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increasing competition for local supplies that could lead to shortages, it is expedient to know how and where water is withdrawn, delivered, and used. The NYWSC studies how the interactions of humans affect the water cycle, including how much water is withdrawn from natural sources, where this water goes, how this water is used, what happens to the water after it is used, and how water moves from its source to its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.
Filter Total Items: 88
Hydrologic Assessment of the Shallow Groundwater-Flow System Beneath the Shinnecock Nation Tribal Lands, Suffolk County, New York
Background The Shinnecock Nation is located on the south fork of eastern Long Island adjacent to the town of Southampton to the east, and the hamlet of Shinnecock Hills to the west, in Suffolk County, NY. Shinnecock Nation tribal lands encompass approximately 1.2 square miles and are bounded to the east and west by tidal creeks, and to the south by Shinnecock Bay. The Shinnecock Nation has a po
Delineation of Rock Fractures, Faults, and Groundwater Flow in the Vicinity of Proposed Water Tunnels, New York City and Southeastern New York
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
Detailed Aquifer Mapping in the Greene-Kattelville area of New York
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
Detailed Aquifer Mapping Program in Upstate New York
Click here to view a webmap showing the aquifer mapping extents for Upstate New York with links to related publications
Geohydrology of the Valley-Fill Aquifer in the Nanticoke Creek Valley near Endicott, New York
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
Groundwater Flow Patterns near Pulaski, Oswego County, New York
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
Ground-water-flow model of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia and West Virginia
Problem - Increasing development within the Shenandoah Valley in recent years has placed additional demands on the region’s water resources. The sedimentary rocks in the Valley have been compressed and folded by tectonic forces to form a 5-km deep basin. Ground water, a principal component of the available water supply, flows through fractures in the sedimentary and crystalline rocks that under
Hydrogeologic Recharge Settings of the Carbonate-Bedrock Aquifer in Genesee County, Western New York
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
Hydrogeology and Surface/Groundwater Interactions in the Meads Creek Valley, Schuyler and Steuben Counties, New York
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
Nassau Hydrogeologic Maps
Problem - The major hydrogeologic units of Long Island, New York, have been delineated as part of the islandwide mapping effort of Smolensky, Buxton, and Shernoff that was published in 1989 as U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Atlas (HA) 709. Concern about local details in the hydrogeologic framework that may not be represented in HA-709 has led the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Env
Simulation and Analysis of the Effects of Land-Use Changes and Stormflow Detention Basins on Flooding and Nonpoint-Source Pollution, in Irondequoit Creek Basin, Monroe and Ontario Counties, New York
Problem - Urbanization of the 150-square-mile Irondequoit Creek basin in Monroe and Ontario Counties, N.Y., continues to spread southward and eastward from the City of Rochester. Conversion of forested land to other uses over the past 40 years has increased to the extent that more than 50 percent of the basin is now developed. This expansion has increased flooding and impaired stream-water qual
Simulation of Flow and Water Quality by a Precipitation-Runoff Model of the Onondaga Lake Watershed, Onondaga County, New York
Problem - During 2003-07, a precipitation-runoff watershed model with water-quality components was developed to assess pollutant sources and loadings to Onondaga Lake, and to assist water-resources managers in making decisions regarding the selection and location of mitigative measures to maximize load reduction for a given effort. In the absence of chemical loading rates that were specific to