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USGS2020

An ecological and conservation perspective

Natural ecosystems are facing unprecedented threats which directly threaten human well-being through decreases in critical ecosystem services (IPBES 2019). The top five drivers causing the largest global impacts to biodiversity and ecosystem services include: 1) changes in land and sea use; 2) direct exploitation of organisms; 3) climate change; 4) pollution, and 5) invasive alien species (IPBES 2019). Although One Health acknowledges the link between the health of humans, animals, and the environment, One Health discussions have historically focused on the prevention and control of infectious disease at the human-animal interface rather than these large-scale drivers of health. While One Health has succeeded in bringing awareness to the need for proactive disease control measures such as strengthened biosecurity and vaccine development (e.g., Machalaba et al., 2018; Middleton et al., 2014), disease is only one component of health. In this chapter, we explore the potential for One Health to shift its focus from disease prevention to health promotion to more fully integrate solutions that protect the health of humans, animals, and the ecosystems on which we all depend for our economies, livelihoods, food security, and health. This shift will facilitate a more seamless inclusion of ecological health and environmental conservation in the One Health paradigm and can serve as the basis for a comprehensive approach to complex problems at the root of global health. We also suggest a framework for creating and applying health metrics for wildlife and ecological systems that will be essential for measuring the success of actions aimed at maintaining or shifting systems to desired states.

Book chapter↗

USGS2009

Low-flow frequency and flow duration of selected South Carolina streams in the Pee Dee River basin through March 2007

Part of the mission of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is to protect and preserve South Carolina's water resources. Doing so requires an ongoing understanding of streamflow characteristics of the rivers and streams in South Carolina. A particular need is information concerning the low-flow characteristics of streams; this information is especially important for effectively managing the State's water resources during critical flow periods such as the severe drought that occurred between 1998 and 2002 and the most recent drought that occurred between 2006 and 2009. In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, initiated a study to update low-flow statistics at continuous-record streamgaging stations operated by the U.S. Geological Survey in South Carolina. Under this agreement, the low-flow characteristics at continuous-record streamgaging stations will be updated in a systematic manner during the monitoring and assessment of the eight major basins in South Carolina as defined and grouped according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's Watershed Water Quality Management Strategy. Depending on the length of record available at the continuous-record streamgaging stations, low-flow frequency characteristics are estimated for annual minimum 1-, 3-, 7-, 14-, 30-, 60-, and 90-day average flows with recurrence intervals of 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 years. Low-flow statistics are presented for 18 streamgaging stations in the Pee Dee River basin. In addition, daily flow durations for the 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 75-, 90-, and 95-percent probability of exceedance also are presented for the stations. The low-flow characteristics were computed from records available through March 31, 2007. The last systematic update of low-flow characteristics in South Carolina occurred more than 20 years ago and included data through March 1987. Of the 17 streamgaging stations included in this study, 15 had low-flow characteristics that were published in previous U.S. Geological Survey reports. A comparison of the low-flow characteristic for the minimum average flow for a 7-consecutive-day period with a 10-year recurrence interval from this study with the most recently published values indicated that 10 of the 15 streamgaging stations had values that were within ±25 percent of each other. Nine of the 15 streamgaging stations had negative percentage differences indicating the low-flow statistic had decreased since the previous study, 4 streamgaging stations had positive percent differences indicating that the low-flow statistic had increased since the previous study, and 2 streamgaging stations had a zero percent difference indicating no change since the previous study. The low-flow characteristics are influenced by length of record, hydrologic regime under which the record was collected, techniques used to do the analysis, and other changes that may have occurred in the watershed.

North Carolina, South Carolina↗

USGS2021

Integrating environmental DNA results with diverse data sets to improve biosurveillance of river health

Autonomous, robotic environmental (e)DNA samplers now make it possible for biological observations to match the scale and quality of abiotic measurements collected by automated sensor networks. Merging these automated data streams may allow for improved insight into biotic responses to environmental change and stressors. Here, we merged eDNA data collected by robotic samplers installed at three U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages with gridded daily weather data, and daily water quality and quantity data into a cloud-hosted database. The eDNA targets were a rare fish parasite and a more common salmonid fish. We then used computationally expedient Bayesian hierarchical occupancy models to evaluate associations between abiotic conditions and eDNA detections and to simulate how uncertainty in result interpretation changes with the frequency of autonomous robotic eDNA sample collection. We developed scripts to automate data merging, cleaning and analysis steps into a chained-step, workflow. We found that inclusion of abiotic covariates only provided improved insight for the more common salmonid fish since its DNA was more frequently detected. Rare fish parasite DNA was infrequently detected, which caused occupancy parameter estimates and covariate associations to have high uncertainty. Our simulations found that collecting samples at least once per day resulted in more detections and less parameter uncertainty than less frequent sampling. Our occupancy and simulation results together demonstrate the advantages of robotic eDNA samplers and how these samples can be combined with easy to acquire, publicly available data to foster real-time biosurveillance and forecasting.

Idaho, Wyoming, Montana↗

USGS2022

A case study: Temporal trends of environmental stressors and reproductive health of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from a site in the Potomac River Watershed, Maryland, USA

Decades of poor reproductive success and young-of-the-year survival, combined with adult mortality events, have led to a decline in the smallmouth bass (SMB; Micropterus dolomieu ) population in sections of the Potomac River. Previous studies have identified numerous biologic and environmental stressors associated with negative effects on SMB health. To better understand the impact of these stressors, this study was conducted at the confluence of Antietam Creek and the Potomac River from 2013 to 2019 to identify temporal changes associated with SMB reproductive health. Surface water samples were collected and analyzed for over 300 organic contaminants, including pesticides, phytoestrogens, pharmaceuticals, hormones and total estrogenicity (E2Eq). Adult SMB were collected and sampled for multiple endpoints, including gene transcripts associated with reproduction (molecular), histopathology (cellular), and organosomatic indices (tissue). In males, biomarkers of estrogenic endocrine disruption, including testicular oocytes (TO) and plasma vitellogenin (Vtg) were assessed. Numerous agriculture-related contaminants or land use patterns were associated with gene transcript abundance in both male and female SMB. Positive associations between pesticides in the immediate catchment with TO severity and E2Eq with plasma Vtg in males were identified. In males, the prevalence of TO and detectable levels of plasma Vtg, liver vitellogenin transcripts ( vtg ) and testis vtg were high throughout the study. Peaks of complex mixtures of numerous contaminants occurred during the spring/early summer when spawning and early development occurs and to a lesser extent in fall/winter during recrudescence. Management practices to reduce exposure during these critical and sensitive periods may enhance reproductive health of these economically important sportfishes.

Maryland↗

USGS2015

Health and condition of endangered juvenile Lost River and shortnose suckers relative to water quality and fish assemblages in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California

Executive Summary Most mortality of endangered Lost River ( Deltistes luxatus ) and shortnose ( Chasmistes brevirostris ) suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, appears to occur within the first year of life. However, juvenile suckers in Clear Lake Reservoir, California, appear to survive longer and may even recruit to the spawning populations. Our goal in this study was to develop productive lines of inquiry into the causes of mortality of juvenile suckers, especially in Upper Klamath Lake, through comparison of sucker health and environmental conditions in both lakes. The health of juvenile suckers was associated with physical, biological, and chemical characteristics in each lake from July to September 2013 and 2014. Water-quality dynamics differed substantially between lakes. Diel fluctuations were greater for dissolved-oxygen concentrations and pH in Upper Klamath Lake than in Clear Lake Reservoir, but diel temperature fluctuations were greater in Clear Lake Reservoir. Minimum dissolved-oxygen concentrations were as low as 1.0 milligram per liter (mg/L) in Upper Klamath Lake, but were no lower than 5.7 mg/L in Clear Lake Reservoir. Unionized ammonia (NH 3 ) concentrations were near or less than the minimum reporting limit of 0.002 mg/L NH 3 in Clear Lake Reservoir and generally were less than the concentration known to cause cellular changes to the gills or mortality of suckers in Upper Klamath Lake. Concentrations of microcystins were less than the detection limit (≤0.10 microgram per liter [μg/L]) in both dissolved (<63 micrometers [μm]) and particulate (≥63 μm) fractions of water samples collected from Clear Lake Reservoir in both years. In Upper Klamath Lake, concentrations of microcystins were relatively low in the 2013 particulate fractions and dissolved fractions of samples in both years, but as high as 44.30 μg/L, more than 44 times the World Health Organization recommended levels for drinking water (1 μg/L), in the 2014 particulate fraction. However, there was little histological evidence and no chemical evidence that these concentrations in water were harmful to suckers that we captured. The species and age compositions of juvenile sucker populations differed between lakes. A total of 98 percent of all juvenile suckers captured in Upper Klamath Lake were age-0. In contrast, as many as six age classes of suckers were represented in Clear Lake Reservoir, indicating much better juvenile survival than in Upper Klamath Lake. Based on genetic species identification, 98 percent of juvenile suckers collected from Clear Lake Reservoir were shortnose or Klamath largescale suckers ( Catostomus snyderi ). In contrast, there was a high degree of apparent genetic hybridization in juvenile suckers collected from Upper Klamath Lake, and both Lost River and non-Lost River juvenile suckers were nearly equally represented in samples. Neither gross nor histological examination revealed a high prevalence of abnormalities in suckers that might indicate a mechanism for juvenile mortality in Upper Klamath Lake. Therefore, high mortality primarily may have occurred outside our study period (for example, in spring or over winter), or was owing to a factor that could not be detected with our methods (for example, predation). Alternatively, abnormalities in a small percentage of passively captured suckers in Upper Klamath Lake may indicate health-related issues that were more prevalent in populations than in our samples. Some apparent symptoms of stress or exposure to irritants, such as peribiliary cuffing in hepatocytes and mild inflammation and necrosis in gill tissues, were present in suckers from both lakes and do not appear to be clues to the cause of differential mortality between lakes. Seasonal trends in energy storage as glycogen and triglycerides were similar between lakes, indicating prey availability was not a factor in differential mortality. Differences in sucker health and condition between lakes were considered the most promising clues to the causes of differential juvenile sucker morality between lakes. A low prevalence of petechial hemorrhaging of the skin (16 percent) and deformed opercula (8 percent) in Upper Klamath Lake suckers may indicate exposure to a toxin other than microcystin. Suckers grew slower in their first year of life, but had similar or greater triglyceride and glycogen levels in Upper Klamath Lake compared to Clear Lake Reservoir. These findings do not suggest a lack of prey quantity but may indicate lower prey quality in Upper Klamath Lake.

California, Oregon↗

USGS1993

The Pajarito Plateau: A bibliography

This bibliography is the result of two initially independent projects. As the consulting archaeologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Charlie R. Steen collected entries at the suggestion of the staff of the Environmental Surveillance Group of the Health, Safety, and Environmental Division, HSE-8. The primary purpose was to aid the staff in evaluating cultural resources on LANL lands. In addition to works that related to the archaeology and history of the area, Steen included notations of a few books and articles in other fields such as geology and natural history. It was hoped that they also would be of value to other organizations and to students of past human activities on the Pajarito Plateau. At the same time, the National Park Service (NPS) was planning a major survey of Bandelier National Monument (BNM). As part of this plan, the author was asked to prepare a background document that described research previously carried out in the area, including an annotated bibliography. Although the survey would be limited to the park boundaries, the larger Pajarito Plateau is a more logical study area from physiographic, environmental, and cultural perspectives; hence the focus was on this larger region. Mathien (1986) also included some references to natural resources studies, particularly those initiated by NPS within Bandelier National Monument. Both bibliographies were made available to Colleen Olinger and Beverly Larson of the Health and Environmental Services Group at Los Alamos. They realized that while neither was complete, each included entries missing from the other. Larson suggested the two bibliographies be combined. (At this time, Craig Allen was studying the landscape of the Jemez Mountains [Allen 1984c, 1989]. His investigations included much detailed information on natural resource studies and were added in 1991 and 1992.) To limit the scope of their work, Steen and Mathien had chosen their parameter: the Pajarito Plateau. Geographically, the Pajarito Plateau is described as the high tableland that lies between the Jemez Mountains on the west and the Rio Grande on the east. From north to south, it extends from the Chama Valley to La Cañada de Cochiti (Hewett 1906:14)(Figure 1). Because human activity rarely stops at such definite boundaries, major ethnographic studies of Tewa (San Ildefonso and Santa Clara) and Keres (Cochiti) linguistic groups are included. (Even though most of the historic pueblos occupied by the Tewa and Keres are not located on the Pajarito Plateau, oral traditions and archaeological data suggest that these groups once occupied sites on the plateau.) Towa studies are not included because Steen believed Towa ancestors were not involved in major cultural developments of the Pajarito Plateau. In addition, a bibliography of the Jemez area (home of Towa people) has been prepared by Michael Elliott (1982) and included with his nomination of large Pueblo sites near Jemez Springs to the National Register of Historic Places that is on file at the Museum of New Mexico, Laboratory of Anthropology, in Santa Fe. Both Steen and Mathien included references to geographically and historically related material that does not focus on the Pajarito Plateau but, nonetheless, is important to understanding the area's archaeology and physical environment, for example, lithic resources available from Cerro Pedernal or in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

New Mexico↗

USGS2015

Geochemical legacies and the future health of cities: A tale of two neurotoxins in urban soils

The past and future of cities are inextricably linked, a linkage that can be seen clearly in the long-term impacts of urban geochemical legacies. As loci of population as well as the means of employment and industry to support these populations, cities have a long history of co-locating contaminating practices and people, sometimes with negative implications for human health. Working at the intersection between environmental processes, communities, and human health is critical to grapple with environmental legacies and to support healthy, sustainable, and growing urban populations. An emerging area of environmental health research is to understand the impacts of chronic exposures and exposure mixtures—these impacts are poorly studied, yet may pose a significant threat to population health. Acute exposure to lead (Pb), a powerful neurotoxin to which children are particularly susceptible, has largely been eliminated in the U.S. and other countries through policy-based restrictions on leaded gasoline and lead-based paints. But the legacy of these sources remains in the form of surface soil Pb contamination, a common problem in cities and one that has only recently emerged as a widespread chronic exposure mechanism in cities. Some urban soils are also contaminated with another neurotoxin, mercury (Hg). The greatest human exposure to Hg is through fish consumption, so eating fish caught in urban areas presents risks for toxic Hg exposure. The potential double impact of chronic exposure to these two neurotoxins is pronounced in cities. Overall, there is a paradigmatic shift from reaction to and remediation of acute exposures towards a more nuanced understanding of the dynamic cycling of persistent environmental contaminants with resultant widespread and chronic exposure of inner-city dwellers, leading to chronic toxic illness and disability at substantial human and social cost.

Indiana↗

USGS2011

Assessment of groundwater, soil-gas, and soil contamination at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2009-2010

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Georgia, assessed the groundwater, soil gas, and soil for contaminants at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility (VATF) at Fort Gordon, from October 2009 to September 2010. The assessment included the detection of organic compounds in the groundwater and soil gas, and inorganic compounds in the soil. In addition, organic contaminant assessment included organic compounds classified as explosives and chemical agents in selected areas. The assessment was conducted to provide environmental contamination data to the U.S. Army at Fort Gordon pursuant to requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Part B Hazardous Waste Permit process. Four passive samplers were deployed in groundwater wells at the VATF in Fort Gordon. Total petroleum hydrocarbons were detected above the method detection level at all four wells. The only other volatile organic compounds detected above their method detection level were undecane and pentadecane, which were detected in two of the four wells sampled. Soil-gas samplers were deployed at 72 locations in a grid pattern across the VATF. Total petroleum hydrocarbons were detected in 71 of the 72 samplers (one sampler was destroyed in the field and not analyzed) at levels above the method detection level, and the combined mass of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylene was detected above the detection level in 31 of the 71 samplers that were analyzed. Other volatile organic compounds detected above their respective method detection levels were naphthalene, 2-methyl-naphthalene, tridecane, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and perchloroethene. Subsequent to the soil-gas survey, four areas determined to have elevated contaminant mass were selected and sampled for explosives and chemical agents. No detections of explosives or chemical agents above their respective method detection levels were found at any of the sampling locations. The same four locations that were sampled for explosives and chemical agents were selected for the collection of soil samples. A fifth location also was selected on the basis of the elevated contaminant mass of the soil-gas survey. No metals that exceeded the Regional Screening Levels for Industrial Soils as classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were detected at any of the five VATF locations. The soil samples also were compared to values from the ambient, uncontaminated (background) levels for soils in South Carolina, as classified by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Because South Carolina is adjacent to Georgia and the soils in the coastal plain are similar, these comparisons are valid. No similar values are available for Georgia to use for comparison purposes. The metals that were detected above the ambient background levels for South Carolina, as classified by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, include aluminum, arsenic, barium, beryllium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, nickel, potassium, sodium, and zinc.

Georgia↗

USGS2012

Assessment of groundwater, soil-gas, and soil contamination at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2009-2011

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Georgia, assessed the groundwater, soil gas, and soil for contaminants at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility (VATF) at Fort Gordon, from October 2009 to September 2011. The assessment included the detection of organic compounds in the groundwater and soil gas, and inorganic compounds in the soil. In addition, organic contaminant assessment included organic compounds classified as explosives and chemical agents in selected areas. The assessment was conducted to provide environmental contamination data to the U.S. Army at Fort Gordon pursuant to requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Part B Hazardous Waste Permit process. This report is a revision of "Assessment of soil-gas, surface-water, and soil contamination at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2009-2010," Open-File Report 2011-1200, and supersedes that report to include results of additional samples collected in July 2011. Four passive samplers were deployed in groundwater wells at the VATF in Fort Gordon. Total petroleum hydrocarbons and benzene and octane were detected above the method detection level at all four wells. The only other volatile organic compounds detected above their method detection level were undecane and pentadecane, which were detected in two of the four wells. Soil-gas samplers were deployed at 72 locations in a grid pattern across the VATF on June 3, 2010, and then later retrieved on June 9, 2010. Total petroleum hydrocarbons were detected in 71 of the 72 samplers (one sampler was destroyed in the field and not analyzed) at levels above the method detection level, and the combined mass of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylene (BTEX) was detected above the detection level in 31 of the 71 samplers that were analyzed. Other volatile organic compounds detected above their respective method detection levels were naphthalene, 2-methyl-naphthalene, tridecane, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and perchloroethylene. After the results of the 71 soil-gas samplers were received, 31 additional passive soil-gas samplers were deployed on July 14, 2011, and retrieved on July 18, 2011. These 31 samplers were deployed on a larger areal scale to better define the extent of the contamination. Total petroleum hydrocarbons were detected above their method detection level at all 31 samplers, whereas BTEX was detected above its method detection level at 17 of the 31 samplers. Other organic compounds detected above their method detection levels were naphthalene, 2-methyl-naphthalene, octane, undecane, tridecane, pentadecane, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, chloroform, and perchloroethylene. Subsequent to the 2010 soil-gas survey, four areas determined to have elevated contaminant mass were selected and sampled for explosives and chemical agents. No detections of explosives or chemical agents above their respective method detection levels were found at any of the sampling locations. The same four locations that were sampled for explosives and chemical agents were selected for the collection of soil samples. A fifth location also was selected on the basis of the elevated contaminant mass of the soil-gas survey. No metals that exceeded the Regional Screening Levels for Industrial Soils, as classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, were detected at any of the five VATF locations. The soil samples also were compared to values from the ambient, uncontaminated (background) levels for soils in South Carolina, as classified by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Because South Carolina is adjacent to Georgia and the soils in the Coastal Plain are similar, these comparisons are valid. No similar values are available for Georgia to use for comparison purposes. The metals that were detected above the ambient background levels for South Carolina, as classified by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, include aluminum, arsenic, barium, beryllium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, nickel, potassium, sodium, and zinc.

Georgia↗

USGS2025

Insights and strategic opportunities from the USGS 2024 Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Interagency Workshop

Introduction In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published Circular 1490 titled, “Integrated Science for the Study of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Environment: A Strategic Science Vision for the U.S. Geological Survey” (Tokranov and others, 2021). Circular 1490 was created to be a resource for USGS scientists prioritizing and planning research related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and to be a guide for developing partnerships with other scientists, State and Federal agencies, and stakeholders engaged in PFAS research and management and mitigation of the environmental and human-health effects of PFAS. This USGS PFAS Strategic Science Vision document was intended to be the foundation for a “living strategic vision,” periodically providing updates on the state of USGS PFAS research, emerging PFAS data gaps and needs, and progress on interagency and stakeholder PFAS partnerships and priorities. To meet this objective, the USGS planned to host an Interagency and Stakeholder PFAS Workshop every 2–3 years. During September 10–12, 2024, the USGS hosted the first Interagency and Stakeholder PFAS Workshop in Reston, Virginia. The Workshop brought together experts from other Federal agencies (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Defense [Air Force, Army]), State agencies (Washington Fish and Wildlife, Virginia Department of Transportation), and academia (Harvard University, University of Maryland) to address key challenges relating to the measurement and modeling of PFAS and the implications for environmental health. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions centered around six pivotal topics related to PFAS: (1) sampling protocols, methods and interpretation; (2) environmental sources, source apportionment, and occurrence; (3) environmental fate and transport; (4) human and wildlife exposure routes and risk; (5) bioconcentration, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification; and (6) ecotoxicology and effects. Each topic had three breakout sessions. A recurrent theme of workshop discussions was how data on a nationwide scale for PFAS occurrence in various environmental matrices, including air, water, food crops, biota, soil, and streambed sediment could help to advance scientific understanding. Participants noted significant geospatial data gaps, particularly in the midwestern and southern United States and the Pacific Northwest. PFAS data collection tends to be more robust along the eastern seaboard and in California. Participants stressed how enhancing the integration of large and small datasets across various agencies could help to support national scale understanding of PFAS. To address these gaps, attendees suggested leveraging datasets from Federal entities like the USGS and the U.S. Department of Defense, State agencies, and municipal utility services to develop predictive contaminant detection and transport models. Improved coordination between water quality programs and USGS research could help to facilitate access to valuable data, leading to comprehensive databases that inform PFAS point (wastewater treatment plants and landfills) and nonpoint (runoff from land, atmospheric deposition, food packaging) sources, environmental transport mechanisms, environmental detection and concentrations, potential exposure routes, and health effects on different biota, including humans. A specific request was made to develop a map demarking the depth of modern (1953 or later) groundwater, which is susceptible to surface-derived anthropogenic (that is, human-made) contamination, based on tritium-age dating. Emphasis was placed on incorporation of hydrology, groundwater flow paths, groundwater–surface water interactions, and landscape factors in predictive statistical models as a step to improve contaminant source identification and tracking. Molecular fingerprinting approaches garnered attention as techniques to link specific PFAS mixtures detected in a sample to environmental sources and levels in biota (Dávila-Santiago and others, 2022). Integrating data from abiotic (that is, water, soil, and air) and biotic (that is, living organisms) systems identified as a research opportunity. For example, understanding the composition of soils and sediments, which include a mixture of mineral, plant, and animal components, could advance understanding of exposure pathways. The discussions highlighted opportunities to explore and understand the potential redistribution and biotic exposures of PFAS from biosolid and wastewater treatment plant effluent land application practices, in addition to atmospheric releases and discharges from landfill and wastewater treatment plants. Participants identified research gaps surrounding how these sources may contribute to contamination and may affect surrounding ecosystems, including a better definition of anthropogenic background concentrations. Moving forward, the collection of co-occurrence data was noted as a means to improve understanding of complex mixtures and to leverage companion modeling efforts focused on areas with high and low contamination levels to identify areas of concern and unaffected resources. Participants emphasized how centralized USGS databases and the establishment of sample-metadata archives can help to ensure that samples are preserved and accessible for future research. In conclusion, the workshop participants identified opportunities to bridge data gaps and improve measurement techniques, modeling frameworks, databases, and communication, to enhance the understanding of PFAS and their effects on environmental and human health. Upon completion of the workshop, participants indicated an interest in developing strategic data collection, modeling, and analytical approaches to address these challenges.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2010

The 7Q10 in South Carolina water-quality regulation: Nearly fifty years later

The annual minimum 7-day average streamflow with a 10-year recurrence interval, often referred to as the 7Q10, has a long history of being an important low-flow statistic used in water-quality management in South Carolina as evidenced by its adoption into South Carolina law in 1967. State agencies, such as the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, use such lowflow statistics to determine Wasteload Allocations for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System discharges, develop Total Maximum Daily Loads for streams, prepare the State Water Plan, and restrict the quantity of water that can be transferred out of basin. The U.S. Geological Survey, working cooperatively with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, is updating low-flow statistics at continuous-record streamflow gages in South Carolina on a basin-by-basin approach. Such statistics are influenced by length of record and hydrologic conditions under which the record was collected. Statewide low-flow statistics in South Carolina were last updated in 1987. Since that time several droughts have occurred with the most severe occurring from 1998-2002 and the most recent occurring from 2006-2009. The low-flow statistics for the Pee Dee River basin were the first to be completed in this ongoing investigation.

South Carolina↗

USGS2020

Effects of stormwater runoff from selected bridge decks on conditions of water, sediment, and biological quality in receiving waters in South Carolina, 2013 to 2018

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, investigated the effects of stormwater runoff from bridge decks on stream water quality conditions in South Carolina. The investigation assessed 5 bridges in 3 physiographic provinces in South Carolina (Piedmont, Upper Coastal Plain, and Lower Coast Plain) that had a range of bridge, traffic, and hydrologic characteristics. The five selected South Carolina bridge sites (coincident with U.S. Geological Survey stations) and corresponding highways were Lynches River at Effingham (station 02132000; U.S. Highway 52), North Fork Edisto River at Orangeburg (station 02173500; U.S. Highway 301), Turkey Creek above Huger (station 02172035; South Carolina Highway 41), South Fork Edisto River near Denmark (station 02173000; U.S. Highway 321), and Fishing Creek at Highway 5 below York (station 021473415; South Carolina Highway 5). Bridge decks at the selected sites used open chutes, scuppers, and downspouts to drain stormwater directly into the receiving water at evenly spaced intervals. Stream water, sediment, and biological samples were collected and analyzed for a variety of constituents to evaluate the stream conditions for this study. Five to six stream samples were collected at transects upstream and downstream from each selected bridge site using the equal-width-increment technique during observable stormwater runoff. Routine samples of the receiving waters were collected 12 to 14 times at the upstream transect during nonstorm conditions. Samples were analyzed for physical properties, suspended sediment, nutrients, major ions, trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and Escherichia coli . Bridge-deck sediment and streambed sediment at upstream and downstream transects were collected once at each bridge site and analyzed for metals and semivolatile organic compounds that include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Benthic macroinvertebrate community surveys were conducted once using Hester-Dendy multiplate artificial substrate samplers deployed at multiple upstream and downstream transects concurrently. Statistical analysis of the water-quality data determined that stormwater runoff from bridges did not significantly degrade physical properties, nor nutrient, trace-metal, Escherichia coli , and suspended-sediment concentrations at the selected sites beyond the variability at the upstream transect (no bridge influence) during the study period. During storm sampling at the bridge sites, water-quality conditions were statistically similar upstream and downstream from each bridge, except for greater turbidity, total nitrogen, and total organic nitrogen plus ammonia concentrations found downstream from the bridge site on Fishing Creek; higher total chromium concentrations detected downstream from the bridge site on Turkey Creek; and increased Escherichia coli concentrations found downstream from the bridge site on the North Fork Edisto River. Total recoverable lead, cadmium, and copper concentrations were the only trace metals that periodically exceeded the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control freshwater aquatic-life criteria at some bridge sites (lead, copper, and cadmium in Turkey Creek; cadmium and lead in Fishing Creek; lead in the South Fork Edisto River and Lynches River), but the exceedances occurred more frequently during routine sampling upstream from the bridge sites than during storm sampling at upstream and downstream transects. In general, stormwater runoff from the bridge decks did not seem to be the major source of metal enrichment in receiving waters during the study period. North Fork and South Fork Edisto Rivers and Turkey Creek had only one storm sample that exceeded South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control recreational criterion for Escherichia coli at both the upstream and downstream locations, while Fishing Creek had more frequent exceedances. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected infrequently in the stream samples. In general, sediment trace-metal concentrations were below the threshold and probable effect concentration at all bridge sites, except for the chromium concentration (45.1 milligrams per kilogram) detected upstream from the bridge site on Fishing Creek that exceeded the threshold effect concentration of 43.4 milligrams per kilogram. Based on enrichment ratios less than 1.5, bridge-deck runoff did not seem to be affecting trace-metal accumulation in the streambed sediment downstream from the bridge sites, except for lead at the bridge site on the Lynches River and manganese at the bridge site on Fishing Creek. Individual polycyclic aromatic compound concentrations and the sum of 18 compounds did not exceed any threshold and probable effect concentrations, indicating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in the streambed sediment at downstream and upstream transects were not likely to affect the health of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Although the cumulative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in downstream sediment at the sites on Turkey and Fishing Creeks were well below the threshold effect concentration of 1,610 micrograms per kilogram, the 3- to 100-fold increase in downstream concentrations indicated a strong probability of a bridge-deck runoff source. Overall, benthic macroinvertebrate community health downstream from the bridge sites did not seem to be affected by bridge-deck runoff based on several multivariate analyses that indicated statistically similar benthic macroinvertebrate communities at upstream and downstream transects. Of the five bridge sites in this study, the site on Turkey Creek seemed to have the least healthy benthic macroinvertebrate communities because of the lowest Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera spp. (mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, respectively) taxa, species richness, and diversity; and the highest biotic indices, indicative of poorer ecological health, at upstream and downstream transects. This ecological finding was not unexpected because of seasonal periods of negligible flow when dissolved-oxygen concentrations fell below 4 milligrams per liter during the study period. Of the five bridge sites in this study, the site on the South Fork Edisto River seemed to have healthier benthic macroinvertebrate communities because of the greater mean Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera spp. taxa; and lower mean biotic indices at upstream and downstream transects.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2011

Estimating water supply arsenic levels in the New England bladder cancer study

Background: Ingestion of inorganic arsenic in drinking water is recognized as a cause of bladder cancer when levels are relatively high (≥ 150 μg/L). The epidemiologic evidence is less clear at the low-to-moderate concentrations typically observed in the United States. Accurate retrospective exposure assessment over a long time period is a major challenge in conducting epidemiologic studies of environmental factors and diseases with long latency, such as cancer. Objective: We estimated arsenic concentrations in the water supplies of 2,611 participants in a population-based case–control study in northern New England. Methods: Estimates covered the lifetimes of most study participants and were based on a combination of arsenic measurements at the homes of the participants and statistical modeling of arsenic concentrations in the water supply of both past and current homes. We assigned a residential water supply arsenic concentration for 165,138 (95%) of the total 173,361 lifetime exposure years (EYs) and a workplace water supply arsenic level for 85,195 EYs (86% of reported occupational years). Results: Three methods accounted for 93% of the residential estimates of arsenic concentration: direct measurement of water samples (27%; median, 0.3 μg/L; range, 0.1–11.5), statistical models of water utility measurement data (49%; median, 0.4 μg/L; range, 0.3–3.3), and statistical models of arsenic concentrations in wells using aquifers in New England (17%; median, 1.6 μg/L; range, 0.6–22.4). Conclusions: We used a different validation procedure for each of the three methods, and found our estimated levels to be comparable with available measured concentrations. This methodology allowed us to calculate potential drinking water exposure over long periods.

Environmental Health Perspectives↗

USGS2012

Low-flow frequency and flow duration of selected South Carolina streams in the Saluda, Congaree, and Edisto River basins through March 2009

South Carolina↗

USGS2014

Low-flow frequency and flow duration of selected South Carolina streams in the Catawba-Wateree and Santee River Basins through March 2012

Part of the mission of both the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is to protect and preserve South Carolina’s water resources. Doing so requires an ongoing understanding of streamflow characteristics of the rivers and streams in South Carolina. A particular need is information concerning the low-flow characteristics of streams, which is especially important for effectively managing the State’s water resources during critical flow periods, such as during the historic droughts that South Carolina has experienced in the past few decades. In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, initiated a study to update low-flow statistics at continuous-record streamgaging stations operated by the U.S. Geological Survey in South Carolina. This report presents the low-flow statistics for 11 selected streamgaging stations in the Catawba-Wateree and Santee River Basins in South Carolina and 2 in North Carolina. For five of the streamgaging stations, low-flow statistics include daily mean flow durations or the 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 75-, 90-, and 95-percent probability of exceedance and the annual minimum 1-, 3-, 7-, 14-, 30-, 60-, and 90-day mean flows with recurrence intervals of 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 years, depending on the length of record available at the streamgaging station. For the other eight streamgaging stations, only daily mean flow durations and (or) exceedance percentiles of annual minimum 7-day average flows are provided due to regulation. In either case, the low-flow statistics were computed from records available through March 31, 2012. Of the five streamgaging stations for which recurrence interval computations were made, three streamgaging stations in South Carolina were compared to low-flow statistics that were published in previous U.S. Geological Survey reports. A comparison of the low-flow statistics for the annual minimum 7-day average streamflow with a 10-year recurrence interval (7Q10) from this study with the most recently published values indicated that two of the streamgaging stations had values lower than the previous values and the 7Q10 for the third station remained unchanged at zero. Low-flow statistics are influenced by length of record, hydrologic regime under which the data were collected, analytical techniques used, and other factors, such as urbanization, diversions, and droughts that may have occurred in the basin.

South Carolina↗

USGS2013

Characterization of stormwater at selected South Carolina Department of Transportation maintenance yard and section shed facilities in Ballentine, Conway, and North Charleston, South Carolina, 2010-2012

The South Carolina Department of Transportation operates section shed and maintenance yard facilities throughout the State. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a cooperative investigation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation to characterize water-quality constituents that are transported in stormwater from representative maintenance yard and section shed facilities in South Carolina. At a section shed in Ballentine, S.C., stormwater discharges to a retention pond outfall (Ballentine). At the Conway maintenance yard, stormwater in the southernmost section discharges to a pipe outfall (Conway1), and stormwater in the remaining area discharges to a grass-lined ditch (Conway2). At the North Charleston maintenance yard, stormwater discharges from the yard to Turkey Creek through a combination of pipes, ditches, and overland flow; therefore, samples were collected from the main channel of Turkey Creek at the upstream (North Charleston1) and downstream (North Charleston2) limits of the North Charleston maintenance yard facility. The storms sampled during this study had a wide range of rainfall amounts, durations, and intensities at each of the facilities and, therefore, were considered to be reasonably representative of the potential for contaminant transport. At all facilities, stormwater discharge was significantly correlated to rainfall amount and intensity. Event-mean unit-area stormwater discharge increased with increasing impervious surface at the Conway and North Charleston maintenance yards. The Ballentine facility with 79 percent impervious surface had a mean unit-area discharge similar to that of the North Charleston maintenance yard (62 percent impervious surface). That similarity may be attributed, in part, to the effects of the retention pond on the stormwater runoff at the Ballentine facility and to the greater rainfall intensities and amounts at the North Charleston facility. Stormwater samples from the facilities were analyzed for multiple constituents and characteristics. Concentrations of sediment and concentrations of nutrients and fecal indicator bacteria, which are commonly transported with the sediment in stormwater, were measured. Total and dissolved concentrations of six trace metals were determined in the samples. Stormwater samples also were analyzed for organic compounds including 10 herbicides, 18 organochlorine pesticides, 7 Aroclor or polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, 44 volatile organic compounds, and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Stormwater often transports large quantities of sediment and sediment-bound contaminants, including nutrients and fecal indicator bacteria. Median event-mean concentrations of suspended sediment in stormwater at these facilities ranged from 54 milligrams per liter in Turkey Creek at North Charleston2 to 147 milligrams per liter in stormwater discharging from the Ballentine retention pond outfall. In general, event-mean concentrations of total nitrogen consisted mainly of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (organic nitrogen plus ammonia) rather than nitrate plus nitrite in stormwater, and the median event-mean concentrations of total nitrogen ranged from 1.59 milligrams per liter at the Conway1 pipe outfall to 2.00 milligrams per liter at the Ballentine retention pond outfall. Median event-mean concentrations of total phosphorus in stormwater ranged from 0.15 milligram per liter at the Conway1 outfall to 0.42 milligram per liter in Turkey Creek at North Charleston1. Escherichia coli and enterococcus concentrations often varied by 3 to 4 orders of magnitude in grab samples collected during the “first flush” of stormwater discharging to the sampled outfalls of Turkey Creek. Additionally, enterococcus concentrations consistently were greater than the corresponding Escherichia coli concentrations in stormwater. Specifically, median "first-flush" Escherichia coli concentrations ranged from 30 colonies per 100 milliliters at the Conway1 outfall to 4,359 colonies per 100 milliliters in Turkey Creek at North Charleston2, whereas enterococcus concentrations ranged from 512 colonies per 100 milliliters at the Conway1 outfall to 6,329 colonies per 100 milliliters in Turkey Creek at North Charleston2. In comparison to the proposed South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control primary and secondary body contact criterion of 349 colonies per 100 milliliter, stormwater had Escherichia coli concentrations that were greater than the criterion in 4 of the 9 storms at Ballentine retention pond outfall, 1 of the 8 storms at the Conway1 pipe outfall, 5 of the 7 storms at the Conway2 grass-lined ditch outfall, 2 of the 8 storms at North Charleston1 on Turkey Creek, and 8 of the 8 storms at North Charleston2 on Turkey Creek. Of the six trace metals measured in stormwater, only copper and zinc had event-mean concentrations greater than the hardness-dependent South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control aquatic life criteria maximum concentrations. Measured dissolved copper event-mean concentrations in stormwater were greater than the criterion in 5 of the samples at the Ballentine facility, 1 of the samples at Conway1, 2 of the samples at Conway2, and 1 of the samples at North Charleston2. Measured dissolved zinc event-mean concentrations in stormwater were greater than the criterion in 3 of the samples at the Ballentine facility, 1 of the samples at Conway1, 2 of the samples at Conway2, and 0 of the samples at North Charleston2. At North Charleston1 upstream from the North Charleston maintenance yard, the measured dissolved trace-metal concentrations were all less than the criterion maximum concentrations. Among the three facilities, Conway1 outfall had the greatest range in event-mean yields in stormwater for total phosphorus, total nitrogen, total suspended solids, and suspended sediment, and both Conway outfalls tended to have median event-mean yields greater than those of the Ballentine and North Charleston yard facilities. "First-flush” yields of Escherichia coli in stormwater were not statistically different among the three facilities. Median event-mean yields of suspended sediment, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total copper, and total zinc in stormwater demonstrated a strong linear relation to impervious surface at the three facilities. However, median "first-flush" fecal indicator bacterial yields did not have a linear relation to impervious surface.

South Carolina↗

USGS2016

Ecoregions of California

Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. By recognizing the spatial differences in the capacities and potentials of ecosystems, ecoregions stratify the environment by its probable response to disturbance (Bryce and others, 1999). These general purpose regions are critical for structuring and implementing ecosystem management strategies across Federal agencies, State agencies, and nongovernment organizations that are responsible for different types of resources in the same geographical areas (Omernik and others, 2000). The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions are hierarchical and can be identified through the analysis of the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity (Wiken, 1986; Omernik, 1987, 1995). These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. Level II divides the continent into 50 regions (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, map revised 2006). At level III, the continental United States contains 105 ecoregions and the conterminous United States has 85 ecoregions (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013). Level IV, depicted here for California, is a further refinement of level III ecoregions. Explanations of the methods used to define these ecoregions are given in Omernik (1995), Omernik and others (2000), and Omernik and Griffith (2014). California has great ecological and biological diversity. The State contains offshore islands and coastal lowlands, large alluvial valleys, forested mountain ranges, deserts, and various aquatic habitats. There are 13 level III ecoregions and 177 level IV ecoregions in California and most continue into ecologically similar parts of adjacent States of the United States or Mexico (Bryce and others, 2003; Thorson and others, 2003; Griffith and others, 2014). The California ecoregion map was compiled at a scale of 1:250,000. It revises and subdivides an earlier national ecoregion map that was originally compiled at a smaller scale (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013). This poster is the result of a collaborative project primarily between U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region IX, USEPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (Corvallis, Oregon), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)–Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department of the Interior–Geological Survey (USGS), and other State of California agencies and universities. The project is associated with interagency efforts to develop a common framework of ecological regions (McMahon and others, 2001). Reaching that objective requires recognition of the differences in the conceptual approaches and mapping methodologies applied to develop the most common ecoregion-type frameworks, including those developed by the USDA–Forest Service (Bailey and others, 1994; Miles and Goudy, 1997; Cleland and others, 2007), the USEPA (Omernik 1987, 1995), and the NRCS (U.S. Department of Agriculture–Soil Conservation Service, 1981; U.S. Department of Agriculture–Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2006). As each of these frameworks is further refined, their differences are becoming less discernible. Regional collaborative projects such as this one in California, where some agreement has been reached among multiple resource-management agencies, are a step toward attaining consensus and consistency in ecoregion frameworks for the entire nation.

California↗

USGS1977

Environmental requirements for fish health

No abstract available

Conference Paper↗