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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS1996

Geochemical and hydrologic controls on phosphorus transport in a sewage-contaminated sand and gravel aquifer near Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Currently (1993), about 170 kg/yr of phosphorus discharges into Ashumet Pond on Cape Cod from a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water. Phosphorus in the plume is mobile in two distinct geochemical environments--an anoxic zone containing dissolved iron and a suboxic zone containing dissolved oxygen. Phosphorus mobility in the suboxic zone is due to saturation of available sorption sites. Phosphorus loading to Ashumet Pond may increase significantly after sewage disposal is stopped due to phosphorus desorption from sediment surfaces.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2003

Testing ground-water-management alternatives in the Upper Charles River Basin, eastern Massachusetts

Ground water pumped from municipal wells supplies most of the drinking water used in the Upper Charles River Basin. This area, along the Interstate 495 corridor in eastern Massachusetts, has undergone rapid land development and population growth in recent years. The increased water demand associated with this growth has created concerns about the effects of current and future withdrawals on streamflow and pond levels in the basin. To aid water-resource planning in the basin, a computer model of the hydrologic system was developed to test the effects of current and hypothetical ground-water withdrawals and other water-management practices. The model is applied using optimization methods that can help balance water-supply and environmental needs.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1999

Water-quality assessment of the New England coastal basins in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island: Environmental settings and implications for water quality and aquatic biota

The New England Coastal Basins in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island constitute one of 59 study units selected for water-quality assessment as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. England Coastal Basins study unit encompasses the fresh surface waters and ground waters in a 23,000 square-mile area that drains to the Atlantic Ocean. Major basins include those of the Kennebec, Androscoggin, Saco, Merrimack, Charles, Blackstone, Taunton, and Pawcatuck Rivers. Defining the environmental setting of the study unit is the first step in designing and conducting a multi-disciplinary regional water-quality assessment. The report describes the natural and human factors that affect water quality in the basins and includes descriptions of the physiography, climate, geology, soils, surface- and ground-water hydrology, land use, and the aquatic ecosystem. Although surface-water quality has greatly improved over the past 30 years as a result of improved wastewater treatment at municipal and industrial wastewater facilities, a number of water-quality problems remain. Industrial and municipal wastewater discharges, combined sewer overflows, hydrologic modifications from dams and water diversions, and runoff from urban land use are the major causes of water-quality degradation in 1998. The most frequently detected contaminants in ground water in the study area are volatile organic compounds, petroleum-related products, nitrates, and chloride and sodium. Sources of these contaminants include leaking storage tanks, accidental spills, landfills, road salting, and septic systems and lagoons. Elevated concentrations of mercury are found in fish tissue from streams and lakes throughout the study area.

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island↗
USGS1971

Bottom sediments on the continental shelf off the northeastern United States -- Cape Cod to Cape Ann, Massachusetts

These reconnaissance maps have been constructed to show the areal distribution of major types of bottom sediment and some of their constituents on the sea floor off Massachusetts between Cape Ann and Cape Cod (41°45'N and 42°50'N and west of 70°-00W). They are intended to serve as a guide to future detailed mapping of gravel, sand, silt clay, and organic carbon. Because sediment texture is in part a reflection of long-term hydrologic conditions, the maps will also help to infer the important sediment transport mechanisms in the area and thus they should be useful in problems relating to disposal of solid and liquid waste offshore.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1997

Use of particle tracking to improve numerical model calibration and to analyze ground-water flow and contaminant migration, Massachusetts Military Reservation, western Cape Cod, Massachusetts

A steady-state, three-dimensional flow model coupled with a particle-tracking algorithm was developed to assess the complex interaction of hydrogeologic conditions affecting ground-water flow and contaminant transport--including aquifer heterogeneities, hydrologic boundaries such as ponds and streams, ground-water withdrawals, and aquifer recharge to characterize the migration of contaminants emanating from beneath the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The known extent of contaminant plumes were used to assess the effects of changes in model input parameters on model-calculated water-table and pond altitudes, streamflow, and water-particle pathlines. Although changes in selected simulated hydrogeologic conditions resulted in minor changes in model-calculated water-table altitudes, pond altitudes, and streamflow, these changes had significant effects on the projection of model-calculated water-particle pathlines.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS2020

2020 drought in New England

Below average and infrequent rainfall from May through September 2020 led to an extreme hydrologic drought across much of New England, with some areas experiencing a flash drought, reflecting its quick onset. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded record-low streamflow and groundwater levels throughout the region. In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (2020) declared Aroostook County in Maine and Hillsborough and Merrimack Counties in New Hampshire as crop disaster areas. By the beginning of October, 166 community water systems and 5 municipalities in New Hampshire, more than 100 municipalities in Massachusetts, and several community water supplies in Connecticut, Maine, and Rhode Island had mandatory water restrictions in place.

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, ↗
USGS2025

Methods for estimating selected low-flow statistics at gaged and ungaged stream sites in Massachusetts

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Office of Water Resources, computed selected at-site streamflow statistics at U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in and near Massachusetts and developed regional regression equations for estimating selected streamflows at ungaged stream sites in Massachusetts. Two sets of regional regression equations were developed: (1) the “mainland” equations, for mainland Massachusetts excluding the area covered by the second set, and (2) the “southeastern” equations, for the Plymouth-Carver-Kingston-Duxbury aquifer area in southeastern Massachusetts and for Cape Cod. The regression equations and at-site statistics may be used by Federal, State, and local water managers in addressing water-resources issues relevant in Massachusetts. Regional regression analyses for the mainland equations were developed to estimate the following 27 streamflow statistics: 99-, 98-, 95-, 90-, 85-, 80-, 75-, 70-, 60-, and 50-percent flow durations; monthly June, July, August, and September 90- and 50-percent flow durations; February, June, and August median of the monthly means; harmonic mean; and medians of the following annual low-flow frequency statistics: 7-day; 7-day, 2-year; 7-day, 10-year; 30-day, 2-year; and 30-day, 10-year. The analyses used 81 streamgages with minimal to no regulations in and near Massachusetts. The regression analyses determined that four basin characteristics—drainage area, combined hydrologic soils A and B, streamflow variability index, and annual mean temperature—were the only significant explanatory variables for the different mainland equations. Regional regression equations were developed for the Plymouth-Carver-Kingston-Duxbury aquifer area in southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod, because surface-water drainage areas and groundwater contributing areas do not always coincide in this area of the State. The regression analyses to estimate 10 flow durations from the 99th to 50th percentiles used 18 streamflow sites with some occasional minor regulations—because there are few unregulated streams in southeastern Massachusetts. The analyses determined that groundwater contributing area and storage (combined water bodies and wetlands) were the only significant explanatory variables in the southeastern equations.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1951

Water law, with special reference to ground water

This report was prepared in July 1950 at the request of the President's Water Resources Policy Commission. It followed the report entitled Water facts in relation to a national water-resources policy," which, in part, has been published as Geological Survey Circular 114 under the title "The water situation in the United States, with special reference to ground water.'' The only changes made in preparing this report for publication as a circular were revision of the sections on Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, and Texas, to bring them up to date. This report discusses some of the problems in the field of water law and summarizes briefly the laws providing for the acquiring, of water rights in the different States. The need for consideration of the subject is brought out in Circular 114. In that report it was pointed out that: (1) The use of water in the United States is increasing rapidly and undoubtedly will continue to do so; (2) ground water must meet a large and perhaps an increasing share of our water demands; (3) the full development of the water resources of ever more numerous and larger areas will require manipulation of stream systems and ground-water reservoirs to protect them from overdevelopment or pollution and to increase and maintain their yield of water of good quality; and (4) such manipulation, as well as the protection of existing rights, requires control of water use by means of hydrologically sound statutes.

Circular↗
USGS1997

Effects of carbon dioxide variations in the unsaturated zone on water chemistry in a glacial-outwash aquifer

The research site at Otis Air Base, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has been developed for hydrogeological and geochemical studies of sewage-effluent contaminated groundwater since 1982. Research of hydrologic properties, transport, and chemical and biological processes is ongoing, but the origin of background water chemistry has not been determined. The principal geochemical process giving rise to the observed background water chemistry is CO2-controlled hydrolysis of Na feldspar. Geochemical modeling demonstrated that CO2 sources could vary over the project area. Analyses of unsaturated zone gases showed variations in CO2 which were dependent on land use and vegetative cover in the area of groundwater recharge. Measurements of CO2 in unsaturated-zone gases showed that concentrations of total inorganic C in recharge water should range from about 0.035 to 1.0 mmoles/L in the vicinity of Otis Air Base. Flux of CO2 from the unsaturated zone varied for a principal land uses, ranging from 86 gC/m2/yr for low vegetated areas to 1630 gC/m2/yr for a golf course. Carbon dioxide flux from woodlands was 220 gC/m2/yr, lower than reported fluxes of 500 to 600 gC/m2/yr for woodlands in a similar climate. Carbon dioxide flux from grassy areas was 540 gC/m2/yr, higher than reported fluxes of 230 to 490 gC/m2/yr for grasslands in a similar climate.

Applied Geochemistry↗
USGS1997

Hydrogeologic framework of western Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The aquifer of western Cape Cod consists of several hydrogeologic units composed of sand, gravel, silt, and clay (fig. 1) that were deposited during the late Wisconsinan glaciation of New England. The aquifer is a shallow, unconfined hydrologic system in which ground-water flows radially outward from the apex of the ground-water mound near the center of the peninsula toward the coast (fig.2). The aquifer is the sole source of water supply for the towns of Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee, and the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR). Previous geologic studies summarized the characteristics and relative ages of the glacial moraines and meltwater deposits and the relation of these sediments to the extent of the ice-sheet lobes during the last glaciation of southern New England (Oldale and Barlow, 1986; Hartshorn and others, 1991). Hydrogeologic studies in western Cape Cod characterized the shallow regional ground-water-flow system (LeBlanc and others, 1986) and analyzed simulated responses of the aquifer to changes in hydrologic stresses (Guswa and LeBlanc, 1985; Barlow and Hess, 1993; Masterson and Barlow, 1994; and Masterson and others, 1996). Recent concerns about widespread ground-water contamination, especially from sources on the MMR, have resulted in extensive investigations to characterize the local hydrogeology of the aquifer near the MMR (ABB Environmental Services, 1992). Masterson and others (1996) illustrated the strong influence of geology on ground-water flow and the importance of characterizing the hydrogeology to predict the migration of the contaminant plumes beneath the MMR. This report, a product of a cooperative study between the National Guard Bureau and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), characterizes the regional hydrogeology of the western Cape Cod aquifer on the basis of surficial glacial geology previously described by Mather and others (1940) and Oldale and Barlow (1986), and presents a new analysis of the subsurface hydrogeology. The characterization of the regional hydrogeologic framework includes a detailed analysis of the glacial sediments, including deltaic and lacustrine deposits and their sedimentary facies; a structure-contour analysis of the transition between the shallow sand and gravel deposits and the underlying fine sand, silt, and clay deposits; and a summary of the relation between lithologic characteristics (grain size and stratigraphy) and empirically determined hydraulic-conductivity values.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2005

People and water in the Assabet River basin, eastern Massachusetts

An accounting of the inflows, outflows, and uses of water in the rapidly developing Assabet River Basin, along Interstate 495 in eastern Massachusetts, was done to quantify how people's activities alter the hydrologic system. The study identified subbasins and seasons in which outflows resulting from people's activities were relatively large percentages of total flows, and quantified the fraction of streamflow in the Assabet River that is treated wastewater. Computer models of ground-water flow were also used to test how the components of the hydrologic system, particularly streamflow, would change with future development and increased water use. Computer simulations showed that, when water use was increased to currently permitted levels, streamflows in tributaries would decrease, particularly during the low-flow period. In the Assabet River, increased wastewater discharges resulted in a slight increase in total streamflow and an increase in the fraction of streamflow in the river that is wastewater, relative to existing conditions.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1990

Soil-vegetation correlations in the Connecticut River floodplain of Western Massachusetts

As part of a national study analyzing the relation between hydric soils and wetland vegetation, the vegetation associated with a series of known soils was sampled along the Connecticut River floodplain in Massachusetts. Weighted average and index average (presence/absence) values were calculated for vegetation using wetland ecological index values from the National List of Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and procedures developed by T. R. Wentworth and G. P. Johnson at North Carolina State University. Good correspondence between soils and vegetation was recorded with two exceptions. Two typically nonhydric soils were determined to be hydric based on vegetation analyses. Examination of the groundwater hydrology of these two soils confirmed their hydric nature. The authors suggested that one of these soils may need to be redefined and they also suggested that the assigned index values for a few species of vegetation should be reexamined. However, in general the index average values of vegetation based on published wetland index values corresponded with the hydric and nonhydric nature of soils.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1996

Use of particle tracking to improve numerical model calibration and to analyze ground-water flow and contaminant migration, Massachusetts Military Reservation, western Cape Cod, Massachusetts

A steady-state, three-dimensional numerical model coupled with a particle-tracking algorithm was developed to simulate the complex hydrogeologic conditions affecting ground-water flow and contaminant migration in the Cape Cod aquifer beneath the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Massachusetts. The known extents of the contaminant plumes beneath the reservation were incorporated into a particle-tracking analysis to improve model calibration. Particle tracking was used to evaluate the effects of simulated changes in hydraulic properties and in simulated hydrologic boundaries such as ponds and streams. The model simulations made during the calibration process indicated that changes in simulated hydraulic properties and hydrologic boundaries resulted in small changes in the water-table and pond altitudes and in streamflows, yet had a substantial effect on model-calculated groundwater flowpaths. Therefore, the characterization of contaminant migration using a model calibrated only on the basis of ground-water heads and flux may be inaccurate. The results of model simulations for the analysis of the effects of pumping and recharge on ground-water flow and contaminant migration indicated that ground-water flowpaths were greatly affected by subtle shifts in hydraulic gradients. These changes in the ground-water-flow system in response to hydrologic stresses such as pumping and recharge can be determined by the use of a particle-tracking analysis.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1987

Area of influence and zone of contribution to superfund-site wells G and H, Woburn, Massachusetts

Groundwater contamination by chlorinated volatile organic compounds detected by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering in 1979 forced the closing of public supply wells G and H in the City of Woburn, MA. The EPA has ranked the wells G and H site on the National Priorities List as a CERCLA (Superfund) site and currently is conducting a feasibility study to determine a remedial action cleanup plan for the site. A 30-day aquifer test was conducted to determine the hydraulic properties of the stratified drift aquifer in the vicinity of the wells, and to determine the area of influenced and zone of contribution to wells G and H under pumping conditions. The estimated transmissivity of the aquifer in the vicinity of well G was 29,700 sq ft/day, with a storage coefficient of 0.20. The average horizontal hydraulic conductivity in the vicinity of the well ranged from 125 to 350 ft/day. The estimated transmissivity of the aquifer at well H was 17,600 sq ft/day, with a storage coefficient of 0.16. The average horizontal hydraulic conductivity ranges from 130 to 215 ft/day. The area of influence after 30 days of pumping well G at 700 gal/min and well H at 400 gal/min was oblong in shape, and approximately 3000 ft long and 1700 ft wide, as measured at the midpoint between wells G and H. The area of influence of wells G and H described in this report is considered to be a ' snapshot ' representative of the hydrologic and pumping conditions of the 30-day aquifer test. Most of the water pumped by the wells is obtained directly from the part of the aquifer immediately surrounding both wells and from induced infiltration of surface water from the overlying river and wetland. The remaining part of the zone of contribution is that area of the Aberjona River drainage basin up-gradient and outside the area of influence of wells G and H. A small amount of the surface water in the river entering the northern end of the study area, which is derived from groundwater discharge and surface water runoff in the up-gradient drainage area, is induced from the river to the wells under pumping conditions. The size of the area south of wells G and H that contributes water to the wells is variable, dependent on pumping rates and hydrologic conditions. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1993

Simulated hydrologic responses of the Quashnet River stream-aquifer system to proposed ground-water withdrawals, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

An investigation of the Quashnet River stream- aquifer system on Cape Cod was initiated in response to concern over possible streamflow reduction and degradation of the sea-run brown trout habitat of the river resulting from proposed ground-water withdrawals. A two-layer finite-difference ground-water-flow model was developed to simulate the stream-aquifer system. Steady-state pumping rates of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 million gallons per day were simulated at three well sites 1,500 to 2,500 feet west of the river. No infiltration of water from the river to the aquifer was induced in any of the simulations. Maximum streamflow depletion along the river for the scenarios tested ranged from 3 to 15 percent of calculated steady-state prepumping streamflow. Mean monthly streamflow depletions determined by use of the transient model, for a constant withdrawal of 1.0 million gallons per day from a site 1,500 feet west of the river, range from 6 to 8 percent of the mean monthly streamflows measured at a gage located 0.3 miles from the mouth of the river. A particle-tracking postprocessor to the steady-state model was used to delineate contributing areas of the river and the proposed withdrawal sites. Although the simulated cone of depression produced by pumping extends beyond the river, the contributing area of the well does not include the river under any of the withdrawal schemes simulated.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2011

Estimated hydrologic budgets of kettle-hole ponds in coastal aquifers of southeastern Massachusetts

Kettle-hole ponds in southeastern Massachusetts are in good hydraulic connection to an extensive coastal aquifer system that includes the Plymouth-Carver aquifer system on the mainland and aquifers underlying Cape Cod. The ponds receive water from, and contribute water to, the underlying glacial aquifer; ponds also receive water from precipitation and lose water to evaporation from the pond surface. Some ponds are connected to surface-water drainage systems and receive water from or contribute water to streams or adjacent wetlands. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection currently (2011) is developing Total Maximum Daily Loads of phosphorus for the freshwater ponds in the region to maintain the health of pond ecosystems; the amounts and sources of water fluxes into and out of the ponds are important factors in determining the amount of phosphorus that can be assimilated into a pond. To assist in this effort, the U.S. Geological Survey used groundwater-flow models of the coastal aquifer system to estimate hydrologic budgets-including inflows and outflows from the aquifer system and adjacent streams and wetlands, and recharge from precipitation-for 425 ponds in southeastern Massachusetts. Water fluxes through the ponds are a function of several factors, including the size, shape, and bathymetry of the pond, orientation of the pond relative to the regional hydraulic gradient, and hydrologic setting relative to the proximity of groundwater divides and discharge boundaries. Total steady-state fluxes through the ponds range from more than 3,300,000 to less than 2,000 cubic feet per day. For ponds without surface-water inlets or outlets, groundwater inflow accounts for 98 to 3 percent of total inflow; conversely, recharge onto the pond surface accounts for the remainder of inflow (between 2 and 97 percent). All natural flows from these ponds are through recharge from the pond into the aquifer. In one pond, about 94 percent of the total outflow is removed for water supply. For ponds that are connected to surface-water drainages, most inflow and outflow are through streams. Ponds that receive water from streams receive most (58 to 89 percent) of their water from those streams. Ponds that are drained by streams lose between 5 and 100 percent of their water to those streams.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS1994

Simulation of the effects of ground-water withdrawals and recharge on ground-water flow in Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island basins, Massachusetts

The effects of changing patterns of ground-water pumping and aquifer recharge on the surface-water and ground-water hydrologic systems were determined for the Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island Basins. Three-dimensional, transient, ground-water-flow modelS that simulate both freshwater and saltwater flow were developed for the f1ow cells of Cape Cod which currently have large-capacity public-supply wells. Only the freshwater-flow system was simulated for the Cape Cod flow cells where public-water supply demands are satisfied by small-capacity domestic wells. Two- dimensional, finite-difference, change models were developed for Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island to determine the projected drawdowns in response to projected in-season pumping rates for 180 days of no aquifer recharge. Results of the simulations indicate very little change in the position of the freshwater-saltwater interface from predevelopment flow conditions to projected ground-water pumping and recharge rates for Cape Cod in the year 2020. Results of change model simulations for Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island indicate that the greatest impact in response to projected in-season ground-water pumping occurs at the pumping centers and the magnitude of the drawdowns are minimal with respect to the total thickness of the aquifers.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2011

Pharmaceutical compounds in Merrimack River water used for public supply, Lowell, Massachusetts, 2008-09

This report presents results of a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, to determine the occurrence of 14 commonly used human-health pharmaceutical compounds and fecal-indicator bacteria in Merrimack River water used as a drinking-water source by 135,000 residents in eastern Massachusetts. The study was designed to complement the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program's Source Water-Quality Assessment, which identifies patterns of occurrence of 280 primarily unregulated organic wastewater contaminants in source water used by community water systems and determines whether these patterns also occur in treated drinking water prior to distribution. The study involved periodic collection and analysis of raw Merrimack River water and treated drinking water over the course of 1 year. Water samples were collected periodically without regard to flow regime or antecedent weather conditions at the Lowell Regional Water Utility's Merrimack River intake upstream from Lowell, Mass. The same parcel of water was then sampled as finished water following treatment. Despite the presence of many potential sources of contamination in the drinking-water source area, only 2 of the 14 pharmaceutical analytes were detected at reportable concentrations in the source-water samples, and these occurred in only one set of periodic samples. Acetaminophen, a nonprescription analgesic, and caffeine were detected in the September source-water samples at concentrations of 0.084 and 0.068 micrograms per liter, respectively. Three other compounds-carbamazepine, an antiepileptic; cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine; and diphenhydramine, a nonprescription antihistamine-were detected in source-water samples, but at concentrations too low to be reliably quantified. None of the 14 pharmaceuticals was found in the finished water at a reportable concentration, defined as two times the long-term detection limit used by the analytical laboratory. In addition to the pharmaceutical analyses, measurements of fecal-indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli) concentrations and several physical characteristics were made on all source-water samples. Values for these constituents were consistently within State standards. It is possible that the monthly sampling schedule missed hydrologic events that would have transported greater concentrations of sewage contaminants to the sampling site, or that the large flow volume of the river at the study site effectively diluted the contaminant signal, but it is also likely that recent efforts to separate stormwater- and wastewater-discharge systems in the reaches upstream from the Lowell Regional Water Utility have greatly reduced the potential for sewage contamination at the intake.

Scientific Investigations Report↗