Water Use and Availability Science
Water Use and Availability Science
Demand for water in the U.S. is unevenly distributed. Because of increasing competition for local supplies that could lead to shortages, it is expedient to know how and where water is withdrawn, delivered, and used. The NYWSC studies how the interactions of humans affect the water cycle, including how much water is withdrawn from natural sources, where this water goes, how this water is used, what happens to the water after it is used, and how water moves from its source to its outlet. These studies are a first step in understanding how future water demands can be met while maintaining adequate water quality and balancing the needs of human and ecological water needs. Studies on water use and availability also explore the nature of and outlook for water stored in ice and the oceans, examine the effects of climate change on water systems and ecosystems, analyze the effects of major storms on habitats, human populations, and coastal regions, and track and predict flooding and areas that could potentially be inundated.
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Geohydrology of the Valley‐fill Aquifer in the Lower Fall Creek Valley, Town of Dryden, Tompkins County, New York
PROBLEM The valley‐fill aquifer in the lower Fall Creek valley (designated as aquifer 4, fig. 1), within the Towns of Dryden and Groton, was mapped by Miller (2000) and identified as one of 17 unconsolidated aquifers in Tompkins County that need to be studied in more detail. The east end of the valley (near the Tompkins and Cortland County border) is on the backside of a large morainal...
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DETAILED AQUIFER MAPPING OF THE SPRINGVILLE, N.Y. AREA Erie, Cattaraugus, and Wyoming Counties, New York
Introduction Public-water systems at Springville and Yorkshire/Delavan, N.Y. along Cattaraugus Creek draw from local groundwater resources and serve about 5,500 people (U.S. EPA SDWIS database). The remainder of the population obtains water from domestic wells, many of them completed in glacial aquifers. A Cattaraugus Creek tributary valley (Buttermilk Creek) to the south is the site of...
DETAILED AQUIFER MAPPING OF THE MALONE, N.Y. AREA (Adirondack foothills and St. Lawrence lowlands transect) Franklin County, New York
Introduction The Village of Malone, Franklin County, New York is located along the Salmon River where it exits the northern foothills of the Adirondack Mountains and flows northward across the St. Lawrence Lowlands until its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. The public water supply of the Village of Malone serves a population of 13,200 (U.S. EPA SDWIS database), which includes...
Bathymetry of New York City’s East of Hudson Reservoirs
Background: The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) maintains an extensive network of reservoirs and aqueducts for water collection, storage, and transport; it supplies more than one billion gallons of drinking water daily to more than nine million people. The East of Hudson (EOH) network (fig. 1) includes thirteen reservoirs – Amawalk, Bog Brook, Boyd Corners...
Flood-Inundation Mapping for Schoharie Creek at North Blenheim, NY
Background and Problem Flooding is a ubiquitous problem throughout New York State. The Schoharie Creek has experienced severe floods, including the devastating floods of August 2011 following Hurricane Irene, which severely damaged or destroyed many homes, businesses, roads, and other property within the Schoharie Valley. In North Blenheim, homes, the Blenheim Town Hall, fire hall, and...
Determination of Sources of Water to the Tully Valley Mudboils
Background and Problem Tully Valley is part of the Onondaga Trough, which extends from the Valley Heads Moraine in the south to Onondaga Lake in the north near Syracuse, New York (fig. 1). The Onondaga Trough is filled with a complex sequence of glacial and post-glacial sediments that overlie Devonian carbonate rock and shale and Silurian shale and salt (fig.2). Mudboils, volcano-like...
Simulation of Contributing Areas to Selected Public Water-Supply Wellfields in the Valley-Fill Aquifers of New York State
Background For effective wellhead protection, the area where water carrying potential contaminants can enter the groundwater system and flow to the supply well must first be defined, and then best management practices need to be implemented to minimize the opportunity for contamination to occur in areas defined as sources of water to the well. Determination of the sources of water and...
Our Science
The New York Water Science Center conducts research and investigations used across a broad range of industries and other services.
U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Monitoring on Long Island, New York
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a science organization that provides impartial information on the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely, relevant, and usable information.
Long Island Groundwater Network
U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Monitoring on Long Island, New York Groundwater is the sole source of water supply for more than 3 million people on Long Island, New York. Large-scale groundwater pumpage, installation of sanitary- and storm-sewer systems, and frequent variations in precipitation all have significant effects on regional groundwater levels and aquifer storage. In order to properly...
The Use of Solute-transport Methods to Estimate Time-varying Nitrogen Loading Rates to the Peconic Estuary Resulting from Wastewater and Fertilizer Inputs to Groundwater in Suffolk County, New York (Peconic Solute Transport)
Problem The Peconic Estuary of eastern Long Island, New York, is undergoing development as the region transitions from a rural area dependent on agriculture and tourism to a suburban one with a larger year-round population. The glacial and coastal-plain sediments underlying Long Island comprise a sole-source aquifer system that supplies the region’s communities with potable water. The...