can be found on the peninsulas along the

north shore of Nassau County to the east.

The contours in the central and southern

part of Kings and Queens Counties

indicate a gentler gradient than in the

northern part of Queens because the

outwash deposits in these areas have

higher hydraulic conductivity than the

deposits to the north. Small depressions

are likely to form in eastern Queens

County as a result of public-supply

pumping.

 By Jack Monti, Jr. and Anthony Chu

References Cited

Buxton, H.T., and Shernoff, P.K., 1995,

Ground-water resources of Kings and

Queens Counties, Long Island, New York:

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report

92-76, 111 p.

de Laguna, Wallace, 1948, Geologic correlation of logs of wells in Kings County, New

York: New York State Water Power and

Control Commission Bulletin GW-17,

35 p.

Franke, O.L., and Cohen, Philip, 1972,

Regional rates of ground-water movement

on Long Island, New York, in Geological

Survey Research 1972: U.S. Geological

Survey Professional Paper 800-C, p. C271-

277.

Smolensky, D.A., Buxton, H.T., and Shernoff,

P.K., 1989, Hydrologic framework of Long

Island, New York: U.S. Geological Survey

Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-709, 3

sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Soren, Julian, 1978, Subsurface geology and

paleogeography of Queens County, Long

Island, New York: U.S. Geological Survey

Water Resources Investigation Open-File

Report 77-34, 17 p.

Introduction

Kings and Queens Counties, on

western Long Island, N.Y. (fig. 1), obtain

nearly all potable water from an

extensive upstate reservoir system. The

possibility that this source will be

inadequate during future droughts, or

during infrastructure repairs or other

emergencies, has prompted consideration

of using the underlying aquifer system as

a supplemental source of water. In 1992,

the U.S. Geological Survey, in

cooperation with the New York City

Department of Environmental Protection,

began a long-term study of the aquifer

system beneath Kings and Queens

Counties to determine the feasibility of

using ground water to supplement a

possible shortfall in the city’s reservoirwater-supply system. As part of this

study, an observation-well network has

been established to monitor water levels

in the upper glacial, Magothy, and Lloyd

aquifers. This fact sheet depicts the

configuration of the water-table altitude

in March 1997 as inferred from waterlevel measurements at selected

observation wells.

Hydrogeologic Setting

The upper glacial aquifer is the

uppermost hydrogeologic unit on Long

Island; it consists of till deposits (clay,

silt, sand, gravel, and boulders) along the

north shore and outwash deposits (mostly

sand, gravel, and clay) to the south. The

outwash deposits are highly permeable—

horizontal hydraulic conductivity is

estimated to be 270 feet per day (Franke

and Cohen, 1972); till deposits are

typically less than half as permeable

(Smolensky and others, 1989; Buxton

and Shernoff, 1995).

The water table is within the upper

glacial aquifer throughout most of Kings

and Queens Counties. Thickness of the

upper glacial aquifer in central Kings

County is more than 200 feet (de Laguna,

1948), and in Queens County, it ranges

from 0 to 300 feet (Soren, 1978; Buxton

and Shernoff, 1995).

Water-Level Measurements

All observation wells represented in

figure 1 are screened in the upper glacial

aquifer. Water-level measurements were

made by the wetted-steel-tape method

and recorded to 1/100 of a foot. The

water-level monitoring network contains

59 observation wells, of which 26 are in

Kings County, and 33 in Queens County.

The average elevation of the screened

zone in the wells in this network ranges

from 9 to 19 feet below sea level.

Water-Table Configuration

The water-level contours show local

mounds in the water-table with steep

gradients in the northern part of Queens

County, where low-permeability bedrock

and the clay member of the Raritan

Formation are near sea level (Soren,

1978; Buxton and Shernoff, 1995) and

poorly permeable till deposits are present.

Similar anomalously high water levels

Water-Table Altitude in Kings and Queens

Counties, New York, in March 1997

For more information

contact:

Subdistrict Chief

U.S. Geological Survey

2045 Route 112, Bldg. 4

Coram, New York 11727

This fact sheet and related information

can be found on the World Wide Web at:

http://ny.usgs.gov

Additional earth science information

can be obtained by accessing the USGS

“Home Page” on the World Wide Web at:

http://water.usgs.gov science for a changing world
Parkway

Expressway

KINGS COUNTY

QUEENS

COUNTY

NEW YORK

COUNTY 

ATLANTIC OCEAN

LOWER

NEW YORK

BAY

JAMAICA 

UPPER

NEW YORK

BAY

HUDSON RIVER

EAST 

RIVER

NASSAU

COUNTY

EAST

RIVER

BAY

Prospect

venue

Gowanus Expre ssway

Flatbush A enue

(Shore Parkway)

Belt Parkway

Belt Park

way

Cross

Bay Boulevard

Boule ard

Brooklyn

Queens Expresswa

A

Ocean 

Parkwa

v

Whitestone

Grand entral 

Woodha

en

Queens

Van Wyck Expresswa

C

Long Island Expresswa

Grand Central Parkway

Belt Parkway

Cross

Island

Parkway

y

y

v

y

y

v

Boulevard

5

10

15

15

10

5

20

25

30

35

40

45

25

25

35

45

50

20

20

5

15

10

Q2408

Q2373 Q2409

Q2374

Q2332

Q1747

Q3014

Q321

Q2435

Q1957

Q305

Q313

Q1997

Q2432

Q2026

Q1958

Q568

..

.

.

.

.

.

.

. .

.

.

.

4.60

4.08

5.28

4.03

1.71

3.13

1.60

5.45 5.46

4.41

5.78

9.75

8.04

4.81

4.69

17.00

5.47

8.72

11.80

10.03

7.23

0.85

1.46

2.69

8.96

7.22

5.06

5.33

5.21 3.54

3.72

5.05

-

9.91

5.36

7.32

11.56

5.98

5.83

12.84

12.54

14.41

21.04

17.88

20.11

13.63

18.12

5.70

19.78

29.41

24.97

27.02

24.51

17.21

23.52

56.30

14.43

19.97

24.59

13.46

28.57

18.70

23.08

46.34

9.88

14.96

22.89

22.34

22.76

Q2435

5

EXPLANATION

Base from New York State Department of Transportation, 1:24,000 

WATER-TABLE CONTOUR- Shows altitude of water 

 table. Contour interval 5 feet. Datum is sea level.

PUBLIC-SUPPLY WELL PUMPING IN MARCH 1997

OBSERVATION WELL- Number is water-level 

 altitude, in feet above sea level.

DEWATERING SITE- Metropolitan Transit Authority subway

0

0 1 2 3 4 5 KILOMETERS

1 2 3 4 5 MILES

74 ̊ 45 ́

37 ́

30 ̋

73 ̊ 52 ́ 30 ̋

40 ̊

45 ́ 

NEW YORK 

LOCATION

MAP

Study Area

Long

Island

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1 1

1

1

1

1

1 1

1

1

1

1

1

11

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1 1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Fig. 1. Water-table configuration of Kings and Queens Counties, Long Island, N.Y., in March 1997

November 1997 Fact Sheet FS 134-97