Suspended sediment and trace element transport in the Big River downstream from the Old Lead Belt in southeastern Missouri, 2018–21
Kendra M. Markland, Camille E. Buckley
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5085
Lead Belt, an area of major lead mining from the 1860s until 1972 where more than 8.5 million tons of lead were mined. After active mining ceased, the effects of mining activities persisted in the Big River system because of large mine waste pile erosion, and floodplain sediment and streambank...
Chloride concentrations in groundwater from the western part of the Southern Hills regional aquifer system, Louisiana, 2021–22
M.A. Lindaman
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5057
Groundwater is heavily used for public supply and industrial uses in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, area. Lowered water levels resulting from groundwater withdrawals have induced the movement of saltwater towards wells in East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge Parishes. Saltwater intrusion has the potential to affect water supply infrastructure,...
Three-dimensional geologic framework model of the Rio San Jose groundwater basin and adjacent areas, New Mexico
Donald S. Sweetkind, Amy E. Galanter
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5038
As part of a U.S. Geological Survey study in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico, and the Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico, a digital three-dimensional geologic framework model was constructed for the Rio San Jose and its surface-water drainage basin in west-central New...
Water-quality monitoring strategy for Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River Estuary, southeastern Massachusetts
David S. Armstrong
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5049
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), began a study in 2018 to develop a water-quality monitoring strategy (WQMS) for Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River Estuary in southeastern Massachusetts. MassDEP is interested in water-quality data in Mount Hope Bay and the...
Estimated reductions in phosphorus loads from removal of leaf litter in the Lake Champlain drainage area, Vermont
Jason R. Sorenson, James M. Pease, Jeremy K. Foote, Ann T. Chalmers, David H. Ainley, Clayton J. Williams
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5104
Excess nutrient loading and other factors are driving eutrophication and other negative effects on water-quality conditions in Lake Champlain and other receiving waters in Vermont. Two common best management practices were evaluated to determine how these practices can be optimized by targeting maintenance and operation to align better with seasonally...
Substrate Enhancement Pilot Project—Monitoring summary and evaluation, Kootenai River, Idaho, 2012–22
Taylor J. Dudunake
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5070
To assess changes in substrate conditions and the efficacy of artificially placed substrates at select sites on the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, completed repeat bathymetric, velocimetric, and underwater videography surveys. Collectively, three project sites throughout the...
Computation of bromide concentrations at the Kansas River at De Soto, Kansas, January 2021 through October 2023
Thomas J. Williams, Greg S. Totzke
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5078
The Kansas River is an essential water resource that provides drinking water to more than 950,000 people in northeastern Kansas. Water suppliers that rely on the Kansas River as a water-supply source use physical and chemical water-treatment strategies to remove contaminants before distribution. Water District No. 1 of Johnson County,...
Numerical model of the groundwater-flow system near the southeastern part of Puget Sound, Washington
Andrew J. Long, Elise E. Wright, Leland T. Fuhrig, Valerie A.L. Bright
Wendy B. Welch, Andrew J. Long, editor(s)
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5026-D-E
Groundwater flow in the active model area (AMA) was simulated using a groundwater-flow model. A steady-state model version of the model simulates equilibrium conditions, and a transient model version simulates monthly variability. The model corresponds to the physical and temporal dimensions of the conceptual model and groundwater budget. The steady-state...
Conceptual hydrogeologic framework and groundwater budget near the southeastern part of Puget Sound, Washington
Wendy B. Welch, Valerie A.L. Bright, Andrew S. Gendaszek, Sarah B. Dunn, Alexander O. Headman, Elisabeth T. Fasser
Wendy B. Welch, Andrew J. Long, editor(s)
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5026-A-C
More than 1 million people live within the active model area (AMA) in the southeastern part of the lowlands surrounding Puget Sound, or Puget Lowland, Washington, and groundwater is the source for approximately one-half of their public, domestic, and irrigation water demands. The 887-square-mile AMA, located in King and Pierce...
Characterization of groundwater resources near the southeastern part of Puget Sound, Washington
W.B. Welch, A.J. Long, editor(s)
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5026
More than 1 million people live within the active model area (AMA) in the southeastern part of the lowlands surrounding Puget Sound, or Puget Lowland, Washington, and groundwater is the source for approximately one-half of their public, domestic, and irrigation water demands. The 887-square-mile AMA, located in King and Pierce...
Simulation of groundwater flow in the Long Island, New York regional aquifer system for pumping and recharge conditions from 1900 to 2019
Donald A. Walter, Kalle Jahn, John P. Masterson, Sarken E. Dressler, Jason S. Finkelstein, Jack Monti, Jr.
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5044
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a transient, groundwater-flow model that simulates hydrologic conditions in the Long Island aquifer system as part of an ongoing (since 2016) multiyear, cooperative investigation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The goals of this investigation are to assist stakeholders and resource...
Hydrogeologic framework and extent of saltwater intrusion in Kings, Queens, and Nassau Counties, Long Island, New York
Frederick Stumm, Jason S. Finkelstein, John H. Williams, Andrew D. Lange
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5048
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey began a multiyear cooperative study with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to evaluate the sustainability of Long Island’s sole-source aquifer system through hydrogeologic mapping, compilation of groundwater chloride concentrations, and groundwater flow modeling. In the initial phase of the islandwide study,...
Simulation of groundwater flow and brine discharge to the Dolores River in the Paradox Valley, Montrose County, Colorado
Charles E. Heywood, Suzanne S. Paschke, M. Alisa Mast, Kenneth R Watts
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5038
Salinity, or total dissolved solids (TDS), of the Colorado River affects agricultural, municipal, and industrial water users and is an important concern in the Western United States. In the Paradox Valley of southwestern Colorado, natural discharge of sodium-chloride brine to the Dolores River from the underlying core of a salt-valley...
Hydrogeologic conceptual model of groundwater occurrence and brine discharge to the Dolores River in the Paradox Valley, Montrose County, Colorado
Suzanne S. Paschke, M. Alisa Mast, Philip M. Gardner, Connor P. Newman, Kenneth R. Watts
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5094
Salinity, or total dissolved solids (TDS), of the Colorado River is a major concern in the southwestern United States where the river provides water to about 40 million people for municipal and industrial use and is used to irrigate about 5.5 million acres of land. Much of the salinity in...
Water-quality constituent concentrations and loads computed using real-time water-quality data for the Republican River, Clay Center, Kansas, August 2018 through July 2023
Ariele R. Kramer, Justin R. Abel
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5072
Milford Lake, the largest reservoir by surface area in Kansas, has had confirmed harmful algal blooms every summer since reporting began in 2011, except 2018–19. Milford Lake has been listed as impaired and designated hypereutrophic under section 303(d) of the 1972 Clean Water Act. In 2014, the Kansas Department of...
Wildland fire effects on sediment, salinity, and selenium yields in a basin underlain by Cretaceous marine shales near Rangely, Colorado
Natalie K. Day, Todd M. Preston, Patrick C. Longley
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5043
Understanding and quantifying soil erosion from rangelands is a high priority for land managers, especially in areas underlain by Cretaceous Mancos Shale, which is a natural source of sediment, salinity, and selenium to surface waters in many areas of western Colorado and eastern Utah. The purpose of this report is...
Monitoring and simulation of hydrology, suspended sediment, and nutrients in selected tributary watersheds of Lake Erie, New York
Katherine R. Merriman, Benjamin N. Fisher, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Aubrey R. Bunch, Robert J. Welk, William M. Kappel
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5022
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Erie County, New York, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, collected water-quality samples in nine selected New York tributaries to Lake Erie, computed estimates of suspended sediment and nutrient loads using the R scripting package...
Low-flow statistics for selected streams in New York, excluding Long Island
Timothy J. Stagnitta, Alexander P. Graziano, Joshua C. Woda, Robin L. Glas, Christopher L. Gazoorian
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5055
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, updated low-streamflow statistics for New York, excluding Long Island and including hydrologically connected watersheds in bordering States, for the first time since 1972. Historical daily streamflow data for active and inactive gages were considered for...
Assessment of long-term changes in surface-water extent within Klamath Marsh, south-central Oregon, 1985–2021
Joseph J. Kennedy, Henry M. Johnson, Stephen B. Gingerich
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5033
The annual maximum extent of surface water in Klamath Marsh has naturally fluctuated in response to periods of wet and dry conditions in the surrounding basin. Field observations during the 2010s indicate that the annual maximum extent of surface water has been declining and the marsh is not responding to...
Delineating draft inventory analysis units for National Scenic and Historic Trails inventory, assessment, and monitoring programs
Sarah M. Lindley, Emily J. Wilkins, Carin Farley, Karla Rogers, Rudy Schuster
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5060
As of 2024, there are 32 National Scenic and Historic Trails (NSHTs) in the system administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The BLM administers, manages, and protects 19 of these trails as part of its system of national...
A predictive analysis of water use for Providence, Rhode Island
Catherine A. Chamberlin
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5052
To explain the drivers of historical water use in the public water systems (PWSs) that serve populations in Providence, Rhode Island, and surrounding areas, and to forecast future water use, a machine-learning model (cubist regression) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with Providence Water to model daily...
Groundwater flow model for the Des Moines River alluvial aquifer near Des Moines, Iowa
Emilia L. Bristow, Kyle W. Davis
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5059
Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) is a regional municipal water utility that provides residential and commercial water resources to about 600,000 customers in Des Moines, Iowa, and surrounding municipalities in central Iowa. DMWW has identified a need for increased water supply and is exploring the potential for expanding groundwater production...
Assessment of nutrient load estimation approaches for small urban streams in Durham, North Carolina
Stephen L. Harden, Celeste A. Journey, Alexandra B. Etheridge
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5053
This cooperative study between the City of Durham Public Works Department, Stormwater Division and U.S. Geological Survey evaluated whether alternate monitoring strategies that incorporated samples collected across an increased range of streamflows would improve nutrient load estimates for Ellerbe and Sandy Creeks, two small, highly urbanized streams in the City...
Characterization of the water resources of the Pamunkey River watershed in Virginia—A review of water science, management, and traditional ecological knowledge
Brendan M. Foster, Ronaldo Lopez, Edward R. Crawford, Warren Cook, Joyce Krigsvold, John Henry Langston, Terry Langston, Grover Miles, Kirk Moore, Greg C. Garman, Karen C. Rice, John D. Jastram
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5024
In central Virginia, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Reservation are facing increasingly complex water resource issues related to quantity and quality. Documentation of surface-water, groundwater, water quality, land subsidence, sea-level rise, and river ecology issues in the Pamunkey River watershed and incorporation of traditional ecological knowledge into these research topics...
External quality-assurance project report for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program National Trends Network and Mercury Deposition Network, 2021–22
Noel A. Deyette, Gregory A. Wetherbee, RoseAnn Martin
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5054
The U.S. Geological Survey Precipitation Chemistry Quality Assurance project (PCQA) operated five distinct programs to provide external quality-assurance monitoring for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) National Trends Network (NTN) and Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) during 2021–22. The NTN programs included (1) a field audit program to evaluate sample contamination...
