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USGS2020

Source-tracking approach for detecting and identifying sources of wastewater in waters of Hawaiʻi

Elevated concentrations of nutrients and the fecal-indicator bacteria enterococci are occasionally detected in Hawai‘i’s surface waters by the State of Hawai‘i Department of Health Clean Water Branch. Management efforts to improve the water quality of surface waters are complicated by the fact that nutrients and enterococci can originate from several sources, including wastewater, animal waste, and soils. Wastewater often is the suspected source of nutrients and bacteria, but the source may not always be unequivocally identifiable from the Clean Water Branch’s routine monitoring efforts. This report—prepared in cooperation with the State of Hawai‘i Department of Health Clean Water Branch—describes a source-tracking approach for Hawai‘i that is meant to help investigators determine whether wastewater is present in the environment and where wastewater might be originating, if it is present. Wastewater sources include domestic wastewater entering the environment through on-site disposal systems and municipal wastewater entering the environment through leaky sewer systems or injection-well disposal systems. The source-tracking approach relies on the use of field-measured water properties and multiple chemical tracers of wastewater, including optical brighteners, nutrients, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in water, nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate, organic waste compounds, and human-use pharmaceutical compounds. The source-tracking approach proposes the following sequence of steps for investigators to execute: (1) gather background information on the study area, (2) conduct trolling-instrument surveys of physical properties of surface water and identify groundwater-discharge locations, (3) collect water samples at reconnaissance sites and analyze the samples for detergent optical brighteners and specific conductance, (4) collect water samples at targeted sites and have appropriate laboratories analyze the samples for chemical tracers of wastewater, and (5) evaluate analytical results for chemical tracers of wastewater and conclude whether wastewater is present in sampled waters. The conclusions can guide management and stakeholder efforts to protect and improve the quality of Hawai‘i’s water resources.

Hawaii↗
USGS2008

Workshop summary: Physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediment

A wide range of particle and pore scale phenomena, often coupled, determines the macro-scale response of gas-hydrate bearing sediment to changes in mechanical, thermal, or chemical conditions. Predicting this macro-scale response is critical for applications such as optimizing the production of methane from gas-hydrate deposits, or determining the role of gas hydrates in global carbon cycling and climate change.

Fire in the Ice: NETL Methane Hydrate Newsletter↗
USGS1994

The effect of a confining unit on the geochemical evolution of ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer system

In west-central Florida, sections of the Upper Floridan aquifer system range in character from confined to leaky to unconfined. The confining unit is the Hawthorn Formation, a clay-rich sequence. The presence or absence of the Hawthorn Formation affects the geochemical evolution of the ground water in the Upper Floridan aquifer system. Mass-balance and mass-transfer models suggest that, in unconfined areas, the geochemical reactions are dolomite dissolution, ion exchange (Mg for Na, K), sulfate reduction, calcite dissolution, and CO 2 exchange. In the areas in which the Hawthorn Formation is leaky, the evolution of the ground water is accounted for by ion exchange, sulfate reduction, calcite dissolution, and CO 2 exchange. In the confined areas, no ion exchange and only limited sulfate reduction occur, and the chemical character of the ground water is consistent with dolomite and gypsum dissolution, calcite precipitation, and CO 2 ingassing. The Hawthorn Formation acts both as a physical barrier to the transport of CO 2 and organic matter and as a source of ion-exchange sites, but the carbonate-mineral reactions are largely unaffected by the extent of confinement of the Upper Floridan aquifer.

Journal of Hydrology↗
USGS1991

Hydrogeology and water quality of glacial-drift aquifers in the Bemidji-Bagley area, Beltrami, Clearwater, Cass, and Hubbard Counties, Minnesota

Unconfined and the upper confined aquifers in glacial drift are the primary sources of water in a 1,600 square-mile area including parts of Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, and Hubbard Counties, Minnesota. The unconfineddrift aquifer consists of coarse sand and gravel in the center of the study area. The total area underlain by the unconfined-drift aquifer is approximately 550 square miles. The unconfined aquifer ranges in thickness from 0 to 130 feet, and is greater than 20 feet thick over an area of 280 square miles. On the basis of scant data, the transmissivity of the unconfined aquifer ranges from less than 70 feet squared per day in the south and west to greater than 8,900 feet squared per day in an area west of Bemidji. Well yields from 10 to 300 gallons per minute are possible in some areas. The unconfined and upper confined-drift aquifers are separated by a fine-grained confining unit of till or lake deposits. The thickness of the upper confined-drift aquifer ranges from 0 to 60 feet in the Bemidji area. On the basis of specific-capacity and aquifer-thickness data, and results of model simulations, the transmissivity of the upper confined-drift aquifer ranges from less than 100 feet squared per day in the south and west parts of the aquifer to about 12,800 feet squared per day in the area around Bemidji. Well yields of 10 to 2,100 gallons per minute are possible in some areas. The direction of ground-water flow in both unconfined and upper confineddrift aquifers is toward the Mississippi and Clearwater Rivers. These rivers are the major discharge points for both aquifers. Ground-water divides, which separate the ground-water flow systems that discharge to these rivers, are approximately coincidental with surface-water divides between the rivers. Water from both aquifers generally is of the calcium bicarbonate type and is very hard, averaging 309 and 267 milligrams per liter as CaCO 3 from confined and unconfined-drift aquifers, respectively. Water from both aquifers generally is suitable for drinking, crop irrigation, and most other uses. Concentrations of ammonia, boron, chromium, iron, manganese, and phenols, however, locally exceed recommended limits for drinking water (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, 1988). Longer residence time and leakage through glacial till is believed to cause higher concentrations of common inorganic constituents in water from confined-drift aquifers than concentrations in water from the unconfined-drift aquifer. Elevated concentrations of nutrients, chloride, and phenols in the unconfined-drift aquifer may be related to land-use practices. Statistical comparisons of common chemical constituents in water from wells completed in the unconfined-drift aquifer in several land-use areas suggest that concentrations of many constituents and physical properties are generally greater for wells in areas of commercial and residential land-use than for wells in areas of agriculture or forest land-use. These constituents include ammonia plus organic nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, potassium, chloride, sulfate, silica, dissolved solids, and specific conductances. The mean values of ammonia nitrogen, magnesium, and fluoride are generally greater for wells in commercial land-use type areas than for wells in forested and agricultural land-use type areas. The mean concentration of nitrogen (N0 2 + NO 3 , dissolved) is generally greater for wells in residential land-use type areas than for wells in forested and agricultural land-use type areas. The Kruskil-Wallis test, a nonparametric that for 12 of the 21 constituents sampled in groups in the unconfined-drift aquifer, a of these constituents and land use was found statistical technique, indicated common in all land-use type relation between the concentration to be statistically significant.

Minnesota↗
USGS1963

Geologic and hydrologic features of the San Bernardino area, California; with special reference to underflow across the San Jacinto fault

This is the second in a series of interpretive reports on subsurface outflow from the ground-water basins of San Bernardino County, Calif., prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the San Bernardino County Flood Control District. One principal purpose of the study was to estimate the ground-water outflow from the Bunker Hill basin to the Rialto-Colton basin across the San Jacinto fault, which, except locally, forms a nearly impermeable boundary between the two basins. In addition, the report deals qualitatively with the geology, the fault barriers that divide the area into several ground-water basins, the physical nature and degree of imperviousness of the barriers, the occurrence and movement of ground water and fluctuations of water level in the basins, and the chemical quality of surface and ground waters in the San Bernardino area. The report includes a geologic map and sections, water-level-contour maps and profiles, and hydrographs of selected well. The Santa Ana River, the principal stream, flows generally westward across the area. Channels of the river and its tributaries overlie a large irregular structural depression filled with alluvial deposits ranging in age from late Tertiary to Recent and forming a valley bounded on the north by the San Gabriel Mountains, on the east by the San Bernardino Mountains, and on the south by an irregular group of hills. Large alluvial fans underlie most of the area, but its landforms also include alluvial benches and terraces near the mountains, stream channels, and elongate hills, ridges, and scarps along the trace of the San Jacinto fault, which strikes northwestward across the valley about in the center of the area. This fault and others divide the area into ground-water basins, which include the Bunker Hill, Rialto-Colton, upper and lower Lytle and Chino basins. The water-bearing deposits include the following units: the younger alluvium. of Recent age, which occupies principally the backfilled channels beneath the Santa Ana River and its tributaries and through which ground water moves from Bunker Hill basin to Rialto-Colton basin; the older alluvium, of Pleistocene age, which is the principal water-bearing unit of the area and yields water to more than a thousand wells; and continental deposits of Tertiary to Quaternary age, which crop out along the southern margin of the area and locally along the San Gabriel Mountains on the north. The younger alluvium attains a maximum thickness of about 125 feet beneath the Santa Ana River south of San Bernardino. Locally in the Bunker Hill basin it is composed of two members, an upper member of relatively impermeable clay and a lower member of highly permeable material in which water is confined by the upper member. The older alluvium locally has a known thickness greater than 700 feet; elsewhere in the San Bernardino Valley it may exceed 1,400 feet. Locally, where ground water is confined in Bunker Hill basin, the older alluvium is divided into three permeable water-bearing zones separated from each other and from the younger alluvium above by less permeable zones. In parts of Chino and Rialto-Colton basins the alluvium consists of a coarse-grained facies along a former course of a major stream that is interfingered with and overlain by relatively fine-grained deposits. The permeability of the younger alluvium in the area beneath the Santa Ana River downstream from the San Jacinto fault was determined from tests to be about 2,700 gallons per day per square foot. The permeability of the coarse water-yielding materials of the older alluvium several miles downstream was estimated from tests to be about the same magnitude. Rocks that yield practically no water include continental rocks of Tertiary age, which are not exposed in the area but are tapped by wells in Rialto-Colton basin, and crystalline and metamorphic rocks of pre-Tertiary age that form the bedrock of the area.

California↗
USGS2025

Cardiac and behavioral responses to chemical and electrical immobilization in Lake Trout

Objective Immobilizing or anesthetizing fish is important for promoting fish welfare in numerous routine activities that involve handling. Electroanesthesia, an alternative to traditional chemical anesthetics, uses weak electrical current to immobilize fish while current is applied, resulting in near-immediate induction and recovery. The physiological effects of electroanesthesia appear to be minimal or comparable to those of chemical anesthetics, but knowledge gaps exist on cardiac responses during treatment and behavioral responses in a controlled setting. Methods Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush were immobilized by one of four treatments: control (physical restraint); eugenol (AQUI-S 20E); and continuously applied, low-voltage electroanesthesia with either constant DC or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). We evaluated the heart rate while fish were immobilized, reflexes at 1 h posttreatment, and survival and movements in a laboratory setting over a 6-d posttreatment period. Results The heart rates of fish immobilized with either electroanesthesia treatment (constant DC: mean ± SE = 12.6 ± 1.1 beats/min; TENS: 13.1 ± 1.2 beats/min) were not significantly different from those of control fish (10.0 ± 1.2 beats/min) while immobilized. However, fish immobilized with eugenol exhibited heart rates that were more than three times higher (32.1 ± 1.2 beats/min) than those of control fish while immobilized. Treatments had no effect on reflex scores at 1 h posttreatment, the 6-d survival rate of fish (100%), or movement behavior during the hours (1–24 h) or days (6 d) after treatment. Conclusions This study adds to a growing body of research finding a lack of negative physiological or behavioral responses resulting from continuously applied electroanesthesia, suggesting that it is at least as safe as many chemical anesthetics in this respect. The significant cardiac response of Lake Trout while immobilized with eugenol warrants further investigation. While the body of research on immobilizing agents in fish grows, species-specific data remain sparse, and users would benefit from pilot testing before wider application.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗
USGS2011

Conference explores mechanical involvement of fluids in faulting

A growing body of evidence suggests that fluids are intimately linked to a variety of faulting processes. These include the long-term structural and compositional evolution of fault zones; fault creep; and the nucleation, propagation, arrest, and recurrence of earthquake ruptures. Besides the widely recognized physical role of fluid pressures in controlling the strength of crustal fault zones, it is also apparent that fluids can exert mechanical influence through a variety of chemical effects. To address these issues, a “Red-Book” Conference on the Mechanical Effects of Fluids in Faulting was sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey under the auspices of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program at Fish Camp, Calif., from June 6–10, 1993. The coconvenors were Steve Hickman, Rick Sibson, and Ron Bruhn.

California↗
USGS2006

Ground-water quality in the Lake Champlain basin, New York, 2004

Water samples were collected from 11 public-supply wells and 11 private domestic wells in the Lake Champlain basin in New York during the fall of 2004 to characterize the chemical quality of ground water. Wells were selected for sampling based on location and focused on areas of greatest ground-water use. Samples were analyzed for 219 physical properties and constituents, including inorganic compounds, nutrients, metals, radionuclides, pesticides and pesticide degradates, volatile organic compounds, and bacteria. Sixty-eight constituents were detected at concentrations above laboratory reporting levels. The cation and anion with the highest median concentration were calcium (34.8 mg/L) bicarbonate (134 mg/L), respectively. The predominant nutrient was nitrate, which was detected in 14 (64 percent) of the 22 samples. The two metals with the highest median concentrations were iron (175 ?g/L) and strontium (124 ?g/L); concentrations of iron, manganese, aluminum, and zinc exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency secondary drinking-water standards in one or more samples. Radon concentrations were less than 1,000 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) in most samples, but concentrations as high as 6,900 pCi/L were detected and, in eight samples, exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed maximum contaminant level (300 pCi/L) for radon. The most frequently detected pesticides were degradates of the broadleaf herbicides metolachlor, alachlor, and atrazine. Volatile organic compounds were detected in only three samples; those that were detected typically were fuel oxygenates, such as methyl tert-butyl ether. Coliform bacteria were detected in four samples, two of which also tested positive for E. coli.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2005

Framework for regional synthesis of water-quality data for the glacial aquifer system in the United States

The glacial aquifer system is the largest principal aquifer in aerial extent and ground-water use for public supply in the United States. A principal aquifer is defined as a regionally extensive aquifer or aquifer system that has the potential to be used as a source of potable water (U.S. Geological Survey, 2003). Multiple aquifers often are grouped into large, extensive aquifer systems such as the glacial aquifer system. The glacial aquifer system is considered here to include all unconsolidated aquifers above bedrock north of the line of continental glaciation throughout the country (fig. 1). Total withdrawals from the glacial aquifer system were 3,560 million gallons per day in 2000, which constitutes almost 5 percent of total withdrawals from all aquifers in the United States (Maupin and Barber, 2005). Approximately 41 million people relied on the glacial aquifer for public supply and domestic use in 2000. The U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program began assessing the glacial aquifer system in 1991. The assessment of water-quality data on a regional scale, such as the glacial aquifer system, is coincident with the regional framework established by the Regional Aquifer-System Analysis Program (RASA) (Sun and others, 1997). From 1978 to 1995, the RASA Program systematically evaluated 25 of the Nation's most important groundwater systems including studies in the glacial aquifer system in the northeast, Midwest, and northern Midwest United States. The NAWQA Program is building on the work of the RASA Program to study the water quality of 16 of the most important ground-water systems (Lapham and others, 2005). Over 1,700 water-quality samples have been collected by the NAWQA Program from 1991 to 2004 to assess the glacial aquifer system. This large data set is unique in that the samples have been collected using a consistent sampling protocol, and multiple nested samples. The nested samples address the recently recharged shallow ground water, deeper water from principal aquifers often used for domestic supply, and source water used for public supplies within the glacial aquifer system. Information concerning the NAWQA Program including study unit boundaries is shown in figure 1 (Lapham and others, 2005). A framework for comparison of water quality across the glacial aquifer system has been developed based on two primary characteristics: intrinsic susceptibility and vulnerability. Intrinsic susceptibility, which is a measure of the ease at which water enters and moves through aquifer material, is a characteristic of the aquifer and overlying material and of the hydrologic conditions. Intrinsic susceptibility is independent of the chemical characteristics of the contaminant and its sources. In this way, intrinsic susceptibility assessments do not target specific natural or anthropogenic sources of contamination but instead consider only the physical factors affecting the flow of water to, and through the ground-water resource (Focazio and others, 2002). On a regional scale, intrinsic susceptibility is represented by the spatial distribution of fine- or coarse-grained material at the land surface, and the physical setting of the aquifer system. Vulnerability, which is a function of both intrinsic susceptibility and the proximity and characteristics of contaminant sources, includes consideration of features related to anthropogenic sources of contaminants, such as the character of the upgradient land use (for example, urban, agricultural, undeveloped, and others); as well as features related to natural sources of contaminants, such as the mineralogy of the aquifer material or the geochemical conditions within the aquifer system. The framework helps categorize this large region into areas of similar hydrogeologic characteristics for which water quality can be compared. The purpose of this report is to describe this framework and how it will be used for regional synthesis of water-quality da

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS1982

Effects of effluent spray irrigation on ground water at a test site near Tarpon Springs, Florida

Secondary-treated effluent was applied to a 7.2-acre test site near Tarpon Springs, Fla., for about 1 year at an average rate of 0.06 million gallons per day and 3 years at 0.11 million gallons per day. Chemical fertilizer was applied periodically to the test site and adjacent areas. Periodic mounding of the water table occurred due to effluent irrigation, inducing radial flow from the test site. Physical, geochemical, biochemical processes effectively reduced total nitrogen concentration 90% and total phosphorous concentration more than 95% in the ground water of the surficial aquifer about 300 feet downgradient from the test site from that of the applied effluent. Downgradient, total nitrogen averaged 2.4 milligrams per liter and total phosphorus averaged 0.17 milligrams per liter. Substantial increases in total phosphorus were observed when the pH of the ground water increased. Total coliform bacteria in the ground water of the surficial aquifer were generally less than 100 colonies per 100 milliliters. Fecal coliform bacteria were generally less than 25 colonies per 100 milliliters at the test site and were not detected downgradient or near the test site. Fecal streptococcal bacteria were generally less than 100 colonies per 100 milliliters at the test site, but were detected on three occasions near the test site. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS2013

Defining groundwater age

This book investigates applications of selected chemical and isotopic substances that can be used to recognize and interpret age information pertaining to ‘old’ groundwater (defined as water that was recharged on a timescale from approximately 1000 to more than 1 000 000 a). However, as discussed below, only estimates of the ‘age’ of water extracted from wells can be inferred. These groundwater age estimates are interpreted from measured concentrations of chemical and isotopic substances in the groundwater. Even then, there are many complicating factors, as discussed in this book. In spite of these limitations, much can be learned about the physics of groundwater flow and about the temporal aspects of groundwater systems from age interpretations of measured concentrations of environmental tracers in groundwater systems. This chapter puts the concept of ‘age’ into context, including its meaning and interpretation, and attempts to provide a unifying usage for the rest of the book.

Book chapter↗
USGS2019

Return flows from beaver ponds enhance floodplain-to-river metals exchange in alluvial mountain catchments

River to floodplain hydrologic connectivity is strongly enhanced by beaver- ( Castor canadensis ) engineered channel water diversions. The hydroecological impacts are wide ranging and generally positive, however, the hydrogeochemical characteristics of beaver-induced flowpaths have not been thoroughly examined. Using a suite of complementary ground- and drone-based heat tracing and remote sensing methodology we characterized the physical template of beaver-induced floodplain exchange for two alluvial mountain streams near Crested Butte, Colorado, USA. A flowpath-oriented perspective to water quality sampling allowed characterization of the chemical evolution of channel water diverted through floodplain beaver ponds and ultimately back to the channel in ‘beaver pond return flows’. Subsurface return flow seepages were universally suboxic, while ponds and surface return flows showed a range of oxygen concentration due to in-situ photosynthesis and atmospheric mixing. Median concentrations of reduced metals: manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), and arsenic (As) were substantially higher along beaver-induced flowpaths than in geologically controlled seepages and upstream main channel locations. The areal footprint of reduced return seepage flowpaths were imaged with surface electromagnetic methods, indicating extensive zones of high-conductivity shallow groundwater flowing back toward the main channels and emerging at relatively warm bank seepage zones observed with infrared. Multiple-depth redox dynamics within one focused seepage zone showed coupled variation over time, likely driven by observed changes in seepage rate that may be controlled by pond stage. High-resolution times series of dissolved Mn and Fe collected downstream of the beaver-impacted reaches demonstrated seasonal dynamics in mixed river metal concentrations. Al time series concentrations showed proportional change to Fe at the smaller stream location, indicating chemically reduced flowpaths were sourcing Al to the channel. Overall our results indicated beaver-induced floodplain exchanges create important, and perhaps dominant, transport pathways for floodplain metals by expanding chemically-reduced zones paired with strong advective exchange.

Colorado↗
USGS1975

Origin of magnetite and pyrrhotite in carbonaceous chondrites

CARBONACEOUS chondrites, although comprising only about 2% of known meteorites, are extremely interesting for scientific investigation. Their mineral constitution, and the correspondence between their bulk chemical composition and the solar abundance of condensable elements, indicate that minimum chemical fractionation and thermal alteration have occurred. The mineral phases observed in these primitive chondrites are sufficiently unique, with respect to other meteorite classes, to have elicited considerable speculation about the physical environment in which they formed 1–7 .

Nature↗
USGS2010

Regional and grain size influences on the geochemistry of soil at Gusev Crater

Congruous with earlier work, Martian soil along the Spirit Rover's traverse at Gusev crater can be divided into three broad groups by size: fines (<150 μ m), sand, and a mix of various grain sizes. The key chemical observation is greater homogeneity in fines relative to the other two, consistent with regional‐ and global‐scale sampling of chemical compositions by finer particle sizes. The mix class is generally more heterogeneous as are samples from the Columbia Hills within each class. Variation in the trace element Ni is consistent with a CI contribution not exceeding 3%, while that of Ti is compatible with Fe‐Ti oxide enrichment not exceeding 3%. Physical mixing models are poorly supported. Among many potential binary and three‐component mixing models, only two show some consistency with the soil data: typical fines with the opaline Si end‐member identified at Home Plate and typical fines with sulfates (bearing a variable mix of Ca, Fe, and Mg cations). We also infer that binary mixing transcends classes, contrasting strongly with terrestrial sediments, and that mixing trends are consistent with significant nonmixing contributions, perhaps including localized chemical alteration. The decoupling between chemistry and grain size classes also suggests that processes linking composition with grain size, such as heavy mineral sorting, may have been minimal or absent entirely. The primary exception to this is the correlation between Cl and Si, Cl‐S, and Al‐Si, which is strongest in the fines class.

Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets↗
USGS2013

U.S. Geological Survey environmental health science strategy — Providing environmental health science for a changing world

Executive Summary America has an abundance of natural resources. We have bountiful clean water, fertile soil, and unrivaled national parks, wildlife refuges, and public lands. These resources enrich our lives and preserve our health and wellbeing. These resources have been maintained because of our history of respect for their value and an enduring commitment to their vigilant protection. Awareness of the social, economic, and personal value of the health of our environment is increasing. The emergence of environmentally driven diseases caused by exposure to contaminants and pathogens is a growing concern worldwide. New health threats and patterns of established threats are affected by both natural and anthropogenic changes to the environment. Human activities are key drivers of emerging (new and re-emerging) health threats. Societal demands for land and natural resources, quality of life, and economic prosperity lead to environmental change. Natural earth processes, climate trends, and related climatic events will compound the environmental impact of human activities. These environmental drivers will influence exposure to disease agents, including viral, bacterial, prion, and fungal pathogens, parasites, synthetic chemicals and substances, natural earth materials, toxins, and other biogenic compounds. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) defines environmental health science broadly as the interdisciplinary study of relations among the quality of the physical environment, the health of the living environment, and human health. The interactions among these three spheres are driven by human activities, ecological processes, and natural earth processes; the interactions affect exposure to contaminants and pathogens and the severity of environmentally driven diseases in animals and people. This definition provides USGS with a framework for synthesizing natural science information from across the Bureau and providing it to environmental, natural resource, agricultural, and public health managers. USGS specializes in science at the environment-health interface, by characterizing the processes that affect the interaction among the physical environment, the living environment, and people, and the resulting factors that affect ecological and human exposure to disease agents. The USGS is a Federal science agency with a broad range of natural science expertise relevant to environmental health. USGS provides scientific information and tools as a scientific basis for management and policy decisionmaking. This report describes a 10-year strategy that encompasses the portfolio of USGS environmental health science. It summarizes national environmental health priorities that USGS is best suited to address, and will serve as a strategic framework for USGS environmental health science goals, actions, and outcomes for the next decade. Implementation of this strategy is intended to aid coordination of USGS environmental health activities and to provide a focal point for disseminating information to stakeholders. The “One Health” paradigm advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO; World Health Organization, 2011), and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA; American Veterinary Medical Association, 2008), among others, is based on a general recognition that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are inextricably linked. Thus, successful efforts to protect that health will require increased interdisciplinary research and increased communication and collaboration among the broader scientific and health community. This strategy is built upon that paradigm.

Circular↗
USGS2021

Hydrographic and benthic mapping—St. Croix National Scenic Riverway—Osceola landing

High-resolution topographic and bathymetric mapping can assist in the analysis of river habitat. The National Park Service has been planning to relocate a boat ramp along the St. Croix River in Minnesota, across the river from the town of Osceola, Wisconsin, to improve visitor safety, improve operations for commercial use, enhance the overall visitor experience, and eliminate deferred maintenance at the landing. This landing grants access to the St. Croix River, which is a part of the National Park Service St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Hydrographic and topographic surveys were needed to determine where the new location should be. The objective for these surveys was to provide baseline information in order to assess the direct effects of the landing relocation on physical habitat in areas adjacent to Osceola, Wisconsin. The study area for these surveys was about 18.5 hectares and located directly off the existing landing. Although the existing boat launch is referred to as the Osceola landing, it is located on the Minnesota side of the river and is the busiest National Park Service landing on the St. Croix River (National Park Service St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, 2020). This report documents methods and results of aquatic benthic mapping in a small area of the St. Croix River. The hydroacoustic and topographic surveys were collected from October 16–17, 2019. The hydrographic surveys consisted of multibeam and sidescan sound navigation and ranging (sonars). The topographic shoreline survey consisted of light detection and ranging (lidar) captured by boat adjacent to riverbanks. Additionally, an acoustic Doppler current profiler was used to measure flow velocities. The water level was higher than normal, and therefore had faster flow during the hydroacoustic surveys. Multibeam, lidar, and sidescan surveys occurred the first day, and the velocity mapping and ground truthing was conducted the second day. Multibeam and lidar provided derivative datasets that included bathymetry and a topobathy with a spatial resolution of 1 foot. From these data, additional data could be measured including slope and terrain ruggedness. Sidescan (acoustic reflectance measures) provided imagery that was used to help with interpretation of the river bottom. Outcomes from these combined datasets were substrate and bedform maps. Much of the area was covered in sand ripples or small dunes. A small area running adjacent to the deeper valley or cut down the river consisted of harder substrates, such as cobble and gravel. Large woody debris piles were found throughout the study area. Multiple stationary moving-bed tests were completed, and no corrections were recommended for the conditions occurring during survey. Mussel presence was noted in some of the underwater videos. The physical parameters of depth, flow, bedforms, and substrate derived from the datasets provided baseline measures for a benthic habitat map. Further analysis of benthic habitat might be possible with additional biological and chemical data.

Wisconsin↗
USGS2023

Data summary report: Unregulated contaminants monitoring project

The Drinking Water Protection Section of the Minnesota Department of Health conducted reconnaissance monitoring of selected public water systems in Minnesota. Funding was obtained primarily from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. Sampling was conducted in 2019 and 2021. Laboratory analysis of samples was conducted for a variety of different contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including selected pharmaceuticals, pesticides, PFAS, wastewater indicators and other parameters chosen for the physical and land use setting surrounding the sampling points. Sampling site and parameter selection were designed with several goals, as follows: Characterize occurrence and distribution of selected CECs in settings where such chemicals are most likely to be present; Determine if any such occurrences represent a public health concern; Compare results from coupled source water and finished (i.e., treated) water samples at public water system sites where such sampling is feasible; Assess if results from geologically vulnerable (sensitive subject to rapid recharge) and geologically non-vulnerable settings differ significantly. 306 samples were collected as part of the study, from three networks of public water systems differentiated on the basis of source water type (i.e., surface water or groundwater) and land use environment (agricultural and wastewater influenced). This report provides a preliminary, qualitative evaluation of the results. Additionally, more rigorous research will be conducted on these water quality data to evaluate the below findings in more detail. High-level findings from this assessment include the following: Very few samples exceeded health-based guidance for CECs; o When this occurred, MDH staff conducted follow up sampling at the system and provided technical advice about managing the situation. Only a fraction of the CECs analyzed were detected; o Of the 522 different CECs analyzed in the water samples, 161 were detected in one or more samples; o Additionally, most detections were at low levels; Among the CEC classes included in the analytical work, pesticides and PFAS were generally detected at a greater frequency than other CECs; o See Executive Summary Figure 1. The ten most commonly detected individual compounds include: o Tribromomethane, or bromoform, (a disinfection by-product) (70% of sites where analyzed); o norgestrel (a pharmaceutical) (69% of sites where analyzed); o lithium (68% of sites where analyzed); o Metolachlor SA (52%), Deethylatrazine (49%), atrazine (45%), and deisopropylatrazine (31%) (pesticides); o PFBA (44%) and PFHxS (27%) (PFAS compounds); and o 5-methyl benzotriazole (29%) (a benzotriazole). Some CECs were detected more frequently in samples collected from surface waters than those collected from groundwater sources; CEC concentrations were generally higher in vulnerable settings compared to nonvulnerable settings; Whether CECs were detected more frequently in the source water or finished water varied by CEC class. For example, o Benzotriazoles and pharmaceuticals were more frequently detected in source water samples than finished water samples; and o Tribromomethane, or bromoform, a common disinfection by-product, was more frequently found in finished water samples than in source water samples. This work prompted a series of programmatic changes and innovations: A response framework was established for helping the program and public water systems manage detections of unregulated CECs in drinking water; Results were forwarded to the program within MDH responsible for developing healthbased guidance in order to nominate specific compounds found in drinking water but for which limited or no risk advice is available; MDH is seeking support from the Clean Water Council to support the establishment of permanent capacity within the Drinking Water Protection Section to continue sampling efforts of this type.

Minnesota↗