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During 1984, above-normal ground-water levels flooded the fields and basements in the vicinity of the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area. In response to concerns of neighboring farmers and homeowners, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study to assess ground-water conditions in the area...

Water use in the United States, as measured by freshwater withdrawals in 1985, averaged 338,000 Mgal/d (million gallons per day), which is enough water to cover the 48 conterminous States to a depth of about 2.4 inches. Only 92,300 Mgal/d, or 27.3 percent of the water withdrawn, was consumptive use...

An intensive data-collection program for the Black Earth Creek basin in southern Wisconsin was conducted from October 1984 through September 1986 to assess the hydrology, aquatic macrophytes, and water quality in Black Earth Creek by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Three sites...

The 1988 drought was one of the most severe droughts since weather records have been kept in Wisconsin. This fact sheet describes the cause of the drought and its effects on the water resources, water use, and agriculture in the State....

Seventeen methods for estimating ice-affected streamflow are evaluated for potential use for the U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station network. The methods evaluated were identified by written responses from U.S. Geological Survey field offices and by a comprehensive literature search. The methods selected and techniques used for applying the methods are described...

A map was prepared that shows the net change in the potentiometric surface of the Magothy aquifer (in the Cretaceous Magothy Formation) in southern Maryland from the fall of 1986 to the fall of 1988. The map, based on water level measurements from 79 observation wells, shows that during the...

A reconnaissance study was conducted of 22 streams tributary to Green Bay to determine whether any of the streams contribute toxic substances to the bay. This effort was part of a comprehensive investigation of Green Bay funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes National Program Office. The U.S. Geological...

A map of mean annual runoff for States within the Northeastern, Southeastern, and Mid-Atlantic United States was prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey for the Direct/Delayed Response Project being conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This map shows mean annual runoff during water years 1951-80. Mean annual runoff from the...

Distributions of solutes in aquifers of Cambrian and Ordovician age were studied in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, northwestern Indiana, and northern Missouri to determine the sources of solutes and the probable chemical mechanisms that control regional variations in water quality. This work is part of the Northern Midwest Regional Aquifer-System...

Average annual runoff was computed or estimated for 2,148 hydrologic cataloging units in the United States and Puerto Rico , for the period 1951-80. Runoff was computed from the recorded streamflow at 5,951 U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations. The runoff at more than 3,000 of these stations was estimated by...

Ground water is one of the most important natural resources of the United States and degradation of its quality could have a major effect on the welfare of the Nation. Currently (1985), ground water is the source of drinking water for 53 percent of the Nation's population and for more...

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore consists of 21 islands, part of the Bayfield Peninsula, and the adjacent waters of Lake Superior. Selected water resources of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore were assessed to aid the National Park Service in developing and managing the Lakeshore and to provide a data base...

Estimates of runoff for 56 sites within the Shenandoah National Park were made by the U.S. Geological Survey for the Direct/Delayed Response Project that is being conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The purpose of that project is to determine the long-term effects of acidic deposition on surface-water chemistry....

Delavan Lake is a eutrophic, recreational lake in a densely populated area of southeastern Wisconsin. Sewage effluent and septic tank drainage were diverted out of the drainage basin of the lake to improve its water quality in 1981. The worst known blue-green algal bloom occurred in the lake in the...

GROUND-WATER ISSUES Ground-water sources provide about one-half of the water used in Wisconsin, excluding the water used for thermoelectric cooling. Ground-water sources serve about 70 percent of the State's population. All rural-domestic supplies and about 94 percent of the municipalities use ground water. Nearly all irrigation and stock watering...

The effects of dewatering a proposed zinc and copper mine on water levels of four lakes near Crandon, Wisconsin, were predicted by use of a digital water-budget model of the lakes. The average lake-stage reduction predicted by the model for expected ground-water levels after mine dewatering ranged from 0.21 feet for...

Runoff is the water in a river or stream that results from precipitation falling on the drainage basin. It is the net discharge into the stream from surface-water and ground-water sources with losses occurring from evapotranspiration and other consumptive uses. Runoff can be expressed by a variety of numerical values,...

An inventory of water use in Wisconsin is essential for appraising current and future water-resource needs of the State. The U.S. Geological Survey has collected and published national water-use data every 5 years since 1950. Sources of data in these reports have not always been well documented, and the methods...

Ground water is a major source of water in northeastern Wisconsin. The lower Fox River valley, located between Lake Winnebago and Green Bay in northeastern Wisconsin, is the second largest population center in Wisconsin. By 1957, ground-water withdrawals had lowered the potentiometric surface of the aquifer system as much as...

This report presents the results of a three-step evaluation of the stream-gaging program in Wisconsin. First, data uses and funding sources were identified for the 89 continuous-record gaging stations operated during the 1984 water year. Next, alternative methods of streamflow estimation were examined for three stations. A flow-routing model was...

This report describes the application and results of an unsteady-flow model for the Milwaukee Harbor Estuary. The model simulates unsteady and upstream flow occurring in the estuary as a result of Lake Michigan Seiche. The discharge computed by the model indicates that upstream flow occurs throughout the estuary during periods...

The flow from a sample of 143 irrigation wells from 6 irrigation areas in Wisconsin was measured using an external flowmeter during the 1983-84 irrigation seasons. The measured pumpages were correlated with reported pumpages. The equation that describes this correlation is Q(sub)m = 0.86 x Q(sub)r where Q(sub)m is the...

Maps of annual runoff for two regions in the eastern United States were prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey for the Direct/Delayed Response Project being conducted by the U.S. EPA. These maps show annual runoff during water year 1984 in the northeastern region and in the Southern Blue Ridge Province. Runoff...

The surface-water resources of the United States, the focal point for this National Water Summary, are extensively developed and managed to provide water supplies, hydroelectric power, navigation, recreational opportunities, and sufficient instream flows to maintain fish and wildlife habitats and adequate water quality. Surface water represents 77 percent of the...

Four small tributaries of the Galena River Madden Branch tributary, Pats Creek, Apple River, and Madden Branch that drain nonpoint agricultural sources and that receive no significant point-source discharges were monitored from October 1980 through September 1982 to determine water quality. Streamflow in the tributaries during the 1981 water year was...