Geology topics

David A. Eckhardt

Publications and source records attributed to David A. Eckhardt.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2012

Specific conductance measurements in central and western New York streams - A retrospective characterization

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data Rescue Program funds were used to recover data from paper records for 139 streamgages across central and western New York State; 6,133 different streamflow measurement forms, collected between 1970-80, contained field water-quality measurements. The water-quality data were entered, reviewed, and uploaded into the USGS National Water Information System. In total, 4,285 unique site visits were added to the database. The new values represent baseline water quality from which to measure change and will lead to a comparison of water-quality change over the last 40 years and into the future. Specific conductance was one of the measured properties and represents a simple way to determine if ambient inorganic water quality has been altered by anthropogenic (road salt runoff, wastewater discharges, or natural gas development) or natural sources. The objective of this report is to describe ambient specific conductance characteristics of surface water across the central and western part of New York. This report presents median specific conductance of stream discharge for the period 1970-80 and a description of the relation between specific conductance and concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS) retrieved from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) database from 1955 to present. The data descriptions provide a baseline of surface-water specific conductance data that can used for comparison to current and future measurements in New York streams.

New York;Pennsylvania↗

USGS2012

Preliminary assessment of water chemistry related to groundwater flooding in Wawarsing, New York, 2009-11

Water-quality samples collected in an area prone to groundwater flooding in Wawarsing, New York, were analyzed and assessed to better understand the hydrologic system and to aid in the assessment of contributing water sources. Above average rainfall over the past decade, and the presence of a pressurized water tunnel that passes about 700 feet beneath Wawarsing, could both contribute to groundwater flooding. Water samples were collected from surface-water bodies, springs, and wells and analyzed for major and trace inorganic constituents, dissolved gases, age tracers, and stable isotopes. Distinct differences in chemistry exist between tunnel water and groundwater in unconsolidated deposits and in bedrock, and among groundwater samples collected from some bedrock wells during high head pressure and low head pressure of the Rondout-West Branch Tunnel. Samples from bedrock wells generally had relatively higher concentrations of sulfate (SO 4 2- ), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), and lower concentrations of calcium (Ca) and bicarbonate (HCO 3 - ), as compared to unconsolidated wells. Differences in stable-isotope ratios among oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 (δ 18 O), hydrogen-2 to hydrogen-1 (δ 2 H), sulfur-34 to sulfur-32(δ 34 S) of SO 4 2- , Sr-87 to Sr-86 ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr), and C-13 to C-12 (δ 13 C) of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) indicate a potential for distinguishing water in the Delaware-West Branch Tunnel from native groundwater. For example, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios were more depleted in groundwater samples from most bedrock wells, as compared to samples from surface-water sources, springs, and wells screened in unconsolidated deposits in the study area. Age-tracer data provided useful information on pathways of the groundwater-flow system, but were limited by inherent problems with dissolved gases in bedrock wells. The sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) and (or) chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) apparent recharge years of most water samples from wells screened in unconsolidated deposits and springs ranged from 2003 to 2010 (current) and indicate short flow paths from the point of groundwater recharge. All but three of the samples from bedrock wells had interference problems with dissolved gases, mainly caused by excess air from degassing of hydrogen sulfide and methane. The SF 6 and (or) CFC apparent recharge years of samples from three of the bedrock wells ranged from the 1940s to the early 2000s; the sample with the early 2000s recharge year was from a flowing artesian well that was chemically similar to water samples collected at the influent to the tunnel at Rondout Reservoir and the most hydraulically responsive to water tunnel pressure compared to other bedrock wells. Data described in this report can be used, together with hydrogeologic data, to improve the understanding of source waters and groundwater-flow patterns and pathways, and to help assess the mixing of different source waters in water samples. Differences in stable isotope ratios, major and trace constituent concentrations, saturation indexes, tritium concentrations, and apparent groundwater ages will be used to estimate the proportion of water that originates from Rondout-West Branch Tunnel leakage.

New York↗

USGS2007

Hydrogeology of Two Areas of the Tug Hill Glacial-Drift Aquifer, Oswego County, New York

Two water-production systems, one for the Village of Pulaski and the other for the Villages of Sandy Creek and Lacona in Oswego County, New York, withdraw water from the Tug Hill glacial-drift aquifer, a regional sand and gravel aquifer along the western flank of the Tug Hill Plateau, and provide the sole source of water for these villages. As a result of concerns about contamination of the aquifer, two studies were conducted during 2001 to 2004, one for each water-production system, to refine the understanding of ground-water flow surrounding these water-production systems. Also, these studies were conducted to determine the cause of the discrepancy between ground-water ages estimated from previously constructed numerical ground-water-flow models for the Pulaski and Sandy Creek/Lacona well fields and the apparent ground-water ages determined using concentrations of tritium and chlorofluorocarbons. The Village of Pulaski withdrew 650,000 gallons per day in 2000 from four shallow, large-diameter, dug wells finished in glaciolacustrine deposits consisting of sand with some gravelly lenses 3 miles east of the village. Four 2-inch diameter test wells were installed upgradient from each production well, hydraulic heads were measured, and water samples collected and analyzed for physical properties, inorganic constituents, nutrients, bacteria, tritium, dissolved gases, and chlorofluorocarbons. Recharge to the Tug Hill glacial-drift aquifer is from precipitation directly over the aquifer and from upland sources in the eastern part of the recharge area, including (1) unchannelized runoff from till and bedrock hills east of the aquifer, (2) seepage to the aquifer from streams that drain the Tug Hill Plateau, (3) ground-water inflow from the till and bedrock on the adjoining Tug Hill Plateau. Water-quality data collected from four piezometers near the production wells in November 2003 indicated that the water is a calcium-bicarbonate type with iron concentrations that slightly exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level in three of the four samples. The relatively small concentrations of major ions and nutrients in the samples indicate that there is no contamination from septic-tank effluent and dissolved road salt in the ground water at the Village of Pulaski well field. Three of the four samples were analyzed for total coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli (E. coli), and only total coliform bacteria were detected in all three samples. E. coli was not detected in any samples. The Villages of Sandy Creek and Lacona use about 270,000 gallons of water per day for public consumption?alternating withdrawals from northern and southern well fields located in glaciolacustrine beach, glaciofluvial outwash, and alluvial inwash deposits consisting mostly of silty sand and gravel. Four test wells were drilled, hydraulic heads were measured, and water samples collected between 2001 and 2003 and analyzed for physical properties, inorganic constituents, nutrients, bacteria, tritium, dissolved gases, and chlorofluorocarbons. The aquifer in the Sandy Creek/Lacona area is highly susceptible to contamination because the aquifer (1) is unconfined, (2) is highly transmissive, (3) is thin (10 to 25 feet) and narrow (about 0.5 miles wide), and (4) has relatively short ground-water flowpaths from recharge to discharge areas (including wells). Additionally, drainage ditches east of the southern well field intercept westward-flowing ground water, which then is routed to an area just upgradient from the production wells where some of the water seeps back into the aquifer and is captured by these wells, effectively shortcircuiting the ground-water-flow system. Water-quality samples collected from three wells in the Sandy Creek/Lacona southern well field indicate that the ground water is a sodium-bicarbonate/sulfate type and of good quality; however, in one water sample, the sodium concentration of 6

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2000

Pesticides and their metabolites in selected surface-water public supplies in New York State, 1999

Sixteen different pesticides or their metabolites (degradations products) where detected in water samples collected in 1999 from three networks of lakes and reservoirs in upstate New York that are sources of public water supply. The networks sampled included the New York City network (10 reservoirs); the Finger Lakes-Great Lakes network (three Finger Lakes and two Great Lakes that supply large and small cities) and the western New York reservoir network (three reservoirs that supply small cities or towns). The concentrations of the compounds detected in the samples generally were low. Only a few of the compounds detected had a concentration exceeding 1 mg/L (microgram per liter), and no compounds detected in the New York City reservoirs network had concentrations exceeding 0.05 mg/L. None of the compounds detected exceeded any Federal or State water-quality standard. Compounds that were most frequently detected, and whose concentrations were highest, were the three herbicides atrazine, metolachlor, and simazine, and two herbicide metabolites (the atrazine metabolite deethylatrazine, and the metolachlor metabolite metolachlor ESA). Most of these compounds, or their parent compounds, are used on corn or other row crops. Median total pesticide and metabolite concentration for each network ranged from less than 0.02 mg/L for the New York City reservoirs network to more than 2 mg/L for the western New York reservoir network; the median for the Finger Lakes.Great Lakes network was about 0.1 mg/L. These differences reflect the amount of agricultural land use within each of the three networks, although other factors can affect pesticide and metabolite concentrations. The watersheds of the New York City reservoirs have the lowest percentage of agricultural land, and those of the western New York reservoirs have the highest. The highest herbicide or herbicide-metabolite concentrations among the New York City reservoirs were in the Cannonsville reservoir, whose watershed has a high percentage of agricultural land. The highest pesticide concentrations of the Lake sites were in Cayuga Lake, and the highest pesticide concentrations of the western New York reservoir sites were at the LeRoy reservoir. The drought conditions in 1999 resulted in a general decrease in median total concentrations, and in the median number of detected compounds, in all networks, from January through September. Pesticide concentrations at the western New York reservoir sites were lower in 1999 than in 1998, as a result of the late-spring and early-summer drought conditions in 1999. Concentrations of pesticides in surface-water supplies are likely to be higher during years with normal or high streamflows than in years of drought, and the small reservoirs are likely to show a greater change in pesticide concentrations from drought year to nondrought years than the larger water bodies.

New York↗

USGS2000

Pesticide residues in Hemlock and Canadice Lakes and their tributaries in western New York, 1997-98

In 1997, the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) and the City of Rochester began a cooperative program to study the presence of pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) that occur at trace levels in Hemlock and Canadice Lakes and their tributaries. The most frequently detected pesticides in streamflow and lake-water samples were herbicides commonly used in agriculture — atrazine, metolachlor, and simazine. None of the concentrations of these compounds in the samples exceeded Federal or State water-quality standards. Differences in the concentrations among stream samples can be attributed to land use and streamflow, and the timing of rainfall in relation to herbicide application. The north (lower) end of Hemlock Lake can receive pesticides in agricultural runoff from northern parts of its watershed and Canadice Creek. These pesticide inputs bypass most of the lake and could periodically affect the water quality periodically affect the water quality at the City of Rochester intake. Pesticide concentrations in samples from the intake during this study, however, were about 100 times less than current Federal and State standards for drinking water. Residues of DDT, dieldrin, and mirex are present in low concentrations in the bottom sediments of both lakes, but none were detected in water samples. The use of these insecticides was banned in 1972,and their persistence in the lakebed sediments is probably due to erosion of contaminated soils from agricultural lands.

New York↗

USGS1998

Hydrogeology and water quality of the Clinton Street-Ballpark Aquifer near Johnson City, New York

The Clinton Street-Ballpark aquifer, in the Susquehanna River valley in southern Broome County, N.Y., supplies drinking water to the Village of Johnson City near Binghamton. The hydrogeology and water quality of the aquifer were studied in 1994-95 to identify the source area of 1,1,1-trichloroethane, which was detected at the Johnson City Camden Street wellfield in 1991. The aquifer is generally 100 to 150 ft thick and consists primarily of ice-contact deposits of silty sand and gravel that are overlain by outwash deposits of sand and gravel. These two types of deposits are separated by lacustrine silt and clay of variable thickness into an upper and a lower layer of the aquifer. The coarse deposits form a single aquifer in areas where the lacustrine deposits are absent. Synoptic water-level surveys indicated that ground water moves from upgradient areas flanking the aquifer boundaries toward two major pumping centers?the Anitec wellfield in Binghamton and the Camden Street wellfield in Johnson City. Areas contributing recharge to municipal and industrial wells in the aquifer were delineated by a previously developed groundwater- flow model. The residence time of ground water within the area contributing recharge to Johnson City well no. 2 in the Camden Street wellfield was estimated to be less than 6 years. 1,1,1-Trichloroethane, trichloroethene, and their metabolites were detected in ground water at several locations in and near Johnson City. Relatively high concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloroethane were found in ground water about 3,000 ft north of the Camden Street wellfield. The suspected source is an area bordered on the south by Field Street, on the north by Harry L. Drive, on the east by New York State Route 201, and on the west by Marie Street. A trichloroethene metabolite, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, appears to be migrating westward from U.S. Air Force Plant 59 toward the Camden Street well-field, 1,000 ft southwest of the plant, although this compound has not been detected in water pumped by municipal wells, possibly because it has become diluted by ground water from other locations within the contributing area to the wells.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1979

Nonpoint-source discharges in Pequea Creek Basin, Pennsylvania, 1977

A study of Pequea Creek included measurement of streamflow and collection of water and bottom-material samples during selected base-flow and storm periods from February to December 1977. Samples were analyzed for nitrogen and phosphorus species, suspended sediment, organic carbon, and pesticides. Daily mean constituent concentrations and discharges transported from the basin were computed for a gaging station near the mouth. Intermittent constituent mean concentrations and discharges were computed for storms at the six subbasin sites. The objective of this project was to assess the magnitudes and types of nonpoint discharges that affect the water quality of Pequea Creek. The project included the determination of (1) the total discharges of suspended sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus from the basin; (2) intermittent storm and base-flow discharges from six subbasin sites of varying size, geology, and land use; (3) the difference in magnitudes of the discharges during base-flow periods and storms; and (4) which variables most affect the transport of these constituents. The yields measured from the Pequea Creek basin for the period February to December 1977 were among the highest measured in the lower Susquehanna River basin. Some preliminary relations between constituents were examined using linear regression techniques on all of the data for each site. Direct runoff transported the majority of the suspended sediment, total phosphorus, and suspended organic carbon from the basin; the other constituents were transported mainly during base flow. (USGS).

Pennsylvania↗

USGS1976

Sediment discharge from an area of highway construction, Applemans Run basin, Columbia County, Pennsylvania

The effects of highway construction on stream sediment loads were studied in Applemans Run basin, Columbia County, Pa., from October 1971 to May 1974. During the investigations, about 5,200 tons of suspended-sediment were discharged from the basin. Of this amount, about 2,700 tons, or about half the total sediment discharge, as derived from the highway construction area. Annual suspended-sediment yields from 17.5 acres under construction ranged from 40,000 to 66,000 tons/sq mi in the 1972 and 1973 water years, respectively. In the 1972 and 1973 er years of active construction, 83 percent of the sediment transported from the construction site was eroded each year in storms from January to June. Seasonal trends in sediment discharge for 1972 show that 69 percent of that year 's suspended-load was transported in April, May, and June, whereas less than 1 percent was transported in July, August, and September. (Woodard-USGS)

Pennsylvania↗