Water Use and Availability Science
Water Use and Availability Science
Demand for water in the U.S. is unevenly distributed. Because of increasing competition for local supplies that could lead to shortages, it is expedient to know how and where water is withdrawn, delivered, and used. The NYWSC studies how the interactions of humans affect the water cycle, including how much water is withdrawn from natural sources, where this water goes, how this water is used, what happens to the water after it is used, and how water moves from its source to its outlet. These studies are a first step in understanding how future water demands can be met while maintaining adequate water quality and balancing the needs of human and ecological water needs. Studies on water use and availability also explore the nature of and outlook for water stored in ice and the oceans, examine the effects of climate change on water systems and ecosystems, analyze the effects of major storms on habitats, human populations, and coastal regions, and track and predict flooding and areas that could potentially be inundated.
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Flood-Inundation Maps for Four Stream Reaches, Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York
Problem The City of Ithaca, Tompkins County, N.Y., is in the process of developing a flood management plan for the streams that flow through the City. Flooding in the City is an annual problem caused by a variety of distinct and sometimes interconnected reasons. Flooding often is a result of snowmelt and rain during the winter and spring. Slow ice-melt and breakup can lead to ice jams and subseque
Comprehensive Delineation of Groundwater Source Areas and Times-of-travel to Long Island Streams and Estuaries
Problem The discharge of freshwater and associated loading of nutrients and other dissolved constituents from the Long Island aquifer system to surrounding estuaries and their tributaries are increasingly recognized as critical factors in the health of these ecosystems. However, further work is needed to scientifically characterize these factors and present them to the public in an appropriate m
Water-Surface Profiles and Discharges for Four Stream Reaches, Ithaca, Tompkins County N.Y.
Background / Problem – The City of Ithaca, Tompkins County, N.Y., is in the process of developing a flood management plan for the streams that flow through the City. Flooding in the City is caused by a variety of distinct and sometimes interconnected reasons. Flooding often is a result of snowmelt and rain during the winter and spring. Slow ice-melt and breakup can lead to ice jams and subsequent
Rockland County Water-Resource Assessment
INTRODUCTION • Concerns over the viability of the fractured bedrock aquifer that provides about 1/3 of Rockland County’s water supply prompted a 5-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to (1) define the hydrogeologic framework of the aquifer, (2) assess conditions within it, and (3) identify other potential sources of water for the County. The study was done in cooperation with Rockla
Geohydrology of the Valley-Fill Aquifer in Upper Buttermilk Creek/Danby Creek Valleys, Town of Danby, Tompkins County, New York
Problem - The valley-fill deposits in Upper Buttermilk Creek/Danby Creek valleys are sources of water for many homeowners, farms, and small businesses that are in this valley. The aquifer was mapped by Miller (2000) and identified as one of the 17 aquifers in Tompkins County that needs to be studied in more detail. However, there is little geohydrologic data in the valley. A cluster of wells in Up
Geohydrology of the Upper Sixmile Creek/West Branch Owego Creek Valleys and Lower Sixmile Creek/Willseyville Creek Valleys, Town of Caroline, Tompkins County, New York
Problem - The Town of Caroline needs geohydrologic data in two major valley-fill aquifers within the town in order for planners to develop a strategy to manage and protect their water resources. Interest in the interaction between ground water and surface water has increased in recent years as a result of widespread concerns related to water supply. The need to better understand how the developmen
Hydrogeologic Recharge Settings of the Carbonate-Bedrock Aquifers in Livingston and Monroe Counties, Western New York
Background: A sequence of gently dipping carbonate bedrock - the Bertie Formation, Akron Dolostone, and Onondaga Limestone crop out along a 2- to5-mile wide band in western and central New York. These bedrock units trend east-west for 250 miles across the State and form extensive carbonate-bedrock aquifers which transmit and yield water from solution-enlarged fractures, bedding planes, and other
Flood-inundation mapping of Egypt Creek, Dryden, Tompkins County
Problem – Flooding is an annual problem along Egypt Creek in Dryden. Increased runoff from expanding development, sediment clogged channels, and undersized culverts that cannot convey increased flows contribute to the problem. Flood maps for extreme floods are available through the effective FEMA flood insurance study (FEMA, 1978), but these maps, which became effective in 1979, are considered no
Geohydrology and Water Quality of the Northern and Central Parts of the Tug Hill Glacial Aquifer, Jefferson and Oswego Counties, North Central New York
Problem - The entire Tug Hill glacial aquifer is a 47-mile-long, crescent-shaped mixture of glacial deposits of predominantly sand and gravel on the western side of the Tug Hill Plateau in Jefferson, Oswego, and Oneida Counties in north central New York. The Tug Hill aquifer can be divided into three parts (northern, central, and southern) based on geohydrological setting, depositional history, an
Hydrogeology of Two Areas of the Tug Hill Glacial-drift Aquifer, Oswego County, New York
Problem - Several supply wells in Oswego County were evaluated by the USGS in 1999 by using stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes and chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) age dating techniques. For two municipal well sites (the Villages of Sandy Creek and Lacona, and the Village of Pulaski) that tap a shallow, unconfined aquifer (typically 20-50 ft thick) there were significant discrepancies between ground-wate
Hydrogeology of the Virgil Creek Valley in the Town of Dryden, Tompkins County, New York
Problem The Village of Dryden, rural homeowners, farms, and businesses in the Virgil Creek Valley tap several confined sand and gravel aquifers in the Virgil Creek valley in the town of Dryden . The valley contains a large moraine with complex stratigraphy consisting of continuous and discontinuous layers of till, lake deposits, and glaciofluvial sand and gravel. Sand and gravel units form the aqu
Development of a Ground-Water Flow Model for the Manhasset Neck Peninsula, Nassau County, New York
Problem The ground-water flow system underlying the Manhasset Neck Peninsula, which provides potable water to the local population, consists of a complex assemblage of Pleistocene- and Cretaceous-age sediments that form five aquifers and at least two confining units. Recent hydrogeologic mapping in Manhasset Neck indicates significant glacial erosion of the Magothy aquifer, Raritan Clay, and Llo