Fact Sheet 2012–3118
IntroductionOhio’s water resources support a complex web of human activities and nature—clean and abundant water is needed for drinking, recreation, farming, and industry, as well as for fish and wildlife needs. The distribution of rainfall can cause floods and droughts, which affects streamflow, groundwater, water availability, water quality, recreation, and aquatic habitats. Ohio is bordered by the Ohio River and Lake Erie and has over 44,000 miles of streams and more than 60,000 lakes and ponds (State of Ohio, 1994). Nearly all the rural population obtain drinking water from groundwater sources. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) works in cooperation with local, State, and other Federal agencies, as well as universities, to furnish decisionmakers, policymakers, USGS scientists, and the general public with reliable scientific information and tools to assist them in management, stewardship, and use of Ohio’s natural resources. The diversity of scientific expertise among USGS personnel enables them to carry out large- and small-scale multidisciplinary studies. The USGS is unique among government organizations because it has neither regulatory nor developmental authority—its sole product is reliable, impartial, credible, relevant, and timely scientific information, equally accessible and available to everyone. The USGS Ohio Water Science Center provides reliable hydrologic and water-related ecological information to aid in the understanding of use and management of the Nation’s water resources, in general, and Ohio’s water resources, in particular. This fact sheet provides an overview of current (2012) or recently completed USGS studies and data activities pertaining to water resources in Ohio. More information regarding projects of the USGS Ohio Water Science Center is available at http://oh.water.usgs.gov/. |
Posted November 14, 2012 For additional information contact: Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge. |
Shaffer, K.H., Kula, S.P., Bambach, P.W., and Runkle, D.L., comps., 2012, Science to Support the Understanding of Ohio’s Water Resources: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012–3118, 6 p. (Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3118.)
Introduction
Streamflow Data Available Online
Groundwater Data Available Online
Water-Quality Monitor Network in Ohio
Nowcast—Water-Quality Conditions at Beaches and a Recreational River
Ohio Water-Use Program
Assessing Potential Climate-Change Effects in the Upper Scioto River Basin
Low-Flow Streamgage Network in Ohio
Crest-Stage Streamgage Network in Ohio
StreamStats
Flood-Studies and Flood-Warning Systems Program
Microbial Source Tracking
Testing Rapid Detection Methods for Drinking Water and Recreational Waters
Modeling Aquatic Species Distributions Based on Physical Habitat and Climate Change
Cyanobacteria and Toxins—Grand Lake St. Marys
Long-Term Water-Level Monitoring Network, Geauga County, Ohio
Hydraulic Characteristics of Low-Impact Development Practices in Northeastern Ohio
Hydrologic Influences of Storm-Water Best-Management Practices at the Cincinnati Zoo
Arsenic in Groundwater of Licking County
National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program
Ecology, Streams, and Groundwater—Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair Basins
Groundwater—White, Great, and Little Miami River Basins
References Cited