WRD of New Hampshire and Vermont

New Hampshire

To investigate how a river disperses chemicals added to the water, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), will be injecting harmless red dye into sections of 13 rivers in New Hampshire starting in October 1999. Once the dye enters the water, it quickly disperses and becomes invisible. The dye will not stain any objects that come in contact with it in the water as it travels downstream.

"The purpose of the study is to simulate, or create, a harmless artificial spill with the dye to determine what happens to a dissolvable chemical as it travels downstream from the point it enters the river," said Erick Boehmler, USGS Hydrologist and Project Chief. This method, called time-of-travel, will be used to sample water from the Ammonoosuc, Androscoggin, Connecticut, Contoocook, East Branch Pemigewasset, Exeter, Lamprey, Mascoma, Merrimack, Oyster, Piscassic, Salmon Falls, and Sugar Rivers by the end of the year-long project. [Editor: A map showing which rivers are to be tested is attached to this press release.]

Officials in the towns along the section of a river that is to be studied will be notified by the USGS before injection of the dye begins. Each river will be tested twice during the next 12 months.

"This study is part of a larger effort at NHDES to assess the vulnerability of all 3,000 public water supply sources in the state and to work with water suppliers and towns to better protect those sources," explains NHDES Commissioner Robert W. Varney. NHDES initiated the study, after consulting with water suppliers, USGS, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to provide water suppliers with critical information needed for emergency response planning.

"The time-of-travel method works on the principle that the spilled substances dissolve in or mix with water. The USGS will track the injected dye by sampling water from the point of entry in the river downstream past the point where water is withdrawn for public supply," says Boehmler. By simulating a spill and analyzing the concentrations of dye as it flows downstream, USGS scientists will provide NHDES and water systems with answers to the following questions:

How long will it take a dissolved chemical in a river, at various levels of flow, to reach the point on the river where water is withdrawn?
What will be the maximum amount of dissolved chemical in the water at the point of withdrawal?
How long will it take the dissolved chemical to pass by the point of withdrawal or intake?
How long will it take for the dissolved chemical to spread-out over the entire width of the river?
At what distance would it take a substance 6 hours to reach the point of withdrawal?

As the nation's largest water, earth and biological science, and civilian mapping agency, the USGS works in cooperation with more than 2,000 organizations across the country to provide reliable, impartial, scientific information to resource managers, planners, and other customers. Impartial information is gathered in every state by USGS scientists to minimize the loss of life and property from natural disasters, contribute to the sound conservation, economic and physical development of the nation's natural resources, and enhance the quality of life by monitoring water, biological, energy, and mineral resources.

* * * USGS * * *

This press release and in-depth information about USGS programs may be found on the USGS homepage: http://www.usgs.gov. To receive the latest USGS news releases automatically by email, send a request to listproc@listserver.usgs.gov. Specify the listserver(s) of interest from the following names: geologic-pr; water-pr; geologic-hazards-pr; biological-pr; mapping-pr; products-pr; lecture-pr. In the body of the message write: subscribe (name of listserver) (your name). Example: subscribe water-pr joe smith.

More information about the State of New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services programs can be found at http://www.des.state.nh.us

Address:

New Hampshire/Vermont District

361 Commerce Way

Pembroke, NH 03275

Release 10/14/99

     General Contact:
      Debra Foster
      Email: dhfoster@usgs.gov

Phone: (603) 226-7837

Fax: (603) 226-7894

Technical Contact:

Thor E. Smith (603) 226-7814 tesmith@usgs.gov

Editors note:

In-depth information about USGS time-of-travel project may be found on the New Hampshire/Vermont District web site at:

http://nh.water.usgs.gov

Click on Current Projects.