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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1993

Water-resources investigations in Pennsylvania; programs and activities of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1993

Current activities of the Pennsylvania District of the USGS are described and include information on current projects, such as project objectives, approach, progress and plans, project location, cooperators, period of project, and project chief. Basic-data programs for surface water, ground water, and quality of water also are described. Also included is information on the basic mission and programs of the USGS; program funding and cooperation for fiscal year 1993; the USGS water- data program, National Water-Data Exchange, and National Water-Data Storage and Retrieval System; and Pennsylvania data-collection programs and hydrologic investigations. List of publications of the Pennsylvania District and maps published by the USGS, as well as information on how to obtain them, are included.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1984

Compilation of ground water quality data in Pennsylvania

The U.S. Geological Survey's water quality file of 4,671 wells and springs in Pennsylvania provided ground-water-quality data for Pennsylvania. The data were assembled into computer-readable format and sorted into 15 major aquifer groups based on principal lithology, physiographic province, and age. Nineteen variables in each group were summarized by the Statistical Analysis Systems UNIVARIATE procedures to produce descriptive statistics including extreme values and quartiles. The bulk of the water-quality data are in the important aquifers in the unconsolidated Coastal Plain sediments, the Triassic sedimentary rocks, the igneous and metamorphic rocks, and the carbonate rocks. On the other hand, water-quality data for aquifer groups in the Appalachian Plateau and Valley and Ridge Province are sparse. Statewide, only six wells provide sufficient long-term data for trend analyses. Ground-water quality in Pennsylvania is highly diverse. High concentrations of dissolved solids, iron, manganese, sulfate, and nitrate are prevalent forms of natural and manmade contamination. The unconsolidated Coastal Plain aquifers have been most severely degraded. On the other hand, some of the best quality water is found in the quartzite, sandstone, and conglomerate rock units in the Cambrian and Precambrian rocks.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2008

Spatial Distribution of Ground-Water Recharge Estimated with a Water-Budget Method for the Jordan Creek Watershed, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania

This report presents the results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, to illustrate a water-budget method for mapping the spatial distribution of ground-water recharge for a 76-square-mile part of the Jordan Creek watershed, northwest of Allentown, in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Recharge was estimated by using the Hydrological Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) water-budget model for 577 landscape units in Jordan Creek watershed, delineated on the basis of their soils, land use/land cover, and mean annual precipitation during 1951-2000. The water-budget model routes precipitation falling on each landscape unit to components of evapotranspiration, surface runoff, storage, and vertical percolation (recharge) for a five-layer soil column on a daily basis. The spatial distribution of mean annual recharge during 1951-2000 for each landscape unit was mapped by the use of a geographic information system. Recharge simulated by the water-budget model in Jordan Creek watershed during 1951-2000 averaged 12.3 inches per year and ranged by landscape unit from 0.11 to 17.05 inches per year. Mean annual recharge during 1951-2000 simulated by the water-budget model was most sensitive to changes to input values for precipitation and runoff-curve number. Mean annual recharge values for the crop, forest, pasture, and low-density urban land-use/land-cover classes were similar (11.2 to 12.2 inches per year) but were substantially less for high-density urban (6.8 inches per year), herbaceous wetlands (2.5 inches per year), and forested wetlands (1.3 inches per year). Recharge rates simulated for the crop, forest, pasture, and low-density urban land-cover classes were similar because those land-use/land-cover classes are represented in the model with parameter values that either did not significantly affect simulated recharge or tended to have offsetting effects on recharge. For example, for landscapes with forest land cover, values of runoff-curve number assigned to the model were smaller than for other land-use/land-cover classes (causing more recharge and less runoff), but the maximum depth of evapotranspiration was larger than for other land-use/ land-cover classes because of deeper root penetration in forests (causing more evapotranspiration and less recharge). The smaller simulated recharge for high-density urban and wetland land-use/land-cover classes was caused by the large values of runoff-curve number (greater than 90) assigned to those classes. The large runoff-curve number, however, certainly is not realistic for all wetlands; some wetlands act as areas of ground-water discharge and some as areas of recharge. Simulated mean annual recharge computed by the water-budget model for the 53-square-mile part of the watershed upstream from the streamflow-gaging station near Schnecksville was compared to estimates of recharge and base flow determined by analysis of streamflow records from 1967 to 2000. The mean annual recharge of 12.4 inches per year simulated by the water-budget method for 1967-2000 was less than estimates of mean annual recharge of 19.3 inches per year computed from the RORA computer program and base flow computed by the PART computer program (15.1 inches per year). In theory, the water-budget method provides a practical tool for estimating differences in recharge at local scales of interest, and the watershed- average recharge rate of 12.4 inches per year computed by the method is reasonable. However, the mean annual surface runoff of 4.5 inches per year simulated by the model is unrealistically small. The sum of surface runoff and recharge simulated by the water-budget model (16.9 inches per year) is 7 inches per year less than the streamflow measured at the gaging station near Schnecksville (23.9 inches per year) during 1967-2000, indicating that evapotranspiration is overestimated by the water-budget model by that amount. This discrepancy ca

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS1998

U.S. Geological Survey cooperative water-resources programs in Chester County, Pennsylvania

Since 1969, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has had a cooperative water-resources investigation program with Chester County to measure and describe the water resources of the County. Generally, the USGS provides one-half of the program funding, and local cooperators are required to provide matching funds. Cooperation has been primarily with the Chester County Water Resources Authority (CCWRA), with participation from the Chester County Health Department and funding from the Chester County Board of Commissioners. Municipalities and the Red Clay Valley Association also have provided part of the funding for several projects. This report describes how the long-term partnership between the USGS and Chester County, Pa., provides the County with the information that it needs for sound water-resources management. The CCWRA was created in 1961, primarily for land acquisition and planning for flood-control and water-supply projects. With the backing of the Brandywine Valley Association, the CCWRA started its first cooperative project with the USGS in 1969. It was a study of the water-quality condition of Chester County streams with an emphasis on benthic macroinvertebrates and stream chemistry. The kinds of projects and data collection conducted by the USGS have changed with the needs of Chester County and the mission of the CCWRA. Chester County is experiencing rapid population growth (it had the tenth-highest rate of growth in the nation from 1980 to 1990). This growth places considerable stress on water resources and has caused the CCWRA to broaden its focus from flood control to water-supply planning, water quality, and ground-water and surface-water management. The results of USGS studies are used by the CCWRA and other County agencies, including the Planning Commission, Health Department, and Parks and Recreation Department, for conducting day-to-day activities and planning for future growth. The results also are used by the CCWRA to provide guidance and technical assistance to municipalities, water suppliers, industrial dischargers, watershed and conservancy associations and other civic organizations, state and Federal agencies, river basin commissions, and the private sector. The cooperative water-resources program, which is described in the following sections, benefits not only the citizens of Chester County but also serves the interests of the Federal Government. Innovative studies conducted in Chester County provide methods and interpretations that often can be used nationwide, and the headwaters of several interstate drainages lie within the County. Major program thrusts include collection of surface-water, ground-water, and water-quality data and interpretive studies. The use of this information also is described.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1997

Evaluation of agricultural best-management practices in the Conestoga River headwaters, Pennsylvania: Effects of nutrient management on quality of surface runoff and ground water at a small carbonate-rock site near Ephrata, Pennsylvania, 1984-90

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection conducted a study from 1984 to 1990 to determine theeffects of the implementation and practice of nutrient management [an agricultural best-management practice (BMP)] on the quality of surface runoff and ground water at a 55-acre crop and livestock farm in carbonate terrain nearEphrata, Pa. Implementation of nutrient management at Field-Site 2 resulted in application decreases of 33 percent for nitrogen and 29 percent for phosphorus. There wereno significant changes in nitrogen or phosphorusloads for a given amount of runoff from the pre-BMP to the post-BMP periods. However, less than 2 percent of the applied nutrients weredischarged with runoff throughout the study period.After the implementation of nutrient management, statistically significant decreases in concentrations of nitrate in ground-water samples occurred at threeof the four wells monitored throughout the pre- and post-BMP periods. The largest decreases in nitrate concentrations occurred at wells where samples hadthe largest nitrate concentrations prior to nutrient management. Changes in nitrogen applications to the contributing areas of five wells were correlated with nitrate concentrations of the well water. The correlations between the timing and amount of applied nitrogen and changes in ground-water quality met the four conditions that are characteristic of a cause-effect relation: an association, consistency, responsiveness, and a mechanism. Changes in ground-water nitrate concentrations lagged behind changes in loading of nitrogen fertilizers (primarily manure) by approximately 4 to 19 months.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2011

An innovative method for nondestructive analysis of cast iron artifacts at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Pennsylvania

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting research at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (fig. 1; see sidebar, page 53) in southeastern Pennsylvania to determine the fate of trace metals, such as arsenic, cobalt, and lead, released into the environment during the iron-smelting process. Arsenic is a carcinogen, cobalt is a suspected carcinogen, and lead can cause severe health problems. Iron ore containing elevated quantities of trace metals was smelted at Hopewell Furnace during its 113 years of operation (1771-1883). The ore used at Hopewell Furnace was obtained from local mines, mainly the Jones and Hopewell mines, which were within 5 miles (8 km) of the furnace. The iron ore deposits were formed during the early Jurassic period about 200 million years ago. The deposits are mineralogically similar and contain abundant magnetite, the chief iron mineral, and accessory minerals enriched in arsenic, cobalt, copper, and other metals.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1977

Environmental geology, Allegheny County and vicinity, Pennsylvania: Description of a program and its results

Past land-use practices, including mining, in Allegheny County, Pa., have resulted in three principal environmental problems, exclusive of air and water contamination. They are flooding, landsliding, and subsidence over underground mines. In 1973, information was most complete relative to flooding and least complete relative to landsliding. Accordingly, in July 1973, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) entered into an agreement by which the USGS undertook studies chiefly aimed at increasing knowledge of landsliding and mine subsidence relative to land use, but having other ramifications as well, as part of a larger ARC 'Land-use and physical-resource analysis' (LUPRA) program. The chief geographic focus was Allegheny County, but adjacent areas were included in some investigations. Resulting products, exclusive of this report, are: 1. Forty-three provisional maps of landslide, distribution and susceptibility and of land modified by man in Allegheny County, 1:24,000 scale, 7½ -minute quadrangle format, released to open files. 2. Four USGS Miscellaneous Field Studies (MF) maps of Allegheny County showing (a) bedrock, MF685A; (b) susceptibility to landsliding, MF-685B ; (c) coal-mining features, MF-685C; and (d) zones that can be affected by flooding, landsliding and undermining, MF-685D; all at the scale of 1:50,000. 3. Two MF maps showing coal-mining activity and related information and sites of recorded mine-subsidence events, and one MF map classifying land surface by relative potentiality of mine subsidence, in Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties, Pa., at a scale of 1:125,000--MF-693A through MF-693C. 4. A companion report to the Allegheny County map of susceptibility to landsliding--USGS Circular 728. 5. Five MF maps, largely in chart form, describing interaction of the shallow ground-water regime with mining-related problems, landsliding, heavy storm precipitation, and other features and processes, largely in Allegheny County--MF-641A through MF-641E. Map products are directly applicable to general classification of land for susceptibility to landsliding and mine subsidence and, to a lesser extent, flooding and engineering characteristics. The hydrogeologic charts enable greater understanding of environmental effects of ground water. All products are guides to expected conditions, but none are substitutes for detailed investigations of specific sites by competent technical personnel on the ground. Specific results and findings are: 1. Knowledge of .susceptibility to landsliding in Allegheny County now is adequate for application to countywide land-use planning. 2. About 110 mi 2 (285. km 2) , or 15 percent, of the county has some significant degree of susceptibility to landsliding. 3. Although a general classification of land in Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties relative to mine-subsidence incidents was prepared, data are wholly inadequate for even moderately precise prediction of subsidence events over previously mined-out areas; the accumulation of adequate data might not repay the effort in terms of damage prevention. 4. Commonwealth-of-Pennsylvania regulations, have been very successful in limiting mine-subsidence damage over areas mined after 1966. 5. Undermining and consequent subsidence may have affected the ground-water regime more widely than heretofore believed. Except for the earth-disturbance inventory that resulted in the maps of susceptibility to landsliding and man-modified land, methods used in the studies largely were conventional. The inventory and ensuing analysis combined aerial photographic interpretation with field work and incorporation of existing data. The method worked very well for the purposes of defining distribution of landslides and areas having different susceptibilities to landsliding. However, if susceptibility to landsliding alone had been the goal, this could have been determined adequately by using photographs at smaller scales and appreciably less expenditure of effort per unit of ground area.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2009

Water-quality monitoring in response to young-of-the-year smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) mortality in the Susquehanna River and major tributaries, Pennsylvania: 2008

Mortalities of young-of-the-year (YOY) smallmouth bass ( Micropterus dolomieu ) recently have occurred in the Susquehanna River due to Flavobacterium columnare , a bacterium that typically infects stressed fish. Stress factors include but are not limited to elevated water temperature and low dissolved oxygen during times critical for survival and development of smallmouth bass (May 1 through July 31). The infections were first discovered in the Susquehanna River and major tributaries in the summer months of 2005 but also were prevalent in 2007. The U.S. Geological Survey, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and PPL Corporation worked together to monitor dissolved oxygen, water temperature, pH, and specific conductance on a continuous basis at seven locations from May through mid October 2008. In addition, nutrient concentrations, which may affect dissolved-oxygen concentrations, were measured once in water and streambed sediment at 25 locations. Data from water-quality meters (sondes) deployed as pairs showed daily minimum dissolved-oxygen concentration at YOY smallmouth-bass microhabitats in the Susquehanna River at Clemson Island and the Juniata River at Howe Township Park were significantly lower (p-value < 0.0001) than nearby main-channel habitats. The average daily minimum dissolved-oxygen concentration during the critical period (May 1–July 31) was 1.1 mg/L lower in the Susquehanna River microhabitat and 0.3 mg/L lower in the Juniata River. Daily minimum dissolved-oxygen concentrations were lower than the applicable national criterion (5.0 mg/L) in microhabitat in the Susquehanna River at Clemson Island on 31 days (of 92 days in the critical period) compared to no days in the corresponding main-channel habitat. In the Juniata River, daily minimum dissolved-oxygen concentration in the microhabitat was lower than 5.0 mg/L on 20 days compared to only 5 days in the main-channel habitat. The maximum time periods that dissolved oxygen was less than 5.0 mg/L in microhabitats of the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers were 8.5 and 5.5 hours, respectively. Dissolved-oxygen concentrations lower than the national criterion generally occurred during nighttime and early-morning hours between midnight and 0800. The lowest instantaneous dissolved-oxygen concentrations measured in microhabitats during the critical period were 3.3 mg/L for the Susquehanna River at Clemson Island (June 11, 2008) and 4.1 mg/L for the Juniata River at Howe Township Park (July 22, 2008). Comparison of 2008 data to available continuous-monitoring data from 1974 to 1979 in the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pa., indicates the critical period of 2008 had an average daily mean dissolved-oxygen concentration that was 1.1 mg/L lower (p-value < 0.0001) than in the 1970s and an average daily mean water temperature that was 0.8 °C warmer (p-value = 0.0056). Streamflow was not significantly different (p-value = 0.0952) between the two time periods indicating that it is not a likely explanation for the differences in water quality. During the critical period in 2008, dissolved-oxygen concentrations were lower in the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pa., than in the Delaware River at Trenton, N.J., or Allegheny River at Acmetonia near Pittsburgh, Pa. Daily minimum dissolved-oxygen concentrations were below the national criterion of 5.0 mg/L on 6 days during the critical period in the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg compared to no days in the Delaware River at Trenton and the Allegheny River at Acmetonia. Average daily mean water temperature in the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg was 1.8 °C warmer than in the Delaware River at Trenton and 3.4 °C warmer than in the Allegheny River at Acmetonia. These results indicate that any stress induced by dissolved oxygen or other environmental conditions is likely to be magnified by elevated temperature in the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg compared to the Delaware River at Trenton or the Allegheny River at Acmetonia.

Pennsylvania↗