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Background: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) plan to obtain data on chemical contaminants in fish from multiple Areas of Concern (AOCs) in New York State and use this information to evaluate fish consumption advisories, which are a critical component of most removal criteria for “Restriction on Fish and Wildlife Consumption” beneficial use impairments (BUI). The first project in the Buffalo River AOC will help determine if current fish consumption advisories are appropriate, if they can be modified, and if they support or do not support BUI removal as recommended in the June 2014 “Buffalo River AOC: A Monitoring Plan for the Delisting of...
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Background The North Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) covers a land area of approximately 34,000 mi 2 along the eastern seaboard of the United States from Long Island, N.Y., southward to the northern portion of North Carolina. This area is underlain by a thick wedge of sedimentary deposits that form a complex groundwater system in which the sands and gravels function as confined aquifers, and the silts and clays function as confining units. These confined aquifers of the NACP constitute a major source of water for public and domestic supply for the nearly 27 million people living in the region, as well as being important source of water for industrial and agricultural purposes. Increases in population and changes...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: Cooperative Water Program, Delaware, Focused Assessments, Focused Assessments, Focused Assessments, All tags...
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Background Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the hereditary material in organisms that contains the biological instructions for building and maintaining them. The chemical structure of DNA is the same for all organisms, but differences exist in the order of the DNA building blocks, known as base pairs. Unique sequences provide a means to identify individual species and detect their presence within aquatic or terrestrial environments. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is nuclear or mitochondrial DNA that is shed from an organism into the environment. Sources of eDNA include feces, mucous, and gametes; shed skin; and carcasses. In aquatic environments, eDNA is diluted and distributed by currents and other hydrological processes....
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Background: The waters of the Mohawk River and its tributaries are inhabited by some of the most diverse fish communities in the Northeast. The construction of the Erie Canal in 1825, and later the Barge Canal in 1918, enabled the westward expansion of fishes from the Hudson River drainage as well as the eastward expansion of fishes indigenous to the Great Lakes drainage. Today, almost half of the fish species in the Mohawk River are nonnative (Carlson and Daniels, 2004) and George et al (2016), yet the fish community still fulfills many important economic and ecological functions. The Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is an invasive benthic fish indigenous to Ponto-Caspian region of Eurasia that is invading eastward...
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Problem The shallow groundwater of Nassau and Suffolk Counties is prone to contamination from current land-use, including agricultural, residential, and recreational. The aquifer system of Long Island is highly susceptible to human-derived contamination, in particular, because the soils and underlying sediments are generally composed of sandy, permeable materials that allow contaminants to move readily from the land surface into the groundwater below. Of increasing concern are the human-derived contaminants stemming from past and present uses of pesticides. In addition to the threat of direct runoff to adjacent waterbodies, pesticide transport through the shallow aquifer from inland sources may discharge to the...
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Background Heavy metals, phosphorus, and organic contaminants in water and sediments of the lower Genesee River, resulted in the designation of fourteen beneficial uses as impaired in the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern (AOC). The benthic macroinvertebrate community or “benthos” Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) was designated as degraded in the Genesee River because the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) impairment metrics generally identified slight to moderate impacts through the 1990s and 2000s. Accumulation of “sediments on more suitable substrates” and “contaminants in sediment of the Genesee River related to past municipal and industrial waste-water treatment plant discharges...
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INTRODUCTION Naturally occurring methane has been noted at some locations in the upper Devonian shale bedrock and in overlying glacial deposits in parts of Broome, Tioga, and Chemung Counties in south-central New York State (Williams, 2010). Systematic sampling of water wells for dissolved methane is needed to determine if the topographic and hydrogeologic setting of a well is related to methane occurrence. Objective and Study Area - The objective of this study is to characterize the natural occurrence of dissolved methane gas in groundwater from water wells within four different topographic and hydrogeologic settings (upland and major valley areas where bedrock is confined or unconfined by glacial deposits)....
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: Broome County, Chemung County, Completed, Contaminants, Natural, Contaminants, Natural, All tags...
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Water-quality samples were collected from the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (UPDE) and its tributaries during the period October 1, 2005, to September 30, 2007, to document existing water quality, determine relations between land use and water quality, and identify areas of water-quality concern. A tiered water-quality monitoring framework was used, with the tiers consisting of intensively sampled sites, gradient sites representing the range of land uses present in the basin, and regional stream-survey sites. Median nitrate and total phosphorous concentrations were 1.15 and 0.01 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for three sites on the mainstem Delaware River, 1.27 and 0.009 mg/L for the East Branch Delaware...
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Background A major focus of the NAWQA Program in its second decade (2002-2013) is on regional- and national-scale assessments of groundwater-quality status and trends in principal aquifers. The U.S. Geological Survey Office of Groundwater has identified 62 principal aquifers in the U.S. ( U.S. Geological Survey, 2003 ). About 1/3 of the Nation's principal aquifers are the focus of water-quality assessments at the regional scale by NAWQA. The NAWQA framework for principal aquifer assessments considers the physical setting of the aquifer, in addition to its susceptibility and vulnerability to contamination. More information (USGS Fact Sheet 2005-3013, PDF, Adobe reader is freely available to read a PDF) Publications...
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Background Past water-quality issues in the St. Lawrence River at Massena, NY resulted in a determination that selected beneficial uses were impaired in a surrounding Area of Concern (AOC) and on the Canadian side of the international boundary (Cornwall, Ontario). The benthic macroinvertebrate community or “benthos” Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) was designated degraded because impairment metrics were unavailable or inconclusive. Recent sampling efforts by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) as part of their Rotating Integrated Basin Studies (RIBS) program indicate that macroinvertebrate communities in some sections of the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries in the Massena AOC are...
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BACKGROUND Watersheds of the Adirondack Mountains receive high levels of acid deposition resulting from atmospheric emissions of nitrogen and sulfur oxides. Acidic deposition has been shown to reduce acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) and calcium (Ca) concentrations, and increase acidity and aluminum (Al) concentrations in soils and surface waters, and affect forest health as well as fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages across the region. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently developing secondary standards for nitrogen and sulfur emissions that will indirectly protect terrestrial and aquatic species and their communities from further adverse impacts and promote recovery of acidified ecosystems...
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Problem The Neversink River and Rondout Creek are historic trout fishing and recreational streams in the heart of the Catskill Mountains of southeastern NY. Waters throughout upper reaches of both rivers currently range from neutral to severely acidic due to deposition of acid rain throughout their watersheds. Fish surveys conducted by the USGS during the late 1980s and early 1990s found that some fish species and entire assemblages were absent or depressed in many tributaries and second and third order reaches of both rivers. Recent decreases in acidity of atmospheric deposition and changes in hydrologic and thermal regimes are now affecting water chemistry (e.g., pH, acid neutralizing capacity, dissolved organic...
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The St. Lawrence River at Massena Remedial Action Plan (RAP) Area of Concern (AOC) begins above the power dam facilities and seaway locks at the Massena Village drinking water intake and follows the river downstream for about fifteen miles to the international border. For New York State, the AOC includes portions of the Grasse, Raquette and St. Regis Rivers. There are three governmental agency groupings that share jurisdictional responsibilities for the AOC. These are the United States, Canada, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe at Akwesasne. The Cornwall portion of the AOC includes lands in Ontario, Quebec, and the Mohawks extending downstream of the power dam to the eastern outlet of Lake St. Francis. Since 2010,...
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Problem Over the past century, the Harlem River watershed has become highly urbanized with 90 percent of the waterway constrained by infrastructure, which has limited access for recreational use. Bound by New York (Manhattan) and Bronx Counties, the Harlem River is a tidal strait between urbanized estuaries to the north (Hudson River) and south (East River). Direct inputs include the more than 50 combined sewer overflows (CSOs) that discharge runoff from impervious surfaces and untreated sewage to the Harlem River during precipitation events. Historic uses of the Harlem River included swimming, boating, and fishing, as well as horseback riding and hiking through adjacent parklands. As urban sprawl continued...
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The Ellison Park wetland, a 423-acre, predominantly cattail marsh at the mouth of Irondequoit Creek in Monroe County near Rochester, N.Y., was evaluated for its potential role to decrease phosphorus loads that are derived from a 151-square-mile largely urbanized area and that ultimately enter and exacerbate efforts to ameliorate the eutrophic conditions in Irondequoit Bay. Monroe County's water-quality management plan included (1) modification of flow patterns upstream from and within the wetland by diverting storm runoff into backwater areas of the wetland, and (2) construction of a flow-control structure midway through the wetland that would cause short-term rises in water levels and increased dispersion of...
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The National Network of Reference Watersheds is a collaborative and multipurpose network of minimally disturbed watersheds and monitoring sites. The purpose of this website is to allow users to search the NNRW database of reference watersheds, to identify watersheds of interest, and download watershed information and water quality data. The current scope of the network is limited to freshwater streams. Membership in the network is voluntary and open to individuals, agencies, and institutions interested in participating in monitoring and (or) research in minimally disturbed and pristine watersheds. The NNRW defines reference watersheds as those minimally disturbed by human activity preferably in an area protected...
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Introduction Mosquitoes are the principle vector of the West Nile Virus (WNV) which causes infections in humans and animals and has emerged as a public health threat throughout Long Island, NY. The WNV was first detected among birds and mosquitoes by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) in 2000. In response to the public health concern, the USGS in cooperation with the SCDHS, began a 3-year study in 2002 to sample surface waters in selected wetlands for insecticides which were sprayed seasonally from a truck or helicopter as part of the county's vector-control program. These insecticides include Altosid (methoprene) and Scourge [1:3 ratio of resmethrin and piperonyl butoxide (PBO)]. Methoprene...
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Problem The groundwater supply of Nassau and Suffolk Counties is prone to contamination from past and current land uses, including practices related to agriculture, industry, and residential development, because the soils and underlying sediments are generally composed of sandy, permeable materials that allow contaminants to move readily from the land surface into the groundwater below. Of increasing concern are the human-derived contaminants stemming from on-site disposal of residential wastewater and industrial processes. The centralized distribution of water through purveyors to most residents provides them with a reliable source of potable water that is consistently monitored at the wellhead. However, increased...
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Purpose and Scope The Natural Resources Department of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Odanah, Wisconsin has requested assistance with compiling existing mercury (Hg) concentration data from measurements in a variety of environmental media in an effort to evaluate risks to ecosystem and human health and to identify key data gaps that could be addressed through future sampling. These data include Hg concentrations in fish, frogs, otters, birds, wild rice, the atmosphere, surface water, and sediment. The purpose of this proposed study is to compile existing Hg data collected by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, evaluate the potential risks to humans and to local ecosystems, and to recommend...
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Background The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Village of Patchogue and the New York Department of State, collected water-quality samples from 10 shallow wells within the village to document the effects of onsite wastewater disposal on groundwater discharging into the Patchogue River. The onsite disposal of wastewater within the Patchogue River basin - a riverine estuary that discharges into Great South Bay, Suffolk County, Long Island, NY - has adversely affected water quality and aquatic habitats within both the tidal and non-tidal portions of the river. Of particular concern are increased loads of nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and phosphorus) to the shallow groundwater system which...
map background search result map search result map Water Quality of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and Tributary Streams, New York and Pennsylvania Shallow groundwater quality in the Patchogue River basin, Suffolk County, New York Sediment toxicity and status of benthic invertebrate communities in the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries within the Massena Area-of-Concern Balancing Wetland Functions in an Urban Setting -- Water-Quality Improvement and Habitat Preservation, Ellison Park Wetland, Monroe County, New York Sediment Toxicity and Condition of Benthic Invertebrate Communities in the Rochester Embayment Area-of-Concern Monitoring of Waterways for Mosquito Insecticides, Suffolk County, New York Natural Methane Occurrence in Water Wells of South-Central New York State- Evaluation of Topographic Position and Hydrogeologic Setting Water-Quality Assessments of Principal Aquifers Emerging Methods for Detection and their Potential for Inventorying Brook Trout Populations in Streams of the Western Adirondacks The National Network of Reference Watersheds St. Lawrence Monitoring Network – Lake Ontario Lake Management Plan Massena, NY Area of Concern (AOC) Urban Waters Initiative – BRONX & HARLEM RIVERS Groundwater Availability of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Effects of acid-base chemistry on biology of lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains Sentinel Monitoring for New and Legacy Pesticides in the Shallow Groundwater of Long Island Responses of fish assemblages to changing environmental conditions in the Neversink River and Rondout Creek New York Statewide Fish Collection: Contaminants in fish from the Buffalo River AOC Sentinel Monitoring of Groundwater for Contaminants of Emerging Concern to Provide Advanced Warning for Supply Wells on Long Island, New York Monitoring the Status and Expansion of Round Goby Populations in the Mohawk River/Barge Canal System Compilation of Mercury Data and Associated Risk to Human and Ecosystem Health, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Balancing Wetland Functions in an Urban Setting -- Water-Quality Improvement and Habitat Preservation, Ellison Park Wetland, Monroe County, New York Shallow groundwater quality in the Patchogue River basin, Suffolk County, New York New York Statewide Fish Collection: Contaminants in fish from the Buffalo River AOC Urban Waters Initiative – BRONX & HARLEM RIVERS Sediment Toxicity and Condition of Benthic Invertebrate Communities in the Rochester Embayment Area-of-Concern Compilation of Mercury Data and Associated Risk to Human and Ecosystem Health, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Responses of fish assemblages to changing environmental conditions in the Neversink River and Rondout Creek Natural Methane Occurrence in Water Wells of South-Central New York State- Evaluation of Topographic Position and Hydrogeologic Setting Emerging Methods for Detection and their Potential for Inventorying Brook Trout Populations in Streams of the Western Adirondacks Monitoring of Waterways for Mosquito Insecticides, Suffolk County, New York Sentinel Monitoring for New and Legacy Pesticides in the Shallow Groundwater of Long Island Sentinel Monitoring of Groundwater for Contaminants of Emerging Concern to Provide Advanced Warning for Supply Wells on Long Island, New York St. Lawrence Monitoring Network – Lake Ontario Lake Management Plan Massena, NY Area of Concern (AOC) Water Quality of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and Tributary Streams, New York and Pennsylvania Monitoring the Status and Expansion of Round Goby Populations in the Mohawk River/Barge Canal System Effects of acid-base chemistry on biology of lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains Water-Quality Assessments of Principal Aquifers Groundwater Availability of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain The National Network of Reference Watersheds