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Statistical models of nitrate occurrence in the glacial aquifer system of the northern United States, developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, use observed relations between nitrate concentrations and sets of explanatory variables—representing well-construction, environmental, and source characteristics— to predict the probability that nitrate, as nitrogen, will exceed a threshold concentration....

A preliminary hazard assessment was developed of the debris-flow potential from 56 drainage basins burned by the Little Bear Fire in south-central New Mexico in June 2012. The Little Bear Fire burned approximately 179 square kilometers (km2) (44,330 acres), including about 143 km2 (35,300 acres) of National Forest System lands...

The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide examples of how the U.S. Geological Survey is using acoustic Doppler current profilers for much more than routine discharge measurements. These instruments are capable of mapping complex three-dimensional flow fields within rivers, lakes, and estuaries. Using the Velocity Mapping Toolbox to...

Previous investigations examined sources and sinks of mercury to Sinclair Inlet based on historic and new data. This included an evaluation of mercury concentrations from various sources and mercury loadings from industrial discharges and groundwater flowing from the Bremerton naval complex to Sinclair Inlet. This report provides new data from...

Data collected between 1997 and 2008 at 48 stream sites were used to characterize relations between watershed settings and stream nutrient yields throughout central and eastern North Carolina. The focus of the investigation was to identify environmental variables in watersheds that influence nutrient export for supporting the development and prioritization...

The maps and graphs in this summary describe streamflow conditions for water year 2012 (October 1, 2011, to September 30, 2012) in the context of the 83-year period from 1930 through 2012, unless otherwise noted. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Streamflow...

In 2009, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho released and implemented the Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Master Plan. This plan aimed to restore, enhance, and maintain the Kootenai River habitat and landscape to support and sustain habitat conditions for aquatic species and animal populations. In support of these restoration efforts, the...

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, consisting of approximately 960 square miles in parts of three counties in central Oklahoma, has an abundance of water resources, being underlain by three principal aquifers (alluvial/terrace, Central Oklahoma, and Vamoosa-Ada), bordered by two major rivers (North Canadian and Canadian), and has several...

Executive SummaryHistorically, adult summer steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss returning to hatcheries on the lower Cowlitz River were sometimes transported and released in the river (recycled) to provide additional angling opportunity for the popular sport fishery in the basin. However, this practice has not been used in recent years because of concerns...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for monitoring flows in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) near Lemont, Illinois, as a part of the Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting is mandated by a U.S. Supreme...

Significant Findings Air is entrained in water as it is flows through the spillways of dams, which causes an increase in the concentration of total dissolved gas in the water downstream from the dams. The elevated concentrations of total dissolved gas can adversely affect fish and other freshwater aquatic life. An...

A statewide study was performed to develop regional regression equations for estimating selected annual exceedance-probability statistics for ungaged stream sites in Iowa. The study area comprises streamgages located within Iowa and 50 miles beyond the State’s borders. Annual exceedance-probability estimates were computed for 518 streamgages by using the expected moments...

Cheney Reservoir, located in south-central Kansas, is the primary water supply for the city of Wichita. The U.S. Geological Survey has operated a continuous real-time water-quality monitoring station since 1998 on the North Fork Ninnescah River, the main source of inflow to Cheney Reservoir. Continuously measured water-quality physical properties include...

Vulnerability to contamination from manmade and natural sources can be characterized by the groundwater-age distribution measured in a supply well and the associated implications for the source depths of the withdrawn water. Coupled groundwater flow and transport models were developed to simulate the transport of the geochemical age-tracers carbon-14, tritium,...

Phytoplankton populations in the Tualatin River in northwestern Oregon are an important component of the dissolved oxygen (DO) budget of the river and are critical for maintaining DO levels in summer. During the low-flow summer period, sufficient nutrients and a long residence time typically combine with ample sunshine and warm...

The hydrogeology and water quality of the Dublin and Midville aquifer systems were characterized in the City of Waynesboro area in Burke County, Georgia, based on geophysical and drillers’ logs, flowmeter surveys, a 24-houraquifer test, and the collection and chemical analysis of water samples in a newly constructed well. At...

Groundwater in the vicinity of several industrial facilities in Upper Gwynedd Township and vicinity, Montgomery County, in southeast Pennsylvania has been shown to be contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the most common of which is the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE). The 2-square-mile area was placed on the National Priorities List...

Montgomery County is in the northern part of the Houston, Texas, metropolitan area, the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States. As populations have increased since the 1980s, groundwater has become an important resource for public-water supply and industry in the rapidly growing area of Montgomery County. Groundwater...

The Equus Beds aquifer is a primary water-supply source for Wichita, Kansas and the surrounding area because of shallow depth to water, large saturated thickness, and generally good water quality. Substantial water-level declines in the Equus Beds aquifer have resulted from pumping groundwater for agricultural and municipal needs, as well...

The U.S. Geological Survey is studying approaches to characterize the thermal regulation of water and the dynamics of cold water refugia. High temperatures have physiological impacts on anadromous fish species. Factors affecting the presence, variability, and quality of thermal refugia are known, such as riverine and watershed processes, hyporheic flows,...

To effectively plan site-specific studies to understand the connection between wastewater effluent and shellfish beds, data are needed concerning flow dynamics and background fluorescence in the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway near the effluent outfalls on Sullivan’s Island and the Isle of Palms. Tidal flows were computed by the U.S. Geological Survey...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the White Bear Lake Conservation District, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and other State, county, municipal, and regional planning agencies, watershed organizations, and private organizations, conducted a study to characterize groundwater and surface-water interactions near White Bear...

Travel-time capture zones and drawdown for two production well fields, used for drinking-water supply in Miami-Dade County, southeastern Florida, were delineated by the U.S Geological Survey using an unconstrained Monte Carlo analysis. The well fields, designed to supply a combined total of approximately 250 million gallons of water per day,...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District; City of Corpus Christi; Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority; San Antonio River Authority; and San Antonio Water System, developed, calibrated, and tested a Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed model to simulate streamflow and suspended-sediment concentrations...

In 2010 and 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, did a baseline assessment of physical characteristics and aquatic biota (fish and mussels) collected at the mesohabitat scale for reaches of Big Cypress, Black Cypress,...