Factors affecting declining water levels in a sewered area of Nassau County, New York

Effects of sanitary sewers on ground-water levels and streams in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York, part 1: Geohydrology, modeling strategy, and regional evaluation

“…1) in the early 1950's has caused a noticeable decline in ground-water levels. Double mass curve analyses by Franke (1968) and Garber and Sulam (1976) showed that during the 20-year period after sewering, water levels in southwest Nassau County declined an average of 7 ft as a result of sewering, and base flow of nearby streams also showed a pronounced reduction. (Locations of selected streams in the study area are shown in fig.…”

Urbanization and recharge in the vicinity of East Meadow Brook, Nassau County, New York: Part 2 — Effect of urban runoff on the hydrology of the headwaters of East Meadow Brook, 1989-90

“…During 1953-72 ground-water levels declined as much as 11.8 ft in a sewered area of Nassau County while remaining constant in an adjacent unsewered area (Garber and Sulam, 1976). As a result, base flow to southern Nassau County streams (including East Meadow Brook) decreased from 95 percent of total streamflow before development to 14 percent Reynolds, 1982 andSimmons, 1992).…”

“…This rapid development has caused concern over the adequacy of the ground-water supply and quality, which are threatened by (1) the decline in groundwater levels that has resulted from the construction of sanitary sewers, (2) the decrease in aquifer recharge as a result of the increased amount of pavement and other impermeable surfaces, and (3) the attendant increase in the volume of stormwater runoff. Although sanitary-sewer networks have helped to minimize the contamination of ground water by septic waste during the past 40 years, they remove millions of gallons of water per day from the ground-water system by discharging the wastewater directly to the ocean after treatment and, thereby, have caused ground-water levels and streamflow to decline markedly (Franke, 1968;Garber and Sulam, 1976;Pluhowski and Spinello, 1978;Spinello and Simmons, 1992). As a result, the upper reaches of some streams have become seasonally or permanently dry.…”

Journal of Research of the U. S. Geological Survey, 1978, volume 6, issue 2

“…The effects of the installation of a sanitary-sewer system in western Nassau County on ground-water levels, which were lowered by 2.1 meters during 1953-72, were described by Garber and Sulam (1976). Contamination of the upper glacial aquifer by cesspools, septic tanks, and sewage lagoons in developed areas of Nassau and Suffolk Counties was described by Pluhowski and Kantrowitz (1964) and Cohen, Franke, and Foxworthy (1968).…”

“…1) in western Nassau County began in 1953, iand sewer hookups were completed in 1964. Effluent from the Bay Park sewage-treatment plant, which serves the 181-km2 area of Sewer District 2, increased steadily from 2.2 XlO4 cubic meters per clay in 1953 to 26X10* m3/d in 1972 (Garber and Sulam, 1976). Effluent from the Bay Park facility is discharged to tidewater ait Keynolds Channel (Pluhowski, 1972, fig.…”