Welcome to the Arizona Water Science Center
The Continuous Slope-Area Method
Providing 5-minute water-level data during floods in remote areas
Providing 5-minute water-level data during floods in remote areas
Arizona Water Science Center
Welcome to the U.S. Geological Survey Arizona Water Science Center. Our mission is to collect and interpret high quality, impartial scientific information to provide resource managers and the public with the knowledge required to understand and manage the critical water resources of Arizona and the Southwest.
National Water Dashboard
National Water Dashboard
National Water Dashboard - Arizona
Explore real-time streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality conditions in Arizona and across the nation.
Featured Science
Featured Science
The USGS has collected groundwater chemistry samples since 1981 in the Grand Canyon region to better understand changes in groundwater quality that may be the result of mining activities and to identify "hot spots" with elevated metal concentrations. This manuscript presents results for the assessment of uranium in groundwater in the Grand Canyon region.
News
USGS Science Campus Open House: Hours of sciences, sunshine, and ice cream
USGS Science Campus Open House: Hours of sciences, sunshine, and ice cream
Join us on Sept 29 for the USGS Open House in Flagstaff!
Join us on Sept 29 for the USGS Open House in Flagstaff!
Art Illuminates the Grand Canyon: Exploring the Environmental Puzzle
Art Illuminates the Grand Canyon: Exploring the Environmental Puzzle
Publications
Groundwater-storage change in the north Phoenix aquifer, Arizona, 2020–23
The city of Phoenix, Arizona, relies primarily on surface water for municipal water supply. The city also maintains wells to withdraw groundwater, particularly in times of drought and reduced surface-water supply, and to recharge groundwater when excess surface water is available. As of 2023, withdrawals from the aquifer in the northeastern part of the city are a small volume of water...
Salinity or sum of constituents— Methods comparison for computing dissolved solids concentrations in streams of the Upper Colorado River Basin
The Colorado River is an important water source in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. High concentrations of dissolved solids in the river, sourced mainly from the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCOL), cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damages annually to crops and infrastructure. Determinations of total dissolved solids (TDS) in river and tributary samples often...
Groundwater, surface-water, and water-chemistry data, Black Mesa area, northeastern Arizona—2019–2021
The Navajo (N) aquifer is an extensive aquifer and the primary source of groundwater in the 5,400-square-mile Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Water availability is an important issue in the Black Mesa area because of the arid climate, past industrial water use, and continued water requirements for municipal use by a growing population. Precipitation in the area typically ranges...
Science
Estimation of Dissolved-Solids Concentrations Using Continuous Water-Quality Monitoring and Regression Models at Four Sites in the Yuma Area, Arizona and California
The Colorado River is controlled by an extensive system of dams and canals diverting much of the water in the United States for agricultural and municipal uses. The Water Treaty of 1944 guarantees that 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water is delivered to Mexico from the United States annually. Additionally, the water delivered must meet water-quality criteria as defined in Minute 242. The...
Southwest Gravity Program
The Southwest Gravity Program provides high-precision time-lapse gravity (repeat microgravity) data for hydrologic studies in the southwestern US. Recent projects include monitoring recharge underneath ephemeral-stream channels, monitoring aquifer-storage change in unconfined and compressible aquifers, measuring storage change at surface-spreading and injection-well artificial-recharge facilities...
Tucson Extensometer Network
The U.S. Geological Survey Arizona Water Science Center in cooperation with Tucson Water has monitored water-level and aquifer compaction at several wells in Avra Valley and Tucson Basin since about 1980. The purpose of the data collection is to document compaction of the aquifer system in response to stresses induced by water-level change, provide control for satellite-based observations of land...