USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Nature Water”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources
USGS2007

Natural gases in ground water near Tioga Junction, Tioga County, north-central Pennsylvania: Occurrence and use of isotopes to determine origins, 2005

In January 2001, State oil and gas inspectors noted bubbles of natural gas in well water during a complaint investigation near Tioga Junction, Tioga County, north-central Pa. By 2004, the gas occurrence in ground water and accumulation in homes was a safety concern; inspectors were taking action to plug abandoned gas wells and collect gas samples. The origins of the natural-gas problems in ground water were investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, in wells throughout an area of about 50 mi2, using compositional and isotopic characteristics of methane and ethane in gas and water wells. This report presents the results for gas-well and water-well samples collected from October 2004 to September 2005. Ground water for rural-domestic supply and other uses near Tioga Junction is from two aquifer systems in and adjacent to the Tioga River valley. An unconsolidated aquifer of outwash sand and gravel of Quaternary age underlies the main river valley and extends into the valleys of tributaries. Fine-grained lacustrine sediments separate shallow and deep water-bearing zones of the outwash. Outwash-aquifer wells are seldom deeper than 100 ft. The river-valley sediments and uplands adjacent to the valley are underlain by a fractured-bedrock aquifer in siliciclastic rocks of Paleozoic age. Most bedrock-aquifer wells produce water from the Lock Haven Formation at depths of 250 ft or less. A review of previous geologic investigations was used to establish the structural framework and identify four plausible origins for natural gas. The Sabinsville Anticline, trending southwest to northeast, is the major structural feature in the Devonian bedrock. The anticline, a structural trap for a reservoir of deep native gas in the Oriskany Sandstone (Devonian) (origin 1) at depths of about 3,900 ft, was explored and tapped by numerous wells from 1930-60. The gas reservoir in the vicinity of Tioga Junction, depleted of native gas, was converted to the Tioga gas-storage field for injection and withdrawal of non-native gases (origin 2). Devonian shale gas (shallow native gas) also has been reported in the area (origin 3). Gas might also originate from microbial degradation of buried organic material in the outwash deposits (origin 4). An inventory of combustible-gas concentrations in headspaces of water samples from 91 wells showed 49 wells had water containing combustible gases at volume fractions of 0.1 percent or more. Well depth was a factor in the observed occurrence of combustible gas for the 62 bedrock wells inventoried. As well-depth range increased from less than 50 ft to 51-150 ft to greater than 151 ft, the percentage of bedrock-aquifer wells with combustible gas increased. Wells with high concentrations of combustible gas occurred in clusters; the largest cluster was near the eastern boundary of the gas-storage field. A subsequent detailed gas-sampling effort focused on 39 water wells with the highest concentrations of combustible gas (12 representing the outwash aquifer and 27 from the bedrock aquifer) and 8 selected gas wells. Three wells producing native gas from the Oriskany Sandstone and five wells (two observation wells and three injection/withdrawal wells) with non-native gas from the gas-storage field were sampled twice. Chemical composition, stable carbon and hydrogen isotopes of methane (13CCH4 and DCH4), and stable carbon isotopes of ethane (13CC2H6) were analyzed. No samples could be collected to document the composition of microbial gas originating in the outwash deposits (outwash or 'drift' gas) or of native natural gas originating solely in Devonian shale at depths shallower than the Oriskany Sandstone, although two of the storage-field observation wells sampled reportedly yielded some Devonian shale gas. Literature values for outwash or 'drift' gas and Devonian shale gases were used to supplement the data collection. Non-native gases fr

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2005

Design and analysis of a natural-gradient ground-water tracer test in a freshwater tidal wetland, West Branch Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

A natural-gradient ground-water tracer test was designed and conducted in a tidal freshwater wetland at West Branch Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The objectives of the test were to characterize solute transport at the site, obtain data to more accurately determine the ground-water velocity in the upper wetland sediments, and to compare a conservative, ionic tracer (bromide) to a volatile tracer (sulfur hexafluoride) to ascertain whether volatilization could be an important process in attenuating volatile organic compounds in the ground water. The tracer test was conducted within the upper peat unit of a layer of wetland sediments that also includes a lower clayey unit; the combined layer overlies an aquifer. The area selected for the test was thought to have an above-average rate of ground-water discharge based on ground-water head distributions and near-surface detections of volatile organic compounds measured in previous studies. Because ground-water velocities in the wetland sediments were expected to be slow compared to the underlying aquifer, the test was designed to be conducted on a small scale. Ninety-seven ?-inch-diameter inverted-screen stainless-steel piezometers were installed in a cylindrical array within approximately 25 cubic feet (2.3 cubic meters) of wetland sediments, in an area with a vertically upward hydraulic gradient. Fluorescein dye was used to qualitatively evaluate the hydrologic integrity of the tracer array before the start of the tracer test, including verifying the absence of hydraulic short-circuiting due to nonnatural vertical conduits potentially created during piezometer installation. Bromide and sulfur hexafluoride tracers (0.139 liter of solution containing 100,000 milligrams per liter of bromide ion and 23.3 milligrams per liter of sulfur hexafluoride) were co-injected and monitored to generate a dataset that could be used to evaluate solute transport in three dimensions. Piezometers were sampled 2 to 15 times each, from July 1998 through September 1999, to assess background conditions and monitor tracer movement. During the test, 644 samples were analyzed for fluorescein, 617 samples were analyzed for bromide with an ion-selective electrode, 213 samples were analyzed for bromide with colorimetric methods, and 603 samples were analyzed for sulfur hexafluoride, including samples collected prior to tracer injection to determine background concentrations. Additional samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (96 samples) and methane (37 samples) to determine the distribution of these contaminants and the extent of methanogenic conditions within the tracer array; however, these data were not used for the analysis of the test. During the tracer test, the fluorescein dye, bromide, and sulfur hexafluoride were transported predominantly in the upward direction, although all three tracers also moved outward in all directions from the injection point, and it is likely that some tracer mass moved beyond the lateral edges of the array. An analysis of the tracer-test data was performed through the use of breakthrough curves and isoconcentration contour plots. Results show that movement of the fluorescein dye, a non-conservative tracer, was retarded compared to the other two tracers, likely as a result of sorption onto the wetland sediments. Suspected loss of tracer mass along the lateral edges of the array prevented a straightforward quantitative analysis of tracer transport and ground-water velocity from the bromide and sulfur-hexafluoride data. In addition, the initial density of the bromide/sulfur hexafluoride solution (calculated to be 1.097 grams per milli2 Ground-Water Tracer Test, West Branch Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD liter) could have caused the solution to sink below the injection point before undergoing dilution and moving back up into the array. For these reasons, the data analysis in this report was performed largely through qualitative method

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS1983

Water storage capacity of natural wetland depressions in the Devils Lake basin of North Dakota

Photogrammetric mapping techniques were used to derive the water storage capacities of natural wetland depressions other than lakes in the Devils Lake Basin of North Dakota. Results from sample quarter-section areas were expanded to the entire basin. Depressions in the Devils Lake Basin have a maximum storage capacity of nearly 811,000 cubic dekameters (657,000 acre-feet). The depressions store about 72 percent of the total runoff volume from a 2-year-frequency runoff and about 41 percent of the total runoff volume from a 100-year-frequency runoff.

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation↗
USGS2009

Comprehensive isolation of natural organic matter from water for spectral characterizations and reactivity testing

A variety of approaches were tested to comprehensively isolate natural organic matter (NOM) from water . For waters with high NOM concentrations such as the Suwannee River, Georgia, approaches that used combinations of membrane concentrations, evaporative concentrations, and adsorption on nonionic XAD resins, ion exchange resins and iron oxide coated sand isolated over 90% of the NOM. However, for waters with low NOM concentrations, losses of half of the NOM were common and desalting of NOM isolates was a problem. A new comprehensive approach was devised and tested on the Seine River, France in which 100 L of filtered water was sodium softened by ion exchange and vacuum evaporated to 100 mL. Colloids (32% of the NOM) were isolated using a 3,500 Dalton membrane by dialysis against 0.1 M HCl and 0.2 M HF to remove salts and silica. On the membrane permeate, hydrophobic NOM (42%) was isolated using XAD-8 resin and hydrophilic NOM (26%) was isolated using a variety of selective desalting precipitations. The colloid fraction was characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy as N-acetylamino sugars.

Georgia↗
USGS1997

Soil-water movement under natural-site and waste-site conditions: A multiple-year field study in the Mojave Desert, Nevada

Soil-water movement under natural-site and simulated waste-site conditions were compared by monitoring four experimental sites in the Mojave Desert, Nevada, during a 5-year period: one vegetated soil profile, one soil profile where vegetation was removed, and two nonvegetated test trenches. Precipitation ranged from 14 to 162 mm/yr. Temporal changes in water content measured by neutron probe were limited to the upper 0.5–1 m; values ranged from 0.01 to 0.19 m 3 /m 3 . Water potential and temperature were measured by thermocouple psychrometers; 77% remained operable for ≥4.5 years. For vegetated soil, precipitation that accumulated in the upper 0.75 m of soil was removed by evapotranspiration: water potentials decreased seasonally by 4 to >8 MPa. During 2 years with below-average precipitation, water potentials below the app arent root zone decreased by 2.3 (1.2-m depth) to 0.4 MPa (5-m depth), and the gradients became predominantly upward. Water potentials then rebounded during 2 years with near- and above-average precipitation, and seasonally variant water potential gradients were reestablished above the 4.2-m depth. Under nonvegetated waste-site conditions, data indicated the long-term accumulation and shallow, but continued, penetration of precipitation: water potentials showed moisture penetration to depths of 0.75−1.85 m. The method of simulated-waste drum placement (stacked versus random) and the associated differences in subsidence showed no measurable influence on the water balance of the trenches: subsidence totaled ≤13 mm during the study. Water potentials below the trenches and below the 2-m depth for the nonvegetated soil remained low (≈−5.5 to −7.5 MPa) and indicated the persistence of typically upward driving forces for isothermal water flow. Water fluxes estimated from water potential and temperature data suggested that isothermal liquid, isothermal vapor, and nonisothermal vapor flow need to be considered in the conceptualization of unsaturated flow at the field sites. Below the depth of temporal water content change, the estimated liquid fluxes ranged from 10 −10 to 10 −15 cm/s, isothermal vapor fluxes ranged from 10 −10 to 10 −13 cm/s, and the nonisothermal vapor fluxes ranged from 10 −8 to 10 −10 cm/s.

Nevada↗
USGS1982

Ground-water storage depletion in Pahrump Valley, Nevada-California, 1962-75

During the 13-year period, February 1962 to February 1975, about 540,000 acre-feet of ground water was pumped from Pahrump Valley. This resulted in significant water-level declines along the base of the Pahrump and Manse fans where pumping was concentrated. Maximum observed net decline was slightly more than 60 feet. Much smaller declines occurred in the central valley, and locally, water levels in some shallow wells rose due to recharge derived from the deep percolation of irrigation water. The pumping resulted in about 219,000 acre-feet of storage depletion. Of this, 155,000 acre-feet was from the draining of unconsolidated material, 46,000 was from compaction of fine-grained sediments, and 18,000 acre-feet was from the elastic response of the aquifer and water. The total storage depletion was equal to about 40 percent of the total pumpage. The remaining pumped water was derived from the capture of natural ground-water discharge and reuse of pumped water that had recirculated back to ground water. Natural recharge to and discharge from the ground-water system is estimated to be 37,000 acre-feet per year. Of this, 18,000 acre-feet per year leaves the area as subsurface outflow through carbonate-rock aquifers which form a multivalley flow system. The extent of this system was not precisely determined by this study. The most probable discharge area for this outflow is along the flood plain of the Amargosa River between the towns of Shoshone and Tecopa. This outflow probably cannot be economically captured by pumping from Pahrump Valley. Consequently, the maximum amount of natural discharge available for capture is 19,000 acre-feet per year. This is larger than the 12,000 acre-feet per year estimated in a previous study; the difference is due to different techniques used in the analysis. As of 1975, pumping was causing an overdraft of 11,000 acre-feet per year on the ground-water system. No new equilibrium is probable in the foreseeable future. Water levels will probably continue to slowly decline until the pumping is reduced. The moderate rates of decline and very large amounts of ground water stored in the valley-fill reservoir suggest that a long time will be required before the valley-wide depletion of ground-water storage becomes critical. Problems involving water quality, land subsidence, and well interference will probably occur first.

California, Nevada↗
USGS2020

Natural gas hydrates: Status of potential as an energy resource

Gas hydrate is a widespread naturally-occurring combination of water and natural gases. Gas hydrate is found in shallow sediments of deepwater regions of the continental margins and in areas of continuous permafrost. Where gas supply is sufficient and migration pathways connect gas sources to favorable reservoirs, gas hydrate can accumulate to resource densities that may be attractive for gas production. Global research on the potential commercial viability of gas extraction from gas hydrates continues, predominantly in Asia and in the United States, where current efforts focus on the controlled destabilization of high-saturation deposits housed in sand and/or silt-rich reservoirs. This chapter reviews the current state of gas hydrate resource exploration and appraisal, the most promising production approaches identified to date, and the likely technical challenges to commercial production.

Book chapter↗
USGS2007

Fate and identification of oil-brine contamination in different hydrogeologic settings

Past disposal of oil-field brine at the surface has caused substantial contamination of water resources in Kansas. Natural saline water occurs in and discharges from Permian bedrock in parts of the state, and other anthropogenic sources of saline water exist, requiring clear identification of different sources. Time-series analysis of Cl- concentration and streamflow relative to pre-contamination contents, and end-member mixing plots, especially for Br- and Cl-, are practical methods for source differentiation and quantification. Although regulations preventing escape of saltwater from oil wells were first passed in Kansas in 1935, much oil and gas brine was disposed on the surface through the 1940s. Hydrogeologic characteristics of the areas with past surface disposal of oil brine differ appreciably and result in large differences in the ratio of saltwater transported in streams or ground water. Much of the brine disposed during the 1910s to 1940s in an area of silty clay soils overlying shale and limestone bedrock in south-central Kansas soon ran off or was flushed from the surface by rain into streams. Chloride concentration in the rivers draining this area often exceeded 1000 mg/L after the start of oil production up to the 1950s. Chloride content in the rivers then generally declined to about 100 mg/L or less in recent low flows. Oil brine was also disposed in surface ponds overlying the unconsolidated High Plains aquifer in south-central Kansas from the latter 1920s into the 1940s. Most of the surface-disposed brine infiltrated to the underlying aquifer. Where the High Plains aquifer is thin, saltwater has migrated along the top of clay layers or the underlying shaly bedrock and either discharged into small streams or flowed into thicker parts of the aquifer. Where the aquifer is thick, surface-disposed oil brine moved downward until reaching clay lenses, migrated latterly to the edge of the clay, and again moved downward if still dense enough. Water-level declines from pumping have increased the lateral migration rate of the saltwater contamination in the aquifer towards water-supply wells. The period of flushing most of the surface-disposed saltwater from the area of shale and limestone bedrock is on the order of many decades but is at least many centuries for the deeper parts of the High Plains aquifer. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Applied Geochemistry↗
USGS1966

A progress report on the test-well drilling program in the west part of Antelope Valley, California

This progress report presents the results of a test-well drilling program undertaken by the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey in the western part of Antelope Valley, Calif. Eight test wells were drilled by the rotary method, and electric and lithologic logs were made of each well. A water-level-contour map was drawn, based on water-level measurements in the test wells and other wells. On the basis of data from these wells, the Neenach and Randsburg-Mojave faults were located. The concealed trace of another fault, north of the Randsburg-Mojave fault, was postulated from water-level data. This progress report considers the feasibility of utilizing a part of the Antelope Valley ground-water basin as a natural water-storage reservoir. The West Antelope ground-water subunit could probably be used as a large-volume holdover storage reservoir.

California↗
USGS1984

Proposed 10-year plan for continuation of hydrologic studies of the Edwards Aquifer, San Antonio area, Texas

The importance of the Edwards aquifer as a freshwater resource and its susceptibility to being contaminated, being over utilized, or both resulted in the development of a proposed 10-year plan to monitor and study its hydrology. The plan proposes adjustments to the current monitoring activities of computing and measuring recharge, discharge, withdrawals, water levels, and water quality. To conduct the needed special studies , the plan recognizes the need for the construction and drilling of many new wells at specific locations and to selected depths. Many of the wells will be in clusters so that data can be obtained on a stratigraphic basis. Some of the topics identified for special study include: (1) The potential of saline water entering the freshwater zone from the downdip boundary; (2) the possibility of water leaking into the aquifer from an overlying aquifer; (3) the effects of urbanization on ground-water quality in local areas; (4) the movement and dissipation of a recharge water plume; (5) the influx of water from the Glen Rose Formation; (6) the effects of the fault barriers, regional dense bed, and irregular geologic framework on ground-water flow patterns; (7) natural recharge-discharge relationships; (8) the aquifer stage-storage relationship; (9) natural water-quality evolution; and (10) a refinement of the hydrogeologic framework in a local area.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2018

Applying high-resolution imagery to evaluate restoration-induced changes in stream condition, Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana

Degradation of streams and associated riparian habitat across the Missouri River Headwaters Basin has motivated several stream restoration projects across the watershed. Many of these projects install a series of beaver dam analogues (BDAs) to aggrade incised streams, elevate local water tables, and create natural surface water storage by reconnecting streams with their floodplains. Satellite imagery can provide a spatially continuous mechanism to monitor the effects of these in-stream structures on stream surface area. However, remote sensing-based approaches to map narrow (e.g., <5 m wide) linear features such as streams have been under-developed relative to efforts to map other types of aquatic systems, such as wetlands or lakes. We mapped pre- and post-restoration (one to three years post-restoration) stream surface area and riparian greenness at four stream restoration sites using Worldview-2 and 3 images as well as a QuickBird-2 image. We found that panchromatic brightness and eCognition-based outputs (0.5 m resolution) provided high-accuracy maps of stream surface area (overall accuracy ranged from 91% to 99%) for streams as narrow as 1.5 m wide. Using image pairs, we were able to document increases in stream surface area immediately upstream of BDAs as well as increases in stream surface area along the restoration reach at Robb Creek, Alkali Creek and Long Creek (South). Although Long Creek (North) did not show a net increase in stream surface area along the restoration reach, we did observe an increase in riparian greenness, suggesting increased water retention adjacent to the stream. As high-resolution imagery becomes more widely collected and available, improvements in our ability to provide spatially continuous monitoring of stream systems can effectively complement more traditional field-based and gage-based datasets to inform watershed management.

Montana↗
USGS2010

Assessment of ecological conditions and potential effects of water produced from coalbed natural gas development on biological communities in streams of the Powder River structural basin, Wyoming and Montana, 2005-08

Ongoing development of coalbed natural gas in the Powder River structural basin in Wyoming and Montana led to formation of an interagency task group to address concerns about the effects of the resulting production water on biological communities in streams of the area. The interagency task group developed a monitoring plan and conducted sampling of macroinvertebrate, algal, and fish communities at 47 sites during 2005-08 to document current ecological conditions and determine existing and potential effects of water produced from coalbed natural gas development on biological communities. Macroinvertebrate, algal, and fish community composition varied between drainage basins, among sites within drainage basins, and by year. Macroinvertebrate communities of the main-stem Tongue River were characterized by higher taxa richness and higher abundance of Ephemeroptera, for example, compared to macroinvertebrate communities in plains tributaries of the Tongue River and the main-stem Powder River. Fish communities of the Tongue River were characterized by higher taxa richness and abundance of introduced species compared to the Powder River where native species were dominant. Macroinvertebrate community metric values from sites in the middle reach of the main-stem Powder River, from below Willow Creek to below Crazy Woman Creek, differed from metric values in the upper and lower reaches of the Powder River. Metrics indicative of communitywide differences included measures of taxa richness, relative abundance, feeding mode, and tolerance. Some of the variation in the macroinvertebrate communities could be explained by variation in environmental variables, including physical (turbidity, embeddedness, bed substrate size, and streamflow) and chemical (alkalinity and specific conductance) variables. Of these environmental variables, alkalinity was the best indicator of coalbed natural gas development because of the sodiumbicarbonate signature of the production water. Algal samples from the main-stem Powder River generally confirmed the pattern observed in the macroinvertebrate communities. Algal communities at sites in the middle reach of the Powder River commonly were characterized by dominance by a single taxon and by low biovolume of algae compared to other sites. In contrast to the macroinvertebrate and algal communities, species richness of fish communities was highest in the middle reach of the Powder River. Although a few significant differences in fish metrics were determined along the main-stem Powder River, the differences did not correspond to the pattern observed for the macroinvertebrate and algae communities. Differences in biological communities were noted between years, potentially due to the effects of drought. Macroinvertebrate community metrics, such as Diptera taxa richness, were significantly different in the severe drought year of 2006 from metric values in 2005 and 2007-08. Waterquality data collected during the study indicated that, with few exceptions, water-quality constituents generally did not exceed State or Federal acute and chronic criteria for the protection of aquatic life.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2004

Illinois drainage water management demonstration project

Due to naturally high water tables and flat topography, there are approximately 4 million ha (10 million ac) of farmland artificially drained with subsurface (tile) systems in Illinois. Subsurface drainage is practiced to insure trafficable field conditions for farm equipment and to reduce crop stress from excess water within the root zone. Although drainage is essential for economic crop production, there have been some significant environmental costs. Tile drainage systems tend to intercept nutrient (nitrate) rich soil-water and shunt it to surface water. Data from numerous monitoring studies have shown that a significant amount of the total nitrate load in Illinois is being delivered to surface water from tile drainage systems. In Illinois, these drainage systems are typically installed without control mechanisms and allow the soil to drain whenever the water table is above the elevation of the tile outlet. An assessment of water quality in the tile drained areas of Illinois showed that approximately 50 percent of the nitrate load was being delivered through the tile systems during the fallow period when there was no production need for drainage to occur. In 1998, a demonstration project to introduce drainage water management to producers in Illinois was initiated by NRCS4 An initial aspect of the project was to identify producers that were willing to manage their drainage system to create a raised water table during the fallow (November-March) period. Financial assistance from two federal programs was used to assist producers in retrofitting the existing drainage systems with control structures. Growers were also provided guidance on the management of the structures for both water quality and production benefits. Some of the retrofitted systems were monitored to determine the effect of the practice on water quality. This paper provides background on the water quality impacts of tile drainage in Illinois, the status of the demonstration project, preliminary monitoring results, and other observations.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2016

Toxicity of potassium chloride to veliger and byssal stage dreissenid mussels related to water quality

Natural resource managers are seeking appropriate chemical eradication and control protocols for infestations of zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1769), and quagga mussels. D. rostiformis bugensis (Andrusov, 1897) that have limited effect on non-target species. Applications of low concentrations of potassium salt (as potash) have shown promise for use where the infestation and treatment can be contained or isolated. To further our understanding of such applications and obtain data that could support a pesticide registration, we conducted studies of the acute and chronic toxicity of potassium chloride to dreissenid mussels in four different water sources from infested and non-infested locations (ground water from northern Idaho, surface water from the Snake River, Idaho, USA, surface water from Lake Ontario, Ontario, Canada, and surface water from the Colorado River, Arizona, USA). We found short term exposure of veligers (< 24 h) to concentrations of 960 mg/L KCl produced rapid mortality in water from three locations, but veligers tested in Colorado River water were resistant. We used probit models to compare the mortality responses, predicted median lethal times and 95% confidence intervals. In separate experiments, we explored the sensitivity of byssal stage mussels in chronic exposures (>29 d) at concentrations of 100 and 200 mg/L KCl. Rapid mortality occurred within 10 d of exposure to concentrations of 200 mg/L KCl, regardless of water source. Kaplan-Meier estimates of mean survival of byssal mussels in 100 mg/L KCl prepared in surface water from Idaho and Lake Ontario were 4.9 or 6.9 d, respectively; however, mean survival of mussels tested in the Colorado River water was > 23 d. The sodium content of the Colorado River water was nearly three times that measured in waters from the other locations, and we hypothesized sodium concentrations may affect mussel survival. To test our hypothesis, we supplemented Snake River and Lake Ontario water with NaCl to equivalent conductivity as the Colorado River, and found mussel survival increased to levels observed in tests of veliger and byssal mussels in Colorado River water. We recommend KCl disinfection and eradication protocols must be developed to carefully consider the water quality characteristics of treatment locations.

Management of Biological Invasions↗
USGS1996

Plan for assessment of the occurrence, status, and distribution of volatile organic compounds in aquifers of the United States

The occurrence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water is of national concern because of their relatively high aqueous solubility, mobility, and persistence, because many are known or suspected carcinogens, because of their widespread use, and because they have been found in drinking-water supplies. Because of this national concern, VOCs were selected for National investigation (hereafter termed "National Synthesis") by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program in 1994. The broad goals of this National Synthesis are to: (1) describe current water- quality conditions with respect to VOCs; (2) define trends, or lack of trends, in VOCs in surface and ground water; and (3) identify, describe, and explain causal relations among the occurrence and distribution of VOCs in surface water and ground water, and natural and human factors. The National Synthesis of VOCs in ground water has three objectives: (1) to describe their occurrence, status, and distribution; (2) to determine relations among VOCs in shallow ground water and natural and human factors; and (3) to determine, compare, and contrast the occurrence, transformation, transport, and fate of selected VOCs in the hydrologic cycle for several regionally or nationally important aquifer systems. The description of VOC occurrence, status, and distribution in ground water focuses on major aquifers of the United States. Occurrence describes the presence or absence of VOCs, their frequency of occurrence, and their ranges of concentrations. Status compares the concentrations of VOCs detected in relation to water-quality regulations or advisories, such as Maximum Contaminant Levels, Proposed Maximum Contaminant Levels, Maximum Contaminant Level Goals, and Health Advisories. Distribution describes the variability of VOCs in ground water, areally and by depth. This report describes the study design for conducting such an assessment. The assessment focuses on aquifers, or parts of aquifers, that are currently used or have the potential to be used as sources of water supplies, using data collected as part of local, State, and Federal ground-water monitoring programs since 1985. Assessment by aquifer and comparison of results among aquifers will be completed for those aquifers for which adequate spatial or depth-related data are available. Assessment of VOCs in aquifers also will be completed at regional and national scales. A set of criteria for well-network design, well construction, sample-collection methods, and methods of laboratory analysis must be met before VOC data are used for assessment. An appropriate well-network design will provide a generally unbiased, random, equal-area distribution of sampling sites throughout the aquifer, or part of the aquifer, of interest. Well-construction information must be sufficient to ensure that the hydrogeologic unit (or units) represented by the water level measured and the hydrologic unit (or units) contributing water to the well are known. In addition, the well construction and pumping equipment in the well need to be of a type that are not likely to affect concentrations of VOCs in the water sample. VOC data will be considered suitable for use in the occurrence assessment if nationally accepted methods for collection and analysis were used and if the quantitation level for VOC analytes was less than about 5 micrograms per liter; laboratory analysis was done by a laboratory certified by the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency; and the sample was collected from untreated (raw) water at or near the well head before being held in a pressure tank or holding tank.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1956

Saline waters in New York State, Long Island, Staten Island and Manhattan, and upstate New York

In connection with studies of the practicability of conversion of saline water to fresh water, the U. S. Geological Survey assembled data on the occurrence, distribution, quantity, and chemical quality of saline waters as of 1955 for a report entitled, "Preliminary survey of the saline water resources of the United States" to be released when completed as a U. S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 1374. This report comprises data for New York State. Saline water is defined herein as any mixture of fresh and salt water having more than 1,000 parts per million (ppm) of dissolved solids. In the Nation as a whole there are, of course, all gradations of salinity from 1,000 ppm up to the 30,000 to 35,000 ppm characteristic of sea water, and the even higher salinities of certain natural brines. Sea water, and other water of comparable salinity, will be referred to here as "sea water" or "high-chloride water". This report contains two parts: one for Long Island, Staten Island, and Manhattan, N. Y., and the other for Upstate New York. Figure 1 shows the locations of the places named and important occurrences of saline water in and near Long Island. Tables 1 and 2 list, respectively, well data and chemical analyses for selected wells in Long Island, Staten Island, and Manhattan, N. Y.; tables 3 and 4 list, respectively, well data and chemical analyses for selected wells in Upstate New York. For many samples, only the chloride concentration and not the total dissolved solids has been determined. However, it is safe to assume that the total dissolved solids in natural water are substantially in excess of 1,000 ppm where the chloride is at or nearly at this concentration.

New York↗
USGS1987

Ground-water-recharge rates in Nassau and Suffolk counties, New York

Groundwater is the sole source of freshwater in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island; therefore, the rate at which precipitation replenishes the groundwater system may affect future water supplies in some areas. Annual precipitation on Long Island averages 45 inches per year, but less than 23 inches , or 50%, recharges the ground-water system. (Recharge is precipitation that percolates to the ground-water system naturally; it does not include water from stormwater basins or injection wells.) The rate of recharge varies locally and ranges from 29% to 57% of precipitation, depending on land use, season, and amount of storm sewering in the area. Recharge was calculated by subtracting evapotranspiration and direct runoff values from known precipitation values. Evapotranspiration was calculated by the Thornwaite and Mather method, and direct runoff rates to streams were calculated from streamflow records and size of known storm-sewer service areas. This report includes maps that depict precipitation, evapotranspiration, and rates of natural recharge in Nassau and Suffolk Counties for use in future hydrologic studies on Long Island. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1998

Natural processes for managing nitrate in ground water discharged to Chesapeake Bay and other surface waters: More than forest buffers

Ground-water discharge is a significant source of nitrate load to tidal creeks, coastal estuaries, and Chesapeake Bay. Different studies have found that forest buffers greater than 200 feet wide remove most of the nitrate from passing ground water. These buffers are commonly included in regional nutrient-management strategies. Results of a U.S. Geological Survey study on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, however, indicate that the presence of forest buffers alone may not significantly decrease nitrate load in ground-water discharge. The effectiveness of forest buffers largely depends on the composition of local soils and ground-water flow paths. Study results also indicate that large amounts of nitrate are removed from ground water by the natural process of denitrification, which may occur independently of the presence or absence of forest buffers. The results of this study indicate that in addition to the presence of forest buffers, a range of other natural factors, such as soil texture and organic matter content and ground-water flow paths, affect the fate of nitrate in ground water. These factors are important to include along with forest buffers in developing comprehensive nutrient-management strategies.

Fact Sheet↗