Water Quality

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in assessing facilities nationwide that have historically produced per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or used them in chemical manufacturing processes. In collaboration with EPA subcontractors, USGS is providing subject-matter expertise in PFAS fate and transport in the vadose zone and...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Long Island Sound Study (LISS), is investigating how excess nutrients and low dissolved oxygen affect the water-quality of the lower portion of the Norwalk River Harbor.

The Water Cycle Center is a cooperation between U.S. Geological Survey and academic partners in the Northeast that studies complete water cycles and watersheds, from mountaintops to shorelines, concentrating on freshwater ecosystems. This research advances the understanding of processes that determine water availability and is needed to best address future water resource challenges.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, is conducting advanced site characterization activities at the Savage Municipal Water Supply Superfund site in Milford, New Hampshire, and implementing new remediation efforts based on USGS science and tools.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed a tool that uses a chemical budget approach to help determine which fractures in a fracture zone may be dominating the water chemistry of open boreholes in bedrock aquifers. The tool uses a Monte Carlo approach and measured concentrations of anthropogenic contaminants to simulate many different scenarios and predict the most likely source direction of...

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center is expanding its scientific investigation to better understand the water resources at, and in the vicinity of, Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB) and the potential impacts from historical base operations and other sources.

The U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is modeling seasonal nutrient loads to Long Island Sound (LIS). Nutrients that originate from within the 41,867-square-mile section of the LIS watershed that is north of the Sound include both point (specific) and nonpoint (widespread) sources. Dynamic modeling of the...

Existing highway-runoff data do not adequately address the informational needs of stormwater professionals in Connecticut because there have been relatively few studies of highway runoff in the Northeastern United States. Consequently, the U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, in cooperation with Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), is conducting a 4-year project...

The U.S. Geological Survey New England Water Science Center, in cooperation with Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), is evaluating how a type of porous pavement affects the discharge of suspended sediment in comparison to the asphalt surface commonly used on Massachusetts highways. The project will expand the understanding of highway runoff concentrations of suspended sediment...

The Cambridge Water Department supplies approximately 13 million gallons per day of drinking water to more than 100,000 customers. Raw water is obtained from a serial system of three primary storage reservoirs—Cambridge Reservoir (also known as the Hobbs Brook Reservoir), Stony Brook Reservoir, and Fresh Pond Reservoir—in parts of Cambridge, Lexington, Lincoln, Waltham, and Weston, Massachusetts...

During the past 20 years, nitrogen loads to Long Island Sound (LIS) have been substantially reduced in large watersheds affected by municipal wastewater loads.

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...