Relatively little data describing the quality of groundwater in New York State exist, yet groundwater is used as a source of drinking water by approximately one quarter of the population of the state. The objective of the 305(b) groundwater quality monitoring project is to quantify and report on ambient groundwater quality from bedrock and glacial-drift aquifers in upstate New York.
An ongoing cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Division of Water, this study supports NYSDEC’s responsibilities under Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act Amendments of 1977. The resulting data set will be used to establish a groundwater quality baseline for New York State, characterizing naturally occurring, or background, conditions, and to identify long-term trends.
Two to three of the 14 major hydrologic basins around the state are evaluated each year; in 2011 samples will be collected in the Mohawk River Basin and Western New York (Niagara and Allegheny River Basins, Lake Erie, and Western Lake Ontario Basins). Water samples are collected from domestic wells and public supply wells using standard USGS protocols (click here for an overview of how samples are collected). Samples are analyzed for a wide range of constituents, including physical parameters (such as pH and temperature), nutrients, major ions, trace elements including mercury and arsenic, Coliform bacteria, radon, total organic carbon, volatile organic compounds, and pesticides.
Groundwater quality samples are collected and analyzed using consistent, standardized methods. Fifty to sixty groundwater samples are collected each year from existing domestic and public supply wells using standard USGS protocols. Wells are selected to represent an approximately equal number of public and private wells, an approximately equal number of bedrock and glacial-drift wells, and to provide a representative geographic distribution of samples. Most private wells selected for sampling are identified through NYSDEC’s Water Well Program. The groundwater sampling parallels surface-water sampling done as part of the NYSDEC Rotating Integrated Basin Studies program (RIBS) program, and areas of the State (excluding Long Island, which is monitored through local County programs) are sampled once every five years.
The data are made available through the USGS National Water Information System and project reports. The project began in 2002 with a pilot study in the Mohawk River Basin, and sampling completed in 2008 represented the conclusion of a first round of groundwater-quality sampling throughout upstate New York State. As basins are sampled for the second and third time, approximately 20 percent of samples are collected from wells that previously have been sampled as part of this study. At the completion of the 2011 sampling season, more than 450 unique wells have been sampled as part of this project. Additional shale-gas-formation-relevant analyses, including dissolved-methane-gas concentration, were added in 2009.
Links
USGS Ground Water and the Rural Homeowner
USEPA Ground Water and Drinking Water
USEPA Private Drinking Water Wells
NYSDEC
NYSDEC Ambient Groundwater Quality Monitoring
Drinking water standards
USEPA Current Drinking Water Standards
NYSDOH Current Drinking Water Standards
Radon
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Well Selection Information for Homeowners and PWS Personnel
Analytes 2018
Groundwater Sample Collection Methods
305b Ambient Groundwater Quality Monitoring in New York
- Overview
Relatively little data describing the quality of groundwater in New York State exist, yet groundwater is used as a source of drinking water by approximately one quarter of the population of the state. The objective of the 305(b) groundwater quality monitoring project is to quantify and report on ambient groundwater quality from bedrock and glacial-drift aquifers in upstate New York.
An ongoing cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Division of Water, this study supports NYSDEC’s responsibilities under Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act Amendments of 1977. The resulting data set will be used to establish a groundwater quality baseline for New York State, characterizing naturally occurring, or background, conditions, and to identify long-term trends.
New York State 305(b) Major Basins(Public domain.) Two to three of the 14 major hydrologic basins around the state are evaluated each year; in 2011 samples will be collected in the Mohawk River Basin and Western New York (Niagara and Allegheny River Basins, Lake Erie, and Western Lake Ontario Basins). Water samples are collected from domestic wells and public supply wells using standard USGS protocols (click here for an overview of how samples are collected). Samples are analyzed for a wide range of constituents, including physical parameters (such as pH and temperature), nutrients, major ions, trace elements including mercury and arsenic, Coliform bacteria, radon, total organic carbon, volatile organic compounds, and pesticides.
Groundwater quality samples are collected and analyzed using consistent, standardized methods. Fifty to sixty groundwater samples are collected each year from existing domestic and public supply wells using standard USGS protocols. Wells are selected to represent an approximately equal number of public and private wells, an approximately equal number of bedrock and glacial-drift wells, and to provide a representative geographic distribution of samples. Most private wells selected for sampling are identified through NYSDEC’s Water Well Program. The groundwater sampling parallels surface-water sampling done as part of the NYSDEC Rotating Integrated Basin Studies program (RIBS) program, and areas of the State (excluding Long Island, which is monitored through local County programs) are sampled once every five years.
The data are made available through the USGS National Water Information System and project reports. The project began in 2002 with a pilot study in the Mohawk River Basin, and sampling completed in 2008 represented the conclusion of a first round of groundwater-quality sampling throughout upstate New York State. As basins are sampled for the second and third time, approximately 20 percent of samples are collected from wells that previously have been sampled as part of this study. At the completion of the 2011 sampling season, more than 450 unique wells have been sampled as part of this project. Additional shale-gas-formation-relevant analyses, including dissolved-methane-gas concentration, were added in 2009.
Radon samples in New York groundwater wells(Public domain.)
Methane samples in New York groundwater wells(Public domain.) Links
USGS Ground Water and the Rural Homeowner
USEPA Ground Water and Drinking Water
USEPA Private Drinking Water WellsNYSDEC
NYSDEC Ambient Groundwater Quality Monitoring
Drinking water standards
USEPA Current Drinking Water Standards
NYSDOH Current Drinking Water Standards
Radon
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Well Selection Information for Homeowners and PWS Personnel
Well Selection Information for Homeowners and PWS PersonnelAnalytes 2018
Samples are analyzed for a wide range of constituents, including physical parameters (such as pH and temperature), nutrients, major ions, trace elements including mercury and arsenic, Coliform bacteria, radon, total organic carbon, volatile organic compounds, and pesticidesGroundwater Sample Collection Methods
Collecting groundwater samples from a typical homeowner well...305b Ambient Groundwater Quality Monitoring in New York
Introduction Relatively little data describing the quality of groundwater in New York State exists, yet groundwater is used as a source of drinking water by approximately one quarter of the population of the state. The objective of the 305(b) groundwater quality monitoring project is to quantify and report on ambient groundwater quality from bedrock and glacial-drift aquifers in upstate New Y - Publications
- Partners