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Denis R LeBlanc

Denis LeBlanc is a Scientist Emeritus with the New England Water Science Center.

Denis conducts research on the hydrology of shallow, unconfined groundwater/surface-water systems and the fate and transport of contaminants. 

He joined the USGS in 1975 and, until 1983, participated in and led investigations of Cape Cod's hydrologic system. 

From 1983 until his retirement in 2023, he conducted and coordinated multidisciplinary research at the USGS Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology Research site at the Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) near Falmouth, Mass. He also led the team that provided technical support to Air Force and Army National Guard environmental restoration programs at JBCC and participated in several projects with the U.S Environmental Protection Agency on nitrogen and other wastewater contaminants in Cape Cod's groundwater. 

Denis received his B.S. in Hydrology from the University of New Hampshire and his M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

He is a member of the National Ground Water Association and the Geological Society of America.

Professional Experience

  • Scientist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, 2023 to Present

  • Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology projects, 1983 to 2023

  • Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, Cape Cod Hydrology projects, 1975 to 1983

  • Oceanographic Field Assistant, Normandeau Associates, 1973 to 1975

Education and Certifications

  • M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001

  • B.S. Hydrology, University of New Hampshire, 1975

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • Geological Society of America 1997, to Present

  • National Groundwater Association, 1977 to Present

Honors and Awards

  • Eugene M. Shoemaker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Communications, U.S. Geological Survey, 2020

  • Distinguished Service Award, Dept. of the Interior, 2016

  • Fellow, Geological Society of America, 2013

  • Meritorious Service Award, Dept. of the Interior, 1995

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 23
No Result Found
A man in a baseball cap and orange lifejacket stands in front of a lake and points to a sign.

40 Years Presenting Cape Cod Hydrology

USGS has studied the hydrology of Cape Cod and the Islands and demonstrated our science to the public for more than four decades. Many visitor groups from government agencies, universities, nonprofit organizations, and local communities have learned about our groundwater and surface water research in southeastern Massachusetts. USGS Research Hydrologist Emeritus Denis Leblanc has been a pillar in...

By
New England Water Science Center
No results found.
Filter Total Items: 67

Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Secondarily treated domestic sewage has been disposed of on surface sand beds at the sewage treatment facility at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, since 1936. Infiltration of the sewage through the sand beds into the underlying unconfined sand and gravel aquifer has resulted in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water that is 2,500 to 3,500 feet wide, 75 feet thick, and more than...
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc

Movement and fate of solutes in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey toxic waste ground-water contamination program Movement and fate of solutes in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey toxic waste ground-water contamination program

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has begun a nationwide program to study the fate of toxic wastes in groundwater. Several sites where groundwater is known to be contaminated are being studied by interdisciplinary teams of geohydrologists, chemists, and microbiologists. The objective of these studies is to obtain a thorough quantitative understanding of the physical, chemical, and...
By
New England Water Science Center

Potential hydrologic impacts of ground-water withdrawal from the Cape Cod National Seashore, Truro, Massachusetts Potential hydrologic impacts of ground-water withdrawal from the Cape Cod National Seashore, Truro, Massachusetts

The hydrologic impacts of continuous ground-water withdrawals at 0.75, 1.0, and 1.24 Mgal/d (million gallons per day) from a test-well site in the Cape Cod National Seashore, Truro, Massachusetts, were evaluated with a three-dimensional finite-difference steady-state-flow digital model. The digital model was prepared during an earlier study and is only briefly described. Continuous...
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc
By
New England Water Science Center

Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Secondarily treated domestic sewage has been disposed of on surface sand beds at the sewage treatment facility at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, since 1936. Infiltration of the sewage through the sand beds into the underlying unconfined sand and gravel aquifer has resulted in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water that is 2,500 to 3,500 feet wide, 75 feet wide, and more than 11...
Authors
Denis LeBlanc

Digital models of ground-water flow in the Cape Cod aquifer system, Massachusetts Digital models of ground-water flow in the Cape Cod aquifer system, Massachusetts

The Cape Cod aquifer system was simulated with three-dimensional finite-difference ground-water-flow models. Five areas were modeled to provide tools that can be used to evaluate the hydrologic impacts of regional water development and waste disposal. The model boundaries were selected to represent the natural hydrologic boundaries of the aquifer. The boundary between fresh and saline...
Authors
John H. Guswa, Denis R. LeBlanc
By
New England Water Science Center

Progress report on hydrologic investigations of small drainage areas in New Hampshire: preliminary relations for estimating peak discharges on rural, unregulated streams Progress report on hydrologic investigations of small drainage areas in New Hampshire: preliminary relations for estimating peak discharges on rural, unregulated streams

The magnitude and frequency of floods on rural, unregulated streams in New Hampshire with drainage areas between 0.27 and 622 square miles may be estimated from drainage area, main-channel slope, and a precipitation intensity index. Based on multiple-regression analyses of data from 59 gaged sites in New Hampshire and adjacent areas of bordering states, peak discharges for recurrence...
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc

Water-table map of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, May 23-27, 1976 Water-table map of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, May 23-27, 1976

No abstract available.
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc, John H. Guswa

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 23
No Result Found
A man in a baseball cap and orange lifejacket stands in front of a lake and points to a sign.

40 Years Presenting Cape Cod Hydrology

USGS has studied the hydrology of Cape Cod and the Islands and demonstrated our science to the public for more than four decades. Many visitor groups from government agencies, universities, nonprofit organizations, and local communities have learned about our groundwater and surface water research in southeastern Massachusetts. USGS Research Hydrologist Emeritus Denis Leblanc has been a pillar in...

By
New England Water Science Center
No results found.
Filter Total Items: 67

Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Secondarily treated domestic sewage has been disposed of on surface sand beds at the sewage treatment facility at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, since 1936. Infiltration of the sewage through the sand beds into the underlying unconfined sand and gravel aquifer has resulted in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water that is 2,500 to 3,500 feet wide, 75 feet thick, and more than...
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc

Movement and fate of solutes in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey toxic waste ground-water contamination program Movement and fate of solutes in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey toxic waste ground-water contamination program

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has begun a nationwide program to study the fate of toxic wastes in groundwater. Several sites where groundwater is known to be contaminated are being studied by interdisciplinary teams of geohydrologists, chemists, and microbiologists. The objective of these studies is to obtain a thorough quantitative understanding of the physical, chemical, and...
By
New England Water Science Center

Potential hydrologic impacts of ground-water withdrawal from the Cape Cod National Seashore, Truro, Massachusetts Potential hydrologic impacts of ground-water withdrawal from the Cape Cod National Seashore, Truro, Massachusetts

The hydrologic impacts of continuous ground-water withdrawals at 0.75, 1.0, and 1.24 Mgal/d (million gallons per day) from a test-well site in the Cape Cod National Seashore, Truro, Massachusetts, were evaluated with a three-dimensional finite-difference steady-state-flow digital model. The digital model was prepared during an earlier study and is only briefly described. Continuous...
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc
By
New England Water Science Center

Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Secondarily treated domestic sewage has been disposed of on surface sand beds at the sewage treatment facility at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, since 1936. Infiltration of the sewage through the sand beds into the underlying unconfined sand and gravel aquifer has resulted in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water that is 2,500 to 3,500 feet wide, 75 feet wide, and more than 11...
Authors
Denis LeBlanc

Digital models of ground-water flow in the Cape Cod aquifer system, Massachusetts Digital models of ground-water flow in the Cape Cod aquifer system, Massachusetts

The Cape Cod aquifer system was simulated with three-dimensional finite-difference ground-water-flow models. Five areas were modeled to provide tools that can be used to evaluate the hydrologic impacts of regional water development and waste disposal. The model boundaries were selected to represent the natural hydrologic boundaries of the aquifer. The boundary between fresh and saline...
Authors
John H. Guswa, Denis R. LeBlanc
By
New England Water Science Center

Progress report on hydrologic investigations of small drainage areas in New Hampshire: preliminary relations for estimating peak discharges on rural, unregulated streams Progress report on hydrologic investigations of small drainage areas in New Hampshire: preliminary relations for estimating peak discharges on rural, unregulated streams

The magnitude and frequency of floods on rural, unregulated streams in New Hampshire with drainage areas between 0.27 and 622 square miles may be estimated from drainage area, main-channel slope, and a precipitation intensity index. Based on multiple-regression analyses of data from 59 gaged sites in New Hampshire and adjacent areas of bordering states, peak discharges for recurrence...
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc

Water-table map of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, May 23-27, 1976 Water-table map of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, May 23-27, 1976

No abstract available.
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc, John H. Guswa

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government

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