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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been assessing and monitoring the
natural resources and natural hazards of New Jersey for more than a
century. Through cooperative programs with more than 25 Federal, State,
and local agencies, the USGS studies water supply, water quality, floods
and droughts, and many other natural-resource issues throughout the State.
USGS information is the starting point for many scientific investigations,
construction projects, and recreational activities. In 1996, USGS
personnel in New Jersey responded to more than 1,000 information requests
from businesses, government agencies, and the public. |
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New Jersey's water resources are constantly strained by the competing needs
of the growing population, agriculture, industry, and recreation. During
1989-90, statewide use of surface and ground waters averaged 1,680 and 561
million gallons per day, respectively. |
The USGS, in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (NJDEP), is addressing current water-supply problems and future
water needs with a three-phase program. First, field-work data are
collected to document current conditions and to assess the scope of any
potential problem. Next, maps, tables, and graphs are prepared to identify
available resources and possible problems. And third, computer models are
developed to simulate surface- and ground-water flow and to predict the
feasibility and effects of water-use alternatives for the future. This
information is available to water managers and others who must ensure an
adequate supply of water into the next century. |
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The USGS is addressing increasing concern about reduced streamflow as a
result of urbanization, regional wastewater-treatment facility operation,
stream-channel alterations, ground-water pumpage, and interbasin
surface-water transfers. Because decreasing streamflow can adversely
affect water availability and quality and stream ecology, the NJDEP has set
minimum passing-flow requirements for critical streams. Through its
streamflow-gaging station network, the USGS provides the NJDEP with the
information needed to determine if these minimums are being maintained. |
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Many USGS water-supply studies have focused on fast-growing areas of
northern New Jersey. Intensive water-resource assessments were conducted
in the Ramapo River Basin in Bergen County and the Rockaway River,
Lamington River, and Green Pond Brook Basins in Morris and Hunterdon
Counties (fig. 1), where valley-fill aquifers
and surface water are used extensively for water supply. The
ground-water-flow model developed for the ground-water-resource assessment
in the Lamington River Basin was later used to delineate the areas that
contribute recharge to water-supply wells. This information may be used by
local governments to explore the development of new zoning regulations to
protect ground-water supplies from
surface contamination.
The USGS also studied the water resources in parts of Mercer, Hunterdon,
and Somerset Counties, where fractured-rock aquifers are the primary source
of supply (fig. 1). This study provided new information about the
geologic features that control ground-water flow in this area. This
information may be used by water-resources managers in this and similar
areas throughout the Eastern United States. |
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Figure 1. Location of aquifer study areas.
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Ground-water withdrawals from aquifers in the Coastal Plain of southern New
Jersey have increased steadily since 1900, lowering water levels by more
than 200 feet in some areas. Every 5 years, the USGS, in cooperation with
the NJDEP, measures water levels in more than 1,000 Coastal Plain wells
during a 2-month period to prepare a "snapshot" of ground-water conditions.
In 1985-86, the NJDEP used these measurements to identify two "Critical
Water-Supply Management Areas"--areas where the ability of an aquifer to
meet future water demand is compromised--and mandated studies to find new
sources of water in these areas (fig. 2). |
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Figure 2. Location of Critical Water-Supply Management
Areas, flood-warning network areas, and two observation wells.
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In 1983, water levels in all four aquifers underlying Critical Water-Supply
Management Area 1 were below sea level as a resultof ground-water
withdrawals, thus causing salty water to flow toward the aquifers. Results
of a USGS study showed that even if pumpage were reduced by 50 percent
after 1990, water levels would still be below sea level in 2010. The
Manasquan Reservoir was built in 1989 as a supplemental source of water.
Previously, the water level in a representative well (Allaire State Park
observation well C) had declined 107 feet (fig.
3). After the reservoir
began supplying water and ground-water pumpage decreased, the water level
in the observation well rose 93 feet. |
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Figure 3. Water levels in Elm Tree observation well 3 and
Allaire State Park observation well C.
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In Critical Water-Supply Management Area 2, pumping from the
Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system has caused the water level in a
representative well (Elm Tree observation well 3) to decline 50 feet since
1968 (fig. 3). The USGS and the NJDEP are
evaluating the availability of water from other aquifers in this area. |
Surficial aquifers are being considered as potential alternative sources of
water supply throughout southern New Jersey. The USGS, in cooperation with
the NJDEP, is evaluating the water-supply potential of surficial aquifers
in drainage basins defined as "regional planning areas." Studies have been
completed in four areas, and three additional areas are being studied (fig.
1). |
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The USGS participates in several programs that provide information that
helps protect the lives and property of New Jersey residents from flooding.
The Passaic River Basin is one of the most flood-prone river basins in the
country. The April 1984 flood in the Passaic Basin claimed three lives,
caused $335 million in damages, and forced about 9,400 people from their
homes. The USGS operates 18 streamflow-gaging stations throughout the
Passaic River Basin (fig. 2) that provide
data to emergency-management officials. This information is provided on a
real-time basis by satellite, radio, and telephone communication and is an
integral part of the Passaic Flood-Warning System. These streamflow data
and data from 14 other gages throughout the State also are available hourly
on the USGS New Jersey
District "home page" at:
http://wwwnj.er.usgs.gov/rt-cgi/gen_tbl_pg |
The USGS, in cooperation with Somerset County (fig.
2), has installed
rainfall and streamflow gages that transmit data to the County and the
National Weather Service over a radio network. The USGS is (1997)
overseeing the installation of the New Jersey Tide Telemetry System to
monitor tide levels at 25 sites on back bays to provide information needed
for effective evacuation of shore communities during powerful coastal
storms. Data collected by the various flood-warning telemetry systems is
shared over a radio system with more than a dozen Federal, State, and
county agencies. |
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The USGS has collected flood data throughout the State since 1902. These
data are furnished to floodplain-management and transportation officials,
consulting engineers, and the general public. This information is needed
for making zoning and land-use decisions that seek to minimize flood damage
and to optimize the design of roads, highway culverts, and bridges.
Knowledge of drought magnitude and frequency is important for water
managers, regulators, engineers, and planners. Since 1959, the USGS has
collected streamflow data under base-flow conditions at many sites in
addition to the long-term streamflow-gaging stations. These measurements,
made at more than 350 sites throughout the State, are used to improve the
accuracy of estimates of the low-flow characteristics of streams at or near
those sites. These estimates are used to set effluent limits for
point-source discharges, such as sewage-treatment plants, and to set
minimum passing-flow requirements for surface-water-supply diversions to
protect streamwater quality and stream ecology. |
The flood-warning telemetry systems discussed above are also used to manage
surface-water supplies during normal and drought conditions to help
maintain mandated streamflows and to assess the severity of drought
conditions. A computer simulation model of the Raritan River Basin
water-supply system was recently developed in cooperation with the New
Jersey Water Supply Authority. This computer model provides a technical
basis for evaluating the effects of alternative patterns of operation of
the water-supply system in relation to future drought risks. Water-supply
managers can use the model during droughts to forecast the likelihood that
the reservoirs and streamflows will fall below specified levels. |
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Water quality has long been an important issue to New Jersey residents. As
part of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA), USGS
hydrologists in New Jersey are assessing surface- and ground-water quality
in the State's coastal drainage basins. In New Jersey, the Program is
focusing on the effect of land use on shallow ground-water quality, spatial
and temporal trends in ground-water quality, well vulnerability to
contamination from various sources, toxic materials in surface water,
stormwater quality, and the effects of interbasin surface-water transfers
on water quality. The study includes a comprehensive assessment of the
effects of urban growth on water quality. This study of toxic constituents
from atmospheric and land sources and their effects on surface water,
ground water, and aquatic biota in an urban area is a pilot project for the
NAWQA program.
In almost every part of the State, some type of contaminant poses a serious
hazard to the quality of the water supply. The USGS is addressing many of
these hazards through various programs and studies. The quality of ground
and surface water can be affected by contaminants from point sources, such
as those from wastewater-treatment facilities, landfills, leaking
underground storage tanks, and spill sites; contaminants from nonpoint
sources, such as pesticides and fertilizers, whose use is widespread over a
large area; and contaminants such as radon, corrosive water, and saltwater,
which are found naturally over large areas. The USGS, in cooperation with
the NJDEP, is developing a new method to determine which of the State's
watersheds are most affected by point and nonpoint sources of
contamination. By using the new method, State, county, and local
water-resource managers will be able to identify and prioritize areas in
which detailed water-quality investigations are needed and to focus on
contaminants of concern . |
The addition of composted sewage sludge to the soil can facilitate mandated
revegetation of sand and gravel pits. The USGS is monitoring the
mobilization of nutrients and metallic contaminants leached from the sludge
at a test site in Ocean County; study results may be used for planning and
managing sludge use or disposal or both. In addition, the spatial and
vertical distributions of radon, lead, mercury, and nitrate in aquifers in
targeted drainage basins with different land uses are being evaluated to
determine how the concentrations of these contaminants are related to land
use and hydrogeology. |
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Ground- and surface-water contamination with toxic chemicals is a major
problem in New Jersey, as evidenced by the more than 600 contaminated sites
identified by the NJDEP. As part of its national research program, the USGS
is developing innovative methods to remediate water contaminated with toxic
chemicals.
USGS investigators, in cooperation with those of the New Jersey Geological
Survey (NJGS), were able to differentiate among the possible sources of
arsenic contamination in soils at and near a former industrial site in
Monmouth County. In addition to contamination from the industrial site,
both natural background concentrations and residual amounts of arsenic from
pesticide use in orchards before the 1950's were found to be significant.
The USGS maintains two research sites in New Jersey--a gasoline-spill site
in Atlantic County and a chlorinated-solvent leak site in Morris County.
The research objectives at these sites are to characterize the natural
hydrologic, chemical, and microbial processes that control the dispersal
and persistence of these chemicals in the subsurface; to evaluate the
potential for natural processes to clean up the contamination; and to
develop economical methods that can be used to clean up contamination at
similar sites. |
Pesticides from agricultural land, which covers about 20 percent of the
State, have been detected in ground and surface waters in New Jersey. The
USGS, in cooperation with the NJDEP, identified areas where the water is
most vulnerable to pesticide contamination. The NJDEP subsequently used
this information to develop a program to monitor pesticides in drinking
water, saving an estimated $5.1 million annually as a result of reduced
analysis requirements for low-vulnerability water supplies.
Increased concentrations of naturally occurring radon, uranium, and radium
have been detected in ground water in parts of New Jersey. The USGS, in
cooperation with the NJDEP, has conducted studies to describe the geologic
settings in which these substances that pose a hazard to public health are
most likely to be found and how they move through the ground-water system.
This information can be used to avoid siting wells in those areas where
ground water is most likely to contain radioactive contaminants. |
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Ground-water withdrawals in coastal areas have resulted in the landward
movement of salty ground water into aquifers that are used heavily for
water supply. As a result, more than 120 wells in Cape May County alone
have been abandoned since 1940. The USGS, in cooperation with Lower
Township and the Cities of Cape May and Wildwood, developed a
ground-water-flow model that can be used to estimate saltwater movement in
coastal areas under various hypothetical ground-water-withdrawal schemes.
The estimates help water managers decide how best to distribute future
withdrawals to minimize additional saltwater intrusion. |
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The New York-New Jersey metropolitan area is the most populated coastal
region in the United States. The harbor estuary and offshore area are used
for waste disposal, transportation, recreation, and commercial fishing. As
a result of these activities over the last century, bottom sediments in
some areas are contaminated. To address the continuing need to identify
areas in which disposal of material dredged from the harbor is
environmentally acceptable, the USGS is conducting a long-term
multidisciplinary study to map the distribution of contaminated sediments
and to develop the ability to predict the transport and long-term fate of
the sediments and contaminants. Information from this study of seafloor
geologic processes may be used by Federal, State, and local agencies for
managing the use of the coastal ocean, and by scientists for planning and
conducting research and monitoring activities. The ongoing research and
mapping study is conducted cooperatively with scientists at the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal
Sciences, the NJGS, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers. |
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The USGS collects, stores, and disseminates streamflow, ground-water-level,
and water-quality data from statewide networks. Streamflow data are used
by water- and emergency-management authorities and regulatory agencies to
forecast floods, to manage reservoirs, and to ensure compliance with legal
minimum streamflow requirements. Water-quality data are used by the NJDEP
to enforce the New Jersey Water Quality Planning Act and the Clean Water
Act, which are aimed at ensuring the continued availability of safe
drinking-water supplies and lakes and streams that are safe for swimming
and fishing. The networks consist of 216 streamflow-measurement sites, 172
ground-water-level-measurement sites, 100 surface-water-quality sites, and
39 ground-water-quality sites. All data are available to the public in
hardcopy or digital form. |
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The USGS is completing a prototype quantitative national assessment of the
resources of five commonly used metals--gold, silver, copper, lead, and
zinc--that lists significant known deposits, delineates areas with mineral
potential, estimates the quantity of each metal likely to be present, and
identifies tracts that may contain deposits of those metals. The results
of this assessment will enable the USGS to respond more quickly to requests
from Congress, Federal and State agencies, industry, and the public for
information about these mineral resources throughout the country and to
provide mineral information to land-use planners who are concerned with
resource-management issues.
Like many eastern states, New Jersey depends on diminishing resources of
locally derived materials that are required for maintaining and
constructing its buildings and infrastructure. Therefore, as a complement
to the national assessment, the USGS is also conducting a comprehensive
regional assessment of other metallic and industrial mineral resources in
the Eastern United States. |
The USGS now has two minerals data bases: the previously available Mineral
Resources Data System and the Mineral Availability System, an information
resource that was transferred to the USGS from the Bureau of Mines. These
data bases are the principal tools used by the USGS for mineral-resource
assessments and research. Between them, they contain information on
hundreds of thousands of mineral-deposit and processing locations around
the world, including the sites of more than 1,000 deposits of both metals
and nonmetals in New Jersey. Information on these deposits has been
compiled in cooperation with the NJGS. Both data bases are available on
CD-ROM. |
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The Biological Resources Division, formerly the National Biological
Service, conducts research and provides scientific data needed for
effective management of, and preservation of economic benefits related to,
living resources in and along New Jersey's rivers and coastlines. As part
of the Delaware Bay Estuary project, the USGS is working with several State
and local agencies to develop a Gap Analysis Program to help identify plant
and animal distribution patterns and their relation to land ownership and
development. USGS scientists are also evaluating the extent of dioxin
contamination in fish in the lower Passaic River and Newark Bay to provide
information for natural-resource managers. |
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Because dense vegetation and soils cover most of the rocks in New Jersey,
geologists must rely on methods other than direct observation to assess
some aspects of the State's rocks and geologic structures. These methods
include geophysical studies such as aeromagnetic surveys, in which the
magnetic field is measured from aircraft flying low-level, closely spaced
flight lines. The resulting data are used to help interpret the geologic
framework of a region. The USGS, in cooperation with the NJGS, recently
created a new, digital magnetic field data base and produced a
magnetic-anomaly map of the State, which were compiled from available
published and unpublished analog and digital magnetic data. Although these
data were obtained from aeromagnetic surveys conducted at different times,
spacings, and elevations, analytical techniques were used to create a
consistent data set. This procedure results in a comprehensive view of the
magnetic characteristics of the rock units in New Jersey, and consequently,
increases understanding of the State's geology. The magnetic data have
been released in cooperation with the NJGS. |
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The USGS in cooperation with other Federal and State agencies is preparing
color infrared (CIR) digital orthophotoquad maps (DOQ's) for the all of New
Jersey. A DOQ is derived from digitized aerial photographs, with
displacement caused by camera tilt and terrain relief removed; it combines
the image characteristics of a photograph with the geometric qualities of a
map. DOQ's are becoming increasingly popular as components in geographic
information systems. The NJDEP has cooperated in producing the statewide
CIR aerial photographs from which the DOQ's are being prepared. |
The USGS and the NJGS, as part of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping
Program, have recently completed a new suite of 1:24,000-scale geologic
quadrangle maps, as well as six new 1:100,000-scale bedrock- and
surficial-geology maps. The smaller scale series is part of the State's
efforts toward producing a new geologic map of New Jersey. The new
information shown on these maps is useful for solving environmental
problems; assessing ground-water contamination, engineering hazards, and
aquifer recharge; addressing land-use issues; selecting well locations; and
planning well construction. |
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Earth Science Information Centers (ESIC's) provide information to the
public about USGS programs, products, and technological developments. The
ESIC in Trenton was established under a cooperative agreement between the USGS and
the NJGS. As part of the national ESIC network, this office provides
information on such earth-science topics as cartography, geography, digital
data, remote sensing, geology, geophysics, geochemistry, hydrology,
geohydrology, aerial photography, and land use. It is supported by the
USGS with reference materials, technical assistance, training and outreach
activities, and access to USGS data bases. |
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