# Shallow Ground-Water Quality in the Boston, Massachusetts Metropolitan   Area

 By Sarah M. Flanagan, Denise L. Montgomery, and Joseph D. Ayotte

 Abstract

 Analyses of water samples collected from 29 wells across     the Boston metropolitan area indicate that shallow ground water in recently     urbanized settings often contains trace amounts of nutrients, fuel, and industrial-based     organic compounds. Most of the samples that contained detectable amounts of     organic compounds also had elevated levels of iron and total dissolved solids.     Nitrate was detected in 83 percent of the samples, but the U.S. Environmental     Protection Agency's (USEPA) drinking-water standard of 10 milligrams per liter     nitrate was exceeded in just one sample. Low levels of volatile organic compounds     (VOCs) were detected in 76 percent of the samples, with as many as 13 different     VOCs detected in a single sample. The concentration of methyl-tert-butyl ether     (MTBE) in one sample was 267 micrograms per liter, which exceeds the Massachusetts     Department of Environmental Protection drinking-water guideline of 70 micrograms     per liter. Chloroform and MTBE were the two most frequently detected VOCs.     MTBE was detected at the same frequency in ground water in the Boston metropolitan     area as in other urban areas of New England. Chloroform is detected at higher     frequency in old, densely populated areas in New England than in more recently     developed, less densely populated areas. Pesticide detections were few, but     only at trace concentrations, and none of the concentrations exceeded any     drinking-water standard.

  

## Table of Contents

 Introduction 

Description of Study Area 

Site Selection, Well Installation, and Monitoring 

Acknowledgments 

Natual Chemistry of Shallow 

Ground Water in Unconsolidated, Surficial Aquifers 

Common Sources of Contaminants to Shallow 

Ground Water Ground-Water Quality in the Boston Metropolitan   Area Nutrients 

Pesticides 

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) 

Comparison of Shallow Ground-Water Quality in the Boston Metropolitan   Area to Nearby Urban Areas 

References

----

### AVAILABILITY

This report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF).   Two pdf versions of the report are presented. The first version is optimized   for viewing on the World Wide Web. The second version is optimized for printing.

 

Toview and print report you need to use Adobe Acrobat Reader,available as freeware.

 

Users with visualdisabilities can visit this site for conversion tools and informationto help make PDF files accessible.

 

An errata sheet is available for	this report.
 

WRIR 01-4042 (21MB) - 12 pages

 

For easier downloading we have split up the report.

 

Introduction (3.5 MB)

Site Selection, Well Installation, and Monitoring (7MB)

Natural Chemistry of Shallow   (75 KB)

Ground Water Ground-Water Quality in the Boston   Metropolitan Area Nutrients  (3.4 MB)

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) (1.8 MB)

Comparison of Shallow Ground-Water Quality   in the Boston Metropolitan Area to Nearby Urban Areas (4.8 MB)

References (504 KB)
AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological SurveyPersistent URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/wri/wri014042/		Page Contact Information: USGS Publishing NetworkLast modified: Wednesday, December 07 2016, 12:40:52 PM