Water Quality and Emerging Contaminants
Water Quality and Emerging Contaminants
Our list of Water-Quality projects and topics are listed below (view the list of archived projects for Water Quality).
Filter Total Items: 37
Monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms in a Coastal System to Identify the Factors that Affect HAB Production and the Downstream Transport of Cyanobacteria and Associated Cyanotoxins from Freshwater to Marine Environments
Across the nation, Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater coastal lakes and ponds have become a major environmental and public health concern. Under the right conditions, cyanobacteria can produce cyanotoxins that can pose health risks to both animals and humans (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), 2020) and have been shown to have severe impacts on water quality...
Improving Understanding and Coordination of Science Activities for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
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...
Investigations and Technical Assistance to the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, in Assessing the Distribution and Transport of Perfluorinated Compounds in Groundwater and Surface Water
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.
Hurricane Sandy Science, Ten-years Later
On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey after several days of impacting the Atlantic coastline. Ten years later the impacted communities have recovered and rebuilt, and the New Jersey Water Science Center has expanded its scientific understanding of storm impacts on our state.
An Evaluation of SPATT Technology to Assess Cyanotoxins Variability and Transport in the Salem River, New Jersey
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...
Downstream Fate and Transport of Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins in the Raritan Basin Water Supply Complex, New Jersey
Harmful algal blooms with cyanotoxin production (CyanoHABs) have been shown to adversely affect water resources worldwide, however only a handful of studies have examined the occurrence and persistence of CyanoHABs in fluvial systems used for municipal water-supply. Of particular concern in New Jersey is the Raritan Basin Water Supply Complex (RBWSC) as it is the water supply for multiple water...
Diurnal variations in water quality at surface-water-quality stations
Two primary causes of diurnal variations in dissolved-oxygen concentration (DO), pH, and specific conductance are photosynthesis and aerobic respiration. Photosynthesis is driven by sunlight and produces free oxygen, which causes an increase in DO during the day. Algal, microbial, and plant respiration consumes free oxygen, which causes a decrease in DO, and releases carbon dioxide during the...
New Jersey Ambient Groundwater-Quality Monitoring Network
The USGS, in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Geological and Water Survey, operates the Ambient Groundwater-Quality Monitoring Network (AGWQMN), which is designed to characterize the status of unconfined groundwater quality as a function of land use. Shallow groundwater is typically the first part of the groundwater system to be affected by human...
A Field Method to Quantify Chlorinated Solvent Diffusion, Sorption, Abiotic and Biotic Degradation in Low-Permeability Zones
Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program project ER-2533 In chlorinated-solvent-contaminated fractured-sedimentary-rock aquifers, low-permeability (low-K) strata typically act as long-term or secondary sources of contamination to mobile groundwater in the high-permeability fractures. The fate of dissolved trichloroethene (TCE) in the low-K matrix is controlled by abiotic...
Baseline Water-Quality Inventory for Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park, New Jersey
The Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park (PAGR) in the historic city of Paterson, New Jersey was established in 2011 and consists of natural, cultural, and historic resources associated with the Great Falls of the Passaic River. Due to the park’s young age and limited resources, the park does not have the natural resource data needed to guide future park management and planning decisions...
Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian PFAS Capability Team
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of anthropogenic emerging contaminants. Some PFAS have been voluntarily phased out, as exposure has been linked to adverse human health effects.
Contaminant Fate and Transport Studies in Fractured Sedimentary Rock Aquifers at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, N.J.
Contaminants associated with industrial, airport, and other activities are present in groundwater in fractured-rock aquifers, posing long-term hazards to drinking-water supplies and ecosystems. The heterogeneous character of fractured rock challenges our understanding, monitoring, and remediation of such sites.