Water Quality and Emerging Contaminants

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...

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...

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...

The USGS, in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Geological and Water Survey, Ambient Groundwater-Quality Monitoring Net­work (AGWQMN), which is designed to characterize the status of groundwater quality at or near the water table as a function of land use. Shallow groundwater is generally the first and most significantly affected part of the...

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...

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...

Chloride concentrations in groundwater are measured in select wells on a 5-year cycle, as an early warning indicator of saltwater intrusion, and for the definition of the 250 mg/L chloride concentration line within the principal aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain.

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.

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.

The USGS NJWSC is collaborating with the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) on an Urban Waters Federal Partnership project in the Lower Passaic River basin to investigate the occurrence and potential sources of E. coli fecal indicator bacteria.

These archive pages document the first phase of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program (Cycle I) studies in New Jersey, including summary documents, work plans, study sites, maps and publications.

The NJWSC conducts research and investigations related to topics such as groundwater and surface-water quality related to anthropogenic and agricultural activities, hydraulic and hydrologic modeling, tracking the movement of groundwater contamination, groundwater resource assessments and modeling, ecological assessments and response to urbanization, and estimating water-use for human and...