Geology topics
D. L. Simmons
Publications and source records attributed to D. L. Simmons.
Study guide for a beginning course in ground-water hydrology; Part I, Course participants
No abstract available.
Water resources data, New York, water year 1987, volume 2, Long Island
No abstract available.
Effect of urban stormwater runoff on ground water beneath recharge basins on Long Island, New York
Urban stormwater runoff was monitored during 1980-82 to investigate the source, type, quantity, and fate of contaminants routed to the more than 3,000 recharge basins on Long Island and to determine whether this runoff might be a significant source of contamination to the groundwater reservoir. Forty-six storms were monitored at five recharge basins in representative land use areas (strip commercial, shopping-mall parking lot, major highway, low-density residential, and medium-density residential). Runoff:precipitation ratios indicate that all storm runoff is derived from precipitation on impervious surfaces in the drainage area, except during storms of high intensity or long duration, when additional runoff can be derived from precipitation on permeable surfaces. Lead was present in highway runoff in concentrations up to 3300 micrograms/L, and chloride was found in parking lot runoff concentrations up to 1,100 mg/L during winter, when salt is used for deicing. In the five composite stormwater samples and nine groundwater grab samples that were analyzed for 113 EPA-designated ' priority pollutants, ' four constituents were detected in concentrations exceeding New York State guidelines of 50 micrograms/L for an individual organic compound in drinking water: p-chloro-m-cresol (79 micrograms/L); 2 ,4-dimethylphenol (96 micrograms/L); 4-nitrophenol (58 micrograms/L); and methylene chloride (230 micrograms/L in either groundwater or stormwater at the highway basin). One stormwater sample and two groundwater samples exceeded New York State guidelines for total organic compounds in drinking water (100 micrograms/L). The presence of these constituents is attributed to contamination from point sources rather than to the quality of runoff from urban areas. The median number of indicator bacteria in stormwater ranged from 0.1 to 10 billion MPN/100 ml. Fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci increased by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude during the warm season. The use of recharge basins to dispose of storm runoff does not appear to have significant adverse effects on groundwater quality in terms of the chemical and microbiological stormwater constituents studied. (Author 's abstract)
Geohydrology and ground-water quality on Shelter Island, Suffolk County, New York, 1983-84
Shelter Island, with an area of about 11 sq mi, lies between the north and south forks of eastern Long Island in Suffolk County. The thin upper glacial (water table) aquifer contains the lens-shaped freshwater body that is the sole source of freshwater for the Town 's population of about 2,200 year-round and 10,000 summer residents. Chloride concentrations in groundwater above the freshwater/saltwater interface, defined as 40 mg/L Cl-, are relatively constant with depth. Below the interface, however, chloride concentrations increase rapidly--as much as an order of magnitude within 10 ft--until they reach 19 ,000 mg/L, the chloride concentration of seawater. Chloride concentrations in shallow groundwater from wells screened in or near the zone of diffusion may range over two orders of magnitude in response to variations in recharge and groundwater withdrawal. After the summer season of relatively low recharge and peak water demand, the thickness of the freshwater lens is < 20 ft in many nearshore areas. A map showing the configuration of the water table in December 1983 indicates freshwater mounds in the center of the island, in the Mashomack Preserve, on the Dering Harbor-Hay Beach peninsula, and in the area between Shelter Island Heights and West Neck Bay. Areas in which the supply of fresh groundwater is severely limited include all coastal areas, the southernmost part of the West Neck peninsula, and Little Ram Island. Water levels in most locations are < 6 ft above sea level. During 1974-83, seasonal water table fluctuations were greater than variations that occurred from year to year. Groundwater quality on Shelter Island is generally good and usually meets Federal and State drinking water standards. However, many wells contain water that has excessive concentrations of dissolved iron and manganese (up to 5.0 mg/L and 3.0 mg/L, respectively), and elevated chloride and dissolved solids concentrations (up to 310 mg/L and 585 mg/L, respectively) have been found in some nearshore wells. Increased withdrawal of fresh groundwater in nearshore areas will cause further landward movement of saline groundwater; in other areas, excessive pumping may cause upconing. A system of widely spaced pumping wells that avoid nearshore areas would minimize these effects. (Lantz-PTT)