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The interactions of the water resources on and within the surface of the Earth with the atmosphere that surrounds it are exceedingly complex. Increased uncertainty can be attached to the availability of water of usable quality in the 21st century, therefore, because of potential anthropogenic changes in the global climate...

A statistical analysis was made of data from more than 6,200 water wells drilled in the fractured crystalline rocks of the Blue Ridge, Piedmont, and western edge of the Coastal Plain where crystalline rocks underlie sediments at shallow depths. The study area encompassed 65 counties in western North Carolina, an...

Rainfall and runoff quantity and quality were monitored for industrial, single-dwelling residential, multiple-dwelling residential, and commercial land-use catchments during the 1981-82 and 1982-83 rain seasons. Storm-composite rainfall and discrete run6ff samples were analyzed for numerous inorganic, biological, physical, and organic constituents. Atmospheric dry-deposition and street-surface particulate samples also were collected...

Four unsaturated-zone monitoring sites and a meteorologic station were installed at the low-level radioactive-waste burial site near Barnwell, S.C., to investigate the geohydrologic and climatologic factors affecting water movement in the unsaturated zone. The study site is located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The unsaturated zone consists of a few...

Since 1962, the U.S. Geological Survey has prepared and distributed Standard Reference Water Samples (SRWS) to participating laboratories in order to alert them to possible analytical deficiencies. This report marks the first time that a concentrated effort has been made to examine and compare the SRWS data for each constituent...

Powerplant siting is dependent upon many factors; in southern California the prevailing physical constraint is water availability. Increasing land-use and other environmental concerns preclude further sites along the coast. A review of available hydrologic data was made of 142 ground-water basins in the southeast California desert area to ascertain if...

Information on national and regional water-well drilling activity is important for water-resource planning and management and for water-related equipment marketing. This report describes a study to analyze drilling trends on the basis of data for selected years from 1964 through 1984. The study focused primarily on the years 1964 and...

From July 1982 through June 1984, a study was made of the evapotranspiration and microclimate at a low-level radioactive-waste disposal site near Sheffield, Bureau County, Illinois. Vegetation at the site consists of mixed pasture grasses, primarily awnless brome (Bromus inermis) and red clover (Trifoleum pratense). Three methods were used to...

The purpose of this manual is to provide ground-water hydrologists with a working knowledge of the techniques of test drilling, auger drilling, coring and sampling, and the related drilling and sampling equipment. For the most part, the techniques discussed deal with drilling, sampling, and completion of test holes in unconsolidated...

This report describes the lithology, thickness, and extent of valley-fill deposits in Las Vegas Valley, Nev. This information will be used to develop a hydraulic model of the valley's ground-water system. Las Vegas Valley is a structural basin formed by bedrock that ranges in age from Precambrian through Miocene. Gravity...

This Program Report contains preliminary information on the nature and availability of strong-motion data recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Strong-Motion Program is operated by the USGS in cooperation with numerous Federal, State, and local agencies and private organizations. Major objective of this program are to record both...

In 1981 the U.S. Geological Survey established an experimental project to assess the possible and practical use of remote-sensing data to estimate evapotranspiration as an approximation of consumptive use of water in the lower Colorado River flood plain. The project area was in Parker Valley, Arizona. The approach selected was...

Meteorologic and hydrologic data from five small watersheds in the coal areas of West Virginia were used to calibrate and test the U.S. Geological Survey Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System for simulating streamflow under various climatic and land-use conditions. Three of the basins--Horsecamp Run, Gilmer Run, and Collison Creek--are primarily forested and...

Groundwater chemical data were collected from November 1986 through April 1987 in the first phase of a 5-year study to assess the possibility of groundwater contamination in the Canal Creek area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Water samples were collected from 87 observation wells screened in Coastal Plain sediments; 59...

Meade County in north-central Kentucky is about 305 sq mi in size, and is underlain by thick beds of limestone and dolomite which are the principal sources of drinking water for about 8 ,500 residents. About half the area contains mature, karst terrain with abundant sinkholes, springs, and caves. Because...

Estimates of streamflow characteristics (monthly mean flow that is exceeded 90, 80, 50, and 20 percent of the time for all years of record and mean monthly flow) were made and are presented in tabular form for 312 sites in the Missouri River basin in Montana. Short-term gaged records were...

Flood hydrographs are needed for the design of many highway drainage structures and embankments and flood water storage structures. A dimensionless hydrograph is presented for Arkansas streams having drainage areas < 600 sq mi. This dimensionless hydrograph can be used with peak discharge and equivalent lagtime to determine flood hydrographs...

To Fort Pillow Sand of the Wilcox Group of Tertiary age underlies approximately 7,700 sq mi in western Tennessee. The formation consists primarily of very fine to very coarse sand that locally contains minor lenses or beds of clay or silt. The Fort Pillow Sand ranges from 0 to 350...

Coal mining operations in northwestern Colorado commonly are located in areas that have minimal available water-resource information. Drainage-basin models can be a method for extending water-resource information to include periods for which there are no records or to transfer the information to areas that have no streamflow-gaging stations. To evaluate...

On the basis of the data from a sedimentation survey done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, during 1935 and data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey during 1987, the volume of sediment accumulated in Lake Taneycomo from 1913 to 1935 and 1913 to 1987 was determined....

Hydrologic data from streams, impoundments, and wells are interpreted to: (1) document water resources characteristics; (2) describe causes and extent of changes in water resources characteristics; and (3) evaluate water resources as sources of supply. During 1985, about 134,200 acre-ft of water (84% groundwater) were used for public (42%), irrigation,...

The distributions of common dissolved constituents, trace metals, and volatile organic compounds in ground water near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey, are influenced by local geology and land use. Many common dissolved constituents are more concentrated in ground water beneath urban and industrial areas than in water beneath suburban...

A major winter storm originating over the Pacific Ocean moved through central California in early January 1982. As much as 16 inches of rain fell in Marin County and 25 inches in the mountains bordering Santa Cruz County. The storm of January 3-5, 1982 had a stable atmospheric structure, and...

Groundwater inflow to the Deschutes River near the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon was estimated for August 1985 by: (1) measuring streamflow at various sites along the river; (2) determining the part of the streamflow that is groundwater inflow; and (3) analyzing the hydraulic gradients of the groundwater flow...

Sampling to determine suspended-sediment concentrations at the Brazos River at Richmond, Texas, began in January 1966 and ended in September 1986. Depth-integrated samples were collected during all flow conditions. The records for this station are considered good. The mean monthly suspended-sediment loads in the Brazos River at Richmond ranged from 2,500...