305(b) Ground-Water Quality

About the project

The primary objective of the 305(b) ground water program is to assess and report on the ambient ground-water quality of bedrock and glacial-drift aquifers throughout New York State. As an ongoing cooperative project between the USGS and NYSDEC Division of Water, this study supports NYSDEC’s responsibility to assess and report on the quality of New York’s ground water as part of the requirements of section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act Amendments of 1977.

Two to three of the 14 major hydrologic basins around the state are evaluated each year; this year (2009) samples will be collected in the Lake Champlain Basin and the Susquehanna River Basin. Water samples are collected from domestic wells and public supply wells using standard USGS protocols (click here for an overview of how samples are collected). Samples are analyzed for a wide range of constituents, including physical parameters (such as pH and temperature), nutrients, major ions, trace elements including mercury and arsenic, Coliform bacteria, radon, total organic carbon, volatile organic compounds, and pesticides.