GROUNDWATER QUALITY ANALYSIS OF SOUTHEASTERN SOMERSET COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA

A regional groundwater quality analysis was conducted in southeastern Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Samples from approximately seventy-five wells and ten base flow streams were chemically analyzed. The majority of the samples were from aquifers in the Catskill Formation red beds, while the remaining samples were taken mainly from the Allegheny Group coal bearing zone and the Mauch Chunk Formation red beds. Alkalinity, pH and temperature were measured in the field. Water samples were then preserved and stored for later analysis using either Hach procedures or Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS). HACH laboratory analyses included tests for hardness, nitrates, orthophosphates and turbidity. The FAAS was used to measure concentration levels of arsenic, cadmium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, nickel and zinc. The water samples grouped into two general groups: samples collected in the Catskill Formation, and samples collected predominately in the Allegheny Group. The Catskill Formation samples yielded higher calcium (~45 ppm) and copper (~14 ppm) concentrations and were more turbid than the Allegheny Group. The Allegheny Group contained high levels of iron (~4.3 ppm), hardness (~64 ppm), and slightly higher nitrate levels (~2.3 ppm) as compared to the Catskill Formation samples. Orthophosphate, pH, alkalinity and magnesium levels of both groups were comparable. No elevated levels of other heavy metals were observed.