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| Publications—Open-File Report |
By Elizabeth A. Nystrom
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1088
AVAILABLE ONLINE ONLY
The body of the report is available in PDF Format ( 4,993 KB)
Water samples were collected from 11 production wells and 11 private domestic wells in the Lake Champlain basin in New York during the fall of 2004 to characterize the chemical quality of ground water. Wells were selected for sampling based on location and focused on areas of greatest ground-water use. Samples were analyzed for 216 physical properties and constituents, including inorganic compounds, nutrients, metals, radionuclides, pesticides and pesticide degradates, volatile organic compounds, and bacteria.
Sixty-eight constituents were detected at concentrations above laboratory reporting levels. The cation and anion with the highest median concentration were calcium (34.8 mg/L) and bicarbonate (134 mg/L), respectively. The predominant nutrient was nitrate, which was detected in 14 (64 percent) of the 22 samples. The two metals with the highest median concentrations were iron (175 μg/L) and strontium (124 μg/L); concentrations of iron, manganese, aluminum, and zinc exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency secondary drinking-water standards in one or more samples. Radon concentrations were less than 1,000 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) in most samples, but concentrations as high as 6,930 pCi/L were detected and, in eight samples, exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed maximum contaminant level (300 pCi/L) for radon. The most frequently detected pesticides were degradates of the broadleaf herbicides metolachlor, alachlor, and atrazine. Volatile organic compounds were detected in only three samples; those that were detected typically were fuel oxygenates, such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Coliform bacteria were detected in four samples, two of which also tested positive for Escherichia coli.
Abstract
Introduction
Purpose and Scope
Hydrologic Setting
Methods
Site Selection
Sampling and Analytical Methods
Sampling Methods
Analytical Methods
Quality Assurance
Ground-Water Quality
Physical Properties
Inorganic Constituents
Nutrients
Metals and Radionuclides
Pesticides
Volatile Organic Compounds and Phenolic Compounds
Bacteria
Summary
References Cited
| 1. | Location and major features of the Lake Champlain basin in New York. |
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| 2. | Topography and locations of wells sampled in the Lake Champlain basin in New York. |
| 1. | Information on wells from which ground-water samples were collected in the
Lake Champlain basin, New York, 2004. |
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| 2. | Compounds for which ground-water samples collected from the Lake Champlain basin,
New York, were analyzed but not detected and their analytical detection limits. |
| 3. | Physical properties of ground-water samples from the Lake Champlain basin,
New York, 2004. |
| 4. | Concentrations of inorganic constituents in ground-water samples from the
Lake Champlain basin, New York, 2004. |
| 5. | Concentrations of nutrients in ground-water samples from the Lake Champlain basin,
New York, 2004. |
| 6. | Concentrations of metals and radon-222 in ground-water samples from the
Lake Champlain basin, New York, 2004. |
| 7. | Concentrations of selected pesticides in filtered ground-water samples from the
Lake Champlain basin, New York, 2004. |
| 8. | Concentrations of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and phenolic compounds
in ground-water samples from the Lake Champlain basin, New York, 2004. |
| 9. | Concentrations of bacteria in ground-water samples from the Lake Champlain basin,
New York, 2004 . |
Appendix: Plots of Time-Drawdown, or Time-Recovery of Water Levels and Estimates of Transmissivity and Storage Coefficient by the Cooper-Jacob (1946) Method or the Theis (1935) Method
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For further information, contact:
Rafael W. Rodriquez, Director
U.S. Geological Survey
New York Water Science Center
425 Jordan Road
Troy, NY 12080
(518) 285-5600
or visit our Web site at: http://ny.water.usgs.gov
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