This report presents water-quality, physical, and biological data collected at 96 sites on 23 streams throughout central and eastern Massachusetts. The data include pH, alkalinity, biochemical oxygen demand, total drainage area, wetland area, concentrations of chlorophyll a and b, and other water-quality data. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Pollution Control, who assisted in providing access to water-quality records. In addition, the author thanks the many persons and organizations who have kindly given their time, information, and guidance to this study. DESCRIPTION OF WETLAND STREAM SITE-SPECIFIC AND REACH-SPECIFIC WATER-QUALITY DATA Stream physical characteristic information and water-quality data were collected at 96 sampling sites in central and eastern Massachusetts Data are arranged in tables 1-6 according to site locations and are assigned unique identifier numbers. A cross-reference list of all sampling sites is provided in table 1. This table includes stream name, river basin name, station identifier number, corresponding area and figure number, USGS downstream order number where applicable, original MDEP station identifier number, and a physical landmark or location with the town name. Subsequent discussions of study sites will use the first column, stream name and station identifier number, to locate and name the sites and reaches. Water-quality investigations often require physical data to supplement site-specific water-quality data. For each stream, measured physical data, including mean width, reach length, channel slope, drainage area, Water-quality analyses for alkalinity (fixed-endpoint to 4.0 standard pH units), and turbidity were done at the Marlborough, Massachusetts USGS water-quality laboratory. Samples requiring suspended-sediment determinations were analyzed at the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania USGS water-quality laboratory. Water samples were analyzed for major solutes at the National Water-Quality Laboratory, Arvada, Colorado; analysis methods for major solutes are described by Skougstad and others (1979). Analyses of BOD (5-day), COD, and chlorophyll-a and b were done by the DEP Lawrence Experiment Station, Lawrence, Massachusetts. Measurements of chlorophyll-a and b are described by Greeson and others (1977). Attempts to filter the chlorophyll samples at the sampling sites, as recommended by Greeson and others (1977), were unsuccessful due to high concentrations of suspended matter in the chlorophyll water samples that clogged the hand-operated pump. Consequently, samples were filtered with an electrically operated pump at the Marlborough, Massachusetts USGS water-quality laboratory several hours after collection. Samples were then delivered to the Lawrence Experiment Station for analysis. The delay between sampling and filtration may have adversely affected the analyses of the samples (Greeson and others, 1977, 217 p.). For this reason, the chlorophyll-a and b values are qualified as estimated.

The U.S. Geological Survey began systematic streamflow monitoring in Massachusetts nearly 100 years ago (1904) on the Connecticut River at Montague City. Since that time, hydrologic data collection has evolved into a monitoring network of 103 streamgage stations and 200 groundwater observation wells in Massachusetts and Rhode Island (2000 water year). Data from this network provide critical information for a variety of purposes to Federal, State, and local government agencies, engineering consultants, and the public. The uses of this information have been enhanced by the fact that about 70 percent of the streamgage stations and a small but increasing number of observation wells in Massachusetts and Rhode Island have been equipped with digital collection platforms that transmit data by satellite every 4 hours. Twenty-one of the telemetered streamgage stations are also equipped with precipitation recorders. The near real-time data provided by these stations, along with historical data collected at all stations, are available over the Internet at no charge. The monitoring network operated during the 2000 water year was summarized and evaluated with respect to spatial distribution, the current uses of the data, and the physical characteristics associated with the monitoring sites. This report provides maps that show locations and summary tables for active continuous record streamgage stations, discontinued Measuring discharge on the Saugus River at the Saugus River Ironworks, Saugus, Massachusetts (station number-01102345). Introduction 3 (RIDEM), and the Providence Water Supply Board (PWSB). The USGS also receives non-monetary services from the Cape Cod Commission, the Cooperative Extension of Martha's Vineyard, and the Nantucket Land Council to support the observation-well network in those areas. The authors are grateful to USGS employees Peter Steeves and Tomas Smieszek for compiling geographic information for the hydrologic monitoring network. Previous Studies Much of the information in this report was compiled from information provided in the USGS annual data reports (for example, Socolow and others, 2001). The annual data reports contain information on station descriptions; hydrologic conditions for the year; dailystreamflow values; daily, bimonthly, or monthly groundwater-level data; and statistical information about the current year's data relative to the historical data collected at a site. Annual data reports also provide information on discontinued stations, partial record sites, and miscellaneous measurements made during the current water year, water-quality data, and information about how the data were collected. Partial-record sites and miscellaneous measurements provide data to augment the continuous monitoring network; partial-record sites are typically operated for specific hydrologic investigations for relatively short periods and, therefore, are not described further in this report. The USGS does not operate a long-term water-quality monitoring network in Massachusetts or Rhode Island. Water-qualit...

Streamflow-gaging station Little River at Oxford, Massachusetts. This 1940 photo shows the gage house, cable car, and cableway.

A device that uses a siphon tube to establish a hydraulic connection between the bottom of an onshore standpipe and a point at the bottom of a water body was designed and tested for monitoring surface-water levels. Water is added to the standpipe to a level sufficient to drive a complete slug of water through the siphoning tube and to flush all air out of the system. The water levels in the standpipe and the water body equilibrate and provide a measurable static water surface in the standpipe. The siphon gage was designed to allow quick and accurate yearround measurements with minimal maintenance. Currently available devices for monitoring surface-water levels commonly involve time-consuming and costly installation and surveying, and the movement of reference points and the presence of ice cover in cold regions cause discontinuity and inaccuracy in the data collected. Installation and field testing of a siphon gage using 0.75-in-diameter polyethylene tubing at Ashumet Pond in Falmouth, Massachusetts, demonstrated that the siphon gage can provide long-term data with a field effort and accuracy equivalent to measurement of ground-water levels at an observation well.(KEY TERMS: surface water hydrology; instrumentation; water level monitoring; Cape Cod; wetland hydrology.)

No abstract