Groundwater quality in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, eastern United States

Abstract

First posted January 19, 2017 For additional information, contact: NAWQA Chief Scientist U.S. Geological Survey 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 413 Reston, VA 20192-0002 http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/ Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system constitutes one of the important areas being evaluated. One or more inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high concentrations in about 15 percent of the study area and at moderate concentrations in about 17 percent. Organic constituents were not detected at high concentrations in the study area.