Peter Cinotto
Pete Cinotto is a Deputy Director for the USGS Indiana-Kentucky Water Science Center (INKY WSC); he has over 20 years of experience and received a Superior Service Award from USGS in 2013.
Biography
Pete oversees all operations conducted by the three Kentucky offices of the INKY WSC and has several ancillary duties that include serving on various scientific committees and serving as a project chief for local- and National-scale projects. Pete has a diverse background in earth sciences and, prior to relocating to Kentucky in 2007, he worked in the private sector, USGS National Water Quality Laboratory, USGS Georgia WSC, and USGS Pennsylvania WSC.
Education
Pete has a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Northern Colorado.
Science and Products
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Collaboration Partners
One of the strongest ways to ensure that science is done effectively and efficiently in the midst of ever decreasing budgets is to collaborate.
Bridge Scour Countermeasures
Flood events on rivers can cause erosion of the soil around a bridge foundation. This process is frequently referred to as bridge scour. Over time, scour can lead to bridge failure. To manage the risk from bridge scour, countermeasures are now used on bridge foundations. USGS scientists will be evaluating these bridge scour countermeasures at bridges across the country on rivers of various...
Assessment of surface water chloride and conductivity trends in areas of unconventional oil and gas development - Why existing national data sets cannot tell us what we would like to know
Heightened concern regarding the potential effects of unconventional oil and gas development on regional water quality has emerged, but the few studies on this topic are limited in geographic scope. Here we evaluate the potential utility of national and publicly available water-quality data sets for addressing questions regarding unconventional...
Bowen, Zachary H.; Oelsner, Gretchen P.; Cade, Brian S.; Gallegos, Tanya J.; Farag, Aïda M.; Mott, David N.; Potter, Christopher J.; Cinotto, Peter J.; Clark, Melanie L.; Kappel, William M.; Kresse, Timothy M.; Melcher, Cynthia P.; Paschke, Suzanne; Susong, David D.; Varela, Brian A.
Surface-water and karst groundwater interactions and streamflow-response simulations of the karst-influenced upper Lost River watershed, Orange County, Indiana
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), conducted a study of the upper Lost River watershed in Orange County, Indiana, from 2012 to 2013. Streamflow and groundwater data were collected at 10 data-collection sites from at least...
Bayless, E. Randall; Cinotto, Peter J.; Ulery, Randy L.; Taylor, Charles J.; McCombs, Gregory K.; Kim, Moon H.; Nelson, Hugh L.
Phase II modification of the Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER) for Kentucky: The sinkhole-drainage process, point-and-click basin delineation, and results of karst test-basin simulations
This report describes Phase II modifications made to the Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER), which applies the process-based TOPMODEL approach to simulate or predict stream discharge in surface basins in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The previous (Phase I) version of WATER did not provide a means of identifying sinkhole...
Taylor, Charles J.; Williamson, Tanja N.; Newson, Jeremy K.; Ulery, Randy L.; Nelson, Hugh L.; Cinotto, Peter J.
Surface-water quantity and quality, aquatic biology, stream geomorphology, and groundwater-flow simulation for National Guard Training Center at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, 2002-05
Base-line and long-term monitoring of water resources of the National Guard Training Center at Fort Indiantown Gap in south-central Pennsylvania began in 2002. Results of continuous monitoring of streamflow and turbidity and monthly and stormflow water-quality samples from two continuous-record long-term stream sites, periodic collection of water-...
Langland, Michael J.; Cinotto, Peter J.; Chichester, Douglas C.; Bilger, Michael D.; Brightbill, Robin A.
The Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER): A Water-Budget Modeling Approach for Managing Water-Supply Resources in Kentucky - Phase I: Data Processing, Model Development, and Application to Non-Karst Areas
The Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER) was developed in cooperation with the Kentucky Division of Water to provide a consistent and defensible method of estimating streamflow and water availability in ungaged basins. WATER is process oriented; it is based on the TOPMODEL code and incorporates historical water-use data...
Williamson, Tanja N.; Odom, Kenneth R.; Newson, Jeremy K.; Downs, Aimee C.; Nelson, Hugh L.; Cinotto, Peter J.; Ayers, Mark A.
Effect of on-site wastewater disposal on quality of ground water and base flow: A pilot study in Chester County, Southeastern Pennsylvania, 2005
On-site wastewater disposal has the potential to introduce contaminants into ground water and subsequently, by ground-water discharge, to streams. A pilot study was conducted during 2005 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Chester County Health Department and the Chester County Water Resources Authority to determine if wastewater...
Senior, Lisa A.; Cinotto, Peter J. Drought-trigger ground-water levels in Chester County, Pennsylvania, for the period of record ending May 2006
This report presents the results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Chester County Water Resources Authority (CCWRA), to update the drought-trigger water levels for the Chester County observation-well network. The Chester County observation-well network was established in 1973 through a cooperative agreement...
Cinotto, Peter J. Environmental setting, water budget, and stream assessment for the Broad Run watershed, Chester County, Pennsylvania
The Broad Run watershed lies almost entirely in West Bradford Township, Chester County, Pa., and drains 7.08 square miles to the West Branch Brandywine Creek. Because of the potential effect of encroaching development and other stresses on the Broad Run watershed, West Bradford Township, the Chester County Water Resources Authority, and the...
Cinotto, Peter J.; Reif, Andrew G.; Olson, Leif E. Interpretation of geophysical logs, aquifer tests, and water levels in wells in and near the North Penn Area 7 Superfund site, Upper Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 2000-02
Ground water in the vicinity of various industrial facilities in Upper Gwynedd Township and Lansdale Borough, Montgomery County, Pa., is contaminated with various volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The 2-square-mile area was placed on the National Priorities List as the North Penn Area 7 Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (...
Senior, Lisa A.; Cinotto, Peter J.; Conger, Randall W.; Bird, Philip H.; Pracht, Karl A. Occurrence of fecal-indicator bacteria and protocols for identification of fecal-contamination sources in selected reaches of the West Branch Brandywine Creek, Chester County, Pennsylvania
The presence of fecal-indicator bacteria indicates the potential presence of pathogens originating from the fecal matter of warm-blooded animals. These pathogens are responsible for numerous human diseases ranging from common diarrhea to meningitis and polio. The detection of fecal-indicator bacteria and interpretation of the resultant data are,...
Cinotto, Peter J.
Development of regional curves of bankfull-channel geometry and discharge for streams in the non-urban, Piedmont Physiographic Province, Pennsylvania and Maryland
Stream-restoration projects utilizing natural stream designs frequently are based on the bankfull-channel characteristics of stream reaches that can accommodate streamflow and sediment transport without excessive erosion or deposition and lie within a watershed that has similar runoff characteristics. The bankfull channel at an ungaged impaired...
Cinotto, Peter J. Procedures for scour assessments at bridges in Pennsylvania
Scour is the process and result of flowing water eroding the bed and banks of a stream. Scour at nearly 14,300 bridges(1) spanning water, and the stability of river and stream channels in Pennsylvania, are being assessed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Procedures for...
Cinotto, Peter J.; White, Kirk E.
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Winter 2020 Newsletter
Annual Cooperators Meeting – Hold the Date!!
The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center 2020 Cooperator Meetings – Tentative Dates are:
The Louisville Office will hold its annual cooperator meeting on September 16, 2020.
The Indianapolis Office will hold its annual cooperator meeting on ...
Summer 2019 Newsletter
Science highlights included in this issue are: “Super Gages” and a summary of Wettest Year on Record for the Ohio River Basin.
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana 2019 Cooperator Meeting
The USGS Kentucky office hosted their third annual cooperator meeting on April 18, 2019 and the Indiana office hosted their second cooperator meeting on April 23, 2019. OKI Staff gave presentations and technolgy demonstrations for an audience of local, state, and federal cooperators and USGS staff.
The USGS Ohio office will host their first cooperator meeting in 2020.
Winter 2019 Newsletter
Science highlights included in this issue are Mobile SuperGage Float Trip, “River stage” does not necessarily
mean “River depth”, Interagency Workshop to Develop Predictive Models for Recreational and Drinking-Water Treatment Plant Sites, Introducing The Next Generation of USGS Water Data for the Nation, and Streamgage Changes to the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Monitoring Network.
Summer 2018 Newsletter
The Summer 2018 edition of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center Newsletter highlights science and selected OKI WSC staff. Science highlights include Nowcast, monitoring in the ...
Winter 2018 Newsletter
Thanks for viewing this first version of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center Newsletter. I use this format a few times a year to highlight U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) activities and water-related science going on at the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center (OKI WSC).
IN-KY Summer 2017 Newsletter
Highlights of the USGS activities and water-related science going on at the Indiana-Kentucky Water Science Center and some of our amazing scientists that work for the USGS.
IN-KY Winter Newsletter 2016
Welcome to the “Winter 2016” version of the IN-KY Newsletter. I use this format two to four times a year to highlight USGS activities and water-related science going on at the Indiana-Kentucky Water Science Center. I also take advantage of this opportunity to highlight some of our amazing scientists that work for the USGS.
Annual Cooperator's Meeting
The Indiana-Kentucky Water Science Center Hosted its annual cooperator/scientific workshop on October 5 for our Indiana Cooperators and Partners, and October 6 for the Kentucky Cooperators and Partners.
Indiana-Kentucky Spring-Summer 2016 Newsletter
Welcome to the fourth installment or the “Spring-Summer 2016” version of the IN-KY Newsletter.