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Problem The discharge of freshwater and associated loading of nutrients and other dissolved constituents from the Long Island aquifer system to surrounding estuaries and their tributaries are increasingly recognized as critical factors in the health of these ecosystems. However, further work is needed to scientifically characterize these factors and present them to the public in an appropriate manner. Many organizations have undertaken assessments of this discharge and loading for discrete groundwater source areas and (or) receiving surface waters, applying a variety of techniques and assumptions. In part, this is because there is no delineation of recharge areas to the island’s groundwater-fed streams and estuaries...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: Basin & Hydrogeologic Characterization, Basin & Hydrogeologic Characterization, Climate Change, Climate Research and Development, ClimateChange, All tags...
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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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Problem Sediment transport is a serious concern in the upper Esopus Creek watershed. The creek is a well-documented source of sediment and turbidity to the Ashokan Reservoir, which is part of the New York City water supply system. During the last 2 decades there has been a series of stream stabilization and sediment reduction projects completed in the upper Esopus Creek watershed intended to reduce the suspended sediment load and turbidity levels delivered to the reservoir. During the last 7 years there has been a concerted effort to measure the effect of these projects on turbidity and suspended sediment. There is currently a large, long-term turbidity and suspended sediment study underway within the upper Esopus...
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Problem Surface-water information is needed for planning, design, hazard warning, and operation and management in water-related fields such as water supply, hydroelectric power, flood control, irrigation, bridge and culvert design, wildlife management, pollution abatement, flood-plain management, and water-resources development. Appropriate historical and real-time surface-water data, such as stream flow and stage, reservoir levels, and water temperature, are necessary to properly assess, manage and protect water resources. Objectives Collect timely and high quality surface-water data for (1) assessment of water resources; (2) operation of reservoirs or industries; (3) forecasting flow; (4) disposal of wastes...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: Climate Impacts, Climate Impacts, Climate Research and Development, Climate impacts, Cooperative Water Program, All tags...
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Problem - The Ithaca Subdistrict Office of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is providing technical assistance to the USGS, Biological Resources Division (BRD), at the Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science (TLAS) in an investigation of the availability of fresh ground water. An expansion in the water supply at the laboratory is needed for a proposed spawning facility for salmon strains that are viable for natural fisheries in the Great Lakes region. The hydrogeology of the area is a complex of moraine and outwash deposits west of Cortland, N.Y. Data from existing wells at the laboratory indicate that well screens may readily clog from precipitated minerals. A review of the hydrogeology of the area, including...
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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 Past water-quality issues in the St. Lawrence River at Massena, NY resulted in a determination that selected beneficial uses may be impaired in a surrounding Area of Concern (AOC) and on the Canadian side of the international boundary (Cornwall, Ontario). The plankton (phytoplankton zooplankton) Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) was so designated because impairment metrics were unavailable or inconclusive. Recent investigations, however, suggest that plankton communities are relatively healthy and no longer threaten the local ecosystem. Thus, the BUI for plankton may now be outdated in all, or parts of, the St. Lawrence River in the Massena AOC. The primary goal for the Massena (and Cornwall) Remedial Action...
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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 Adirondack region of New York has 128 lakes that are listed as impaired by acidity under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. Acidity can limit the survival and reproduction of native fishes such as brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Chronic and episodic acidification also stresses fish, aquatic macroinvertebrates, and other biota of inflowing tributaries of these and many additional lakes. Acidification of these tributaries can also affect the health of fish populations in receiving lakes, by limiting suitable spawning and nursery habitat. Although many Adirondack lakes have shown decreased acidity resulting from decreases in atmospheric sulfur and nitrogen emissions, the ecological improvements...
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American Eel (Anguilla Rostrata) Background The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has worked in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) over the past 11 years to study the effects of channel geomorphology and impoundments on the distribution of common and rare mussels in the Neversink River and to characterize fish assemblages in tributaries to the Upper Delaware River in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The focus of this research and monitoring program has recently shifted toward studies of the rapidly declining American eel (Anguilla rostrata) populations in rivers of the tri-state region. There are many factors that could potentially cause the observed declines in local and continental populations of...
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Background Although New York State has more than 70,000 miles of streams and rivers, little is known about the status, distribution, and trends of mercury (Hg) levels in stream fish, or the environmental drivers of these patterns. Streams and their riparian zones provide critical habitat for fish, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and serve as the interface between aquatic and terrestrial Hg transfer, transformations (most notably methylation) and bioaccumulation. Importantly, monitoring data from lakes (e.g., Simonin et al. 2006) does not transfer reliably to streams because of fundamental differences in Hg cycling and bioaccumulation processes. An assessment of fish Hg bioaccumulation focused on New...
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Background The Ashokan Reservoir is located in the Catskill Mountains of New York State and is part of New York City’s (NYC) water supply system. The NYC water-supply system is operated by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) under a filtration avoidance determination (FAD) issued by the New York State Department of Health. The Ashokan Reservoir watershed is 255 mi2 and is one of two reservoirs in the New York City Catskill Reservoir system and one of six reservoirs in the West-of-Hudson Catskill-Delaware system. The upper Esopus Creek is the primary tributary to the Ashokan Reservoir, with a 192 mi2 watershed from the source, Winnisook Lake, to the Ashokan Reservoir near Boiceville, NY. Suspended-sediment...
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Problem Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) and turbidity are primary water-quality concerns in New York City’s (NYC) water-supply system (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2007). In the NYC water-supply system turbidity is largely caused by clay and silt rather than organic material (Effler et al. 1998, Peng et al. 2002, 2004). Sediment can originate from the watershed land surface and the active stream corridor (the stream bed and its adjacent banks and hillslopes) (Walling 2005). In the upper Esopus Creek watershed, the main source of water to the Ashokan Reservoir, the active stream corridor is the primary source of sediment and turbidity to the stream. Terrestrial sources of sediment and turbidity are...
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Summary The Long-Term Monitoring Network (LTM) is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to monitor trends in surface water quality by nesting a few intensively-monitored stations within a network of more numerous but less frequently sampled stations. The intensively-monitored stations have provided monthly discharge and water-quality data at 6 locations across the country since 1983. Continuous discharge and storm water quality sampling were added to these stations in the late 1980’s. One of the major objectives of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) was to establish a network of stations for long-term monitoring of surface-water quality and to determine its relation to changes in atmospheric...
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Monitoring of lake chemistry in the western Adirondack region has indicated reductions in the acidity of these lakes during the past two decades. However, lakes are not always reliable indicators of streams and soils. Uncertainty remains regarding the recovery potential of surface waters and the effects of acidic deposition on soils. Furthermore, nitrogen, long considered a growth-limiting nutrient for northern temperate forests, is likely to be available in excess of that needed by Adirondack forest ecosystems as a result of acidic deposition. In this region, excess nitrogen in the soil leads to acidification of soils and surface waters. Calcium, important for acid neutralization, is also an important nutrient,...
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Problem: The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was established to accelerate ecosystem restoration in the Great Lakes by confronting the most serious treats to the region, such as nonpoint source pollution, toxic sediments, and invasive species. Much of the effort associated with GLRI is being placed near the most impacted areas in the Great Lakes Basin. Priority Watersheds have been targeted by the Regional Working Group’s Phosphorus Reduction Work Group. These Priority Watersheds (Fox/Green Bay, Saginaw, Genessee, and Maumee) are characterized by having a high density of agricultural land use and have ecosystem impairments that have been clearly identified. The outlet of each of the Priority Watersheds...
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Problem The mainstem of the Mohawk River extends from Lake Delta Dam near Rome, NY downstream to its confluence with the Hudson River near Cohoes, NY. It supports a diverse fishery that is used extensively by recreational anglers. Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and walleye (Sander vitreus) are among the most popular game species with anglers but past biological surveys have documented at least 56 fish species that inhabit the river. An extensive fish survey of the Lower Mohawk River was last conducted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) from 1979-1983. Some key findings of this research include: • the river supported an abundant and fast growing smallmouth bass...
    map background search result map search result map Assessing American Eel Populations in Tributaries to the Upper Delaware River The Effects of Watershed and Stream Liming on Mercury Dynamics at Honnedaga Lake Estimating chronic toxicity of waters from the St. Lawrence River at Massena Area-of-Concern using two plankton species Sediment toxicity and status of benthic invertebrate communities in the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries within the Massena Area-of-Concern Sediment Toxicity and Condition of Benthic Invertebrate Communities in the Rochester Embayment Area-of-Concern Aquifer Appraisal at the Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, Cortland, New York Spatiotemporal trends in fish assemblages of the Mohawk River Surface-Water Data Collection in New York Long-Term Monitoring of Buck Creek Watershed in the Western Adirondack Region of New York Mercury Bioaccumulation in Fish in New York's Streams and Rivers Comprehensive Delineation of Groundwater Source Areas and Times-of-travel to Long Island Streams and Estuaries Effects of acid-base chemistry on biology of lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains Esopus Creek Sediment and Turbidity Study Stony Clove Basin Sediment and Turbidity Monitoring GLRI Edge of Field Watershed Monitoring Project Upper Esopus Creek Tributary Bedload Pilot Study Aquifer Appraisal at the Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, Cortland, New York Long-Term Monitoring of Buck Creek Watershed in the Western Adirondack Region of New York The Effects of Watershed and Stream Liming on Mercury Dynamics at Honnedaga Lake Estimating chronic toxicity of waters from the St. Lawrence River at Massena Area-of-Concern using two plankton species Sediment toxicity and status of benthic invertebrate communities in the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries within the Massena Area-of-Concern Sediment Toxicity and Condition of Benthic Invertebrate Communities in the Rochester Embayment Area-of-Concern Esopus Creek Sediment and Turbidity Study Stony Clove Basin Sediment and Turbidity Monitoring Upper Esopus Creek Tributary Bedload Pilot Study GLRI Edge of Field Watershed Monitoring Project Comprehensive Delineation of Groundwater Source Areas and Times-of-travel to Long Island Streams and Estuaries Assessing American Eel Populations in Tributaries to the Upper Delaware River Spatiotemporal trends in fish assemblages of the Mohawk River Effects of acid-base chemistry on biology of lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains Surface-Water Data Collection in New York Mercury Bioaccumulation in Fish in New York's Streams and Rivers