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Historical water-quality samples collected from the Red River over the past 35 years were compiled, reviewed for quality, and evaluated to determine influences on water quality over time. Hydrologic conditions in the Red River were found to have a major effect on water quality. The lowest sulfate concentrations were associated...

The Hydrologic Simulation ProgramFORTRAN (HSPF) model of the Ipswich River Basin previously developed by the U.S. Geological Survey was modified to evaluate the effects of the 2003 withdrawal permits and water-management alternatives on reservoir storage and yields of the Lynn, Peabody, and SalemBeverly water-supply systems. These systems obtain all or...

In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated a rule to protect ground water in areas other than source-water protection areas. These other sensitive ground water areas (OSGWAs) are aquifers that are not currently but could eventually be used as a source of drinking water. The OSGWA program specifically addresses...

Water-supply withdrawals and wastewater disposal in the Assabet River Basin in eastern Massachusetts alter the flow and water quality in the basin. Wastewater discharges and stream-flow depletion from ground-water withdrawals adversely affect water quality in the Assabet River, especially during low-flow months (late summer) and in headwater areas. Streamflow depletion...

In cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Geological Survey characterized the ground-water hydrology and water quality at Melrose Air Force Range in east-central New Mexico. The purpose of the study was to provide baseline data to Cannon Air Force Base resource managers to make informed decisions concerning actions...

Re-establishment of wetlands has been promoted by various groups to control future floods in the Red River of the North Basin in North Dakota and Minnesota. Therefore, a study was conducted to simulate runoff and wetland storage in the Hamden and Lonetree watershed sites in the Red River of the...

Increased use of ground- and surface-water supplies in watersheds of Washington State in recent years has created concern that insufficient instream flows remain for fish and other uses. Issuance of new ground-water rights in the Colville River Watershed was halted by the Washington Department of Ecology due to possible hydraulic...

A hydrologic analysis was made at three canal sites and four tidal sites along the St. Lucie River Estuary in southeastern Florida from 1998 to 2001. The data included for analysis are stage, 15-minute flow, salinity, water temperature, turbidity, and suspended-solids concentration. During the period of record, the estuary experienced...

This study was undertaken to improve the understanding of water resources of the Tulalip Plateau area, with a primary emphasis on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, in order to address concerns of the Tulalip Tribes about the effects of current and future development, both on and off the Reservation, on their...

This report describes a numerical model that simulates regional ground-water flow in the upper Deschutes Basin of central Oregon. Ground water and surface water are intimately connected in the upper Deschutes Basin and most of the flow of the Deschutes River is supplied by ground water. Because of this connection,...

In 1911, a 2-km3 (0.5-mi3) earthquake-triggered rock slide blocked the Murgab River, southeastern Tajikistan, forming a still-existing, 600-m-high (1,970-ft-high) natural dam—the highest dam, natural or man-made, in the world. Lake Sarez, impounded by this blockage, is 60 km (37 mi) long, with a maximum depth of 550 m (1,800 ft) and...

Isotopic analysis of nitrate and sulfate minerals from the nitrate ore fields of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile has shown anomalous 17O enrichments in both minerals. Δ17O values of 14–21 ‰ in nitrate and 0.4 to 4 ‰ in sulfate are the most positive...

Effects of methylation, molar response, multiple charging, solvents, and positive and negative ionization on molecular weight distributions of aquatic fulvic acid were investigated by electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry. After preliminary analysis by positive and negative modes, samples and mixtures of standards were derivatized by methylation to minimize ionization sites and...

Various processes degrade synthetic chemicals—pesticides, pharmaceuticals, biocides, and industrials—in the environment (1, 2). Consequently, the environment may be exposed to a mixture of the parent compounds and any resulting degradation products (degradates). Recent advances in analytical methodology and greater access to analytical standards have advanced degradates research (3, 4). Specifically,...

The U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program is assessing the sources, transport, and fate of chemicals applied to crops in agricultural basins across the Nation (referred to as "study units," see map). Chemicals selected for study include nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and about 50 commonly used pesticides and...

Chemical and isotopic data were obtained from ground water and surface water throughout the Middle Rio Grande Basin (MRGB), New Mexico, and supplemented with selected data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Information System (NWIS) and City of Albuquerque water-quality database in an effort to refine the conceptual...

Floods are among the most powerful forces on earth. Human societies worldwide have lived and died with floods from the very beginning, spawning a prominent role for floods within legends, religions, and history. Inspired by such accounts, geologists, hydrologists, and historians have studied the role of floods on humanity and...

During 2002, a baseline study of hydrologic conditions was conducted, and selected features were mapped within the Mt. Pisgah campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Haywood County, North Carolina. Field surveys were performed by using global positioning system equipment one time (January 2002) during the study to locate hydrologic...

Urbanization has dramatically increased precipitation runoff to the system of drainage channels and natural stream channels in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, metropolitan area. Rainfall and runoff data are important for planning and designing future storm-water conveyance channels in newly developing areas. Storm-water quality also is monitored in accordance with the...

Submersible pressure transducers, developed in the early 1960s, have made the collection of water-level and pressure data much more convenient than former methods. Submersible pressure transducers, when combined with electronic data recorders have made it possible to collect continuous or nearly continuous water-level or pressure data from wells, piezometers, soil-moisture...

In the early 2000s, the Texas Department of Transportation funded several research projects to examine the unit hydrograph and rainfall hyetograph techniques for hydrologic design in Texas for the estimation of design flows for stormwater drainage systems. A research consortium comprised of Lamar University, Texas Tech University, the University of...

Tree islands are important centers of biodiversity in the Florida Everglades; they have two to three times the plant and animal diversity of the surrounding wetlands. This high diversity is due primarily to their higher elevation relative to the adjacent wetlands (fig. 1). In the natural Everglades system, water levels...

Geochemical reaction path modeling is useful for rapidly assessing the extent of water-aqueous-gas interactions both in natural systems and in industrial processes. Modeling of some systems, such as those at low temperature with relatively high hydrologic flow rates, or those perturbed by the subsurface injection of industrial waste such as...

Submarine ground-water discharge (SGD) has recently been recognized as a phenomenon that can strongly influence coastal water and geochemical budgets and drive ecosystem change. For example, the discharge of nutrient-enriched ground water into coastal waters may contribute significantly to eutrophication and blooms of harmful algae. Similarly, the quantity of SGD...

Selected organic wastewater compounds (OWCs) such as household, industrial, and agricultural-use compounds, pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, and sterols and hormones were measured at 65 sites in Minnesota as part of a cooperative study among the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Samples were collected in...