Groundwater

Below average and infrequent rainfall from May through September 2020 led to an extreme hydrologic drought across much of New England, with some areas experiencing a flash (quick-onset) drought.

Droughts are one of the most expensive and damaging hydrologic hazards in the United States. They are generally slow in developing, frequently occur over a long period of time, and can affect large areas and populations.

The USGS Soil-Water-Balance model (SWB) has been used to estimate potential recharge across the State of Maine. The average and range (minimum and maximum) of annual recharge were estimated for the 25-year period from 1990 to 2015. Datasets of estimated recharge and the modeled uncertainty in the recharge estimates are available for download.

The USGS, in cooperation with the Town of Barnstable and MassWildlife, is assessing the potential effects of new water-supply withdrawals on groundwater levels in the Hyannis Ponds Wildlife Management Area on Cape Cod. A groundwater-flow model is being used to simulate the effects of several possible withdrawal and wastewater-return flow scenarios developed by the Town of Barnstable and...

In 2019 USGS completed a study designed to develop and evaluate a phased site-assessment approach for determining the hydrologic suitability of sites being considered for permeable reactive barrier installation on Cape Cod. The approach provides a template for town officials and other stakeholders to follow when considering PRBs for passive treatment of nitrogen in groundwater on Cape Cod and...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been investigating groundwater and surface-water resources on Cape Cod for more than 50 years. Recent studies have focused on the sources of water to public-supply wells, ponds, streams, and coastal areas; transport and discharge of nitrogen and contaminants of emerging concern derived from domestic and municipal wastewater disposal; fate and transport of...

The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing analytical models to assess in-well groundwater flow conditions during the collection of groundwater samples from wells being pumped. This information can be used to inform groundwater samplers on when and how to collect samples that are most reflective of the targeted aquifer or hydrogeologiic...

The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are collaborating on a study to better understand changes to groundwater quality beneath a densely developed coastal neighborhood as it undergoes conversion from onsite wastewater disposal to municipal sewering.

The drought of 2016 affected hydrologic conditions throughout New England. Responses of USGS groundwater observation wells to this event, however, were not uniform and were sometimes markedly different from site to site. Although USGS scientists were able to provide explanations for most of these situations, the event highlighted the need for additional well information to develop quantitative and...

The Herring River estuary and salt marsh system, within the Cape Cod National Seashore in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, has been diked off from the ocean for more than 100 years. The National Park Service is now preparing to restore the 1,100 acre estuary-marsh system.

Periodic high groundwater levels are a major cause of septic system-failures, wet basements, and other problems for suburban and rural residents in Massachusetts. To address this issue, a method (commonly referred to as the Frimpter method) was developed in early 1980’s to estimate probable high groundwater levels across the state. The USGS New England Water Science Center, in cooperation with the...

The USGS, the University of New Hampshire, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and the Maine Geological Survey are collaborating on a study of a novel shallow well design that might be able to provide safe drinking water to domestic well users in arsenic-prone parts of the Nation.