Human Health

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse group of over 4,000 different compounds. Since the 1940s, PFAS have been manufactured and used around the globe, including in the United States. PFAS are resistant to chemical and thermal breakdown and impart stain and water-resistance properties, making them useful for a variety of commercial applications, but also persistent in the...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), is currently conducting a 4-year water-quality investigation in the lower portion of the Merrimack River watershed, April 2020 – October 2024.

As part of water-quality data collection activities in New England, water samples are analyzed for chloride in monitoring networks and projects across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Chloride is of interest because high concentrations may affect aquatic life in streams or affect water quality of reservoirs and aquifers used for drinking water.

The New England Water Science Center collects data and does interpretive studies on hydrology, hydraulics, and water quality in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in New England and other states.

In 2019 the USGS began a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD), EPA Region 1 Southeast New England Program for Coastal Watershed Restoration (SNEP), Barnstable Clean Water Coalition (BCWC), and other stakeholders to conduct hydrologic monitoring and assessment in support of multifaceted nutrient-management activities in the Three...

The USGS, in cooperation with the Town of Seabrook, New Hampshire and a private well owner, is assessing the variability of arsenic over multiple time scales. A network of three wells is being used to monitor changes in arsenic, arsenic species, a host of other chemical constituents, and the distribution of ages of groundwater entering the wells. The wells—one domestic bedrock aquifer well, one...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) are collaborating on a study to develop a water quality monitoring strategy for Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River Estuary.

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 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.

Sections of Narragansett Bay and its eastern arm, the Sakonnet River, are considered impaired for shellfishing, aquatic habitat and recreational use by the State of Rhode Island. Aquatic habitat and water quality in the western portions of Narragansett Bay are relatively well understood, but there is comparably limited information available in the Sakonnet River. To address concerns about the lack...

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.