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Todd S. Miller

Publications and source records attributed to Todd S. Miller.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS2001

Pesticides and their metabolites in community water-supply wells of central and western New York, August 1999

Ten pesticides and pesticide metabolites were detected in ground-water samples collected from each of 32 community water-supply (CWS) systems in central and western New York in August 1999. The sampling sites consisted of 30 wells that ranged from 23 to 120 feet in depth, and 2 springwater infiltration galleries. All wells tapped unconfined sand and gravel aquifers except one, which was completed in karstic limestone. These systems were selected because they were deemed vulnerable to pesticide contamination; accordingly, the results are not considered representative of all CWS systems in New York. The samples were analyzed for 60 pesticides. Twenty-four of the 32 samples contained at least one pesticide, and one sample contained eight pesticides or pesticide metabolites. New York State and Federal water-quality standards were not exceeded in any sample collected in this study. All pesticides detected in the CWS wells are a specific class of herbicides that are used to control broadleaf weeds and undesirable grasses in agricultural fields, lawns, and other areas that require control of vegetation. The four compounds detected most frequently were the herbicides atrazine and metolachlor and their metabolites—deethylatrazine and metolachlor ESA. Maximum concentrations of the four compounds ranged from 0.088 micrograms per liter (μg/L) for deethylatrazine to 3.58 μg/L for metolachlor ESA.

New York↗
USGS2000

Simulation of ground-water flow in an unconfined sand and gravel aquifer at Marathon, Cortland County, New York

The Village of Marathon, in Cortland County, N.Y., has three municipal wells that tap a relatively thin (25 to 40 feet thick) and narrow (less than 0.25 mile wide) unconfined sand and gravel aquifer in the Tioughnioga River valley. Only one of the wells is in use because water from one well has been contaminated by petroleum chemicals from a leaking storage tank, and water from the other well contains high concentrations of manganese. The operating well pumps about 0.1 million gallons per day and supplies about 1,000 people. A three-dimensional, finite-difference ground-water-flow model was used to (1) compute hydraulic heads in the aquifer under steady-state conditions, (2) develop a water budget, and (3) delineate the areas contributing recharge to two simulated wells that represent two of the municipal wells: one 57 feet east of the Tioughnioga River, the other 4,000 feet to the south and 75 feet from a man-made pond. The water budget for simulated long-term average, steady-state conditions with two simulated pumping wells indicates that the principal sources of recharge to the unconfined aquifer are unchanneled runoff and ground-water inflow from the uplands (41 percent of total recharge), precipitation that falls directly on the aquifer (34 percent), and stream leakage (23 percent). Only 2 percent of the recharge to the aquifer is from ground-water underflow into the northern end of the modeled area. Most of the simulated groundwater discharge from the modeled area (78 percent of total discharge) is to the Tioughnioga River; the rest discharges to the two simulated wells (19 percent) and as underflow at the southern end of the modeled area (3 percent). Results of a particle-tracking analysis indicate that the aquifer contributing area of the northern (simulated) well is 0.10 mile wide and 0.15 mile long and encompasses 0.015 square miles; the contributing area of the southern (simulated) well is 0.20 mile wide and 0.11 mile long and encompasses 0.022 square miles. The average traveltime of ground water from the valley wall to either simulated well is about 1.5 years, calculated on the basis of an assumed aquifer porosity of 0.3. The flowpath analysis indicates that both contributing areas contain surface-water sources of recharge; the Tioughnioga River and Hunts Creek contribute water to the northern well, and a pond and a small tributary contribute water to the southern well. Ground-water temperature in an observation well between the Tioughnioga River and the municipal well fluctuated several degrees Fahrenheit in response to pumping of the municipal well. This temperature fluctuation, in conjunction with the pumping well causing a ground-water gradient from the Tioughnioga River to the pumping well (ground-water levels in the pumping well were generally greater than 3 ft lower than that of the Tioughnioga River), indicate that there is a hydraulic connection between the river and aquifer at this site.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2000

Unconsolidated Aquifers in Tompkins County, New York

Unconsolidated aquifers consisting of saturated sand and gravel are capable of supplying large quantities of good-quality water to wells in Tompkins County, but little published geohydrologic inform ation on such aquifers is available. In 1986, the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) began collecting geohydrologic information and well data to construct an aquifer map showing the extent of unconsolidated aquifers in Tompkins county. Data sources included (1) water-well drillers. logs; (2) highway and other construction test-boring logs; (3) well data gathered by the Tompkins County Department of Health, (4) test-well logs from geohydrologic consultants that conducted projects for site-specific studies, and (5) well data that had been collected during past investigations by the USGS and entered into the National Water Information System (NWIS) database. In 1999, the USGS, in cooperation with the Tompkins County Department of Planning, compiled these data to construct this map. More than 600 well records were entered into the NWIS database in 1999 to supplement the 350 well records already in the database; this provided a total of 950 well records. The data were digitized and imported into a geographic information system (GIS) coverage so that well locations could be plotted on a map, and well data could be tabulated in a digital data base through ARC/INFO software. Data on the surficial geology were used with geohydrologic data from well records and previous studies to delineate the extent of aquifers on this map. This map depicts (1) the extent of unconsolidated aquifers in Tompkins County, and (2) locations of wells whose records were entered into the USGS NWIS database and made into a GIS digital coverage. The hydrologic information presented here is generalized and is not intended for detailed site evaluations. Precise locations of geohydrologic-unit boundaries, and a description of the hydrologic conditions within the units, would require additional detailed, site-specific information.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1999

Thickness of unconsolidated deposits in the towns of Solon and Taylor, Cortland County, New York

Introduction Siting of waste-disposal facilities in Cortland County poses a potential threat to local ground-water resources. An especially sensitive waste-disposal siting issue arose in 1988, when the New York State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Commission (NYSLLWSC) identified 15 sites in six towns (Towns of Solon, Taylor, Freetown, Cincinnatus, Marathon, and Willet) in the eastern part of the county for possible disposal of low-level radioactive waste (New York State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Commission, 1988). Eventually, two sites in the Town of Taylor became finalist sites; one was selected from the list of 15 potential sites, and the other was offered by a private landowner. Little information was available on geohydrologic conditions in eastern Cortland County, such as the extent of aquifers and the thickness of unconsolidated deposits of low permeability (such as clay and till), even though these two criteria were among those used by NYSLLWSC for selection of potential disposal sites. The source of information on thickness of drift over bedrock was the surficial geologic map of New York (Muller and Cadwell, 1986). The siting effort was terminated before a final selection was made, but the issue had made county managers aware that detailed information on the extent and thickness of unconsolidated deposits (particularly till, which typically has low permeability and can limit the migration of contaminants) is needed before sound decisions on waste-disposal siting can be made. Glaciers deposited till nearly everywhere over bedrock in the uplands of central New York, but the thickness of the till varies greatly from place to place. An analysis by Coates (1966) of 400 drillers' logs of wells in a 2,000-mi 2 area in the uplands of south-central New York (south of the Cortland County) indicated that (1) till is thin or absent on hilltops and is thickest on the lower parts of hills, (2) overall till thickness averages 60 ft, and (3) till thickness on the south, east, west, and north slopes averages 92, 52, 62, and 22 ft, respectively. Hills that have thick till on their south slopes have been referred to as till-shadowed hills by Coates (1974), who attributes this characteristic to glaciers that deposited thick amounts of till on the downflow side of a hill (analogous to flowing streams or wind that deposit sediment on the lee side of an object). Because the till on the south slopes is relatively thick and typically has low permeability, these slopes have been considered as potential areas for waste-disposal sites. In 1997, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Cortland County Department of Planning, began a 1-year study to map the thickness of unconsolidated deposits and the extent of valley-fill aquifers in the Towns of Solon and Taylor (an area of 60 mi 2 ) in eastern Cortland County. This report (1) depicts the thickness of unconsolidated deposits and the extent of valley-fill aquifers in the Towns of Solon and taylor in eastern Cortland County, (2) examines whether the "till-shadowed hill" concept developed by Coates (1966) is applicable in this area, and (3) provides three schematic geologic sections showing the thickness of unconsolidated deposits in the uplands in the northwestern part of the study area.

New York↗
USGS1990

Sand and gravel aquifers of Schuyler County, New York

Some sand and gravel aquifers in Schuyler County may be capable of supplying large quantities of drinking water. To obtain information needed for proper management and protection of the aquifers and to ensure an adequate water supply for the future, the U.S. Geological Survey, in coopations with the county, compiled geohydrologic data to delineate and charachterize the unconsolidated aquifers.

New York↗
USGS1988

Ground-water availability in the central part of Lake Ontario basin, New York

A set of three maps showing surficial geology, distribution of glacial aquifers, and potential well yield in the 708 sq mi central part of the Lake Ontario basin are presented at a scale of 1:125,000. The basin is parallel to Lake Ontario and extends from Rochester in the west to Oswego in the east. Aquifers consisting primarily of sand and gravel formed where meltwaters from glaciers deposited kame and outwash sand and gravel and where wave action along shores of glacial lakes eroded, reworked , and deposited beaches. Thick deposits of well-sorted sand and gravel yield relatively large quantities of water - typically more than 100 gal/min. Aquifers consisting of thin beds of sand and (or) gravel or thick gravel that contain a large proportion of silt and fine sand yield moderate amounts of water, 10 to 100 gal/min. Dug and driven wells that tap fine to medium sand deposits typically yield 1 to 10 gal/min. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1988

Potential yields of wells in unconsolidated aquifers in upstate New York — Niagara sheet

This map depicts the locations and potential well yields of unconsolidated aquifers in western New York at a scale of 1:250 ,000. It also delineates segments of aquifers that are used for public water supplies and designated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as Primary Water Supply Aquifers. The map also lists published reports that give detailed information on each area. Most aquifers were deposited in low areas, such as valleys and plains, during deglaciation of the region. Thick, permeable, well-sorted sand and gravel units yield large quantities of water - more than 100 gal/min - to properly constructed wells. Thin sand units and sand and gravel units and thicker gravel units that have a large content of silt and fine sand yield moderate amounts of water, 10 to 100 gal/min. Dug wells that tap till or lacustrine deposits yield less than 5 gal/min. Well yields from bedrock are not indicated. (USGS)

New York↗