Investigation and Monitoring Support

Summary: Extreme flooding can threaten life and property in flood-prone areas, as well as cause damage to critical infrastructure along roadways and canals. The effective management of these areas, and appropriate design of structures along rivers and streams, relies on understanding the magnitude and frequency of floods at gaged locations, and the ability to estimate these data at ungaged strea

Background: The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) maintains an extensive network of reservoirs and aqueducts for water collection, storage, and transport; it supplies more than one billion gallons of drinking water daily to more than nine million people. The East of Hudson (EOH) network (fig. 1) includes thirteen reservoirs – Amawalk, Bog Brook, Boyd Corners, Cross River,

Background and Problem Tully Valley is part of the Onondaga Trough, which extends from the Valley Heads Moraine in the south to Onondaga Lake in the north near Syracuse, New York (fig. 1). The Onondaga Trough is filled with a complex sequence of glacial and post-glacial sediments that overlie Devonian carbonate rock and shale and Silurian shale and salt (fig.2). Mudboils, volcano-like cones o

One of the most important concepts to understand is that volumes of water pumped from a groundwater system must come from somewhere and must cause a change in the groundwater system. Another important concept is that water table aquifers are hydraulically connected to the streams that drain them. Therefore, pumping water from aquifers that are hydraulically connected with surface-water bodies can...

Problem The Town of Riverhead in the northeastern Suffolk County includes rural farmland and suburbs and is bounded by the Long Island Sound to the north and Peconic Bay to the southeast. Riverhead’s close proximity to saline embayments and its location along the northeastern discharge area for Long Island’s groundwater flow system makes it vulnerable to saltwater intrusion. Several public-suppl

Introduction Detailed mapping of the valley-fill aquifer within the Owasco Inlet valley and adjacent tributary valleys in Cayuga County (Towns of Moravia and Locke) and Tompkins County (Town of Groton) is the latest study in the cooperative Detailed Aquifer Mapping Program between the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The aim of

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

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

Introduction As a result of storage and disposal practices at a former Manufactured Gas Plant, or MGP, in Bay Shore, NY, a variety of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been detected at high concentrations in the surficial, upper glacial aquifer of Long Island. Levels of PAHs initially detected over 10 years ago were in the parts-per-thousand range within a groundwater contaminant plume.

Background In recent years, more and more people have become concerned about Long Island's supply of freshwater. Currently, there is no comprehensive, island-wide resource that summarizes recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research related to the Island's aquifer system. A webpage will be developed by the USGS that will compile published data from the hydrologic-surveillance program, in plac

Background Every day, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) supplies more than one billion gallons of drinking water to more than nine million people. To do this, the DEP maintains an extensive network of reservoirs and aqueducts. A major part of this system, the West of Hudson (WOH) network, in the Delaware and Hudson River drainages, includes six reservoirs (fig. 1) –

Background and Problem Prattsville has experienced severe flooding along the Schoharie Creek, most notably during August 2011 following Hurricane Irene, which severely damaged or destroyed large areas of the town, and caused several million dollars in damages (Figure 1). Before and during a flood, forewarning and emergency response are critical. The rescue efforts of emergency responders are ofte