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Problem The Tully Valley, located in southern Onondaga County has been the source of sediment and brackish water discharge to Onondaga Creek, a tributary to the Seneca and Oswego Rivers and eventually Lake Ontario. Information on the origin of the Tully Valley mudboils, their persistence, and the possible extent of their migration within the Tully Valley is needed to mitigate or remediate (1)the discharge of turbid water and fine-grained sediment from the mudboils, (2) land-surface subsidence caused by the removal of sediment from below the land surface, and (3) degradation of Onondaga Creek by turbidity, fine-sediment deposition, and chloride loading. Objectives To define the glacial stratigraphy and hydraulic-head...
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Background Streams and rivers are an important environmental resource and provide water for many human needs. Streamflow is a measure of the volume of water carried by rivers and streams. Changes in streamflow can directly influence the supply of water available for human consumption, irrigation, generating electricity, and other needs. In addition, many plants and animals depend on streamflow for habitat and survival. Streamflow naturally varies over the course of a year. For example, rivers and streams in many parts of the country have their highest (peak) flow when snow melts in the spring. The amount of streamflow is important because high flows can cause erosion and damaging floods, while very low flows...
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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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Problem - The major hydrogeologic units of Long Island, New York, have been delineated as part of the islandwide mapping effort of Smolensky, Buxton, and Shernoff that was published in 1989 as U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Atlas (HA) 709. Concern about local details in the hydrogeologic framework that may not be represented in HA-709 has led the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to assess the hydrogeology of the Long Island area so ground-water-flow modeling planned by EPA can more fully reflect local hydrogeologic conditions. Objectives - The primary objective of this project is to construct geographic information system (GIS) datasets of the altitudes of 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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The current information available for the Genesee River and watershed is insufficient to assess if the Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) delisting criteria for the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern (AOC) can or have been met. With on-going and future projects that are implementing best practices to control soil erosion and the reduction of nutrients that reach the Rochester Embayment, the river and the watershed, it becomes a necessity to: 1.) collect more frequent Total Suspended Sediment (TSS) data for the Genesee River both within and outside of the AOC; and 2.) to have a study design capable of evaluating the impact/success of the current and proposed GLRI projects in the watershed. This project is envisioned...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: BMP, Best-Management Practices, Best-Management Practices, Best-Management Practices, CAFO, All tags...
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Background : Contaminated bed sediments in much of the Buffalo River AOC (Figure 1A, 1B) were removed (dredged) between 2011 and 2015. Plans to monitor and assess the effectiveness of this management action on 8 of 9 beneficial-use-impairments (BUI), included the benthic macroinvertebrate (benthos) BUI, were revised by the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper (Riverkeeper, 2014). Funds needed to implement various monitoring efforts proposed in this plan, however, were not available at that time. The USGS-New York Water Science Center (NYWSC) and the NYSDEC propose a collaborative study to evaluate multiple lines of evidence (toxicity of sediments and the condition of benthic macroinvertebrate communities) to determine...
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Problem Onondaga Lake has been identified as one of the nation's most contaminated lakes as a result of discharges from industrial, sewage, and stormwater sources, and the lake received priority cleanup status under the National Water Resources Development Act of 1990. Although remediation of polluted surface-water discharges is planned, the migration of poor quality (saline) ground water into the lake also affects the quality of lake water and may impair the remediation plans. Anthropogenic contamination has been identified at several sites near the lakeshore, including the former Allied Signal soda ash production facility and a former petroleum storage facility. Saline discharges from the Allied Signal waste...
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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: Eighteenmile Creek was designated as an Area of Concern (AOC) in 1985 because water quality and bed sediments were contaminated by past industrial and municipal discharges, waste disposal, and pesticide usage. Five Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) were identified in the Eighteenmile Creek AOC, including BUI #3 - the degradation of fish and wildlife populations. The remedial action committee (RAC) for the Eighteenmile Creek AOC has identified the following removal criteria for this BUI: · Fish and wildlife diversity, abundance, and condition are statistically similar to diversity, abundance, and condition of populations at non-AOC control sites; AND · PCB levels in bottom-dwelling fish...
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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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Background: The USGS propose a collaborative investigation with the NYSDEC and NOAA to evaluate the current condition of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and toxicity of bed sediments in the Niagara River Area of Concern (AOC). Using a probabilistic study design, sediment-toxicity data compiled by the USGS, invertebrate community data collected by NYSDEC, and sediment-chemistry data collected by NOAA will be assimilated using a Sediment Quality Triad approach (Chapman et al., 1992; USEPA, 1992) to provide a sediment-quality baseline needed to gauge changes expected to follow remediation of contaminated sediments in parts of the AOC. These data will also be used directly to confirm that the macroinvertebrate...
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Background Discharges from non-point sources, municipal and industrial point sources, and combined sewage overflows over the last century resulted in elevated levels of heavy metals, conventional pollutants, phosphorus, and toxic organic contaminants in water and sediments of the Lower Genesee River and Rochester Embayment. As a result, the zooplankton and phytoplankton or “plankton” communities were designated as one of fourteen Beneficial Use Impairments (BUI); i.e., the resource was either impaired or in need of assessment in the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern (AOC). The Rochester Embayment Remedial Action Committee (RAC) was formed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: Aquatic Community Health, Aquatic Community Health, Biogeochemical and Hydrologic Assessment, Biogeochemical and Hydrologic Assessment, BiogeochemicalandHydrologicAssessment, All tags...
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Problem - There is a stated need to provide information on loading of persistent toxic pollutants to Lake Ontario from New York tributaries. The information is specifically required for the Lake Ontario Mass Balance Model, which is an integral part of the long-term Great Lakes research. The project described here is designed to demonstrate a cost-effective approach for estimation of loads of polychlorinated-biphenyls (PCBs) through use of a relatively small number of large-volume whole-water samples for PCB analysis. The Black River basin was selected to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach because it is the largest New York contributor of PCBs to Lake Ontario. Objectives - The objective of this project...
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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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Background The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Department of Health (NYSDOH), 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 will be implemented in the Buffalo River AOC during summer 2017. This project will help determine if current fish consumption advisories each AOC are appropriate, if they can be modified, and if they support or do not support BUI removal...
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The Great Lakes Restoration initiative (GLRI) template #77 (Beach Recreation Water Quality) in cooperation with 23 local and state agencies expanded the use of predictive modeling at 45 beaches throughout the Great Lakes (fig 1). Local agencies measure fecal-indicator bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli.) along with easily obtained environmental variables used as surrogates to estimate concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria through a predictive modeling approach. The predictive modeling is being developed by the use of linear regression and/or partial least-squares techniques. The models use software developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency known as “Virtual Beach”. Each beach model is based...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: Biogeochemical and Hydrologic Assessment, Biogeochemical and Hydrologic Assessment, BiogeochemicalandHydrologicAssessment, Climate Impacts, Climate Impacts, All tags...
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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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A USGS biologist prepares to collect a sediment sample using a petit ponar dredge. Background:The Niagara River forms the boundary between the United States and Canada and was designated as a binational Area of Concern (AOC) in 1987 because past industrial discharges and hazardous waste sites had caused extensive degradation of aquatic habitats. Within the United States (eastern) portion of the AOC, seven Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) have been identified, including the degradation of the “benthos”, or the benthic macroinvertebrate community. Past assessments of macroinvertebrate community structure and sediment toxicity, which indicated that macroinvertebrate communities were adversely affected by contaminated...
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Background: The USGS propose a collaborative investigation with the NYSDEC to evaluate the current condition of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and toxicity of bed sediments in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern (AOC). Sediment-toxicity data provided by the USGS and benthic-community data provided by the NYSDEC from inside the AOC will be compared to similar data from non-AOC sites in Eighteenmile Creek or nearby reference streams (of comparable drainage areas) to determine if the benthos-BUI (Beneficial-Use Impairment) designation is appropriate or if the BUI could be removed in Eighteenmile Creek. The remainder of this pre-proposal addresses only the direct USGS (sediment toxicity assessment) contribution...
map background search result map search result map The Onondaga Valley Ground-Water Study, central New York Nassau Hydrogeologic Maps Estimation of PCB Loads from the Black River Basin to Lake Ontario, NY Estimating Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Waters from the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern Using Two Plankton Species Hydrogeology of the Tully Valley Mudboil Area, Southern Onondaga County, New York Estimating chronic toxicity of waters from the St. Lawrence River at Massena Area-of-Concern using two plankton species Sediment Toxicity and Condition of Benthic Invertebrate Communities in the Rochester Embayment Area-of-Concern Estimating Loading Above and Below Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Combined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the Genesee River Watershed Developing and Implementing Predictive Models for Estimating Recreational Water Quality at Great Lakes Beaches The National Network of Reference Watersheds Status of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and toxicity of sediments in the Niagara River Area of Concern, New York Status of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and toxicity of sediments in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern, New York St. Lawrence Monitoring Network – Lake Ontario Lake Management Plan Massena, NY Area of Concern (AOC) Hydrologic Climate Change Indicators Sediment toxicity and status of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the remediated Buffalo River Area-of-Concern New York Statewide Fish Collection: Contaminants in fish from the Buffalo River AOC Contaminants in fish tissues from AOCs in New York State: The Buffalo River AOC 2-year post remediation Niagara River AOC-wide Benthos BUI Assessment Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern Fish Community Assessment Hydrogeology of the Tully Valley Mudboil Area, Southern Onondaga County, New York Sediment toxicity and status of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the remediated Buffalo River Area-of-Concern New York Statewide Fish Collection: Contaminants in fish from the Buffalo River AOC Contaminants in fish tissues from AOCs in New York State: The Buffalo River AOC 2-year post remediation Estimating chronic toxicity of waters from the St. Lawrence River at Massena Area-of-Concern using two plankton species Estimating Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Waters from the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern Using Two Plankton Species Sediment Toxicity and Condition of Benthic Invertebrate Communities in the Rochester Embayment Area-of-Concern Status of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and toxicity of sediments in the Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern, New York Eighteenmile Creek Area of Concern Fish Community Assessment Estimation of PCB Loads from the Black River Basin to Lake Ontario, NY St. Lawrence Monitoring Network – Lake Ontario Lake Management Plan Massena, NY Area of Concern (AOC) Estimating Loading Above and Below Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Combined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the Genesee River Watershed Developing and Implementing Predictive Models for Estimating Recreational Water Quality at Great Lakes Beaches The National Network of Reference Watersheds Hydrologic Climate Change Indicators