U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Scientific Investigations Report 2005-3065—ONLINE ONLY
Sacramento, California 2005
Complete
accessible text of report (292 KB PDF)
To view PDF documents, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader (free
from Adobe Systems) installed on your computer.
(download free
copy of Acrobat Reader).
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) California Water Science Center streamgage program is part of the nationwide program that provides streamflow information for a variety of purposes—from flood and landslide forecasting to detecting changes in streamflow caused by human activities or climate change. This information is critical to resource managers, farmers, fishermen, kayakers, land-use planners, engineers, environmentalists, and flood forecasters. The program relies on a network of streamgaging stations to accurately and reliably measure stream height and flow and to accumulate data over long periods for many locations. One such gage is the Happy Isles streamgage in Yosemite National Park, which has been continuously measuring water flowing in the Merced River since 1915. The long-term record for this gage is providing scientists the clearest picture yet of the effects of long-term climate change. The USGS operates nearly 7,000 streamgages nationwide of which more than 500 gages are operated by the USGS California Water Science Center. The gages provide daily streamflow records that are accessible to the public.
 |
The availability of fresh water is central to the health of the citizens and the environment of the United States and to the growth of the Nation's economy. This is especially true in California, where water resources are in high demand and water-resource managers often must contend with satisfying conflicting water-use needs. Water-resource managers face human-induced problems, such as long-term ground-water over use and water pollution, and thus must do complex operational planning and meet strict water-quality standards. In addition, they must prepare for natural disasters, such as floods, landslides, droughts, and fires. The effects of these problems will continue to increase as California's population grows. Reliable, accurate, and timely information from the USGS streamgage program is crucial to State and local water-resource managers and to Federal agencies, such as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
 |
Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters. Flood warnings and river-level forecasts are essential tools for reducing loss of life and property. USGS streamgage information includes historical and up-to-date flow data needed to calibrate National Weather Service (NWS) models to assure timely and accurate NWS forecasts.
 |
 |
The USGS also measures rainfall and ground-water levels. These measurements provide critical information for issuing timely public warnings of landslide and debris-flow hazards. Following the southern California wildfires in October 2003, USGS scientists and technicians rapidly deployed instruments to prepare for the upcoming storm season. When the State was hit with a "pineapple express," USGS scientists issued landslide advisories to the NWS, the California Office of Emergency Services, and other State and Federal agencies.
 |
USGS streamgaging stations equipped with real-time telemetry are integral components of reservoir operations and river-forecast and flood-warning systems. One of the strengths of the USGS streamgage real-time network is the ability to provide, at any time, a snapshot of the current hydrologic conditions in California and across the country. This real-time information, available on the Internet at http://water.usgs.gov/, benefits not only engineers and resource, emergency, and disaster managers, but also those who enjoy recreational activities such as kayaking and fishing.
 |
The USGS California Water Science Center streamgaging network is supported by two programs. The Cooperative Water Program funds more than 70 percent of the USGS streamgages using funds from nearly 130 State or local agencies. The National Streamflow Information Program funds the remainder of the program and supports the on-going modernization and improvement of the streamgaging network.
 |
 |
The USGS California Water Science Center operates about 500 streamgages in California to provide daily streamflow records accessible to the public. These streamgages are maintained by experienced staff from field offices located in Eureka, Redding, Ukiah, Carnelian Bay, Sacramento, Hayward, Marina, Santa Maria, Apple Valley, San Diego, and Poway.
 |
For more than 100 years, California has depended on the USGS to provide streamflow information. Today the USGS California Water Science Center streamgage program, as part of the national program, continues to provide information needed to monitor changes in streamflow owing to changes in agricultural practices, urbanization, ground-water development, and climate change.
Michael V. Shulters, Director
USGS California Water Science Center
shulters@usgs.gov (916) 278-3026
6000 J Street, Placer Hall
Sacramento, CA 95819
http://ca.water.usgs.gov/
 |
 |
 |
Document Accessibility: Adobe Systems Incorporated has information about PDFs and the visually impaired. This information provides tools to help make PDF files accessible. These tools convert Adobe PDF documents into HTML or ASCII text, which then can be read by a number of common screen-reading programs that synthesize text as audible speech. In addition, an accessible version of Acrobat Reader 5.0 for Windows (English only), which contains support for screen readers, is available. These tools and the accessible reader may be obtained free from Adobe at Adobe Access.
| AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices | |
  |
|