Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Joe Duris

Hi, I'm Joe Duris, Science Advisor at the USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center, and also Water-Quality Specialist. As the primary science liaison across our programs, I focus on building partnerships and advancing water-resources science for Pennsylvania. 

Throughout my time at the USGS I have been actively involved in many facets of water-quality monitoring and research. I have worked with several national and regional USGS programs including the Toxics Substances Hydrology program (Toxics), the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA), the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), and most recently the Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS) Program in the Delaware River Basin. Most of my work throughout my career has focused on evaluating the occurrence, fate, and transport of fecally-derived pathogens and their relation to trace organic compounds (PFAS, wastewater compounds, pharmaceuticals, hormones, pesticides). In addition, I have worked on issues of nutrient enrichment and Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in inland lakes and the Great Lakes, and on monitoring nutrient and sediment flux using surrogate regression models.

Current Research

  • Evaluation of the distribution, fate, transport, and mass-balance of Per-and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances (PFAS) at multiple spatial scales and refining and testing field techniques for proper sampling of PFAS in surface water
  • Evaluation of suspended sediment and nutrient flux in real-time using surrogate regression models by rating in-stream measurements with parameters of interest
  • Exploring the connection between blending untreated human sewage and acid mine drainage on the microbial ecology of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in streams
  • Data management, data visualization, and evaluating new monitoring technologies

Professional Experience

  • Science Advisor, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, 2026-present

  • Water-Quality Specialist, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, 2016-present

  • Microbiologist, Michigan Water Science Center, 2002-2016

Education and Certifications

  • Master of Science in Biology with a focus on Environmental Microbiology, Western Michigan University, 2002

  • Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science and Chemistry, Western Michigan University, 1998

Science and Products

No Result Found
No results found.
Filter Total Items: 39

Water-quality data, Huron County, Michigan 2004 Water-quality data, Huron County, Michigan 2004

No abstract available.
Authors
Joseph W. Duris, Sheridan K. Haack

Atrazine concentrations in stream water and streambed sediment pore water in the St. Joseph and Galien River basins, Michigan and Indiana, May 2001-September 2003 Atrazine concentrations in stream water and streambed sediment pore water in the St. Joseph and Galien River basins, Michigan and Indiana, May 2001-September 2003

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled multiple stream sites across the St. Joseph and Galien River Basins to detect and quantify the herbicide atrazine using a field enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) triazine test. In May 2001, July 2001, April 2002, August 2002, August 2003 and September 2003, composite samples were collected across streams at USGS streamflow-gaging stations...
Authors
Joseph W. Duris, Howard W. Reeves, James L. Kiesler
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Preliminary survey of antibiotic-resistant fecal indicator bacteria and pathogenic Escherichia coli from river-water samples collected in Oakland County, Michigan, 2003 Preliminary survey of antibiotic-resistant fecal indicator bacteria and pathogenic Escherichia coli from river-water samples collected in Oakland County, Michigan, 2003

A preliminary study was done in Oakland County, Michigan, to determine the concentration of fecal indicator bacteria (fecal coliform bacteria and enterococci), antibiotic resistance patterns of these two groups, and the presence of potentially pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). For selected sites, specific members of these groups [E. coli, Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) and...
Authors
Lisa R. Fogarty, Joseph W. Duris, Stephen S. Aichele
By
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Atekwana, E.A., Atekwana, E.A., Werkema, D.D., Allen, J.P., Smart, L.A., Duris, J.W., Cassidy, D.P., Sauck, W.A., and Rossbach, S., 2004, Evidence for microbial enhanced electrical conductivity in hydrocarbon‐contaminated sediments: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 31, no. 23.
Atekwana, E.A., Werkema Jr, D.D., Duris, J.W., Rossbach, S., Atekwana, E.A., Sauck, W.A., Cassidy, D.P., Means, J., and Legall, F.D., 2004, In-situ apparent conductivity measurements and microbial population distribution at a hydrocarbon-contaminated site: Geophysics, v. 69, no. 1, p. 56–63.
Cassidy, D.P., Hudak, A.J., Werkema, D.D., Atekwana, E.A., Rossbach, S., Duris, J.W., Atekwana, E.A., and Sauck, W.A., 2002, In situ rhamnolipid production at an abandoned petroleum refinery: Soil and Sediment Contamination, v. 11, no. 5, p. 769–787.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Web Tools

Science and Products

No Result Found
No results found.
Filter Total Items: 39

Water-quality data, Huron County, Michigan 2004 Water-quality data, Huron County, Michigan 2004

No abstract available.
Authors
Joseph W. Duris, Sheridan K. Haack

Atrazine concentrations in stream water and streambed sediment pore water in the St. Joseph and Galien River basins, Michigan and Indiana, May 2001-September 2003 Atrazine concentrations in stream water and streambed sediment pore water in the St. Joseph and Galien River basins, Michigan and Indiana, May 2001-September 2003

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled multiple stream sites across the St. Joseph and Galien River Basins to detect and quantify the herbicide atrazine using a field enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) triazine test. In May 2001, July 2001, April 2002, August 2002, August 2003 and September 2003, composite samples were collected across streams at USGS streamflow-gaging stations...
Authors
Joseph W. Duris, Howard W. Reeves, James L. Kiesler
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Preliminary survey of antibiotic-resistant fecal indicator bacteria and pathogenic Escherichia coli from river-water samples collected in Oakland County, Michigan, 2003 Preliminary survey of antibiotic-resistant fecal indicator bacteria and pathogenic Escherichia coli from river-water samples collected in Oakland County, Michigan, 2003

A preliminary study was done in Oakland County, Michigan, to determine the concentration of fecal indicator bacteria (fecal coliform bacteria and enterococci), antibiotic resistance patterns of these two groups, and the presence of potentially pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). For selected sites, specific members of these groups [E. coli, Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) and...
Authors
Lisa R. Fogarty, Joseph W. Duris, Stephen S. Aichele
By
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Atekwana, E.A., Atekwana, E.A., Werkema, D.D., Allen, J.P., Smart, L.A., Duris, J.W., Cassidy, D.P., Sauck, W.A., and Rossbach, S., 2004, Evidence for microbial enhanced electrical conductivity in hydrocarbon‐contaminated sediments: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 31, no. 23.
Atekwana, E.A., Werkema Jr, D.D., Duris, J.W., Rossbach, S., Atekwana, E.A., Sauck, W.A., Cassidy, D.P., Means, J., and Legall, F.D., 2004, In-situ apparent conductivity measurements and microbial population distribution at a hydrocarbon-contaminated site: Geophysics, v. 69, no. 1, p. 56–63.
Cassidy, D.P., Hudak, A.J., Werkema, D.D., Atekwana, E.A., Rossbach, S., Duris, J.W., Atekwana, E.A., and Sauck, W.A., 2002, In situ rhamnolipid production at an abandoned petroleum refinery: Soil and Sediment Contamination, v. 11, no. 5, p. 769–787.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Web Tools

Was this page helpful?