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Data for Assessing the Lead Solubility Potential of Untreated Groundwater of the United States

Metadata Updated: October 30, 2025

Groundwater chemistry data used for assessing the lead (Pb) solubility potential of untreated groundwater of the United States were compiled from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) database for groundwater sites sampled between January 1, 2000 and January 1, 2016. Two datasets were compiled: one dataset having 13,324 groundwater sites was used to assess Pb occurrence in untreated groundwater from different well types and a second dataset having 8,313 groundwater sites was used for geochemical modeling (Tables S1 and S2). In both datasets, only the most recent sample was used when multiple water-quality samples were available for a site. Samples were collected in accordance with protocols established by the USGS National Field Manual and the USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) project. Samples for Pb, major ions, and nutrients were filtered with 0.45 µm capsule filters prior to analysis. Pb was screened to a common reporting level of 1 µg/L. Non-detections and detected Pb concentrations that were at or below 1 µg/L were recoded to 0.5 µg/L. Non-detections of Pb above 1 µg/L were removed from the dataset. The censoring of reporting levels mainly affected older samples that used analytical methods with higher detection levels. Table 1 includes groundwater samples from sites used for public-supply (PS), domestic (DOM), monitoring, and for other purposes, such as irrigation, stock, or industrial supply. Groundwater sites are mainly wells, but include some springs. From heretofore drinking water supply (DW) sites will be used to refer to DOM and PS sites as a group. The geochemical modeling dataset was compiled to obtain DW samples with a complete set of measured values of pH, calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, and sulfate. Alkalinity, fluoride (F), orthophosphate (OP), and bromide were included when available. DW sites were the primary source of data used to evaluate the solubility of Pb in untreated groundwater. Pb that was measured on the same date as the sample used for geochemical modeling was retained for statistical analysis of model output but was not included as input to the geochemical model. In addition, samples with missing alkalinity values were included when pH was at or below 5.5 and cation-anion balances were within 5%, indicating alkalinity was not a major component of the ion chemistry.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date October 30, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date October 30, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-59e4f662e4b05fe04cd1918c
Data Last Modified 2020-08-12T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 0b4a0eda-bfc5-47d6-903f-4187d6cb75e9
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -177.45117187151, 18.270670637495, -66.708984375923, 71.173436621393
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 9240bf4874679d468223e52c0d7b00a6c6e87bc4cc08f09a54ee9069a22334bb
Source Schema Version 1.1
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