Water Quality and Ecology

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.

USGS is working with federal, state, and local partners to monitor and evaluate perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Pennsylvania's groundwater and surface waters.

The wide and majestic Susquehanna River is one of the oldest rivers in the world and provides water for over 4 million people. Despite its beauty, the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay downstream has been facing the detrimental effects of excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus).

USGS has had a cooperative program with Chester County, Pennsylvania, to measure and describe water resources since 1969. Cooperation has been primarily with the Chester County Water Resources Authority, with participation from the Chester County Health Department. This partnership provides Chester County with scientific information for water-resources management.

USGS annually samples domestic groundwater wells to characterize pesticides, nutrients, and radon in agricultural areas, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Beginning in 2021, samples for major ions, trace elements, bacteria, and isotopes will also be collected. A subset of wells will be sampled for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), emerging industrial...

USGS conducted synoptic sampling of major-ion chemistry and the nitrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of nitrate in Fishing Creek during base flow to evaluate the occurrence and distribution of nutrients and to characterize biogeochemical processes.

Sediment in streams, from land surface erosion in watersheds, is an important factor in determining the quality of Pennsylvania's surface waters and of downstream water bodies such as the Delaware Estuary and Chesapeake Bay. The USGS has a long-standing tradition of measuring suspended-sediment concentrations and estimating loads. Recent technological advances allow real-time estimates of...

The Susquehanna River is the predominant source of freshwater and nutrients entering the Chesapeake Bay.

Farmers are an important part of the economy and heritage of the Chesapeake Bay. Farmers also act as stewards of the land and water. Across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, members of the agricultural community are volunteering to adopt conservation practices on their land. The goal of these practices is to protect the health of the soil, local streams and rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. These...

Issue: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries in the United States since the 1940s. PFAS are ubiquitous and persistent in the environment and have the potential to have adverse human and ecological health effects. The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnerships has concerns about how PFAS will affect the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The CBP...

USGS is providing data and analyses to assess stream restoration effectiveness in Turtle Creek, Union County, Pennsylvania, by measuring differences in sediment erosion and deposition in restored and eroded stream reaches.

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...