Water Quality Monitoring

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...

In partnership with the Flood Control District of Maricopa County and as part of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, the US Geological Survey is collecting water-quality and water-level data to help characterize the shallow groundwater and surface water along the Lower Gila River. Water sampling and continuous monitoring of specific conductance, surface water, and shallow groundwater level...

The USGS has been collecting water-quality data in Arizona for several decades. The AzWSC maintains a database containing water-quality data for several thousand sites. These data are provided to local, State, Tribal, and Federal governments that use them to evaluate water chemistry, contaminant levels, groundwater age and movement, and spatial and temporal trends of water quality.

Many communities along the U.S.-Mexico border have limited surface water supply and rely on transboundary aquifers for industry, agriculture, and drinking water; however, information on water needs, water quality, and the extent and functioning of these aquifers is incomplete. The Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP), established through a binational agreement between the United States...

The Arizona Water Science Center (AzWSC) has specialized expertise in monitoring, measuring, and collecting reservoir and lake water and sediment for a variety of phycial and chemical properties.

The Arizona Water Science Center collects water-quality data from stream and aquifer sites in networks that are part of the National Water-Quality Program (NWQP) and the National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN).

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination related to watercraft use is one of the most significant water-quality issues affecting Lake Powell at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (GLCA). Water quality in Lake Powell is important as the lake is a water source for public and agricultural consumption. In addition, more than 2 million people visit GLCA annually, and most of these visitors...

Elevated levels of bacteria have been measured by the USGS, National Park Service, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), and other agencies, in the Upper Santa Cruz River, including within the reach at Tumacácori National Historical Park (TUMA). Indicators of pathogens in the river at TUMA are at levels that are of great concern to TUMA personnel responsible for safeguarding two of...

The Navajo Nation, the City of Flagstaff (COF), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintain a cooperative monitoring program with other local and State agencies for groundwater in the C aquifer (Coconino aquifer) in the Little Colorado River Basin. The goal of this program is to determine baseline groundwater conditions in the C aquifer and other water-bearing zones before significant...

The U.S. Geological Survey water-monitoring program in the Black Mesa area began in 1971 and provides information about the long-term effects of groundwater withdrawals from the N aquifer for industrial and municipal uses. The monitoring program includes measuring potential recovery in the N aquifer as a result of the reduction in industrial pumpage by Peabody Western Coal Company.

Since 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Flood Control District of Maricopa County (FCDMC), the city of Phoenix, and the city of Glendale, has been collecting, analyzing, and interpreting urban stormwater information from selected basins throughout the metropolitan Phoenix area. Water-resource managers and policy makers have used this information to determine...

Industrial activity at Air Force Plant 44 (AFP 44), a manufacturing facility located on property owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by a major defense contractor, resulted in extensive contamination of groundwater with the industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) and other organic compounds. The sole-source regional aquifer underlying AFP 44 provides potable water for municipal, commercial...