Estimated loads of selected constituents from permitted and nonpermitted sources at selected surface-water-quality stations in the Musconetcong, Rockaway, and Whippany River basins, New Jersey, 1985-90

Surface-water-quality data from the cooperative sampling network maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for 1985-90 are summarized for stations in the Musconetcong, Rockaway, and Whippany River Basins. Four constituents are included in the analysis: biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total organic carbon (TOC). Contemporaneous streamflow estimates were used to calculate instream loads from constituent concentrations in water-quality samples. Loads from permitted point sources were estimated as the sum of reported loads of BOD, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus upstream from each station. TOC permitted-source loads were not estimated because point-source release data were insufficient. The relative contribution of loads from permitted sources to the total instream loads differed markedly among the basins and between upstream and downstream locations within the basins. Some of these differences can be attributed to reesrvoir effects; others are related to the presence or absence of major permitted sources upstream from water-quality stations.