Regional Studies and Technical Support

The Pennsylvania Water Science Center and other USGS scientists are studying water availability, use, quality, and ecology associated with development of shale-gas energy resources in Pennsylvania.

Newly developed PHREEQ-N-AMDTreat water-quality prediction tools indicate potential changes in pH, dissolved metals, and associated solute concentrations resulting from passive and active treatment of coal-mine drainage.

The U.S. Geological Survey is collaborating with State and local partners to develop models that provide real-time estimates of Escherichia coli (E. coli) (for pathogens) and (or) microcystin (for freshwater cyanotoxins) levels at Great Lakes beaches and drinking-water intakes.

USGS and Pennsylvania Geological Survey analyzed rock cuttings, geophysical logs, water quality, water-bearing zones, gas-isotope, and other data from deep test holes drilled in fractured bedrock in north-central Pennsylvania. The results of this study helped to quantify the depth and character of fresh and saline groundwater in areas of shale-gas exploration and development.

The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) and USGS have been working together to create and expand the water-quality monitoring network for Philadelphia. A groundwater level monitoring network web app was also developed.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection relies upon a number of parameters to monitor water-supply-drought conditions, including precipitation, streamflow, groundwater levels, and Palmer Drought Index, an indicator of soil dryness.

This is an archive. Visit the USGS National Geospatial Program or the Data Portal links below for current datasets.

Approximately 7 miles of Lake Erie shoreline lies within Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pa. Monitored public bathing beaches at Presque Isle make up less than 1 mile. Concentrations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) at monitored beaches in Presque Isle State Park occasionally exceed the single-sample bathing-water standard of 235 colonies per 100 milliliters resulting in potentially unsafe swimming...

In fractured bedrock aquifers used for domestic supply conditions can exist where contaminants such as bacteria are not filtered out by the soil. Once in the fracture system, little additional filtration takes place. The results of a synotic sampling of domestic wells in the Lower Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania and Maryland, showed that bacteria concentrations were higher in areas with high...