305b Groundwater Quality Monitoring in New York
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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 Wells
NYSDEC
NYSDEC Ambient Groundwater Quality Monitoring
Drinking water standards
USEPA Current Drinking Water Standards
NYSDOH Current Drinking Water Standards
Radon
Results of the groundwater quality sampling have shown that groundwater quality in New York State is generally good, but can vary greatly depending on local hydrogeology and land use. The most common constituents to exceed existing or proposed drinking water standards include radon-222, iron, manganese, and coliform bacteria.
Examples of study-wide results are shown below for radon-222 and dissolved methane gas. The highest radon-222 activities detected, as much as 18,800 picocuries per liter, were found in samples collected from wells finished in crystalline bedrock. Radon-222 activities in many samples exceeded 300 picocuries per liter, part of a proposed drinking water standard, but few exceeded 4,000 picocuries per liter. Most samples had less than one milligram per liter of dissolved methane, but some samples had more than 20 milligrams per liter of dissolved methane. The maximum concentration of dissolved methane detected was more than 45 milligrams per liter in a sample from the Mohawk River Basin.
BASIN STUDY REPORTS by YEAR
Basin Report Year
Delaware River Basin 2015 In draft
Genesee River Basin 2015 In draft
St Lawrence River Basin 2015 In draft
Lake Champlain and Susquehanna River Basins 2014
Eastern Lake Ontario River Basin 2013
Chemung River Basin 2013
Oswego, Seneca, Oneida, and Central Lake Ontario Basins 2012
Mohawk River Basin 2011
Allegheny, Niagara, Lake Erie, and Western Lake Ontario Basins 2011
Delaware River Basin 2010
Genesee River Basin 2010
Lake Champlain Basin 2009
Chemung River Basin 2008
Eastern Lake Ontario River Basin 2008
Oswego, Seneca, Oneida, and Central Lake Ontario Basins 2007
Mohawk River Basin 2006
Allegheny, Niagara, Lake Erie, and Western Lake Ontario Basins 2006
Delaware River Basin 2005-06
Genesee River Basin 2005-06
St Lawrence River Basin 2005-06
Lake Champlain Basin 2004
Susquehanna River Basin 2004-05
Chemung River Basin 2003
Mohawk River Basin 2002
SITES and DATA by BASIN, ALL SAMPLES
Basin Table of Sites Map of Sites Tab-delimited Data Table
Lower Hudson River Basin Sites Map Data
Eastern Lake Ontario River Basin Sites Map Data
Upper Hudson River Basin Sites Map Data
Oswego, Seneca, Oneida, and Central Lake Ontario Basins (Finger Lakes) Sites Map Data
Mohawk River Basin Sites Map Data
Allegheny, Niagara, Lake Erie, and Western Lake Ontario Basins Sites Map Data
Delaware River Basin Sites Map Data
Genesee River Basin Sites Map Data
St Lawrence River Basin Sites Map Data
Lake Champlain Basin Sites Map Data
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Date published: August 13, 2015Status: Active305b 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 Ne...
Contacts: Devin L Jensen, Courtney J HustonAttribution: New York Water Science Center -
Date published: July 5, 2017Status: ActiveAnalytes 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 pesticides
Attribution: New York Water Science Center -
Date published: July 4, 2017Status: ActiveGroundwater Sample Collection Methods
Collecting groundwater samples from a typical homeowner well...
Attribution: New York Water Science Center -
Date published: July 7, 2017Status: ActiveWell Selection Information for Homeowners and PWS Personnel
Well Selection Information for Homeowners and PWS Personnel
Attribution: New York Water Science Center
Groundwater quality in the Lake Champlain and Susquehanna River basins, New York, 2014
In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, groundwater samples were collected from 6 production wells and 7 domestic wells in the Lake Champlain Basin and from 11 production wells and 9 domestic wells in the Susquehanna River Basin in New York. All samples...
Scott, Tia-Marie; Nystrom, Elizabeth A.; Reddy, James E.
Groundwater quality in the Chemung River, Eastern Lake Ontario, and Lower Hudson River Basins, New York, 2013
In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, water samples were collected from 4 production wells and 4 domestic wells in the Chemung River Basin, 8 production wells and 7 domestic wells in the Eastern Lake Ontario Basin, and 12 production wells and 13...
Scott, Tia-Marie; Nystrom, Elizabeth A.; Reddy, James E.
Groundwater quality in central New York, 2012
Water samples were collected from 14 production wells and 15 private wells in central New York from August through December 2012 in a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The samples were analyzed to characterize the groundwater quality in unconsolidated and...
Reddy, James E.
Groundwater quality in the Upper Hudson River Basin, New York, 2012
Water samples were collected from 20 production and domestic wells in the Upper Hudson River Basin (north of the Federal Dam at Troy, New York) in New York in August 2012 to characterize groundwater quality in the basin. The samples were collected and processed using standard U.S. Geological Survey procedures and were analyzed for 148...
Scott, Tia-Marie; Nystrom, Elizabeth A.
Occurrence of methane in groundwater of south-central New York State, 2012-systematic evaluation of a glaciated region by hydrogeologic setting
A survey of methane in groundwater was undertaken to document methane occurrence on the basis hydrogeologic setting within a glaciated 1,810-square-mile area of south-central New York along the Pennsylvania border. Sixty-six wells were sampled during the summer of 2012. All wells were at least 1 mile from any known gas well (active, exploratory,...
Heisig, Paul M.; Scott, Tia-Marie
Groundwater quality in western New York, 2011
Water samples collected from 16 production wells and 15 private residential wells in western New York from July through November 2011 were analyzed to characterize the groundwater quality. Fifteen of the wells were finished in sand and gravel aquifers, and 16 were finished in bedrock aquifers. Six of the 31 wells were sampled in a previous western...
Reddy, James E.
Groundwater quality in the Mohawk River Basin, New York, 2011
Water samples were collected from 21 production and domestic wells in the Mohawk River Basin in New York in July 2011 to characterize groundwater quality in the basin. The samples were collected and processed using standard U.S. Geological Survey procedures and were analyzed for 148 physiochemical properties and constituents, including dissolved...
Nystrom, Elizabeth A.; Scott, Tia-Marie
Dissolved methane in New York groundwater, 1999-2011
New York State is underlain by numerous bedrock formations of Cambrian to Devonian age that produce natural gas and to a lesser extent oil. The first commercial gas well in the United States was dug in the early 1820s in Fredonia, south of Buffalo, New York, and produced methane from Devonian-age black shale. Methane naturally discharges to the...
Kappel, William M.; Nystrom, Elizabeth A.
Groundwater quality in the Genesee River Basin, New York, 2010
Water samples collected from eight production wells and eight private residential wells in the Genesee River Basin from September through December 2010 were analyzed to characterize the groundwater quality in the basin. Eight of the wells were completed in sand and gravel aquifers, and eight were finished in bedrock aquifers. Three of the 16 wells...
Reddy, James E.
Groundwater quality in the Upper Susquehanna River Basin, New York, 2009
Water samples were collected from 16 production wells and 14 private residential wells in the Upper Susquehanna River Basin from August through December 2009 and were analyzed to characterize the groundwater quality in the basin. Wells at 16 of the sites were completed in sand and gravel aquifers, and 14 were finished in bedrock aquifers. In 2004...
Reddy, James E.; Risen, Amy J.
Groundwater quality in the Delaware and St. Lawrence River Basins, New York, 2010
Water samples were collected from 10 production and domestic wells in the Delaware River Basin in New York and from 20 production and domestic wells in the St. Lawrence River Basin in New York from August through November 2010 to characterize groundwater quality in the basins. The samples were collected and processed by standard U.S. Geological...
Nystrom, Elizabeth A.-
Date published: July 1, 2016305(b) Groundwater Well Sampling Sites Mapper
305(b) water samples are collected from domestic wells and public supply wells from the 14 major hydrologic basins around the state
Attribution: New York Water Science Center -
Date published: July 4, 2017NYWSC 305b mapper - Ambient Groundwater Quality Monitoring
Ambient groundwater quality monitoring well mapper information for New York
Attribution: New York Water Science Center
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Date published: February 8, 2016
305(b) Groundwater Well Sampling Sites
305(b) water samples are collected from domestic wells and public supply wells from the 14 major hydrologic basins around the state.
Attribution: New York Water Science Center -
Date published: July 1, 2016
NYWSC 305b map - Ambient Groundwater Quality Monitoring
Ambient groundwater quality monitoring well mapper information for New York
Attribution: New York Water Science Center