Appraisal of operating efficiency of recharge basins on Long Island, New York, in 1969

Recharge basins on Long Island are unlined pits of various shapes and sizes excavated in surficial deposits of mainly glacial origin. Of the 2,124 recharge basins on Long Island in 1969, approximately 9 percent (194) contain water 5 or more days after a 1-inch rainfall. Basins on Long Island contain water because (1) they intersect the regional water table or a perched water table, (2) they are excavated in material of low hydraulic conductivity, (3) layers of sediment and debris of low hydraulic conductivity accumulate on the basin floor, or (4) a combination of these factors exists.

Data obtained as part of this study show that (1) 22 basins contain water because they intersect the regional water table, (2) a larger percentage of the basins excavated in the Harbor Hill and the Ronkonkoma morainal deposits contain water than basins excavated in the outwash deposits, (3) a larger percentage of the basins that drain industrial and commercial areas contain water than basins that drain highways and residential areas, (4) storm runoff from commercial and industrial areas and highway: generally contains high concentrations of asphalt, grease, oil, tar, and rubber particles, whereas runoff from residential areas mainly contains leaves, grass cuttings, and other plant material, and (5) differences in composition of the soils within the drainage areas of the basins on Long Island apparently are not major factors in causing water retention.

Water-containing basins dispose of an undetermined amount of storm runoff primarily by the slow infiltration of water through the bottoms and the sides of the basins. The low average specific conductance of water in most such basins suggests that evaporation does not significantly concentrate the chemical constituents and, therefore, that evaporation is not a major mechanism of water disposal from these basins.