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Pennsylvania
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Our water-resources roots date back to the late 1800's, with the initiation of streamflow gaging on the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers and evaluation of groundwater resources in various parts of the Commonwealth. Today Pennsylvania Water Science Center's cadre of nearly 100 scientists, technicians and support staff throughout the state collect scientific data to inform the public.
News
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.
President Proposes $971.2 Million FY 2021 Budget for USGS
Budget Focuses on Bringing Science, Facilities, and Infrastructure into the 21st Century
Mapping Challenge: Summary Results for City / Town Hall Structures in NJ, NY & PA
Our Mid-Atlantic City / Town Hall mapping challenge is now finished!! A huge shout-out to all of our volunteers who participated in this challenge! Here are the summary results and a timelapse our volunteer contributions.
Publications
A historical look at changing water quality in the Delaware River Basin
In 2019 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched a pilot regional Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAA) in the Delaware River Basin (fig. 1). IWAA is intended to explore, test, and refine systems and processes for assessing water availability for human and ecological uses and understanding their underlying controls. Water quality plays...
Murphy, Jennifer C.; Shoda, Megan E.
Assessment of microscopic pathology in fishes collected at sites impacted by wood tar in Pennsylvania
In an effort to determine whether fish populations in an area affected by wood tar waste exhibited health effects, fish were collected and analyzed with histopathology. Multiple species, including Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii), Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), White Sucker (Catostumus commersonii), Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus),...
Walsh, Heather L.; Blazer, Vicki S.; Mazik, Patricia M.; Sperry, Adam J.; Pavlick, Diana
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...
Langland, Michael J.; Duris, Joseph W.; Zimmerman, Tammy M.; Chaplin, Jeffrey J.
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 in a variety of settings throughout Pennsylvania.
Hydrologic and Water Quality Studies of PFAS in Pennsylvania
USGS is working with Federal, state, and local partners to monitor and evaluate perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Pennsylvania's groundwater and surface waters.
Sediment and Stream Health - Pennsylvania
Sediment in streams, from land surface erosion in watersheds, is an important factor in determining the quality of Pennsylvania's surface waters and of downstream water bodies such as the Delaware Estuary and Chesapeake Bay. The USGS has a long-standing tradition of measuring suspended-sediment concentrations and estimating loads. Recent technological advances allow real-time estimates of...
Surface Water-Quality Monitoring Network (WQN)
Pennsylvania’s Statewide Surface Water-Quality Monitoring Network (WQN) currently consists of 124 sites that are sampled between 6 and 20 times a year. Chemical analysis includes nutrient, major ions, and selected metals. Pesticide sampling is conducted twice a year at 5 locations. Biological sampling for benthic macroinvertebrates is conducted annually at 80 sites.
The WQN was...
Regional Synthesis of Groundwater Quality in Domestic Supply Wells in Northeast and North Central Pennsylvania
USGS is synthesizing groundwater quality measurements in wells to characterize regional chemical characteristics of aquifers used for domestic supply in northeast and north central Pennsylvania.
Mine Drainage and Water Quality Research
PaWSC conducts research on geochemical and hydrological processes that control water quality, particularly the sources, transport, and attenuation of metals and nutrients in undisturbed and mining-impacted watersheds and aquifers. Results apply to scientific and regulatory programs for the prevention and remediation of aquatic contamination.
Delaware River Basin
In Pennsylvania, the USGS's water-resources roots date back to the late 1800's, with the initiation of streamflow gaging on the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers and assessments of groundwater resources near Philadelphia. The USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center continues to provide scientific information about the water resources of the Delaware River Basin, in cooperation with regional and...
Groundwater Recharge - Pennsylvania
Recharge is the process of adding water to the saturated zone. Because it is almost impossible to measure directly, recharge is usually estimated by indirect means.
Contaminants in groundwater near former Navy bases in southeastern Pennsylvania
USGS has investigated groundwater flow and contaminant transport in the vicinity of former Navy bases in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, southeastern Pennsylvania, in cooperation with the U.S. Navy. Additional cooperative support for these investigations has been provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bucks and Montgomery...
Harmful Algal Blooms in Pennsylvania
The U.S. Geological Survey is collaborating with State and local partners to develop models that provide real-time estimates of Escherichia coli (E. coli) (for pathogens) and (or) microcystin (for freshwater cyanotoxins) levels at Great Lakes beaches and drinking-water intakes.
Groundwater Availability and Use
The USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center helps water providers assess the availability of groundwater for use in homes, on farms, and in industrial activities.
Pennsylvania Statewide Surface Water-Quality Monitoring Network - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances Sampling Preparation
The Pennsylvania Water Science Center, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and in collaboration with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, met to ensure standard equipment cleaning and sampling procedures are used to collect PFAS for the Water-Quality Monitoring Network. Participants cleaned sampling gear and blanked all gear to ensure proper...
Domestic wells provide drinking water supply for approximately 40 million people in the United States. Knowing the location of these wells, and the populations they serve, is important for identifying heavily used aquifers, locations susceptible to contamination, and populations potentially impacted by poor-quality groundwater.
This USGS Data Release includes hydrologic data compiled for selected years during the period 1990-2017 to support the development and calibration of a numerical groundwater model used to simulate groundwater flow paths at and near former and currently active military bases in Montgomery and Bucks Counties in southeastern Pennsylvania (Goode and Senior, 2020). The hydrologic data compiled f
This dataset contains the lithologic class and topographic position index information and quality-assurance and quality-control data not available in the online National Water Information System for 54 domestic wells sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, May-September 2017. The topographic position index (TPI) for each well location was computed on the bas
This data release contains the boundaries of assessment units and input data for the assessment of undiscovered gas resources in the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2019. The Assessment Unit is the fundamental unit used in the National Assessment Project for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources. The Assessment Unit is defined within the conte
This data release contains the boundaries of assessment units and input data for the assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources on the north slope of Alaska. The Assessment Unit is the fundamental unit used in the National Assessment Project for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources. The Assessment Unit is defined within the context of the higher-level Total Petroleum Syste
Maximum likelihood logistic regression (MLLR) is used to estimate drought probabilities for selected Northeast rivers and streams. Winter streamflows are used to estimate the chance of hydrologic drought during summer months. This application allows the display and query of these drought streamflow probabilities for Northeastern streams.
The NWIS mapper provides access to over 1.5 million sites contained in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), including sites where current and historical surface-water, groundwater, springs, and atmospheric data has been collected. Users can search by site type, data type, site number, or place.
Interactively explore assessment summary information for continuous (unconventional) assessments conducted at the USGS from 2000-2018. The assessment results data used to generate this visualization can be downloaded here in Excel Format. These data represent all assessment results for Continuous Assessments only from 2000-2018.
The USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) Internet Map Server is an interactive mapping service which allows the user to explore and download GIS data sets published by CMGP.
The National Water Information System (NWIS) web application provides access to real-time and historical surface-water, groundwater, water-quality, and water-use data collected at approximately 1.5 million sites across all 50 states.
USGS data portray selected structures data, including the location and characteristics of manmade facilities. Characteristics consist of a structure's physical form (footprint), function, name, location, and detailed information about the structure. The types of structures collected are largely determined by the needs of the disaster planning and response and homeland security organizations.
Boundaries data or governmental units represent major civil areas including states, counties, Federal, and Native American lands, and incorporated places such as cities and towns.
USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, samples 28 wells biannually to monitor ambient groundwater quality conditions in a variety of settings throughout Pennsylvania.
Domestic wells provide drinking water supply for approximately 40 million people in the United States. Knowing the location of these wells, and the populations they serve, is important for identifying heavily used aquifers, locations susceptible to contamination, and populations potentially impacted by poor-quality groundwater.
USGS Flood Inundation Mapper Web Application
The thumpnail map is figure 7 in
Gross, E.L., 2017, Evaluation of radon occurrence in groundwater from 16 geologic units in Pennsylvania, 1986–2015, with application to potential radon exposure from groundwater and indoor air: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017–5018, 24 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175018.
Digital map data for this and other maps are available.
This map shows the provinces assessed by the USGS for undiscovered oil and gas resources.
The 3DEP products and services available through The National Map consist of standard digital elevation models (DEMs) at various horizontal resolutions, elevation source and associated datasets, an elevation point query service and bulk point query service. All 3DEP products are available, free of charge and without use restrictions.
The USGS Storm Tide Mapper is a tool for viewing, analyzing, and accessing storm tide data collected during and after hurricanes and Nor’easters. The USGS Storm Tide Mapper will continue to provide a unified and consistent source of real-time and archived storm-tide data.
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...
Clune, John W.; Cravotta, Charles A.
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2010–November 30, 2011
A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New York City, to be made under the...
DiFrenna, Vincent J.; Andrews, William J.; Russell, Kendra L.; Norris, J. Michael; Mason,, Robert R. 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...
Langland, Michael J.; Duris, Joseph W.; Zimmerman, Tammy M.; Chaplin, Jeffrey J. Assessment of microscopic pathology in fishes collected at sites impacted by wood tar in Pennsylvania
In an effort to determine whether fish populations in an area affected by wood tar waste exhibited health effects, fish were collected and analyzed with histopathology. Multiple species, including Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii), Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), White Sucker (Catostumus commersonii), Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus),...
Walsh, Heather L.; Blazer, Vicki S.; Mazik, Patricia M.; Sperry, Adam J.; Pavlick, Diana A historical look at changing water quality in the Delaware River Basin
In 2019 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched a pilot regional Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAA) in the Delaware River Basin (fig. 1). IWAA is intended to explore, test, and refine systems and processes for assessing water availability for human and ecological uses and understanding their underlying controls. Water quality plays...
Murphy, Jennifer C.; Shoda, Megan E.
Pooling resources across organizations—Multisource water-quality data for the Delaware River Basin
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently launched a pilot Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAA) in the Delaware River Basin to explore, test, and refine systems and processes for assessing water availability for human and ecological uses based on water monitoring data. Water-quality monitoring provides citizens, managers, and...
Murphy, Jennifer C.; Shoda, Megan E.
Septic systems and rainfall influence human fecal markers and indicator organisms occurrence in private wells in southeastern Pennsylvania
In the United States approximately 48 million people are served by private wells. Unlike public water systems, private well water quality is not monitored and there are few studies on the extent and sources of contamination of private wells. We extensively investigated five private wells to understand the variability in microbial contamination,...
Murphy, Heather; McGinnis, Shannon; Blunt, Ryan; Stokdyk, Joel P.; Wu, Jingwei; Cagle, Alexander; Denno, Donna; Spencer, Susan K.; Firnstahl, Aaron; Borchardt, Mark A.
Groundwater withdrawals and regional flow paths at and near Willow Grove and Warminster, Pennsylvania—Data compilation and preliminary simulations for conditions in 1999, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2017
In 2014, groundwater samples from residential and public supply wells in the vicinity of two former U.S. Navy bases at Willow Grove and Warminster, and an active Air National Guard Station at Horsham, Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania, were found to have concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS...
Goode, Daniel J.; Senior, Lisa A. Identification of management thresholds of urban development in support of aquatic biodiversity conservation
Urbanization degrades stream ecosystems and causes loss of bodiversity. Using benthic macroinvertebrates as a surragate for overall aquatic diversity, we conducted a series of analytical approaches to derive management thresholds of urban development designed to link ecological responses to the primary management goal of protecting aquatic...
Snyder, Craig D.; Young, John A. Multi-region assessment of pharmaceutical exposures and predicted effects in USA wadeable urban-gradient streams
Human-use pharmaceuticals in urban streams link aquatic-ecosystem health to human health. Pharmaceutical mixtures have been widely reported in larger streams due to historical emphasis on wastewater-treatment plant (WWTP) sources, with limited investigation of pharmaceutical exposures and potential effects in smaller headwater streams. In 2014–...
Bradley, Paul; Journey, Celeste A.; Button, Daniel T.; Carlisle, Daren M.; Huffman, B.J.; Qi, Sharon L.; Romanok, Kristin; Van Metre, Peter C. Seasonal drivers of chemical and hydrological patterns in roadside infiltration-based green infrastructure
Infiltration-based green infrastructure has become a popular means of reducing stormwater hazards in urban areas. However, the long-term effects of green infrastructure on the geochemistry of roadside environments are poorly defined, particularly given the considerable roadside legacy metal contamination from historic industrial activity and...
Mullins, Angela R.; Bain, Daniel J; Pfeil McCullough, Erin; Hopkins, Kristina G.; Lavin, S.; Copeland, Erin
A comparison of hydrocarbon-related landscape disturbance patterns along the New York-Pennsylvania border, 2004–2013
Executive SummaryThe New York-Pennsylvania area has a long history of hydrocarbon extraction, and the addition of shale gas extraction methods contributes to landscape disturbance borne by previously developed oil and non-shale gas resources. The main unconventional extraction method used to extract shale gas from the Marcellus Shale located in...
Roig-Silva, Coral M.; Milheim, Lesley E.; Slonecker, E. Terrence; Kalaly, Siddiq; Chestnut, Joseph
Estimation of Baseline Daily Mean Streamflows for Ungaged Locations on Pennsylvania Streams, Water Years 1960–2008
Water-Analysis Screening Tool (WAST): A Tool for Assessing Available Water Resources in Relation to Aquatic-Resource Uses
Karst Hazards Research at USGS Florence Bascom Geoscience Center (AD)
The Florence Bascom Geoscience Center conducts geologic research using digital elevation models to map karst systems and sinkhole hazards in the United States. Understanding these complex geologic systems helps to inform land use planning and development decisions. The
Karst Hazards Research at the USGS Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
The Florence Bascom Geoscience Center conducts geologic research using digital elevation models to map karst systems and sinkhole hazards in the United States. Understanding these complex geologic systems helps to inform land use planning and development decisions. The
Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework: Model Overview
This animation is the third video in a series explaining different aspects of the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework (PAMF). This video focuses on the machine learning model that PAMF uses to systematically learn from participant's data and then provide site-specific management guidance in return. More information about PAMF can be found at our websites:
National Oil and Gas Assessment Provinces
This is a graphic from the USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment Explorer application, which allows user to drill into 70 oil and gas assessment provinces throughout the United States.
Quarry walls showing dipping sedimentary rocks of Newark Basin, SE PA
Photograph showing dipping sedimentary rocks of the Newark Basin in southeast Pennsylvania. Taken during the 2018 Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists.
Fair weather cumulus at Chester County Observation Well CH 10
Chester County Observation Well CH 10. The well is 33.5 feet deep, and lies in the local Cockeysville Marble Aquifer, part of the larger Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock National Aquifer. The well is relatively new to the Groundwater Quality Monitoring Network (GWMN) consisting of 27 wells distributed over 26 counties in Pennsylvania. Wells are sampled twice a year
...
Strom sensor deployed in Pennsylvania for Hurricane Florence
This photo shows one of 8 storm sensors deployed in Pennsylvania to monitor the potential effects Hurricane Florence could have on already high rivers across the state. Photo by Matthew Gyves, USGS.
PAMF Participation Cycle
This video describes the annual participation cycle for those enrolled in the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework (PAMF). PAMF encompasses three annual steps including enrolling, monitoring and managing. As participants employ management actions and submit monitoring reports they will receive management guidance generated by the PAMF model, which provides the most
PAMF Participation Cycle (Audio-Described)
This video describes the annual participation cycle for those enrolled in the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework (PAMF). PAMF encompasses three annual steps including enrolling, monitoring and managing. As participants employ management actions and submit monitoring reports they will receive management guidance generated by the PAMF model, which provides the most
Well CH 10, groundwater quality monitoring network, Chester County, PA
Well CH 10 is part of a Pennsylvania groundwater quality monitoring network and is in Chester County.
Collecting a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well
A USGS hydrologist collects a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Learn more about domestic wells here.
Chester County, Pennsylvania Land Change Animation
Chester County, Pennsylvania has always been close-in hinterland of the city of Philadelphia. As the metropolitan area expanded, Chester County became one of the suburban frontiers of Philadelphia, with developed land cover concentrated along transportation corridors that were first railroad lines and later U.S. and state highways, such as U.S. 30 and more recently I-76 (
...USGS staff participated in Science Night at Fishing Creek Elementary School, where students learned about the native macroinvertebrate* population in nearby Yellow Breeches Creek.
Budget Focuses on Bringing Science, Facilities, and Infrastructure into the 21st Century
Our Mid-Atlantic City / Town Hall mapping challenge is now finished!! A huge shout-out to all of our volunteers who participated in this challenge! Here are the summary results and a timelapse our volunteer contributions.
The Marcellus Shale and Point Pleasant-Utica Shale formations of the Appalachian Basin contain an estimated mean of 214 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of natural gas, according to new USGS assessments.
FINISHED!! Our Mapping Challenge for City / Town Hall Structures in the Mid-Atlantic is now complete!
A new USGS study reports that shale-gas production in northern Pennsylvania has not currently caused widespread hydrocarbon contamination in the upland aquifer zone used for domestic supply.
Maximum likelihood logistic regression (MLLR) is used to estimate drought probabilities for selected Northeast rivers and streams. Winter streamflows are used to estimate the chance of hydrologic drought during summer months. This application allows the display and query of these drought streamflow probabilities for Northeastern streams.
Delivering Information to Fishery Managers in the Great Lakes Basin.
A new report and map published by the U.S. Geological Survey provides critical insight to electric power grid operators across the northeastern United States in the event of a once-per-century magnetic superstorm.
Lower levels of environmental contaminants—including pesticides, flame retardants and other pollutants—were recently found in osprey eggs in the Delaware Estuary compared to those tested from the 1970s through the early 2000s.
A carbonatite here, a glacial moraine there, a zig-zagging fault or two, even a behemoth of a batholith. The geology of the 50 States is an enormous patchwork of varied forms, beautiful in their variance but challenging to present as a single map.
Low- and no-oxygen area threatens crabs, oysters, fish
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Locations
Pennsylvania Water Science Center
Phone: (717) 730-6900
Fax: (717) 730-6997
Pittsburgh
Williamsport
Phone: 570-323-7127
Fax: 570-323-2137
Contacts
Pennsylvania Water Science Center
215 Limekiln Road
New Cumberland, PA 17070
Phone: (717) 730-6900
Fax: (717) 730-6997