Groundwater Quality Monitoring

Numerical models provide a means to synthesize existing hydrogeologic information into an internally consistent mathematical representation of a real system or process, and thus are useful tools for testing and improving conceptual models or hypotheses of groundwater flow systems. The goal of this effort is to develop a regional model for the Long Island aquifer system to simulate changes in water...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has partnered with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to conduct a comprehensive study of the Long Island aquifer system. The major findings of this investigation include: The location of the boundary between fresh and salty groundwater is much closer to the shoreline than previously thought. The historical onshore saltwater...

Introduction The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is evaluating alternative treatments for road deicing with the goal of reducing the impact of this activity on the State’s water resources. The NYSDOT has requested support from the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) in monitoring the effects of these alternative treatments on the water resources. In the past, the USGS has cooperat

Problem Statement There are over 1.3 million residents in Nassau County that rely on groundwater as their sole source of potable drinking water. The mixed land uses (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and recreational) of Nassau County contribute point and non-point sources of aquifer contamination. Nassau County water purveyors currently operate supply wells screened in the upper

PROBLEM As part of an effort to sustain a viable water-supply system for 8 million residents in New York City, and 1 million other residents in upstate New York that rely on City water, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) has requested a multi-disciplinary study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to determine the source(s) of water to surface-water sites (springs

The Long Island Central Pine Barrens (CPB) is a large, preserved region of pristine ecological habitat located in eastern parts of Suffolk County, Long Island, NY. The 106,500-acre CPB encompasses portions of the Towns of Brookhaven, Riverhead, and Southampton, and is a core part of the larger Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve (fig. 1). The CPB overlies portions of Long Island’s federally...

PROBLEM There are more than 60 organizations and agencies collecting water-quality data on Long Island. The types of database management that are used to store and archive regulatory and non-regulatory data vary from paper forms to spreadsheets to State and Federal databases, and there is minimal communication between these systems. As a result, those interested in analyzing data may be unaware

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) Ambient Groundwater Quality Monitoring project is to quantify and report on ambient groundwater quality from bedrock and glacial-drift aquifers in upstate New York. An...

The New York Water Science Center conducts research and investigations used across a broad range of industries and other services.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a science organization that provides impartial information on the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely, relevant, and usable information.

U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Monitoring on Long Island, New York Groundwater is the sole source of water supply for more than 3 million people on Long Island, New York. Large-scale groundwater pumpage, installation of sanitary- and storm-sewer systems, and frequent variations in precipitation all have significant effects on regional groundwater levels and aquifer storage. In order to properly...

Problem The groundwater supply of Nassau and Suffolk Counties is prone to contamination from past and current land uses, including practices related to agriculture, industry, and residential development, because the soils and underlying sediments are generally composed of sandy, permeable materials that allow contaminants to move readily from the land surface into the groundwater below. Of incre