Hydrogeologic Characterization

Problem The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) has asked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assist in two major studies: 1) delineation of the source(s) of shallow groundwater and the extent that the Delaware Aqueduct is contributing to local flooding issues, and 2) delineation of the structural, geologic, and hydrologic conditions along proposed tunnel construction

Background The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has characterized fractures, foliation, and fractured-rock groundwater flow penetrated by test boreholes in crystalline bedrock underlying Manhattan Island, New York County, New York since 1998. New test boreholes will be drilled on Roosevelt Island in New York County for a Cornell University geothermal test project. Cornell University is partnering w

Problem - Roof collapses in the Retsof salt mine near Geneseo N.Y. in March and April of 1994 propagated upward through overlying bedrock, forming a 600-ft-long rubble zone or chimney that connected the mine to a glacial aquifer system and created sinkholes at land surface. Fresh water from the glacial aquifers flowed downward into the mine until the mine was completely flooded in January 1996

Problem - The Ithaca Subdistrict Office of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is providing technical assistance to the USGS, Biological Resources Division (BRD), at the Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science (TLAS) in an investigation of the availability of fresh ground water. An expansion in the water supply at the laboratory is needed for a proposed spawning facility for salmon strains that are

Problem - The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) is constructing or proposing water tunnels under New York City and areas of southeastern New York (Hudson River Basin). These tunnels can intersect faults and fractures that produce large amounts of ground water. For example, one tunnel excavation intersected fractures that produced over 200 gallons per minute of groun

Background Since 1980 the U.S. Geological Survey has conducted a Detailed Aquifer Mapping Program in upstate New York, first in cooperation with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), and later in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Division of Water. The objective of this program is to define the hydrogeology of important stratif

Click here to view a webmap showing the aquifer mapping extents for Upstate New York with links to related publications

Problem The Tully Valley, located in southern Onondaga County has been the source of sediment and brackish water discharge to Onondaga Creek, a tributary to the Seneca and Oswego Rivers and eventually Lake Ontario. Information on the origin of the Tully Valley mudboils, their persistence, and the possible extent of their migration within the Tully Valley is needed to mitigate or remediate (1)the d

Problem The Village of Endicott relies on wells that supply ground water from sand and gravel aquifers within the Susquehanna River valley. Localized contamination in the Village of Endicott and elsewhere in the Susquehanna River Valley has been documented by U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) from a number of comm

Problem - The Village of Pulaski in Oswego County, N.Y., obtains its water supply from groundwater that drains under gravity from an unconfined aquifer into three shallow dug wells. The well field is in an area where groundwater discharges to springs along the west edge of the Tug Hill Aquifer, which is comprised of beach and kame deposits of sand and gravel. A numerical groundwater model was c

Problem - The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Health (NYSDOH) are concerned about Problem - The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Health (NYSDOH) are concerned about ground-water contamination in the carbonate-bedrock aquifers, especially relating to the inadvertent introduction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and m

Problem - The interaction between ground water and surface water within the Meads Creek watershed is not well understood, and the need for understanding the interaction has increased in recent years because of widespread concerns related to water supply, ground- and surface-water contamination, loss of wetlands due to development; and other changes in the watershed. In addition, flooding in th