California Water Science Center

USGS scientist, Katy O'Donnell, monitoring instruments onboard a high-speed mapping boat. 

Hydrologic technicians deploying a flow sensor on a shoal in San Francisco Bay.

Scientists heading out to deploy sensors for sediment nutrient storage and release.

Delta wetland near Rio Vista, California.

This video explains how streamgages are used to measure the height and flow, or speed, of streams. By monitoring the height and flow of streams, the people who manage water infrastructure can have advanced noted of when the water is rising and how fast it’s coming. This helps to prepare for flooding, mudslides, and other hazardous impacts that a lot of fast-moving water

USGS scientists collect water quality samples in the San Francisco Bay. The samples have been collected at the same locations for >50 years and are part of one of the longest running datasets of its kind in the United States. Sampling extends from the South San Francisco Bay, south of the Dumbarton bridge, and ends in the Delta waterways in Rio Vista. Cruise days can

A concrete-lined stretch of the Los Angeles River that runs near Sepulveda Dam.  USGS streamgage 11092450 can be seen in the lower left along the river wall. Restoration is planned for this stretch of the river that runs through the San Fernando Valley.

Irrigated land-use in the Adelaida Area of San Luis Obisbo County, CA for 1984, 1996, 2004, 2014, and 2016. Numbers indicate acres and percent of total acres. Source: California Department of  Conservation Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program, 

Trace 1310 GC with a TSQ 9000 triple quadrupole MS (Thermo Scientific)

Scientists Collect Water Quality Data Prior to Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades

USGS Scientists Map Nutrients on Sacramento Delta