Emerging Contaminants

The USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA) is now part of the USGS National Water-Quality Network (NWQN). NWQN provides nationally consistent data and information on the quality of the Nation’s water. Studies provide information on current water-quality conditions, a baseline for trend evaluation, and an understanding of what factors affect water quality. Groundwater studies for...

The USGS New Jersey Water Science Center provides hydrologic technical assistance to the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) in New Jersey, regarding contamination issues associated with perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in groundwater and surface water.

As part of the USGS Next Generation Water Observing System the NJWSC is evaluating the use of passive samplers, or Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) samplers, to examine the temporal variability of dissolved cyanotoxin occurrence. These innovative, low-cost, time-integrated passive samplers offer several advantages over current water-column cyanotoxin monitoring techniques. However...

The endocrine system in animals produce hormones to regulate essential life processes, such as metabolism, tissue function, reproduction, and development. A large group of natural and synthetic chemicals are known to disrupt endocrine function. Examples include plant hormones, plastic components, flame retardants, surfactants, fragrances, pesticides, etc. Endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs...

Scientists from the NJ WSC, Leetown Science Center and New Jersey Pinelands Commission recently initiated a 4 year study designed to characterize the point and non-point sources of endocrine disrupting compound (EDCs) and their potential effects on fish and frogs in the NJ Pinelands.

The New Jersey Water Science Center in collaboration with the New Jersey Pinelands Commission and Montclair University, conducted a 4 year study to assess the functional equivalency of ponds and stormwater basins in the New Jersey Pinelands by comparing indicators of hydrologic condition, water quality (including pesticides) and biological metrics (amphibian pathogens).

NJ WSC and Leetown Science Center scientists in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were tasked with characterizing endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass from New Jersey.

The New Jersey Pine Barrens, or Pinelands National Reserve (PNR), is a vast and unique ecosystem comprising approximately a 938,000-acre area of southern New Jersey. It spans portions of seven counties (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Ocean), and all or part of 56 municipalities. It is home to dozens of rare plant and animal species, and the Kirkwood-Cohansey...

Puchak well field is located in Pennsauken Township, an area with significant pumpage from the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system well fields owned by the City of Camden Water Department and the Merchantville-Pennsauken Water Commission. Ground water contamination from a chromium plume affecting the wells at the Puchak well field resulted in termination of the use of the well field for potable...

NAWQA is a program from the USGS that addresses the goals of that status of surface-water and groundwater, provide understanding of human impact, and to support local, state, and federal agencies with aforementioned data.

Demands on ground water resources in New Jersey require the availability of high quality water for multiple uses. Water resources planning must address these and other needs to insure a water supply of sufficient quality capable of meeting present and future needs throughout the State. The development and implementation of a study on PPCPs and OWCs released to shallow ground water from large scale...

Nitrogen loading from the BB-LEH watershed and overlying airshed has resulted in shifts in ecosystem structure and function of the estuary reflected by the repeated occurrence of detrimental toxic and nuisance algal blooms, loss of essential seagrass habitat, and declining fisheries. Most of the nitrogen load enters the estuary from watershed surface-water inflow. While nitrogen loading has been...