By Sarah M. Flanagan, Denise L. Montgomery, and Joseph D. Ayotte
Analyses of water samples collected from 29 wells across the Boston metropolitan area indicate that shallow ground water in recently urbanized settings often contains trace amounts of nutrients, fuel, and industrial-based organic compounds. Most of the samples that contained detectable amounts of organic compounds also had elevated levels of iron and total dissolved solids. Nitrate was detected in 83 percent of the samples, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) drinking-water standard of 10 milligrams per liter nitrate was exceeded in just one sample. Low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected in 76 percent of the samples, with as many as 13 different VOCs detected in a single sample. The concentration of methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in one sample was 267 micrograms per liter, which exceeds the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection drinking-water guideline of 70 micrograms per liter. Chloroform and MTBE were the two most frequently detected VOCs. MTBE was detected at the same frequency in ground water in the Boston metropolitan area as in other urban areas of New England. Chloroform is detected at higher frequency in old, densely populated areas in New England than in more recently developed, less densely populated areas. Pesticide detections were few, but only at trace concentrations, and none of the concentrations exceeded any drinking-water standard.
Introduction
Description of Study Area
Site Selection, Well Installation, and Monitoring
Acknowledgments
Natual Chemistry of Shallow
Ground Water in Unconsolidated, Surficial Aquifers
Common Sources of Contaminants to Shallow
Ground Water Ground-Water Quality in the Boston Metropolitan Area Nutrients
Pesticides
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Comparison of Shallow Ground-Water Quality in the Boston Metropolitan Area to Nearby Urban Areas
References
This report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF). Two pdf versions of the report are presented. The first version is optimized for viewing on the World Wide Web. The second version is optimized for printing.
To view and print report you need to use Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as freeware.
An errata sheet is available for this report.
WRIR 01-4042 (21MB) - 12 pages
For easier downloading we have split up the report.
Introduction (3.5 MB)
Site Selection, Well Installation, and Monitoring (7MB)
Natural Chemistry of Shallow (75 KB)
Ground Water Ground-Water Quality in the Boston Metropolitan Area Nutrients (3.4 MB)
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) (1.8 MB)
Comparison of Shallow Ground-Water Quality in the Boston Metropolitan Area to Nearby Urban Areas (4.8 MB)
References (504 KB)
| AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices | |
  |
|