Water-quality characteristics of New Jersey streams

This report is based on a statewide reconnaissance of water-quality information performed as part of a long-range cooperative program between the State of New Jersey and the U.S. Geological Survey. A brief description of the relations between water quality and environment and a discussion of the areal and time variations of several water-quality parameters are presented. The principal factors influencing stream quality are: differences in the cnality of the individual components of streamflow, areal variations in geology, manmade changes in the natural stream regimen, and tidal invasion of salt water. Normally the concentration of most chemical constituents and streamflow are related inversely, and thus concentration reflects the dilution effect of th? flow. However, most streams in the southern part of the State exhibit a direct relation. About 60 percent of New Jersey's area is drained by streams which are predominant in calcium and magnesium ions. The remainder is drained by sodiumpotassium-type streams. Streams draining the Valley and Ridge province and the New England Upland section are predominant in calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate ions; the Piedmont Lowland section and inner Coastal Plain, in calcium, magnesium, and sulfate; and the outer Coastal Plain, in sodium, potassium, sulfate, and cl loride. Those streams draining highly industrial and populated areas have the highest dissolved-solids concentration (130-450 parts per million), hardness of water (80-300 ppm), synthetic detergents (0.2-1.0 ppm), turbidity (30-50 Jackson candle units), and conform bacteria (exceeding 50,000 most probable number). Streams that receive drainage from farmlands also tend to have relative'y high turbidity (10-20 Jcu) and coliform bacteria (10,000-50,000 mpn) concentrations. Average dissolved solids in the State's streams normally range from 20 to 450 ppm; hardness of water, from 5 to about 300 ppm; iron, 0.0 to about 5.0 ppm; turbidity, 5 to 50 Jcu; and coliform bacteria, from less than 10,000 to mo~e than 100,000 mpn. Synthetic detergents range from 0.0 to 1.0 ppm. Estimated sediment yield varies from 10 to 500 tons per square mile according to the stream location. Stream temperatures generally follow the seasonal variation of air temperature but also are closely related to drainage area, stream width, relative shade from solar radiation, and amount of ground-water inflow. Gl G2 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES The effects of tidal invasion of saline water on the water quality of an estuary are related to the distance from the ocean, fresh-water inflow, nnge and stage of tide, and climatological conditions. Examples of such effectsare given for two location in the Delaware estuary. INTRODUCTION In 1962 the U.S. Geological Survey and the State of New Jersey entered into a cooperative long-range program to appraise the water quality of streams in the State. Participants in this cooperative effort are the New Jersey State Department of Health, Division of Environmental Health; the State Department of Conservation and Economic Development, Division of Water Policy and Supply anc1 Division of Fish and Game; the State Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Committee; and the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division. The initial effort in this cooperative program was a reconnaissance of present knowledge of the stream systems of New Jersey in relation to problems of water quality, as a basis for more specific investigations. The study includes the appraising of basic data collected by State and other groups, collecting additional facts as necessary to gain a broad perspective, designing sample-collection programs and specific problem-oriented project studies, and determining with wide flexibility what further work should be done. This paper discusses the results of the statewide reconnaissance made during 1962 and 1963 and evaluates data collected by the Sf ate Department of Health and others since 1950. The report gives brief discussions of the relations between water quality and several environmental factors streamflow, geologic terrane, precipitation, cultural environment, and tidal invasion of salt water. The variations, both with area and with time, of several water-quality parameters dissolved solids, hardness, dissolved oxygen, water temperature, suspended sediment, beta activity, iron, synthetic detergents, turbidity, and coliform bacteria are described. Although emphasis has been placed on the chemical character of the nontidal parts of New Jersey's streams, brief discussions of tidal effects and of the physical and bacterial characteristics of streams have also been included. PREVIOUS AND CONCURRENT INVESTIGATIONS The importance of water-quality studies of streams in New Jersey was recognized early in the State's history. Chemical analyses of water samples from the larger rivers were included in the first annual report of the State geologist (Cook, 1868), and many of the later annual reports also contained analyses of river water. In the State geologist's 12-volume "final" report, Yermeule (1894) included several WATER-QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS, NEW JERSEY STREAMS G3 chemical analyses of river water to give "a general idea of the chemical composition of the various waters of the State in their natural condition. " In 1923 the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission b^. gan periodic collection and analysis of water samples at several gating stations in northern New Jersey. The State Department of Conservation and Economic Development in 1927 assumed the responsibility for collecting and analyzing samples at these stations and increased the number of sampling locations to cover the entire State. Since 1930 the State Department of Health has been responsible for the entire sampling program and, except for the period 1942-58, has operated an extensive basic water-quality-data program. Generally, records collected by the North Jersey District Water Supply Commissior and the State agencies are unpublished but are available from the State Division of Water Policy and Supply (1923^32) and the State Division of Environmental Health (1930-42, 1958-65). Presently (1965), more than 150 water-quality stations are ope'-ated by the State Department of Health (pi. 1). Samples normally are collected quarterly to represent seasonal variations in quality. Most sampling sites are at or near gaging stations. Analytical determinations include the following: color, odor, turbidity, dissolved solids, residue after ignition, ammonia nitrogen, organic nitrogen, nitrites, nitrates, chlorides, alkalinity, hardness, iron, pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical-oxygen demand, and coliform bacteria. Prior to the present study, few investigations of the quality of streams in New Jersey were made by the U.S. Geological Survey. During the period 1923-26, water samples from major streams in the State were collected and analyzed by the Geological Survey in cooperation with the State Department of Conservation and Economic Development. Most samples were collected at gaging stations to relate chemical composition to streamflow. Chemical analyses of these streams and a brief discussion of their suitability for different types of industrial use were reported by Collins and Howard (1927). These data were used more recently in an article discussing the water quality of streams in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia (Love, 1950). A brief study of the chemical character of water in the Delaware and Earitan Canal, using a continuous-recording specific conductance instrument and intermittent sampling for chemical analyst; was conducted during 1955-57 in cooperation with the State Divis'on of Water Policy and Supply. Results of this study are published in the Geological Survey's annual Water-Supply Paper series on the "Quality of Surface Waters of the United States. " G4 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HYDROLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES Sediment-discharge data are being collected from Stony Brook, a major tributary of the Millstone River, and in the South Branch Raritan River basin. The sediment-discharge data from the Stony Brook basin are being used to determine the effects of major land-use changes on sediment yield from the basin. The study is being carried out in cooperation with the State Soil Conservation Committee; a progress report was released recently (George, 1963). Another study in the Stony Brook basin was started in 1961, also in cooperation with the State Soil Conservation Committee, to measure the trap efficiency of Baldwin Lake, a small reservoir in the basin. Periodically, a comparison is made of the quantity of sediment retained by the reservoir with that discharged. A study in the South Branch Raritan River basin is b^ing made to anticipate the chemical and physical quality of water to be stored in the newly constructed Spruce Run and Round Valley Reservoirs. This study is being made cooperatively with the State Division of Water Policy and Supply. Additional studies have been reported on by the Geolo-rical Survey in its cooperative investigations of water quality in the Delaware River basin. In a report on the quality of streams in Pennsylvania, Durfor and Anderson (1963) devoted several pages to the Delaware River, which forms New Jersey's western boundary and whos? , tributaries drain about one-third of the State. In addition, Anderson and McCarthy (1963) mapped the prevalent chemical characteristics of streams in the entire basin, and McCarthy and Keighton (1964) reported on the quality of the Delaware River at Trentcn, N. J., as affected by drought, flood, reservoir operation, streamflow regulation, geologic environment, and increased population. Several reports (Durfor and Keighton, 1954; McCartney and Beamer, 1962; Cohen and McCarthy, 1962; Miller, 1962; Keighton, 1965) also have been published on water-quality investigations in the Delaware estuary. Extensive use was made in the preparation of this report of