Ground-water-quality data for Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, 1958-85

The water resources of Picatinny Arsenal in northern New Jersey are described using the results of 1,129 analyses of groundwater , including 522 determinations of inorganic constituents and 607 determinations of organic constituents. Water samples were collected from 56 wells on the site from 1958 through 1985. Of these wells, 50 are screened in stratified drift aquifers and 6 are in bedrock. Samples were collected and analyzed by a total of four agencies: one State, one Federal, and two private. Of the 1,129 samples, 51 were collected and analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The data on inorganic constituents exhibit much variability. Specific conductance ranges from 40 to 2,150 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees C, pH ranges from 2.9 units to 10 units, and dissolved solids ranges from 51 to 1,210 milligrams per liter. Trace elements that display wide variations in concentration ranges are iron (<2 to 540,000 micrograms/L), manganese (<1 to 55,000 micrograms/L), and zinc (<3 to 1,900 micrograms/L). The organic compounds with the widest variations in concentration are: 1 ,2-transdichloroethylene (<1 to 542 micrograms/L), tetrachloroethylene (<1 to 386 micrograms/L), 1,1 ,1-trichloroethane (<1 to 1,780 micrograms/L), and trichloroethylene (<1 to 25,000 micrograms/L).