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Monitoring Sites in the Croton Reservoir System, Southeastern New York

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Monitoring Sites in the Croton Reservoir System, Southeastern New York Identification of Potential Water-Resources- Monitoring Sites in the Croton Reservoir System, Southeastern New York By Kristin S. Linsey, Stephen W. Wolcott, and Nancy B. Schoonmaker U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Open-File Report 97-638 Prepared in cooperation with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection science foruses a changing world Albany, New York 1999 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Charles G. Groat, Director For addtional information write to: Copies of this report can be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Information Services 425 Jordan Road Box 25286 Troy, New York 12180 Denver, CO 80225-0286 CONTENTS Page Abstract....................................................................................... 1 Introduction.................................................................................... 1 Purpose and scope.......................................................................... 2 Approach................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgments........................................................................... 2 Site selection .................................................................................... 5 Data-base development....................................................................... 5 General-use data ....................................................................... 5 Surface-water data...................................................................... 6 Ground-water data...................................................................... 11 Water-quality data...................................................................... 11 Potential monitoring sites .................................................................... 23 Reservoir-outflow sites ................................................................. 24 Reservoir-inflow sites .................................................................. 25 Ground-water-monitoring areas........................................................... 29 Water-quality-monitoring sites ............................................................ 29 Summary....................................................................................... 29 References cited................................................................................. 32 Appendix Geographic Information System (GIS) coverages, with description, scale, type, data source, and development procedure for each coverage used in selection of monitoring sites ........... 33 FIGURES Figures 1-10. Maps of the Croton Reservoir system, N.Y. showing: 1. Location and major geographic features........................................................... 3 2. 1990 population, by census block................................................................ 4 3. Annual 1990 withdrawals and deliveries of surface water ............................................. 7 4. Drainage divides and surface-water data-collection sites established by the U.S. Geological Survey............ 8 5. A. Surficial geology and location of ground-water withdrawal sites for public-supply wells and wells with potential yields of more than 50 gallons per minute from surficial deposits........................................................................... 12 B. Bedrock geology and location of ground-water withdrawal sites for public-supply wells finished in bedrock and wells with potential yields of at least 50 gallons per minute from bedrock .......................... 13 6. Water-quality-data collection sites ............................................................... 17 7. Land use ................................................................................... 24 8. Potential reservoir-outflow monitoring sites........................................................ 27 9. Potential reservoir-inflow monitoring sites......................................................... 28 10. Potential ground-water-monitoring areas .......................................................... 31 TABLES 1. Types of data collected at surface-water data-collection sites. ........................................... 9 2. Data on ground-water withdrawal sites for public-water supply and selected high-yielding wells............................................................................ 14 3. Summary of data collected at water-quality sites ..................................................... 18 4. Sites that are potential point-sources of contamination in southern Dutchess, Putnam, and northern Westchester Counties, N.Y. .................................................................... 25 5. Monitoring categories to which each GIS coverage was applied in site-selection process in the Croton Reservoir system ...................................................................... 26 6. Potential reservoir outflow monitoring sites in the Croton Reservoir system................................ 29 7. Sites selected for reservoir-inflow monitoring in the Croton Reservoir system .............................. 30 8. Potential ground-water-monitoring areas in the Croton Reservoir System.................................. 30 Contents iii CONVERSION FACTORS AND VERTICAL DATUM For the convenience of readers who prefer metric (International System) units to the inch pound units used in this report, the following conversion factors may be used: Multiply By To obtain Length inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter foot (ft) 0.3048 meter mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer Area square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer acre 0.407 hectare Flow gallon per minute (gal/min) 0.06309 liter per second gallon per day (gal/d) 0.003785 cubic meter per day million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 0.04381 cubic meters per second cubic foot per second (ft /s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second inch per year(in/yr) 25.4 millimeter per year Sea level: In this report, "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD of 1929) a geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of both the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea Level Datum of 1929. iv IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL WATER-RESOURCES-MONITORING SITES IN THE CROTON RESERVOIR SYSTEM, SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK By Kristin S. Linsey, Stephen W. Wolcott, and Nancy B. Schoonmaker ABSTRACT (USGS) National Water Information System (NWIS) data bases. The scale of the source maps Urbanization has led to the deterioration of ranged from 1:24,000 to 1:250,000. water quality within the Croton Reservoir system, a Three groups of potential monitoring sites 374-square-mile watershed with 12 reservoirs in were identified: (1) reservok-outflow-monitoring southeastern New York that supply 10 percent of sites, (2) reservok-inflow-monitoring sites, and New York City's water. Water-resources managers (3) ground-water-monitoring areas. Eight reser­ need hydrologic data to develop plans to protect vok-outflow-monitoring sites were identified to and conserve the water resources of this watershed. obtain discharge and water-quality data for eight In 1990, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation of the twelve reservoks within the system and with New York City Department of Environmental nine reservok-inflow-monitoring sites were Protection (NYCDEP) began a 2-year program to selected to provide data on streamflow character­ establish water-resources data-collection sites that, istics and chemical quality of water flowing into together, would provide managers with the infor­ these reservoks. Sixteen ground-water monitoring mation needed to monitor and evaluate the water areas were selected to provide an overview of resources of the Croton Reservoir System. ground-water levels and chemical quality of Sites for the water-resources monitoring ground water in the Croton reservok system. network in the Croton Reservoir system were sub­ jectively selected with the aid of a Geographic Information System (GIS). The site-selection pro­ INTRODUCTION cess entailed (1) developing a GIS data base of long-term and current water-resources data, and Urbanization and changes in land use can alter (2) using the GIS data base to identify potential the quality and quantity of water that flows from a sites for (A) water sampling and (B) measurement given watershed. Expanding urbanization in the of surface-water flow into and out of selected res­ 374-mi2 Croton River basin (fig. 1) in southeastern ervoirs and (C) monitoring ground-water levels. New York has led to the deterioration of water quality Use of a GIS to store the data collected for this in the Croton Reservok system, which is managed by study aided in the analysis of the data during the the City of New York and supplies 10 percent of the site-selection process and could be used in a simi­ City's water, but could supply as much as 25 percent lar manner to establish water-resources-monitor­ during periods of drought (Goldin, 1989). The water does not require filtration at present, but if current ing networks in other watersheds. trends in population growth (fig. 2) and in water- The data base that was developed in this quality deterioration continue, filtration and other study contains 13 GIS coverages and 2 related costly types of treatment may be required. Water- tables. Data were obtained from the NYCDEP, the resources managers need data on reservok storage, New York State Department of Environmental streamflow, ground-water levels, and the chemical Conservation, and the U.S. Geological
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