Regression equations for estimating the 4-day, 3-year low-flow frequency and adjusted harmonic mean streamflow at ungaged sites for unregulated, perennial streams in New Mexico
Meghan T. Bell, Anne C. Tillery
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5058
The Federal Clean Water Act stipulates that States adopt water-quality standards to protect and enhance the quality of water in those States and to protect water quality through the creation of planning documents and discharge permits. Critical low-flow values, including the 4-day, 3-year low-flow frequency (4Q3) and harmonic mean streamflows,...
Approaches for assessing flows, concentrations, and loads of highway and urban runoff and receiving-stream stormwater in southern New England with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
Gregory E. Granato, Alana B. Spaetzel, Lillian C. Jeznach
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5087
The Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) was designed to help quantify the risk of adverse effects of runoff on receiving waters, the potential need for mitigation measures, and the potential effectiveness of such management measures for reducing these risks. SELDM is calibrated using representative hydrological and water-quality input...
U.S. Geological Survey science vision for native freshwater mussel research in the United States
Teresa J. Newton, Nathan A. Johnson, David H. Hu
2023, Circular 1511
Executive SummaryNorth America is a global center for native freshwater mussel (order Unionida, hereinafter “mussels”) diversity, with more than 350 species. Mussels are among the most imperiled fauna on the planet. Reasons for both local and widespread declines in mussels are mostly unknown, although the threats may include habitat loss...
Estimating peak-flow quantiles for selected annual exceedance probabilities in Illinois
Thomas M. Over, Mackenzie K. Marti, Padraic S. O’Shea, Jennifer B. Sharpe
2023, Research Report FHWA-ICT-23-014
This report presents the methods, results, and applications of an updated flood-frequency study for the State of Illinois. This study, which uses data through September 2017, updates two previous studies that used data through 1999 and 2009, respectively. Flood-frequency estimates are used for a variety of land-use planning and infrastructure...
Seismic images and subsurface structures of northeastern Edwards Air Force Base, Kern County, California
Rufus D. Catchings, Mark R. Goldman, Joanne H. Chan, Robert R. Sickler, Coyn J. Criley
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1018
We used multi-component seismic data (including two-dimensional images of compressional-wave velocity [vP], shear-wave velocity [vS], the ratio of compressional-wave velocity to shear-wave velocity [vP/vS ratio], Poisson’s ratio [μ], and seismic reflections) along a transect across northeastern Edwards Air Force Base to investigate the upper few hundred meters of the subsurface....
Comprehensive water-quality trend analysis for selected sites and constituents in the International Souris River Basin, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada, and North Dakota, United States, 1970–2020
Rochelle A. Nustad, Wyatt S. Tatge
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5084
The Souris River Basin is an international basin in southeast Saskatchewan, north-central North Dakota, and southwest Manitoba. Sustained exceedances of water-quality objectives for total phosphorus, sodium, sulfate, total dissolved solids, and total iron have been reported since the late 1990s at the two binational sites on the Souris River (Souris...
Flood-inundation maps for Fourmile Creek at Silver Grove, Kentucky
Justin A. Boldt
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5068
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 3.4-mile reach of Fourmile Creek at Silver Grove, Kentucky, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Silver Grove and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District. Because the City of Silver Grove is subject to flooding from...
Drought-vulnerability assessment of public water systems in West Virginia
Matthew R. Kearns, Kaycee E. Faunce, Terence Messinger
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1057
Water withdrawn from rivers and streams accounts for approximately 80 percent of the public water supply in West Virginia. Localized and (or) seasonal droughts may threaten future water availability in the state, particularly in rural communities located in the headwaters of unregulated watersheds. Monthly water withdrawal data obtained from the...
Response in the water quality of Delavan Lake, Wisconsin, to changes in phosphorus loading—Setting new goals for loading from its drainage basin
Dale M. Robertson, Benjamin J. Siebers, Reed A. Fredrick
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5073
During 1989–92, an extensive rehabilitation project was completed in and around Delavan Lake, Wisconsin, to improve the lake’s water quality. However, in 2016, the lake was listed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as impaired for excessive algal growth (high chlorophyll a concentrations), and high phosphorus input was listed...
Estimating streambed hydraulic conductivity for selected streams in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain using continuous resistivity profiling methods—Delta region
Ryan F. Adams, Benjamin Miller, Wade H. Kress, Burke J. Minsley, James R. Rigby
2023, Scientific Investigations Map 3500
Introduction The Mississippi Alluvial Plain is one of the most important agricultural regions in the United States, and crop productivity relies on groundwater irrigation from an aquifer system whose full capacity is unknown. Groundwater withdrawals from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer have resulted in substantial groundwater-level declines and reductions...
Techniques for estimating the magnitude and frequency of peak flows on small streams in Minnesota, excluding the Rainy River Basin, based on data through water year 2019
Christopher A. Sanocki, Sara B. Levin
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5079
Annual peak-flow data collected at U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in Minnesota and adjacent areas of neighboring states of Iowa and South Dakota were analyzed to develop and update regional regression equations that can be used to estimate the magnitude and frequency of peak streamflow for ungaged streams in Minnesota, excluding...
Selenium hazards in the Salton Sea environment—Summary of current knowledge to inform future wetland management
Michael R. Rosen, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Krishangi D. Groover, Isa Woo, Sarah A. Roberts, Melanie J. Davis, Cristiana Y. Antonino
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5042
Quaternary marine and continental shales in the western United States are sources of selenium that can be loaded into the aquatic environment through mining, agricultural, and energy production processes. The mobilization of selenium from shales through agricultural irrigation has been recognized since the 1930s; however, discovery of deformities in birds...
Turbulence near a sandbar island in the lower Missouri River
Geng Li, Caroline M. Elliott, Bruce Call, Brandon James Sansom, R. B. Jacobson, Bin Wang
2023, River Research and Applications (39) 1857-1874
River turbulence is spatially variable due to interactions between morphology of rivers and physical mechanics of flowing water. Understanding the variation of turbulence in rivers is important for characterizing transport processes of soluble and particulate materials in these systems. We present an exploratory effort to...
Application of surrogate technology to predict real-time metallic-contaminant concentrations and loads in the Clark Fork near Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Montana, water years 2019–20
Christopher A. Ellison, Steven K. Sando, Tom E. Cleasby
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5021
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site (GRKO) in southwestern Montana commemorates the frontier cattle era and its formative role in shaping the culture and history of the Western United States. The ranch was designated a national historic landmark in 1960 and a unit of the National Park Service (NPS) by Congress...
Simulation of future streamflow and irrigation demand based on climate and urban growth projections in the Cape Fear and Pee Dee River Basins, North Carolina and South Carolina, 2055–65
Laura N. Gurley, Ana Maria Garcia, Cassandra A. Pfeifle, Georgina M. Sanchez
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5036
Water resources in the coastal region of North Carolina and South Carolina (Coastal Carolinas) are currently under stress from competing ecological and societal needs. Projected changes in climate and population are expected to place even more stress on water resources in the region. The Coastal Carolinas Focus Area Study...
Potentiometric surface map of the Southern High Plains aquifer in the Cannon Air Force Base area, Curry County, New Mexico, 2020
A.B. Goodwin, Meghan T. Bell
2023, Scientific Investigations Map 3504
Declining water levels and the potential impact on water resources on and around Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico, has necessitated an up-to-date review of the potentiometric surface to evaluate the availability of water resources for future use. Analysis of groundwater-flow directions and hydraulic gradients can provide an understanding...
Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations, flux, and yields in the Galena River, Illinois, 2019–21
Paul J. Terrio, Luis A. Garcia
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5044
Two stations on the Galena River in Illinois were monitored for nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment from 2019 to 2021 to determine physiochemical properties and constituent concentrations, flux, and yields. This information could aide in the management and understanding of the Galena River and the contributions from the intervening 58-square-mile...
Arsenic in groundwater in the Grand Canyon region and an evaluation of potential pathways for arsenic contamination of groundwater from breccia pipe uranium mining
Fred D. Tillman, Kimberly R. Beisner, Casey J.R. Jones
2023, PLOS Water (2)
The Grand Canyon in northern Arizona is an international tourist destination, a home or sacred place to many Native Americans, and hosts some of the highest-grade uranium deposits in the United States. Although potential contamination of water resources by uranium from mining activities is a concern,...
Floodwater drainage assessment of Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 2020–22
Christopher M. Hobza, Kellan R. Strauch
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5053
Offutt Air Force Base, south of Omaha, Nebraska, experienced major flooding during the March 2019 flood event because of the proximity of the base to the confluence of the Missouri River and nearby tributaries, which exceeded flood stages. Postflood, standing water remained through much of the year, attracting waterfowl and...
Quality of surface water in Missouri, water year 2021
Kendra M. Markland
2023, Data Report 1179
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, maintains a statewide group of stations known as the Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring Network, which includes selected streams and springs in Missouri. During water year 2021 (October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021), the U.S. Geological Survey collected...
Application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) to simulate the streamflows and water balance of the Red River Basin, 1980–2016
Victor L. Roland II
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5105
The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) was used to develop and calibrate a streamflow and water balance model for the Red River Basin as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Census, a research effort focused on developing innovative water accounting...
Historical changes to channel planform and bed elevations downstream from dams along Fall Creek and Middle Fork Willamette River, Oregon, 1926–2016
Mackenzie K. Keith, J. Rose Wallick, Gabriel W. Gordon, Heather D. Bervid
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5048
Operation of large, multipurpose dams within the Middle Fork Willamette River Basin, Oregon, including the Fall Creek sub-basin, have disrupted natural streamflow and sediment transport regimes and fish passage along the river corridors. Documenting channel morphology, including channel planform, landforms, vegetation cover, and river channel elevations at multiple points in...
Analysis of aquifer framework and properties, North Magee Street well field, Southampton, New York
Paul E. Misut
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1028
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Suffolk County Water Authority, evaluated the groundwater-flow characteristics and aquifer properties of the North Magee Street well field north of the village of Southampton, New York. Characteristics and properties included groundwater-flow direction, potential groundwater-contributing areas to the well field production wells, and...
Calibration of the Trinity River Stream Salmonid Simulator (S3) with extension to the Klamath River, California, 2006–17
John M. Plumb, Russell W. Perry, Nicholas A. Som, Damon H. Goodman, Aaron C. Martin, Justin S. Alvarez, Nicholas J. Hetrick
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1023
The Trinity River is managed in two sections: (1) the upper 64-kilometer (km) “restoration reach” downstream from Lewiston Dam and (2) the 120-km lower Trinity River downstream from the restoration reach. The Stream Salmonid Simulator (S3) has been previously constructed and calibrated for the restoration reach. In this report, we...
Groundwater residence times in glacial aquifers—A new general simulation-model approach compared to conventional inset models
J. Jeffrey Starn, Leon J. Kauffman, Daniel T. Feinstein
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5142
Groundwater is important as a drinking-water source and for maintaining base flow in rivers, streams, and lakes. Groundwater quality can be predicted, in part, by its residence time in the subsurface, but the residence-time distribution cannot be measured directly and must be inferred from models. This report compares residence-time distributions...
