USGS - NAWQA - Water Quality in the Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins

APPENDIX—WATER-QUALITY DATA FROM THE ALLEGHENY AND MONONGAHELA RIVER BASINS 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 Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins. 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 Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins 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, metolachlor concentrations in the Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins urban stream sampled were similar to the national distribution, but the detection frequency was much higher (96 percent compared to 64 percent).-- Graph showing CHEMICALS IN WATER: Concentrations and detection frequencies, Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins, 1996–98—Detection sensitivity varies among chemicals and, thus, frequencies are not directly comparable among chemicals. Graph is also showing Pesticides in water—Herbicides.

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

Graph showing Nutrients in water, Dissolved solids in water.

Graph showing CHEMICALS IN FISH TISSUE AND BED SEDIMENT Concentrations and detection frequencies, Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins, 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. Also graph showing Organochlorines in fish tissue (whole body) and bed sediment.

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

Content: 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 provides 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. And also graph showing Trace elements in fish tissue (livers) and bed sediment.

Table of Contents || Previous Section || Next Section || Glossary

U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1202

Suggested citation:

Anderson, R.M., Beer, K.M., Buckwalter, T.F., Clark, M.E., McAuley, S.D., Sams, J.I. III, and Williams, D.R., 2000, Water Quality in the Allegheny and Monongahela River Basins Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, and Maryland, 1996-98: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1202, 32 p., on-line at https://pubs.water.usgs.gov/circ1202/

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey Persistent URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/circ1202/appendix.htm Page Contact Information: USGS Publishing Network Last modified: Wednesday, November 23 2016, 12:18:01 PM