The USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center helps water providers assess the availability of groundwater for use in homes, on farms, and in industrial activities.
Groundwater Quality of Domestic Supply Wells in Pennsylvania
Groundwater Use
Domestic Water Use
Domestic (Private) Supply Wells
Delaware River Basin Focus Area Study
Well-Withdrawal Footprint Mapping
Groundwater Use in the United States
Domestic Water Use
Bacteriological quality of groundwater used for household supply
Estimated Groundwater Withdrawals from Principal Aquifers in the United States--County Level Data for 2015
Estimated Use of Water in the United States County-Level Data for 2015
This dataset contains water-use estimates for 2015 that are aggregated to the county level in the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS's) National Water Use Science Project is responsible for compiling and disseminating the Nation's water-use data.
Compilation and evaluation of data used to identify groundwater sources under the direct influence of surface water in Pennsylvania
Estimated groundwater withdrawals from principal aquifers in the United States, 2015
Groundwater withdrawals and regional flow paths at and near Willow Grove and Warminster, Pennsylvania—Data compilation and preliminary simulations for conditions in 1999, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2017
Effects of changes in pumping on regional groundwater-flow paths, 2005 and 2010, and areas contributing recharge to discharging wells, 1990–2010, in the vicinity of North Penn Area 7 Superfund site, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Evaluation of long-term trends in hydrologic and water-quality conditions, and estimation of water budgets through 2013, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Estimated use of water in the Delaware River Basin in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, 2010
Map visualization of groundwater withdrawals at the sub-basin scale
Water-budgets and recharge-area simulations for the Spring Creek and Nittany Creek Basins and parts of the Spruce Creek Basin, Centre and Huntingdon Counties, Pennsylvania, Water Years 2000–06
Water budgets and groundwater volumes for abandoned underground mines in the Western Middle Anthracite Coalfield, Schuylkill, Columbia, and Northumberland Counties, Pennsylvania: Preliminary estimates with identification of data needs
Summary of groundwater-recharge estimates for Pennsylvania
Effects of Land-Use Changes and Ground-Water Withdrawals on Stream Base Flow, Pocono Creek Watershed, Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Estimated ground-water availability in the Delaware River basin, 1997-2000
Wellfootprint - A Map App for Visualizing Groundwater Withdrawals
Wellfootprint computes a raster map of groundwater withdrawals relative to a user-defined "Depth-Rate Index" (DRI), such as a recharge rate. Dividing each well's withdrawal rate by the length per time DRI yields an area for display for each well's 'footprint' as a circle around each well. Symbols for closely spaced wells are merged to visualize the combined withdrawals eq
- Overview
The USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center helps water providers assess the availability of groundwater for use in homes, on farms, and in industrial activities.
Example of a pump and plumbing configuration used by public water systems. About 105 million people—or more than one-third of the Nation's population—receive their drinking water from one of the 140,000 public water systems across the United States that rely on groundwater pumped from public wells. - Science
Groundwater 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...Groundwater Use
Groundwater refers to all subsurface water, specifically that part of groundwater which is in the saturated zone. Groundwater sources are called aquifers: geologic formations that contain sufficient saturated permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs. For the purposes of the USGS water-use reports, groundwater with less than 1,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L)...Domestic Water Use
Domestic water use includes indoor and outdoor uses at residences, and includes uses such as drinking, food preparation, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, flushing toilets, watering lawns and gardens, and maintaining pools. Domestic water use includes potable and non-potable water provided to households by a public water supplier (domestic deliveries) and self-supplied water use. Self-supplied...Domestic (Private) Supply Wells
More than 43 million people—about 15 percent of the U.S. population—rely on domestic (private) wells as their source of drinking water. The quality and safety of water from domestic wells are not regulated by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act or, in most cases, by state laws. Instead, individual homeowners are responsible for maintaining their domestic well systems and for monitoring water...Delaware River Basin Focus Area Study
As one of several National Focus Area Studies within the USGS National Water Census (NWC), the USGS completed a 3-year study of water availability and use in the Delaware River Basin.Well-Withdrawal Footprint Mapping
A simple method for mapping groundwater withdrawals at wells provides an intuitive visualization of the magnitudes by displaying an area, the 'footprint', centered on each well to represent its volumetric rate. Footprints for closely spaced wells are combined to equitably display the area corresponding to the combined withdrawals. The size of the footprints on the map are controlled by a user...Groundwater Use in the United States
Groundwater is one of our most valuable resource—even though you probably never see it or even realize it is there. Groundwater is essential for irrigation and human use in many parts of the country. The use of groundwater in the United States in 2015 is described below.Domestic Water Use
Domestic water use is water used for indoor and outdoor household purposes— all the things you do at home: drinking, preparing food, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, brushing your teeth, watering the garden, and even washing the dog. At the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), domestic water use refers to the amount of water that is "self-supplied", or water withdrawn directly by users, such as from...Bacteriological quality of groundwater used for household supply
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... - Data
Estimated Groundwater Withdrawals from Principal Aquifers in the United States--County Level Data for 2015
This dataset contains estimates of water withdrawals from 66 principal aquifers and "other" non-principal aquifers during 2015 for various categories of use in each county or county equivalent in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Water Use Science Project is responsible for compiling and disseminating the Nation's water-use daEstimated Use of Water in the United States County-Level Data for 2015
This dataset contains water-use estimates for 2015 that are aggregated to the county level in the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS's) National Water Use Science Project is responsible for compiling and disseminating the Nation's water-use data.
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 27
Compilation and evaluation of data used to identify groundwater sources under the direct influence of surface water in Pennsylvania
A study was conducted to compile and evaluate data used to identify groundwater sources that are under the direct influence of surface water (GUDI) in Pennsylvania. In the early 1990s, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) implemented the Surface Water Identification Protocol (SWIP) for the identification of GUDI sources. Since the establishment of the SWIP, PADEP has claAuthorsEliza L. Gross, Matthew D. Conlon, Dennis W. Risser, Chad E. ReischEstimated groundwater withdrawals from principal aquifers in the United States, 2015
In 2015, about 84,600 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of groundwater were withdrawn in the United States for various uses including public supply, self-supplied domestic, industrial, mining, thermoelectric power, aquaculture, livestock, and irrigation. Of this total, about 94 percent (79,200 Mgal/d) was withdrawn from principal aquifers, which are defined as regionally extensive aquifers or aquifAuthorsJohn K. Lovelace, Martha G. Nielsen, Amy L. Read, Chid J. Murphy, Molly A. MaupinGroundwater withdrawals and regional flow paths at and near Willow Grove and Warminster, Pennsylvania—Data compilation and preliminary simulations for conditions in 1999, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2017
In 2014, groundwater samples from residential and public supply wells in the vicinity of two former U.S. Navy bases at Willow Grove and Warminster, and an active Air National Guard Station at Horsham, Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania, were found to have concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), which are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAuthorsDaniel J. Goode, Lisa A. SeniorEffects of changes in pumping on regional groundwater-flow paths, 2005 and 2010, and areas contributing recharge to discharging wells, 1990–2010, in the vicinity of North Penn Area 7 Superfund site, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
A previously developed regional groundwater flow model was used to simulate the effects of changes in pumping rates on groundwater-flow paths and extent of recharge discharging to wells for a contaminated fractured bedrock aquifer in southeastern Pennsylvania. Groundwater in the vicinity of the North Penn Area 7 Superfund site, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, was found to be contaminated with orgAuthorsLisa A. Senior, Daniel J. GoodeEvaluation of long-term trends in hydrologic and water-quality conditions, and estimation of water budgets through 2013, Chester County, Pennsylvania
An evaluation of trends in hydrologic and water quality conditions and estimation of water budgets through 2013 was done by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Chester County Water Resources Authority. Long-term hydrologic, meteorologic, and biologic data collected in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which included streamflow, groundwater levels, surface-water quality, biotic integrityAuthorsRonald A. Sloto, Andrew G. ReifEstimated use of water in the Delaware River Basin in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, 2010
The Delaware River Basin (DRB) was selected as a Focus Area Study in 2011 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of the USGS National Water Census. The National Water Census is a USGS research program that focuses on national water availability and use and then develops new water accounting tools and assesses water availability at both the regional and national scales. One of the water managAuthorsSusan S. Hutson, Kristin S. Linsey, Russell A. Ludlow, Betzaida Reyes, Jennifer L. ShourdsMap visualization of groundwater withdrawals at the sub-basin scale
A simple method is proposed to visualize the magnitude of groundwater withdrawals from wells relative to user-defined water-resource metrics. The map is solely an illustration of the withdrawal magnitudes, spatially centered on wells—it is not capture zones or source areas contributing recharge to wells. Common practice is to scale the size (area) of withdrawal well symbols proportional to pumpingAuthorsDaniel J. GoodeWater-budgets and recharge-area simulations for the Spring Creek and Nittany Creek Basins and parts of the Spruce Creek Basin, Centre and Huntingdon Counties, Pennsylvania, Water Years 2000–06
This report describes the results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with ClearWater Conservancy and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to develop a hydrologic model to simulate a water budget and identify areas of greater than average recharge for the Spring Creek Basin in central Pennsylvania. The model was developed to help policy makers, natural resourAuthorsJohn W. Fulton, Dennis W. Risser, R. Steve Regan, John F. Walker, Randall J. Hunt, Richard G. Niswonger, Scott A. Hoffman, Steven L. MarkstromWater budgets and groundwater volumes for abandoned underground mines in the Western Middle Anthracite Coalfield, Schuylkill, Columbia, and Northumberland Counties, Pennsylvania: Preliminary estimates with identification of data needs
This report, prepared in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP), the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, and the Dauphin County Conservation District, provides estimates of water budgets and groundwater volumes stored in abandoned underground mines in the Western Middle Anthracite Coalfield, which encompasses an area of 120 squarAuthorsDaniel J. Goode, Charles A. Cravotta, Roger J. Hornberger, Michael A. Hewitt, Robert E. Hughes, Daniel J. Koury, Lee W. EicholtzSummary of groundwater-recharge estimates for Pennsylvania
Groundwater recharge is water that infiltrates through the subsurface to the zone of saturation beneath the water table. Because recharge is a difficult parameter to quantify, it is typically estimated from measurements of other parameters like streamflow and precipitation. This report provides a general overview of processes affecting recharge in Pennsylvania and presents estimates of recharge raAuthorsStuart O. Reese, Dennis W. RisserEffects of Land-Use Changes and Ground-Water Withdrawals on Stream Base Flow, Pocono Creek Watershed, Monroe County, Pennsylvania
The Pocono Creek watershed drains 46.5 square miles in eastern Monroe County, Pa. Between 2000 and 2020, the population of Monroe County is expected to increase by 70 percent, which will result in substantial changes in land-use patterns. An evaluation of the effect of reduced recharge from land-use changes and additional ground-water withdrawals on stream base flow was done by the U.S. GeologicalAuthorsRonald A. SlotoEstimated ground-water availability in the Delaware River basin, 1997-2000
Ground-water availability using a watershed-based approach was estimated for the 147 watersheds that make up the Delaware River Basin. This study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), supports the DRBC's Water Resources Plan for the Delaware River Basin. Different procedures were used to estimate ground-water availability for the rAuthorsRonald A. Sloto, Debra E. Buxton - Software
Wellfootprint - A Map App for Visualizing Groundwater Withdrawals
Wellfootprint computes a raster map of groundwater withdrawals relative to a user-defined "Depth-Rate Index" (DRI), such as a recharge rate. Dividing each well's withdrawal rate by the length per time DRI yields an area for display for each well's 'footprint' as a circle around each well. Symbols for closely spaced wells are merged to visualize the combined withdrawals eq