Water-quality monitoring of three major tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay: Interim data report

The U.S. Geological Survey is monitoring the water quality of three major tributaries to Chesapeake Bay at their fall lines to obtain estimates of constituent inputs potentially available to the bay. The monitoring sites are: Susquehanna River at Conowingo, Md.; Potomac River at Washington, D.C.; and James River at Cartersville, Va. Water-quality data collected from October 1978 to April 1980 are presented in tables. Concentrations of major ions, nutrient and carbon species, metals, pesticides, suspended sediment, and other selected constituents are presented for a range of flows. The mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, and median values for each constituent were determined by standard methods and are presented for each sampling station. Bivariate linear regressions were run for all constituents versus streamf low, specific conductance, and suspended sediment. Those relationships exhibiting coefficients of determination (R ) greater than 0.50 are tabulated.