Mapping Application Development

Problem The City of Ithaca, Tompkins County, N.Y., is in the process of developing a flood management plan for the streams that flow through the City. Flooding in the City is an annual problem caused by a variety of distinct and sometimes interconnected reasons. Flooding often is a result of snowmelt and rain during the winter and spring. Slow ice-melt and breakup can lead to ice jams and subseque

Problem - The valley-fill deposits in Upper Buttermilk Creek/Danby Creek valleys are sources of water for many homeowners, farms, and small businesses that are in this valley. The aquifer was mapped by Miller (2000) and identified as one of the 17 aquifers in Tompkins County that needs to be studied in more detail. However, there is little geohydrologic data in the valley. A cluster of wells in Up

Background: The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) and Health (NYS DOH) are concerned about groundwater contamination in the carbonate-bedrock aquifers in New York, especially relating to the unintended introduction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and liquid manure to these aquifers. These carbonate rocks form extensive aquifers that transmit, and can yield, wa

Background: A sequence of gently dipping carbonate bedrock - the Bertie Formation, Akron Dolostone, and Onondaga Limestone crop out along a 2- to5-mile wide band in western and central New York. These bedrock units trend east-west for 250 miles across the State and form extensive carbonate-bedrock aquifers which transmit and yield water from solution-enlarged fractures, bedding planes, and other

Problem – Flooding is an annual problem along Egypt Creek in Dryden. Increased runoff from expanding development, sediment clogged channels, and undersized culverts that cannot convey increased flows contribute to the problem. Flood maps for extreme floods are available through the effective FEMA flood insurance study (FEMA, 1978), but these maps, which became effective in 1979, are considered no

Problem – Currently, swim advisories or closings are issued by beach managers based on standards for concentrations of bacterial indicators such as Escherichia coli (E. coli). Standard culture methods for these bacteria take at least 18-24 hours before results are available. At most Great Lakes beaches, the beach is posted with an advisory or closing or is determined to be acceptable for swimm

Problem Over the past century, the Harlem River watershed has become highly urbanized with 90 percent of the waterway constrained by infrastructure, which has limited access for recreational use. Bound by New York (Manhattan) and Bronx Counties, the Harlem River is a tidal strait between urbanized estuaries to the north (Hudson River) and south (East River). Direct inputs include the more than 5

Background Climate change during the past century has resulted in changes to precipitation amounts, form (rain vs. snow), as well as frequency and intensity in the northeastern US (Huntington et al., 2009). Additional changes in precipitation are forecast for the 21st Century as the global and regional climate is expected to warm substantially (Hayhoe et al., 2007). These ongoing and projecte

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is collaborating with the New York Department of State (NYDOS) Office of Planning and Development to prepare a new Long Island South Shore Estuary Reserve (SSER) Coordinated Water Resources Monitoring Strategy (CWRMS). Since 2000, when the last CWRMS was published, numerous research projects and studies are demonstrating several new threats to the ecologic health

Background In recent years, more and more people have become concerned about Long Island's supply of freshwater. Currently, there is no comprehensive, island-wide resource that summarizes recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research related to the Island's aquifer system. A webpage will be developed by the USGS that will compile published data from the hydrologic-surveillance program, in plac

Background Every day, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) supplies more than one billion gallons of drinking water to more than nine million people. To do this, the DEP maintains an extensive network of reservoirs and aqueducts. A major part of this system, the West of Hudson (WOH) network, in the Delaware and Hudson River drainages, includes six reservoirs (fig. 1) –

Background and Problem Prattsville has experienced severe flooding along the Schoharie Creek, most notably during August 2011 following Hurricane Irene, which severely damaged or destroyed large areas of the town, and caused several million dollars in damages (Figure 1). Before and during a flood, forewarning and emergency response are critical. The rescue efforts of emergency responders are ofte