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Introduction Recent trends analysis examining the effectiveness of tidal wetland regulations and the regulatory program of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) revealed that the regulations and regulatory program were highly effective in stemming the historic "fill and build" activities. However, the trends also revealed that tidal wetlands—specifically, low marshes—were disappearing. To help determine the cause(s) of this loss, the NYSDEC, in collaboration with Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), established a monitoring program in 2008 that has been conducted on and in the tidal wetlands of East Creek,...
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Problem - The purpose of this project is to create a watershed GIS (Geographic Information System) to support the comprehensive cleanup and restoration of Onondaga Lake that is underway. A GIS is a computer system capable of capturing, storing, analyzing, and displaying geographically referenced information; that is, data identified according to location. Given the broad scope of the Onondaga Lake Partnership's (OLP) mission, a GIS is a powerful tool that can organize, store, and share information pertinent to the management of the natural resources of the Onondaga Lake watershed. The OLP GIS will be used for land use planning, resource management, scientific monitoring, and data presentation. The project has...
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Significant changes in nitrogen loads to Jamaica Bay have likely occurred with progressive improvements to Water Pollution Control Plants (WCWPs) that discharge into the Bay. Data available from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and others will be used to determine loads from WPCPs, combined sewer overflows, and the atmosphere. Selected wells within the USGS water quality database, including those near the landfills that are immediately adjacent to Jamaica Bay, will be used to determine concentrations of nutrients in shallow ground water that enter the bay from ground water seepage. To facilitate evaluation of ground water loads, an existing USGS Finite element model that simulates sub...
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Introduction High nitrate concentrations are a common concern among many purveyors, including the Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA), the largest supplier of water to residents in Suffolk County. Typically, the amount of nitrate in groundwater is related to land use, where the greatest concentrations are observed in agricultural regions. In many areas, the nitrate concentration has increased steadily in recent years, even in areas that are no longer farmed and are now sewered. A statistical analysis for trends of over 20 years in nitrate concentration data from SCWA wells is needed to determine the susceptibility of supply-wells to exceed the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for nitrate. This information is essential...
Categories: Data, Project; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: Contaminants, Natural, Contaminants, Natural, Contaminants, natural, Cooperative Water Program, GW Model, All tags...
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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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Introduction Ongoing efforts to improve the health of New York's South Shore Estuary Reserve (SSER) require continuously recorded water-quality data to understand the short-term effects of stormwater runoff and other pollution sources. To document the diel and tidal variability of water quality in the western bays of the SSER, the USGS monitors select physical and chemical parameters at two sites within the SSER. One site, station 01310740 on Reynolds Channel at Point Lookout, is near the estuary mouth and operated in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Town of Hempstead Department of Conservation & Waterways. The second, station 01311143...
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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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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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Summary The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Long Term Monitoring (LTM) network has supported the collection of stream chemistry data in the Catskills since the 1990s. Trends in stream chemistry have periodically been evaluated in these streams but the most recent assessments only extend through the early 2000s. An updated assessment of stream chemistry trends will help evaluate the effects of recent substantial declines in acid deposition during the last decade. This study will evaluate changes in surface water chemistry from 1991 through 2013 at 5 stations in the Neversink and Rondout watersheds in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The results will be compared to changes in atmospheric deposition...
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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 : 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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Background Industrial discharges of toxic and bio-accumulating compounds to the Niagara River and its tributaries have occurred over many decades. High concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in samples of fish tissue from many locations, including three tributaries to the Niagara River: Tonawanda Creek, Two mile Creek, and Rattlesnake Creek (study reaches listed in Table 1). Study site for SPMD sampler in a tributary to the Niagara River High PCB concentrations have also been found in mussel tissues during in situ experiments in the latter two creeks PCBs have been detected in sediments from many locations, but they were generally lower than expected given the elevated PCB concentrations...
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Background The Esopus Creek is located in the Catskill Mountains of New York State and is part of the New York City (NYC) drinking water supply system. The basin was dammed in 1915 to form the Ashokan Reservoir splitting the creek into Upper (upstream of the reservoir) and Lower segments. The drainage area of Upper Esopus Creek, between the source (Winisook Lake) and the Ashokan Reservoir is approximately 192 mi2. The Schoharie Reservoir, located 27 miles north of the Ashokan Reservoir, also supplies water to Upper Esopus Creek (and to the Ashokan Reservoir) via the Shandaken tunnel. Waters from the Schoharie watershed enter Upper Esopus Creek at the Shandaken portal and travel 18 km before entering the Ashokan...
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PROBLEM The unconsolidated aquifer in Enfield Creek Valley (fig. 1) was mapped by Miller (2000) and identified as one of 17 unconsolidated aquifers in Tompkins County that needs to be studied in more detail. Well records in Enfield Creek valley indicate that the northern part of Enfield Creek valley contains sand and gravel deposits which may be under unconfined conditions in some areas, confined in others, or both; and the southern part of the valley contains mostly sand and gravel under unconfined conditions. The valley will probably undergo increased development as the population in Tompkins County increases and spreads out from metropolitan areas. However, there is little geohydrologic data in the valley....
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This project provides weekly wet-only mercury deposition samples at the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) station in the Biscuit Brook watershed at the Frost Valley YMCA. The station has been in operation since 2004 and is currently funded by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). This is the only MDN station located in the Catskill Mountains and one of only 3 stations in New York State. The Catskill Mountains supply 85% of New York City’s drinking water through a system of surface water reservoirs. All of these reservoirs have fish consumption advisories because of the high level of mercury (Hg) in fish in the reservoirs and atmospheric Hg deposition is the main source of Hg to the...
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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 There are more than 60 organizations and agencies collecting water-quality data on Long Island. The types of database management that are used to store and archive regulatory and non-regulatory data vary from paper forms to spreadsheets to State and Federal databases, and there is minimal communication between these systems. As a result, those interested in analyzing data may be unaware of what data exist and how those data can be obtained without a Freedom of Information Law request. A unified data sharing system that provides multiple levels of sensitive and non-sensitive data storage and dissemination is needed. This system should link the various databases and interact through web services to provide...
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Background In order to help identify sources of high Enterococci concentrations identified by the Village of East Hampton and the Surfrider Foundation’s water-quality sampling upstream of Hook Pond, surface water and groundwater samples will be collected and analyzed for F+-specific coliphage, bacteroides, Enterococci and fecal coliform, and nitrogen isotopes. Potential sources of pathogens include waterfowl, failing onsite wastewater disposal systems, and stormwater runoff. F+-specific colipahge (Griffin and others, 2000) and bacteroides (Stoeckel, 2005) analyses are sensitive microbial source tracking methods that can discern human, mammal, and bird sources. Nitrogen isotopes are used in conjunction with concentrations...
map background search result map search result map Onondaga Lake Watershed Geographic Information System Sediment toxicity and status of benthic invertebrate communities in the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries within the Massena Area-of-Concern Assessment of Nutrient Loading to Jamaica Bay, Gateway National Recreation Area, New York Aquifer Appraisal at the Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, Cortland, New York Monitoring Tidal Water Elevation and Water Quality to Assess Tidal Wetland Loss in Four Embayments of Long Island Sound, New York Trends in Nitrate Concentrations in Public Water-Supply Wells, Suffolk County, New York, 1982-2008 Estimating Loading Above and Below Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Combined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the Genesee River Watershed Changes in Soil and Stream Water Chemistry in Response to Reduction in Acid Deposition in the Catskills Mercury Deposition in the Biscuit Brook Watershed Natural Methane Occurrence in Water Wells of South-Central New York State- Evaluation of Topographic Position and Hydrogeologic Setting Quantitative Assessment of Water Quality in Upper Esopus Creek: Fish, Macroinvertebrates, Periphyton, Turbidity, and Nutrients Emerging Methods for Detection and their Potential for Inventorying Brook Trout Populations in Streams of the Western Adirondacks Geohydrology of the Unconsolidated Aquifer in Enfield Creek Valley, Town of Enfield, Tompkins County, New York South Shore Estuary Reserve Total Maximum Daily Load Monitoring Groundwater Availability of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Effects of acid-base chemistry on biology of lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains Sediment toxicity and status of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the remediated Buffalo River Area-of-Concern Assessment of pathogen sources to Hook Pond, East Hampton, New York Development of Long Island Water Quality Integrated Data System (LIQWIDS) - User interface and web services in support of collaboration under the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan(LINAP) Track down survey of PCBs in three tributaries to the Niagara River Area of Concern (AOC) Aquifer Appraisal at the Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, Cortland, New York Assessment of pathogen sources to Hook Pond, East Hampton, New York Mercury Deposition in the Biscuit Brook Watershed Sediment toxicity and status of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the remediated Buffalo River Area-of-Concern Geohydrology of the Unconsolidated Aquifer in Enfield Creek Valley, Town of Enfield, Tompkins 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 Assessment of Nutrient Loading to Jamaica Bay, Gateway National Recreation Area, New York Monitoring Tidal Water Elevation and Water Quality to Assess Tidal Wetland Loss in Four Embayments of Long Island Sound, New York Quantitative Assessment of Water Quality in Upper Esopus Creek: Fish, Macroinvertebrates, Periphyton, Turbidity, and Nutrients Track down survey of PCBs in three tributaries to the Niagara River Area of Concern (AOC) Onondaga Lake Watershed Geographic Information System 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 Trends in Nitrate Concentrations in Public Water-Supply Wells, Suffolk County, New York, 1982-2008 Development of Long Island Water Quality Integrated Data System (LIQWIDS) - User interface and web services in support of collaboration under the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan(LINAP) Estimating Loading Above and Below Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Combined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the Genesee River Watershed Changes in Soil and Stream Water Chemistry in Response to Reduction in Acid Deposition in the Catskills Effects of acid-base chemistry on biology of lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains South Shore Estuary Reserve Total Maximum Daily Load Monitoring Groundwater Availability of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain