USGS - NAWQA - Water Quality in the Long Island - New Jersey Coastal Drainages

APPENDIX—WATER-QUALITY DATA FROM THE LONG ISLAND-NEW JERSEY COASTAL DRAINAGES IN A NATIONAL CONTEXT

For a complete view of Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins data and for additional information about specific benchmarks used, visit our Webb site at http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/. Also visit the NAWQA Data Werehouse for acces to NAWQA data sets at http://infotrek.er.usgs.gov/wdbctx/nawqa/nawqa.home.

Contents: This appendix is a summary of chemical concentrations and biological indicators assessed in the Long Island-New Jersey Coastal Drainages. Selected results for this Study Unit are graphically compared to results from as many as 36 NAWQA Study Units investigated from 1991 to 1998 and to national water-quality benchmarks for human health, aquatic life, or fish-eating wildlife. The chemical and biological indicators shown were selected on the basis of frequent detection, detection at concentrations above a national benchmark, or regulatory or scientific importance. The graphs illustrate how conditions associated with each land use sampled in the Long Island - New Jersey Coastal Drainages compare to results from across the Nation, and how conditions compare among the several land uses. Graphs for chemicals show only detected concentrations and, thus, care must be taken to evaluate detection frequencies in addition to concentrations when comparing study-unit and national results. For example, alachlor concentrations in Long Island - New Jersey streams draining mixed land-use areas were similar to the national distribution, but the detection frequency was much higher (83 percent compared to 45 percent). -- Graph showing CHEMICALS IN WATER: Concentrations and detection frequencies, Long Island - New Jersey Coastal Drainages, 1996–98—Detection sensitivity varies among chemicals and, thus, frequencies are not directly comparable among chemicals. Graph is also showing Pesticides in water—Herbicides.

Graphs showing Pesticides in water—Insecticides and Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ground water.

Graphs showing Dissolved solids in water, Trace elements in ground water, Organochlorines in fish tissue (whole body) and bed sediment, and also CHEMICALS IN FISH TISSUE AND BED SEDIMENT -- Concentrations and detection frequencies, Long Island - New Jersey Coastal Drainages, 1996–98—Detection sensitivity varies among chemicals and, thus, frequencies are not directly comparable among chemicals. Study-unit frequencies of detection are based on small sample sizes; the applicable sample size is specified in each graph.

Graph showing Semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in bed sediment.

Graph showing Trace elements in fish tissue (livers) and bed sediment.

Graph showing BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS: Higher national scores suggest habitat disturbance, water-quality degradation, or naturally harsh conditions. The status of algae, invertebrates (insects, worms, and clams), and fish provide a record of water-quality and stream conditions that water-chemistry indicators may not reveal. Algal status focuses on the changes in the percentage of certain algae in response to increasing siltation, and it often correlates with higher nutrient concentrations in some regions. Invertebrate status averages 11 metrics that summarize changes in richness, tolerance, trophic conditions, and dominance associated with water-quality degradation. Fish status sums the scores of four fish metrics (percent tolerant, omnivorous, non-native individuals, and percent individuals with external anomalies) that increase in association with water-quality degradation.

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U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1201

Suggested citation:

Ayers, M.A., Kennen, J.G., and Stackelberg, P.E., 2000, Water Quality in the Long Island–New Jersey Coastal Drainages New Jersey and New York, 1996–98: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1201, 40 p., on-line at https://pubs.water.usgs.gov/circ1201/

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