While walking through Shoelace Park, our Executive Director, Linda Cox, happened to meet up with some USGS staff who were sampling groundwater wells. In addition to the streamflow data that the agency has collected for years, they also are monitoring monthly groundwater levels. Samples taken at these wells are monitored for pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, specific conductance, temperature, and water-level elevation during our sampling procedure, and the collected samples are sent to the USGS National Water-Quality Laboratory to be analyzed for nutrients, major ions, trace metals, volatile organic compounds, gasoline additives, semi-volatile organic compounds, and a broad range of pesticides. These observation wells are part of a larger water-level and water-quality monitoring network within the five borough of New York City, which was designed to provide the NYCDEP and USGS with the data needed to address future water-management and development issues.
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