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Publications

Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed - A Century of Change, 1950–2050

National Award for Superior Communication Product

News Event

Domestic Well Water Quality in Marcellus Shale Region

Factors Affecting Groundwater Quality Used for Domestic Supply in Marcellus Shale Region of North-Central and North-East Pennsylvania

Journal Article

Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus Shale gas development, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania

Report at Pennsylvania Geological Survey

Publications are the cornerstone of the Pennsylvania Water Science Center’s dissemination of scientific data and conclusions. 

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Filter Total Items: 939

A geochemical module for "AMDTreat" to compute caustic quantity, effluent quantity, and sludge volume

Treatment with caustic chemicals typically is used to increase pH and decrease concentrations of dissolved aluminum, iron, and/or manganese in largevolume, metal-laden discharges from active coal mines. Generally, aluminum and iron can be removed effectively at near-neutral pH (6 to 8), whereas active manganese removal requires treatment to alkaline pH (~10). The treatment cost depends on the spec
Authors
Charles A. Cravotta, David L. Parkhurst, Brent P Means, Bob McKenzie, Harry Morris, Bill Arthur
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Changes in groundwater flow and volatile organic compound concentrations at the Fischer and Porter Superfund Site, Warminster Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1993-2009

The 38-acre Fischer and Porter Company Superfund Site is in Warminster Township, Bucks County, Pa. Historically, as part of the manufacturing process, trichloroethylene (TCE) degreasers were used for parts cleaning. In 1979, the Bucks County Health Department detected TCE and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water from the Fischer and Porter on-site supply wells and nearby public-supply
Authors
Ronald A. Sloto
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Geophysical Logs, Specific Capacity, and Water Quality of Four Wells at Rogers Mechanical (former Tate Andale) Property, North Penn Area 6 Superfund Site, Lansdale, Pennsylvania, 2006-07

As part of technical assistance to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in the remediation of properties on the North Penn Area 6 Superfund Site in Lansdale, Pa., the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2006-07 collected data in four monitor wells at the Rogers Mechanical (former Tate Andale) property. During this period, USGS collected and analyzed borehole geophysical and video logs of
Authors
Lisa A. Senior, Philip H. Bird
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Abandoned mine drainage in the Swatara Creek Basin, southern anthracite coalfield, Pennsylvania, USA: 2. performance of treatment systems

A variety of passive and semi-passive treatment systems were constructed by state and local agencies to neutralize acidic mine drainage (AMD) and reduce the transport of dissolved metals in the upper Swatara Creek Basin in the Southern Anthracite Coalfield in eastern Pennsylvania. To evaluate the effectiveness of selected treatment systems installed during 1995–2001, the US Geological Survey colle
Authors
Charles A. Cravotta
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Abandoned mine drainage in the Swatara Creek Basin, southern anthracite coalfield, Pennsylvania, USA: 1. stream quality trends coinciding with the return of fish

Acidic mine drainage (AMD) from legacy anthracite mines has contaminated Swatara Creek in eastern Pennsylvania. Intermittently collected base-flow data for 1959–1986 indicate that fish were absent immediately downstream from the mined area where pH ranged from 3.5 to 7.2 and concentrations of sulfate, dissolved iron, and dissolved aluminum were as high as 250, 2.0, and 4.7 mg/L, respectively. Howe
Authors
Charles A. Cravotta, Robin A. Brightbill, Michael J. Langland
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Simulation of Runoff and Reservoir Inflow for Use in a Flood-Analysis Model for the Delaware River, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, 2004-2006

A model was developed to simulate inflow to reservoirs and watershed runoff to streams during three high-flow events between September 2004 and June 2006 for the main-stem subbasin of the Delaware River draining to Trenton, N.J. The model software is a modified version of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), a modular, physically based, distributed-paramet
Authors
Daniel J. Goode, Edward H. Koerkle, Scott A. Hoffman, R. Steve Regan, Lauren E. Hay, Steven L. Markstrom
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Hydraulic modeling of mussel habitat at a bridge-replacement site, Allegheny River, Pennsylvania, USA

The Allegheny River in Pennsylvania supports a large and diverse freshwater-mussel community, including two federally listed endangered species, Pleurobema clava(Clubshell) and Epioblasma torulosa rangiana (Northern Riffleshell). It is recognized that river hydraulics and morphology play important roles in mussel distribution. To assess the hydraulic influences of bridge replacement on mussel habi
Authors
John W. Fulton, Chad R. Wagner, Megan E. Rogers, Gregory F. Zimmerman
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Landscape characteristics affecting streams in urbanizing regions of the Delaware River Basin (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, U.S.)

Widespread and increasing urbanization has resulted in the need to assess, monitor, and understand its effects on stream water quality. Identifying relations between stream ecological condition and urban intensity indicators such as impervious surface provides important, but insufficient information to effectively address planning and management needs in such areas. In this study we investigate th
Authors
K. Riva-Murray, R. Riemann, P. Murdoch, J.M. Fischer, R. Brightbill
By
Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Carbon and hydrogen isotopic evidence for the origin of combustible gases in water-supply wells in north-central Pennsylvania

The origin of the combustible gases in groundwater from glacial-outwash and fractured-bedrock aquifers was investigated in northern Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Thermogenic methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6) and microbial CH4 were found. Microbial CH4 is from natural in situ processes in the shale bedrock and occurs chiefly in the bedrock aquifer. The δ13C values of CH4 and C2H6 for the majority of th
Authors
K. M. Révész, K. J. Breen, A.J. Baldassare, R. C. Burruss
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Factors Affecting Specific-Capacity Tests and their Application--A Study of Six Low-Yielding Wells in Fractured-Bedrock Aquifers in Pennsylvania

This report by the U.S. Geological Survey, prepared in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Mining and Reclamation, evaluates factors affecting the application of specific-capacity tests in six low-yielding water wells in areas of coal mining or quarrying in Pennsylvania. Factors such as pumping rate, duration of pumping, aquifer properties, wellbore
Authors
Dennis W. Risser
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Multiple well-shutdown tests and site-scale flow simulation in fractured rocks

A new method was developed for conducting aquifer tests in fractured-rock flow systems that have a pump-and-treat (P&T) operation for containing and removing groundwater contaminants. The method involves temporary shutdown of individual pumps in wells of the P&T system. Conducting aquifer tests in this manner has several advantages, including (1) no additional contaminated water is withdrawn, and
Authors
Claire R. Tiedeman, Pierre J. Lacombe, Daniel J. Goode
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program, New Jersey Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center

Summary of groundwater-recharge estimates for Pennsylvania

Groundwater recharge is water that infiltrates through the subsurface to the zone of saturation beneath the water table. Because recharge is a difficult parameter to quantify, it is typically estimated from measurements of other parameters like streamflow and precipitation. This report provides a general overview of processes affecting recharge in Pennsylvania and presents estimates of recharge ra
Authors
Stuart O. Reese, Dennis W. Risser
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Pennsylvania Water Science Center