Geological Survey by Jack B. Qraham, District Geologist; John W. Mangan, District Engineer; and Walter F. White, Jr., District Chemist, under the general direction of C. G. Paulsen, Chief Hydraulic Engineer.

Pennsylvania

User's Guide to the Water-Analysis Screening Tool (WAST): A Tool for Assessing Available Water Resources in Relation to Aquatic-Resource Uses

A water-analysis screening tool (WAST) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to provide an initial screening of areas in the state where potential problems may exist related to the availability of water resources to meet current and future water-use demands. The tool compares water-use information to an initial screening criteria of the 7-day, 10-year low-flow statistic (7Q10) resulting in a screening indicator for influences of net withdrawals (withdrawals minus discharges) on aquatic-resource uses. This report is intended to serve as a guide for using the screening tool. The WAST can display general basin characteristics, water-use information, and screening-indicator information for over 10,000 watersheds in the state. The tool includes 12 primary functions that allow the user to display watershed information, edit water-use and water-supply information, observe effects downstream from edited water-use information, reset edited values to baseline, load new water-use information, save and retrieve scenarios, and save output as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Open-File Report

Dissolved methane in groundwater, Upper Delaware River Basin, Pennsylvania and New York, 2007-12

The prospect of natural gas development from the Marcellus and Utica Shales has raised concerns about freshwater aquifers being vulnerable to contamination. Well owners are asking questions about subsurface methane, such as, “Does my well water have methane and is it safe to drink the water?” and “Is my well system at risk of an explosion hazard associated with a combustible gas like methane in groundwater?” This newfound awareness of methane contamination of water wells by stray gas migration is based upon studies such as Molofsky and others (2011) who document the widespread natural occurrence of methane in drinking-water wells in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. In the same county, Osborn and others (2011) identified elevated methane concentrations in selected drinking-water wells in the vicinity of Marcellus Shale gas-development activities, although pre-development groundwater samples were not available for comparison. A compilation of dissolved methane concentrations in groundwater for New York State was published by Kappel and Nystrom (2012). Recent work documenting the occurrence and distribution of methane in groundwater was completed in southern Sullivan County, Pennsylvania (Sloto, 2013). Additional work is ongoing with respect to monitoring for stray gases in groundwater (Jackson and others, 2013). These studies and their results indicate the importance of collecting baseline or pre-development data. While such data are being collected in some areas, published data on methane in groundwater are sparse in the Upper Delaware River Basin of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. To manage drinking-water resources in areas of gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Upper Delaware River Basin, the natural occurrence of methane in the tri-state aquifers needs to be documented. The purpose of this report is to present data on dissolved methane concentrations in the groundwater in the Upper Delaware River Basin. The scope is restricted to data for Pennsylvania and New York, no U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) methane analyses are presently available for northwestern New Jersey.

New York;Pennsylvania