Publications

Elevated phosphorus concentrations commonly promote excessive growth of algae in waters nationwide. When such waters are used for public supply, the algae can plug filters during treatment and impart tastes and odors to the finished water. This increases treatment costs and results in finished water that may not be of the quality desired for public supply. Consequently, copper sulfate is...

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is proposing to build a dry dam on the South Fork Licking River to mitigate flood impacts. Concerns have been raised regarding the effects of impounded floodwaters on ground-water conditions in the Swamp Road neighborhood. To obtain a better understanding of existing ground-water conditions, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with...

The Passaic River Basin, the third largest drainage basin in New Jersey, encompasses 950 mi2 (square miles) in the highly urbanized area outside New York City, with a population of 2 million. Water quality in the basin is affected by many natural and anthropogenic factors. Nutrient loading to the Wanaque Reservoir in the northern part of the basin is of particular concern and is caused...

This study is a continuation of a previous U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) project in cooperation with the National Park Service at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio. A rapid (1-hour) method for detecting Escherichia coli (E. coli) in water was tested and compared to the standard (24-hour) method for determining E. coli concentrations. Environmental data were collected to...

Ground water provides about 7.7 million gallons per day, or 28 percent of total water use in the Rhode Island part of the Blackstone River Basin. Primary aquifers in the basin are stratified glacial deposits, composed mostly of sand and gravel along valley bottoms. The ground-water and surface-water system in the Blackstone River Basin is under stress due to population growth, out-of...

No abstract available. Review info: Mammals of South America. By Rexford D. Lord. 2007. ISBN 0-8018-8494-2, xxii + 198 pp.

No abstract available.

Several conditions, including saturated soils, snowmelt, and heavy rains, caused flooding on the Delaware River on April 2-4, 2005. The event occurred 50 years after the historic 1955 Delaware River flood, and only six months after a smaller but equally notable flood on September 18-19, 2004. The Delaware River flooded for a third time in 22 months in June, 2006. The peak flows and...

Most of the major urban centers of the United States including Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle—are on a coast (fig. 1.1). All of these cities discharge treated sewage effluent into adjacent waters. In 2000, 74 percent of the U.S. population lived within 200 kilometers (km) of the coast. Between 1980 and 2002, the...

Ground water is one of the Nation's most important natural resources. It provides about 40 percent of our Nation's public water supply. Currently, nearly one-half of New Jersey's drinking-water is supplied by over 300,000 wells that serve more than 4.3 million people (John P. Nawyn, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 2007). New Jersey's population is projected to grow by more than...

Gas hydrates are crystalline solids in which molecules of a “guest” species occupy and stabilize cages formed by water molecules. Similar to ice in appearance (fig. 1), gas hydrates are stable at high pressures and temperatures above freezing (0°C). Methane is the most common naturally occurring hydrate guest species. Methane hydrates, also called simply “gas hydrates,” are extremely...

This report characterizes the effects of historical mining and abandoned mine drainage (AMD) on streamflow and water quality and evaluates potential strategies for AMD abatement in the 14-square-mile Newport Creek Basin and 7.6-square-mile Nanticoke Creek Basin. Both basins are mostly within the Northern Anthracite Coal Field and drain to the Susquehanna River in central Luzerne County...