Low-flow characteristics of streams from Wailua to Hanapēpē, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Chui Ling Cheng
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5128
The purpose of this study is to characterize streamflow availability under natural (unregulated) low-flow conditions for streams in southeast Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i. The nine main study-area basins, from north to south, include Wailua River, Hanamā‘ulu, Nāwiliwili, Pūʻali, Hulēʻia, Waikomo, Lāwaʻi, and Wahiawa Streams, and Hanapēpē River. The results of this study...
Use of real-time sensors to temporally characterize water quality in groundwater and surface water in Mason County, Illinois, 2017–19
Lance R. Gruhn, William S. Morrow
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5108
The persistence of high nitrate concentrations in shallow groundwater has been well documented in the shallow glacial aquifer of Mason County, Illinois. Nitrates in groundwater can be a concern when concentrations exceed 10 milligrams per liter in drinking water. Additionally, nitrate in groundwater can contribute to surface water nitrogen loads...
Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on the periphery of Missouri, July–August 2018
Richard J. Huizinga
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5088
Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, near 7 bridges at 6 highway crossings of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers on the periphery of the State of Missouri from July 16 to August 13, 2018. A multibeam echosounder...
Predicted pH of groundwater in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial and Claiborne aquifers, south-central United States
James A. Kingsbury, Katherine J. Knierim, Connor J. Haugh
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3465
Regional aquifers in the Mississippi embayment are the principal sources of water used for public and domestic supply, irrigation, and industrial uses throughout the region. An understanding of how water quality varies spatially, temporally, and with depth are critical aspects to ensuring long-term sustainable use of these resources. A boosted...
Measured and calculated nitrate and dissolved organic carbon concentrations and loads at the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam, S-79, south Florida, 2014-17
Amanda Booth
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1094
The U.S. Geological Survey monitored dissolved nitrate plus nitrite as nitrogen (N) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and calculated loads of these constituents at the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam (S-79) from April 2014 to December 2017. Flows from Lake Okeechobee controlled by S-77, S-78 and S-79 affect water...
Spatial and temporal patterns in streamflow, water chemistry, and aquatic macroinvertebrates of selected streams in Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007–18
Aaron J. Porter, James S. Webber, Jonathan W. Witt, John D. Jastram
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5061
Urbanization substantially alters the landscape in ways that can impact stream hydrology, water chemistry, and the health of aquatic communities. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) are the primary tools used to mitigate the effects of urban stressors such as increased runoff, decreased baseflow, and increased nutrient and sediment transport. To...
Water resources in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal jurisdictional area, west-central Oklahoma, with an analysis of data gaps through 2015
Carol Becker, Matthew S. Varonka
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5105
This report provides an overview of existing hydrologic information describing the quality, quantity, and extent of the major surface-water and groundwater resources in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal jurisdictional area, west-central Oklahoma. Hydrologic information is provided for five major river systems (Cimarron River, North Canadian River, Canadian River, Washita River,...
Estimating flood magnitude and frequency on streams and rivers in Connecticut, based on data through water year 2015
Elizabeth A. Ahearn, Glenn A. Hodgkins
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5054
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, updated flood-frequency estimates with 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities (2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-year recurrence intervals, respectively) for 141 streamgages in Connecticut and 11 streamgages in adjacent...
Trends in concentration, loads, and sources of trace metals and nutrients in the Spokane River Watershed, northern Idaho, water years 1990–2018
Lauren M. Zinsser
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5096
A long history of mining and widespread metals contamination in the Coeur d’Alene River watershed and downstream into the Spokane River has led to the area’s designation as a Superfund site and to extensive, ongoing (as of 2020) remedial actions. Long-term water-quality and streamflow data, collected by the U.S. Geological...
Impacts of grade control structure installations on hydrology and sediment transport as an adaptive management strategy
Deborah Tosline, Laura M. Norman, Blair P. Greimann, Jay Cederberg, Victor Huang, Benjamin L. Ruddell
2020, Final Report ST-2017-1751-01
The goal of this research was to examine the impacts of Grade Control Structure (GCS) installations at the Heard Scout Pueblo (HSP) study site in the City of Phoenix, Arizona, USA. The study site is around a high-use trail system and is comprised of eroded and incised channels that conduct...
Observed and modeled mercury and dissolved organic carbon concentrations and loads at control structure S-12D, Florida Everglades, 2013–17
Amanda Booth, Brett A. Poulin, David P. Krabbenhoft
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1092
Mercury (Hg) has been a contaminant of concern for several decades in South Florida, particularly in the Florida Everglades. The transport and bioavailability of Hg in aquatic systems is intimately linked to dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In aquatic systems, Hg can be converted to methylmercury (MeHg), which is the form...
Modeling occupancy of rare stream fish species in the upper Cumberland and Kentucky River Basins
Nathaniel P. Hitt, Karli M. Rogers, Karmann Kessler, Hannah E. Macmillan
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1100
Biological conservation often requires an understanding of how environmental conditions affect species occurrence and detection probabilities. We used a hierarchical framework to evaluate these effects for several Appalachian stream fish species of conservation concern: Chrosomus cumberlandensis (BSD; blackside dace), Etheostoma sagitta (CAD; Cumberland arrow darter), and Etheostoma spilotum (KAD; Kentucky...
Methods for estimating selected low-flow frequency statistics and mean annual flow for ungaged locations on streams in Alabama
Toby D. Feaster, Katharine Kolb, Jaime A. Painter, Jimmy M. Clark
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5099
Streamflow data and statistics are vitally important for proper protection and management of the water quality and water quantity of Alabama streams. Such data and statistics are generally available at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations, also referred to as streamgages or stations, but are often needed at ungaged stream locations....
Temperature and water-quality diversity and the effects of surface-water connection in off-channel features of the Willamette River, Oregon, 2015–16
Cassandra D. Smith, Joseph F. Mangano, Stewart A. Rounds
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5068
Water-quality conditions (including temperature) in the Willamette River and many of its adjacent off-channel features, such as alcoves and side channels, were monitored between river miles 67 (near Salem, Oregon) and 168 (near Eugene, Oregon) during the summers of 2015 and 2016. One or more parameters (water temperature, dissolved...
Development of a method to identify complex wells and assess the accuracy of basin withdrawals in Utah
Brittany L. Gold, Cory E. Angeroth, Thomas M. Marston
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1106
Power consumption coefficients (PCCs) and dedicated flowmeter records for irrigation wells in three Utah groundwater basins were analyzed to develop a method to better characterize the accuracy of annual groundwater withdrawal estimates. The PCC method has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey in Utah since 1963 as a way...
Assessment of water quality and fecal contamination sources at Hook Pond, East Hampton, New York
Shawn C. Fisher, Brendan A. McCarthy, Christopher M. Kephart, Dale W. Griffin
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5071
SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Village of East Hampton, New York, conducted a 1-year study from August 2017 to August 2018 to provide data necessary to improve understanding of the sources of nutrients and pathogens to Hook Pond watershed to allow for possible mitigation or reduction of...
Cottonwoods, water, and people-Integrating analysis of tree rings with observations of elders from the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
Shannon M. McNeeley, Jonathan M. Friedman, Tyler A. Beeton, Richard D. Thaxton
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1072
We assessed the history of flow and riparian ecosystem change along the Wind River using cottonwood tree-ring data, streamgage records, historical temperature and precipitation data, drought indices, and local observations and Traditional Ecological Knowledge from elders of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes of the Wind River Reservation, Wyoming....
Use of boosted regression trees to quantify cumulative instream flow resulting from curtailment of irrigation in the Sprague River basin, Oregon
Tamara M. Wood
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5130
A boosted regression trees (BRT) approach was used to estimate the amount by which streamflow is increased when irrigation is regulated (curtailed) upstream of a streamgage on the Sprague River in southern-central Oregon. The BRT approach differs from most other approaches that require baseline conditions for comparison, where those baseline...
Flood-frequency estimation for very low annual exceedance probabilities using historical, paleoflood, and regional information with consideration of nonstationarity
Karen R. Ryberg, Kelsey A. Kolars, Julie E. Kiang, Meredith L. Carr
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5065
Streamflow estimates for floods with an annual exceedance probability of 0.001 or lower are needed to accurately portray risks to critical infrastructure, such as nuclear powerplants and large dams. However, extrapolating flood-frequency curves developed from at-site systematic streamflow records to very low annual exceedance probabilities (less than 0.001) results in...
Groundwater levels in the Denver Basin bedrock aquifers of Douglas County, Colorado, 2011–19
Helen F. Malenda, Colin A. Penn
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5076
Municipal and domestic water users in Douglas County, Colorado, rely on groundwater from the bedrock aquifers in the Denver Basin aquifer system as part of their water supply. The four principal Denver Basin bedrock aquifers are, from shallowest to deepest, the Dawson aquifer (divided administratively into “upper” and “lower” Dawson...
Flood-inundation maps for the Little Calumet River from Lansing to South Holland, Illinois, 2020
Andrew P. Dunn, Timothy D. Straub, Adam E. Manaster
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5074
Digital flood-inundation maps for about an 8-mile reach of the Little Calumet River, Illinois, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/flood-inundation-mapping-fim-program,...
Hydrology of Haskell Lake and investigation of a groundwater contamination plume, Lac du Flambeau Reservation, Wisconsin
Andrew T. Leaf, Megan J. Haserodt
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5024
Haskell Lake is a shallow, 89-acre drainage lake in the headwaters of the Squirrel River, on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in northern Wisconsin. The lake has long been valued by the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (LDF Tribe) for abundant wild rice and game fish....
Flood-inundation maps for Dardenne Creek in St. Charles County, Missouri, 2019
David C. Heimann, Jonathon D. Voss, Paul H. Rydlund Jr.
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5060
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 9.9-mile reach of Dardenne Creek, St. Charles County, Missouri, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, St. Charles County, and the Cities of O’Fallon and St. Peters, Mo. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood...
Hydrology and geomorphology of the Taiya River near the West Creek Tributary, southeast Alaska
Janet H. Curran
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5059
The Taiya River flows through the Chilkoot Trail Unit of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in southeast Alaska, which was founded to preserve cultural and historical resources and further understanding of natural processes active in the surrounding coastal-to-subarctic basin. Riverine processes exert an important influence on ecologically important boreal...
Understanding and documenting the scientific basis of selenium ecological protection in support of site-specific guidelines development for Lake Koocanusa, Montana, U.S.A., and British Columbia, Canada
Theresa S. Presser, David L. Naftz
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1098
Modeling of ecosystems is a part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s protocol for developing site-specific selenium guidelines for protection of aquatic life. Selenium as an environmental contaminant is known to bioaccumulate and cause reproductive effects in fish and wildlife. Here we apply a modeling methodology—ecosystem-scale selenium modeling—to understand and document...