Pennsylvania Waters - Summer 2020 - Issue 1
Introducing the Pennsylvania Water Science Center’s Newsletter, Pennsylvania Waters. Our newsletter will be published periodically to keep you informed of the latest USGS water-resources information for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Articles present new data, reports, activities, and outreach from our center as well as USGS national and regional programs.
Director Chapman introduces "Pennsylvania Waters" newsletter
Melinda Chapman, recently appointed Director of the Pennsylvania Water Science Center (previously Assistant Chief of the USGS Office of Groundwater), introduces the first issue of the Pennsylvania Waters newsletter.
Pennsylvania Groundwater Quality Monitoring Network
USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, samples 28 wells biannually to monitor ambient groundwater quality conditions throughout Pennsylvania.
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 datasets established using consistent field procedures are needed to characterize current water-quality conditions in bedrock and unconsolidated aquifers tapped by domestic-supply wells in Pennsylvania.
Next Generation Water Observing System: Delaware River Basin
The USGS Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS) provides high-fidelity, real-time data on water quantity and quality necessary to support modern water prediction and decision support systems for water emergencies and daily water operations. The Delaware River Basin was the first NGWOS basin, providing an opportunity to implement the program in a nationally important, complex interstate river system.
USGS Responds to Spring Flooding
U.S. Geological Survey field crews are measuring flooding across the country as spring weather is in full swing. Warming temperatures, increased precipitation and snowmelt have caused moderate to major flooding in the upper Midwest, East Coast, Central Plains and the Southeast portions of the country.
USGS Characterizes Flow Paths for Movement of PFAS in Groundwater in Southeastern Pennsylvania
A USGS study characterized groundwater flow paths from possible PFAS sources at three former and active military facilities in southeastern Pennsylvania. The new research will help federal, state and local officials, water resource managers and the public as they work to address PFAS contamination in groundwater and surface water used for private and public water supply.
Science Night at Fishing Creek Elementary School
USGS staff participated in Science Night at Fishing Creek Elementary School, where students learned about the native macroinvertebrate* population in nearby Yellow Breeches Creek.
Groundwater quality in relation to drinking water health standards and geochemical characteristics for 54 domestic wells in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, 2017
Despite the reliance on groundwater by approximately 2.4 million rural Pennsylvania residents, publicly available data to characterize the quality of private well water are limited. As part of a regional effort to characterize groundwater in rural areas of Pennsylvania, samples from 54 domestic wells in Clinton County were collected and analyzed in 2017. The samples were evaluated for a wide range
Effects of legacy sediment removal and effects on nutrients and sediment in Big Spring Run, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 2009–15
Big Spring Run is a 1.68-square mile watershed underlain by mostly carbonate rock in a mixed land-use setting (part agricultural and part developed) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Big Spring Run is a subwatershed of Mill Creek, a tributary to the Conestoga River. These watersheds are known contributors of nutrient and sediment loads to the Chesapeake Bay and several stream reaches are on the P