Publications

Water analyses are reported for ground and surface waters collected at 33 sites on and near Ester Dome, Fairbanks area, central Alaska during 2000-2001. This interdisciplinary study focused on documenting the temporal and spatial chemical variations in arsenic concentrations to elucidate the processes that lead to elevated arsenic concentrations in ground water. Field parameters and water analyses

Little is known about the volumetric flux of ground water to the lower tidal Anacostia River, or whether ground-water flow is an important component of the contaminant load in this part of the Anacostia River. The watershed is in the eastern part of Washington, D.C., and has been subjected to over 200 years of urbanization and modifications of the river channel and nearby land areas. These anthrop

A probability map constructed for this study identified several areas in a six-county region of south-central Idaho with high probabilities of detecting elevated concentrations (greater than 2 milligrams per liter) of nitrate. An increasing proportion of Idaho’s ground water being used for drinking water and large increases in the inputs of nitrogen to ground water in Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Linc

Concentrations of trichloroethene in ground water at the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant in Dallas, Texas, indicate three source areas of chlorinated solvents?building 1, building 6, and an off-site source west of the facility. The presence of daughter products of reductive dechlorination of trichloroethene, which were not used at the facility, south and southwest of the source areas are ev

The Potomac-Raritan-Magothy (PRM) aquifer system is an important sole-source ground-water supply in Camden and Gloucester Counties, N.J. Elevated iron concentrations are a persistent water-quality problem associated with ground water from the PRM. In Philadelphia, the PRM no longer is usable as a water supply because of highly elevated concentrations of iron (as high as 429 mg/L [milligrams per li

In the late 1990s, Idaho’s established stream temperature criteria for the protection of coldwater biota and salmonid spawning were considered inadequate because the criteria did not agree with observed biological conditions in many instances and did not allow for variability in environmental condition or species diversity across a broad area such as the entire State of Idaho. In 2001, benthic inv

Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems is a resource concern in Voyageurs National Park. High concentrations of mercury in fish pose a potential risk to organisms that consume large amounts of those fish. During 2000–02, the U.S. Geological Survey measured mercury in water collected from 20 lakes in Voyageurs National Park. Those lakes span a gradient in fish-mercury concentrations, and also

Public water-supply systems in Tennessee provide water to meet customer needs for domestic, industrial, and commercial users and municipal services. In 2000, more than 500 public water-supply systems distributed about 890 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of surface water and ground water to a population of about 5 million in Tennessee. Surface-water sources provided 64 percent (about 569 Mgal/d) o

This report presents miscellaneous geologic, hydrologic, and ground-water-quality data collected in and near Belvidere, Ill. during May 2001–November 2002. The data were collected for two studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey during 1990–2002, but subsequent to publication of the final interpretive reports for the studies. The cooperative studies with the U.S. Environmental Protection Ag

Historical mining in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin of northern Idaho has resulted in elevated concentrations of some trace metals (particularly cadmium, lead, and zinc) in water and sediment of Coeur d’Alene Lake and downstream in the Spokane River in Idaho and Washington. These elevated trace-metal concentrations in the Spokane River have raised concerns about potential contamination of ground wa

Four spring outlets of the Barton Springs system provide the only known habitat for the Barton Springs salamander (Eurycea sosorum), a federally listed endangered species. After heavy rainfall, sediment is flushed through the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards aquifer and springflow often becomes turbid (cloudy). Sediment in urban areas often has high concentrations of hydrophobic contaminants,

The Great Salt Lake Basins (GRSL) study unit of the National Water-Quality Assessment program encompasses the Bear River, Weber River, and Utah Lake/Jordan River systems, all of which discharge to Great Salt Lake in Utah. Data were collected during each month at 10 sites in the GRSL study unit from October 1998 to September 2000 to define spatial and temporal distribution and variability in concen