Sediment

Issue: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries in the United States since the 1940s. PFAS are ubiquitous and persistent in the environment and have the potential to have adverse human and ecological health effects. The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnerships has concerns about how PFAS will affect the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The CBP...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and other partners, is conducting an extensive, coordinated study of physical, chemical, and biological processes in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary. The study integrates findings of teams from the USGS New Jersey Water Science Center and USGS Coastal and Marine Science...

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).

Data collected during Phase I of the NJ Toxics Reduction Workplan for NY-NJ Harbor (NJTRWP) at the Elizabeth River head-of-tide sampling site (and in the downstream tidal Elizabeth River) show elevated levels for contaminants compared to other locations in the harbor. An additional NJTRWP Phase II study was conducted in July/August 2003 in an effort to determine if either of the two minor...

The Federal Clean Water Act, Sections 303(d) and 305 (b) mandates that states develop a list of water bodies summarizing the state’s water quality and a sub list identifying impaired water bodies for which total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) may be necessary. The USGS will collect, analyze, and publish water quality and streamflow data during 12 events at 19 stream sites (8 in the Saddle River basin...

Arsenic concentrations in the waters of Raccoon Creek commonly exceed the New Jersey Surface Water Quality Standard (SWQS) of 0.017. It is currently not known how much of the arsenic measured in streamwater and in bed sediments is contributed by stormwater runoff. Runoff also can contribute trace metals such as cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc, and nutrients to streams; these contaminants typically...

As a result of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Toxic Sediment Reduction Program, contaminated sediment in the Lower Passaic River has been identified as being an environmental problem that will require a substantial investment in a clean-up program. To aid in assessing the impact of proposed dredging of contaminated sediments from the Passaic River, the US Geological Survey...

Newark Bay and Hudson River are important port terminals in the northeast United States. These waterways require constant remedial dredging to keep them open for shipping. The sediments in these harbors, however, are known to be contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl's (PCB's), dioxins/furans, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's), metals, and other compounds. In order to reduce future need for...

The NY/NJ CARP program attempted to determine the loads of dissolved and sediment bound contaminants of concern that entered the Newark Bay through the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers. Towards this goal, a sampling station was established on the Passaic River at the Passaic Valley Water Commission Plant located at Little Falls, NJ. The USGS recently proposed to the USEPA a sampling program to...

Water-quality problems (radium, mercury) in southern NJ in the unconfined Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer increase needs for high quality water from confined aquifers. The installation of borehole and observation wells throughout Southern NJ provides opportunity to study the chemical evolution of water in both aquifers and confining units.