Regional Synthesis of Groundwater Quality in Domestic Supply Wells in Northeast and North Central Pennsylvania
Science Center Objects
USGS is synthesizing groundwater quality measurements in wells to characterize regional chemical characteristics of aquifers used for domestic supply in northeast and north central Pennsylvania.
Independent county-wide groundwater quality investigations were completed during 2011-2017 by the USGS for seven counties in the northern tier of Pennsylvania where there is ongoing, or potential for, unconventional shale-gas development. The studies used consistent data collection and reporting procedures. County-level reports were published by the USGS that describe quality of water samples from home-owner wells in relation to human health and potential environmental factors affecting the groundwater composition. Potential spatial relations and distributions of data on a regional scale and comparisons among the county data sets have not been completed.
The objective of this project is to complete a regional synthesis of groundwater chemical characteristics for aquifers used for domestic supply in northeast and north central Pennsylvania. Available hydrochemical data from 436 domestic wells that were sampled during 2011-2017 and reported by the USGS for seven counties in the northern tier of Pennsylvania as part of county-wide assessments will be summarized and evaluated in relation to geology, land use, and other environmental factors, such as hydrogeologic setting.
Map of baseline groundwater quality assessments in Pennsylvania
(Public domain.)
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Date published: September 1, 2020Status: ActiveGroundwater Quality of Domestic Supply Wells in Pennsylvania
Most rural residents in Pennsylvania use groundwater from domestic supply wells for drinking, cleaning and other purposes. Some groundwater samples have been analyzed for private purposes, but those results generally are not readily available to the public. Many of the publicly available water-quality samples from rural areas were collected more than 30 years ago. Quality-assured groundwater...
Contacts: Jeffrey Chaplin, John Clune, Ph.D., Charles A Cravotta, III, PhD, PG, Lisa A Senior, Daniel G Galeone, MS, Eliza L Gross, Ronald Sloto -
Date published: August 31, 2020Status: ActiveShale Gas and Water Resources in Pennsylvania
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.
Latest Report: Potter County 'Baseline' Groundwater Quality (see Publications)
Contacts: Curtis Schreffler
Groundwater quality in relation to drinking water health standards and hydrogeologic and geochemical characteristics for 47 domestic wells in Potter County, Pennsylvania, 2017
As part of a regional effort to characterize groundwater in rural areas of Pennsylvania, water samples from 47 domestic wells in Potter County were collected from May through September 2017. The sampled wells had depths ranging from 33 to 600 feet in sandstone, shale, or siltstone aquifers. Groundwater samples were analyzed for physicochemical...
Galeone, Daniel G.; Cravotta, Charles A. ; Risser, Dennis W.
Drinking water quality in the glacial aquifer system, northern USA
Groundwater supplies 50% of drinking water worldwide, but compromised water quality from anthropogenic and geogenic contaminants can limit usage of groundwater as a drinking water source. Groundwater quality in the glacial aquifer system, USA (GLAC), is presented in the context of a hydrogeologic framework that divides the study area into 17...
Erickson, Melinda L.; Yager, Richard M.; Kauffman, Leon J.; Wilson, John T. Hydrocarbons in upland groundwater, Marcellus Shale Region, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New York, USA
Water samples from 50 domestic wells located <1 km (proximal) and >1 km (distal) from shale-gas wells in upland areas of the Marcellus Shale region were analyzed for chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. Uplands were targeted because natural mixing with brine and hydrocarbons from deep formations is less common in those areas...
McMahon, Peter B.; Lindsey, Bruce D.; Conlon, Matthew D.; Hunt, Andrew G.; Belitz, Kenneth; Jurgens, Bryant; Varela, Brian A.
Drinking water health standards comparison and chemical analysis of groundwater for 72 domestic wells in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, 2016
Pennsylvania has the second highest number of residential wells of any state in the Nation with approximately 2.4 million residents that depend on groundwater for their domestic water supply. Despite the widespread reliance on groundwater in rural areas of the state, publicly available data to characterize the quality of private well water are...
Clune, John W.; Cravotta, Charles A.
Baseline assessment of groundwater quality in Pike County, Pennsylvania, 2015
The Devonian-age Marcellus Shale and the Ordovician-age Utica Shale, which have the potential for natural gas development, underlie Pike County and neighboring counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pike County Conservation District, conducted a study that expanded on a previous more...
Senior, Lisa A.; Cravotta, Charles A.
Groundwater quality for 75 domestic wells in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, 2014
Groundwater is a major source of drinking water in Lycoming County and adjacent counties in north-central and northeastern Pennsylvania, which are largely forested and rural and are currently undergoing development for hydrocarbon gases. Water-quality data are needed for assessing the natural characteristics of the groundwater resource and the...
Gross, Eliza L.; Cravotta, Charles A.
Baseline assessment of groundwater quality in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, 2014
The Devonian-age Marcellus Shale and the Ordovician-age Utica Shale, geologic formations which have potential for natural gas development, underlie Wayne County and neighboring counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wayne Conservation District, conducted a study to assess baseline...
Senior, Lisa A.; Cravotta, III, Charles A.; Sloto, Ronald A. Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus shale gas development, Tioga County, Pennsylvania
An integrated analysis of core, geophysical logs, gas isotopes, and specific-depth water-quality samples from the Cherry Flats test hole was used to characterize the stratigraphy, water-bearing zones, and groundwater quality at a site in southern Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The study was completed as a cooperative effort between the Pennsylvania...
Williams, John H.; Risser, Dennis W.; Clifford H. Dodge
Estimation of methane concentrations and loads in groundwater discharge to Sugar Run, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
A stream-sampling study was conducted to estimate methane concentrations and loads in groundwater discharge to a small stream in an active shale-gas development area of northeastern Pennsylvania. Grab samples collected from 15 streams in Bradford, Lycoming, Susquehanna, and Tioga Counties, Pa., during a reconnaissance survey in May and June 2013...
Heilweil, Victor M.; Risser, Dennis W.; Conger, Randall W.; Grieve, Paul L.; Hynek, Scott A.
A reconnaissance spatial and temporal assessment of methane and inorganic constituents in groundwater in bedrock aquifers, Pike County, Pennsylvania, 2012-13
Pike County in northeastern Pennsylvania is underlain by the Devonian-age Marcellus Shale and other shales, formations that have potential for natural gas development. During 2012–13, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Pike County Conservation District conducted a reconnaissance study to assess baseline shallow groundwater...
Senior, Lisa A.
Baseline groundwater quality from 34 wells in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, 2011 and 2013
Wayne County, Pennsylvania, is underlain by the Marcellus Shale, which currently (2014) is being developed elsewhere in Pennsylvania for natural gas. All residents of largely rural Wayne County rely on groundwater for water supply, primarily from bedrock aquifers (shales and sandstones). This study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in...
Sloto, Ronald A. Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus shale gas development, Bradford County, Pennsylvania
Open-File Miscellaneous Investigation 13–01.1 presents the results of geohydrologic investigations on a 1,664-foot-deep core hole drilled in the Bradford County part of the Gleason 7.5-minute quadrangle in north-central Pennsylvania. In the text, the authors discuss their methods of investigation, summarize physical and analytical results, and...
Risser, Dennis W.; Williams, John H.; Hand, Kristen L.; Behr, Rose-Anna; Markowski, Antonette K.