Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Water quality is discussed in terms of local and regional issues and compared to conditions found in all 36 NAWQA study areas, called Study Units, assessed to date. Findings are also explained in the context of selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. The NAWQA Program was not intended to assess the quality of the Nation's drinking water, such as by monitoring water from household taps. Rather, the assessments focus on the quality of the resource itself, thereby complementing many ongoing Federal, State, and local drinking-water monitoring programs. The comparisons made in this report to drinking-water standards and guidelines are only in the context of the available untreated resource. Finally, this report includes information about the status of aquatic communities and the condition of instream habitats as elements of a complete water-quality assessment. Many topics covered in this report reflect the concerns of officials of State and Federal agencies, water-resource managers, and members of stakeholder groups who provided advice and input during the Lake Erie-Lake Saint Clair Drainages assessment. Residents who wish to know more about water quality where they live will find this report informative as well. THE NAWQA PROGRAM seeks to improve scientific and public understanding of water quality in the Nation's major river basins and groundwater systems. Better understanding facilitates effective resource management, accurate identification of water-quality priorities, and successful development of strategies that protect and restore water quality. Guided by a nationally consistent study design and shaped by ongoing communication with local, State, and Federal agencies, NAWQA assessments support the investigation of local issues and trends while providing a firm foundation for understanding water quality at regional and national scales. The ability to integrate local and national scales of data collection and analysis is a unique feature of the USGS NAWQA Program. The Lake Erie-Lake Saint Clair Drainages is one of 51 water-quality assessments initiated since 1991, when the U.S. Congress appropriated funds for the USGS to begin the NAWQA Program. As indicated on the map, 36 assessments have been completed, and 15 more assessments will conclude in 2001. Collectively, these assessments cover about one-half of the land area of the United States and include water resources that are available to more than 60 percent of the U.S. population.

Thick, glacial sand and gravel deposits provide most ground-water supplies in Kalamazoo County. These deposits range in thickness from 50 to about 600 feet in areas that overlie buried bedrock valleys. Most domestic wells completed at depths of less than 75 feet in the sands and gravels yield adequate water supplies. Most industry, public supply, and irrigation wells completed at depths of 100 to 200 feet yield 1,000 gallons per minute or more. The outwash plains include the most productive of the glacial aquifers in the county. The Coldwater Shale of Mississippian age, which underlies the glacial deposits in most of the county, usually yields only small amounts of largely mineralized water.Ground-water levels in Kalamazoo County reflect short-and long-term changes in precipitation and local pumpage. Ground-water levels increase in the spring and decline in the fall.Ground-water recharge rates, for different geologic settings, were estimated from ground-water runoff to the streams. Recharge rates ranged from 10.86 to 5.87 inches per year. A countywide-average ground-water recharge rate is estimated to be 9.32 inches per year.Chemical quality of precipitation and dry fallout at two locations in Kalamazoo County were similar to that of other areas in the State. Total deposition of dissolved sulfate is 30.7 pounds per acre per year, of total nitrogen is 13.2 pounds per acre per year, and of total phosphorus is 0.3 pounds per acre per year. Rainfall and snow data indicated that the pH of precipitation is inversely proportional to its specific conductance.Water of streams and rivers of Kalamazoo County is predominately of the calcium bicarbonate type, although dissolved sulfate concentrations are slightly larger in streams in the southeastern and northwestern parts of the county. The water in most streams is hard to very hard. Concentrations of dissolved chloride in streams draining urban-industrial areas are slightly larger than at other locations. Concentrations of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in streams are directly proportional to streamflow. Except for elevated concentrations of iron, none of the trace elements in streams exceeded maximum contaminant levels for drinking water established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pesticides were detected in some streams.Ground water in the surficial aquifers is of the calcium bicarbonate type, although sodium, sulfate, and chloride ions predominate at some locations. Specific conductance and hardness and concentrations of total dissolved-solids slightly exceed statewide averages. Concentrations of dissolved sodium and dissolved chloride in 6 wells were greater than most natural ground waters in the State, indicating possible contamination from road salts. Water samples from 6 of the 46 wells sampled contained concentrations of total nitrate as nitrogen greater than 10.0 milligrams per liter. Elevated concentrations of total nitrate as nitrogen in water from wells in rural-agricultural areas probably are related to fertilizer applications. Results of part...

3 1 ContentsI iil CONTENTS (continued) Model sensitivity to selected hydraulic properties 3 65 Streambed leakance and stream loss 3 65 Hydraulic conductivity of bedrock valley east of Dover well field 3 66 Hydraulic conductivity of upland till 3 67 Summary 3 73 References cited 3 75 FIGURES 1-2. Maps showing locations of: 1. Northeast Glacial Aquifers RASA study area and localities selected for detailed study 32. Altitude of Rockaway River surface at four measurement sites, September 1983 through September 1985 � 49 33. Map showing land-surface altitude as simulated in Dover models 3 52 34-37. Maps showing Dover model grid and locations of : 34. Variable-Recharge zones � 54 35. Urbanized zones wherein water available for recharge was reduced � 55 36. Hydraulic conductivity zones, layer 1 � 57 37. Hydraulic conductivity zones, layer 2 � 58 38. Diagram showing locations of observation wells in relation to model grid and to a uniformly spaced interpolated grid within Dover well-field subregion. � 59 39. Graphs showing observed and adjusted water levels in individual wells on dates used for model calibration, and corresponding water levels simulated by models 1 and 6 3 63 40. Maps showing simulated heads in layer 1 of model 6 within the Dover well-field subregion, for six transient stress periods � 64 41-42. Maps showing head and flow direction at end of summer in Dover models: 41. In layer 2 of model 1 � 68 42. In layer 2 of model 2 � 69 43. Profiles along model row 14 showing effect of hydraulic conductivity of upland till on simulated end-of-summer heads under long-term average conditions 3 70 44-45. Maps showing simulated head and flow direction in Dover models at end of summer under long-term average conditions: 44. In layer 1 of model 1 3 71 In layer 1 of model 3 � 72Contents v TABLES 1.Ground-water withdrawals from Dover municipal well field, 1984-1985 3 10 2. Range and median concentration of major inorganic solutes and dissolved solids in Rockaway River, piezometers, and wells at Dover, N.J., July 1984 through August 1985 � 13 3. Carbon dioxide pressure and saturation indices for selected mineral phases in Rockaway River, piezometers, and wells at Dover, N.J. � 18 4. Chemical reactions that control solute chemistry near Dover, N.J. � 19 5. Computed and observed solute chemistry and isotope content at center of Dover well field (wellT5), September 1984 � 21 6. Regression equations developed to represent diurnal cycles of water-quality characteristics in Rockaway River and piezometer P2 at Dover, N.J., June 2-6, 1986 � 27 7. Alternative estimates of time required for diurnal dissolved-oxygen cycles to travel through streambed of Rockaway River at Dover, N.J., June 2-6, 1986 3 29 8. Seepage losses calculated from measurements of streamflow in the Rockaway River at Dover, N.J. . 3 33 9. Water-transmitting properties of the bed of the Rockaway River at Dover, N.J., as computed by four methods � 34 10. Maximum head differences across the streambed of the Rockaway River at Dover, N.J., measured July 6-7, 1988 � 35 ...

Multiply By To obtain Length mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer foot (ft) 0.3048 meter inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter Area square mile (mi 2) 2.590 square kilometer square foot (ft 2) 0.09290 square meter Volume cubic yards (yd 3) 0.7646 cubic meter Flow cubic foot per second (ft 3 /s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second Mass milligram (mg) 0.00003527 ounce, avoirdupois kilogram (kg) 2.205 pound, avoirdupois Abbreviated water-quality units used in this report: Chemical concentrations for bed sediment are given in milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg), a unit expressing the concentration of chemical constituents in bed sediment (dry weight) for synthetic organic compounds and trace elements. Numerical values expressed as milligrams per kilogram are the same as concentrations in parts per million (ppm).

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