Emerging Contaminants

NJDEP, in cooperation with the Passaic TMDL Work Group, has determined that riverine water quality modeling of phosphorus and nitrogen in the Passaic River basin will be required to support several TMDL efforts underway. Water quality in the Passaic River basin is affected by complex river system hydraulics, groundwater-surface water interactions, non-point source runoff from mixed land uses and...

Results of investigations since the early 1980s by Health Departments of eight counties in southern New Jersey, by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and by the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) have determined that mercury concentrations in water tapped by about 500 domestic wells in more than 70 residential areas exceed the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 2 mg/L. The...

The USGS will assist in the development of a prototype and multipurpose Early Warning System (EWS) for drinking water safety and security from intentional and accidental spills that utilizes real time monitoring.

A new Federal statute adopted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) concerning Source Water Assessment Program requires NJDEP to conduct assessments on the vulnerability of public supply wells (community and noncommunity) and surface water intakes to 84 contaminants of concern. These contaminants include pathogens, inorganics, nutrients, pesticides, volatile organic...

The problem of fecal coliform bacterial contamination in an anti-degradation stream requires characterization of possible source, additional contaminants, and the potential rate of mobility. This synoptic study will investigate water quality from an additional surface water site and up to 7 groundwater sites in addition to ongoing fixed-station surface-water monitoring during selected seasonal...

This project will provide demonstration and validation of the RCDM diffusion sampler for monitoring groundwater at DoD sites.

PCBs contamination is a problem in the Delaware Estuary. Levels of PCBs being contributed from the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers is unknown. The goal of this study is to quantify concentrations and types of PCBs in the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.

Use of the potable and ecological water supply of Cape May County has exceeded the safe yield of the groundwater and surface water in an undesirable number of areas of peninsular Cape May. Depressed water levels and salt-water supply has significantly withdrawal, and anthropogenic contamination of the groundwater supply has significantly reduced the long-term viability of the supply. The goal of...

Gasoline spills from leaking underground storage tanks is the most common mechanism of subsurface point source contamination. The U.S. Geological Survey's Toxic Substances Hydrology Program investigated the fate and transport of hydrocarbons in the unsaturated zone and shallow groundwater at a gasoline-spill site in Galloway Township, New Jersey.

The Galloway research team has developed and documented three computer programs for simulating flow and transport in the unsaturated zone that are available to the public. These programs were funded by the Toxics Substances Hydrology Program. The computer codes are written in Fortran F77 and run on a variety of computer systems, including mainframe and personal computers, with only minor...