Surface-water quality in the West Branch Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania: An appraisal of areal and temporal variability from 1962 to 1982 in Hydrologic Accounting Unit 020502

Book · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5379770

Hainly, R A; Truhlar, J F; Wetzel, K L

A National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) water quality data collection site, maintained by the US Geological Survey, is located on the river near its mouth at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Data collected were used to evaluate water quality variability in the basin. The following objectives were addressed: (1) describe the surface water quality upstream of the NASQAN site on an areal and temporal basis; (2) relate the water quality variability on both an areal and temporal basis, to general basin characteristics; and (3) assess the ability of the water quality data collected at the NASQAN site to represent, on both an areal and temporal basis the water quality upstream from the site. Generally the river was found to have moderately good water quality in the upper reaches, poor water quality in its middle reach, and good water quality near the mouth. Of the constitutents analyzed, those which exhibited increasing or decreasing trends most frequently were pH, alkalinity, dissolved sulfate, total ammonia, and total nitrite plus nitrate. The largest trends were in the concentrations of total-recoverable aluminum, manganese, and zinc. Causes of areal variation were attributed to land use and geologic variations throughout the basin. Trends which indicate an improvement in water quality are believed to be caused by improvements in the treatment of acid mine drainage and wastewater. Trends which indicated degradation of water quality were generally found in areas where these types of treatment are not yet effective. The NASQAN site at Lewisburg was shown not to represent the water quality of the entire basin, either areally or temporally. It does, however, represent the water quality of the West Branch Susquehanna River at its mouth.

• OSTI ID: 5379770
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ALUMINIUM
AMMONIA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANGANESE
METALS
MONITORING
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PENNSYLVANIA
PH VALUE
POLLUTION
RIVERS
STREAMS
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SURFACE WATERS
SUSQUEHANNA RIVER
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
USA
VARIATIONS
WATER POLLUTION
ZINC