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Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Updating Pennsylvania Streamgage Datums

Over the next year, streamgage datums will be updated to reflect elevations in North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88).

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Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed - A Century of Change

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Water Quality of Domestic Wells in Marcellus Shale Region

New USGS study identifies factors affecting quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in north-central and north-east Pennsylvania

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First-of-its-Kind Survey of PFAS in Pennsylvania Surface Waters

In collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Center News

USGS Collects High-Quality Water-Resources Data for Pennsylvania

Streamflow, groundwater levels, water quality, precipitation, water use, and other related data, both real time and historic

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Hydrologic Studies, Research, and Tools for Pennsylvania

Water availability, groundwater contamination, nutrient loading in streams, effects of land use on water quality, and other water-resource topics

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New Product Category: Web Tools

Data access, data analysis, data visualizations, digital repositories, and interactive maps.

Web Tools

Next Generation Water Observing System

Delaware River Basin pilot testing includes large-scale particle image velocimetry (LSPIV) in Philadelphia

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Pennsylvania Water Science Center

We work in cooperation with numerous federal, state, and local agencies to collect scientific data and conduct scientific studies of the source, quantity, quality, ecology, and use of Pennsylvania's water resources.

News

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Pennsylvania Waters - Fall 2022 - Issue 9

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Drought Watch Remains for 20 Counties, Lifted for 16

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Pennsylvania Waters - Summer 2022 - Issue 8

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Publications

Long-term impacts of impervious surface cover change and roadway deicing agent application on chloride concentrations in exurban and suburban watersheds

Roadway deicing agents, including rock salt and brine containing NaCl, have had a profound impact on the water quality and aquatic health of rivers and streams in urbanized areas with temperate climates. Yet, few studies evaluate impacts to watersheds characterized by relatively low impervious surface cover (ISC; < 15 %). Here, we use long-term (1997-2019), monthly streamwater quality data combine
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Water Resources, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Hydrogeologic framework, water levels, and selected contaminant concentrations at Valmont TCE Superfund Site, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, 2020

The Valmont TCE Superfund Site, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania is underlain by fractured and folded sandstones and shales of the Pottsville and Mauch Chunk Formations, which form a fractured-rock aquifer recharged locally by precipitation. Industrial activities at the former Chromatex Plant resulted in trichloroethene (TCE) contamination of groundwater at and near the facility, which was identified

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Water Resources, New Jersey Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Groundwater quality in selected Stream Valley aquifers, eastern United States

Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water (Burow and Belitz, 2014). The stream-valley aquifers constitute one of the important aquifer systems being evaluated.
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Water Resources, Pennsylvania Water Science Center
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Science

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USGS Hydrographers collect water quality samples in the Susquehanna

Susquehanna River and Basin

In Pennsylvania, the USGS's water-resources roots date back to the late 1800's, with the initiation of streamflow gaging on the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers and assessments of groundwater resources near Philadelphia. The USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center continues to provide scientific information about the water resources of the Susquehanna River Basin, in cooperation with regional and...
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Pennsylvania Water Science Center
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Susquehanna River and Basin

In Pennsylvania, the USGS's water-resources roots date back to the late 1800's, with the initiation of streamflow gaging on the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers and assessments of groundwater resources near Philadelphia. The USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center continues to provide scientific information about the water resources of the Susquehanna River Basin, in cooperation with regional and...
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Chesapeake Bay Watershed Index Map for Susquehanna River

Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

USGS provides monitoring, analysis, modeling and research on streams and water quality to better understand the fate and transport of nutrients and sediment to the Susquehanna and other rivers, and their tributaries, and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay. Additional research focuses on emerging contaminants and other stressors that effect human and aquatic life in the watershed and estuary.
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Pennsylvania Water Science Center
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Pennsylvania and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

USGS provides monitoring, analysis, modeling and research on streams and water quality to better understand the fate and transport of nutrients and sediment to the Susquehanna and other rivers, and their tributaries, and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay. Additional research focuses on emerging contaminants and other stressors that effect human and aquatic life in the watershed and estuary.
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Thermal photograph showing cool blue stream and warm yellow and hot red areas of the stream bank

Paired Air and Water Temperature Monitoring for Next Generation Water Observing System

USGS characterizes the relationship between a stream's water temperature and the surrounding air temperature to understand the influence groundwater flow into and out of the stream has on that relationship.
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Pennsylvania Water Science Center
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Paired Air and Water Temperature Monitoring for Next Generation Water Observing System

USGS characterizes the relationship between a stream's water temperature and the surrounding air temperature to understand the influence groundwater flow into and out of the stream has on that relationship.
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