Publications

Ground water is one of the most important natural resources of the United States and degradation of its quality could have a major effect on the welfare of the Nation. Currently (1985), ground water is the source of drinking water for 53 percent of the Nation's population and for more than 97 percent of its rural population. It is the source of about 40 percent of the Nation's public...

This study characterizes the clay minerals in sediments associated with a plume of creosote-contaminated groundwater. The plume of contaminated groundwater near Pensacola, FL, is in shallow, permeable, Miocene to Holocene quartz sand and flows southward toward Pensacola Bay. Clay-size fractions were separated from 41 cores, chiefly split-spoon samples at 13 drill sites. The most striking...

From May 1984 to November 1985, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey Bureau, investigated nitrate and herbicides in the Iowa River alluvial aquifer. The occurrence and distribution of nitrate and selected herbicides were determined in the Iowa River alluvial aquifer, a...

The surface-water quality in the Cedar River basin was evaluated by analyzing the occurrence, distribution, and transport of common inorganic constituents and selected trace inorganic and organic constituents, with emphasis on herbicides. The surface-water quality of the Cedar River basin was monitored from May 1984 through November 1985. Depth integrated surface-water samples generally...

Ground water is the primary source for most water uses in Iowa. Ground-water resources supply 81 percent of the water withdrawn in Iowa for non-power-generating uses. Ground water from five principal aquifer systems is the source of drinking water for approximately 82 percent of the State's population. These aquifers range from land surface to several thousand feet below land surface...

A ground-water-flow model and plan for obtaining supporting data are proposed for a part of the Missouri River alluvial aquifer in Woodbury and Monona Counties, Iowa. The proposed model and the use of the principle of superposition will aid in the interpretation of the relation between ground water and surface water in the study area, particularly the effect of lowered river stages on...

Periodic assessments of water use in Iowa are needed to understand and manage the demands for the available water resources. This report summarizes where, how much, and for what purposes water was used in Iowa during 1985. The data are presented for the following categories: agricultural, self-supplied commercial, self-supplied domestic, self-supplied industrial, irrigation, mining...

The water levels of the navigation pools on the Mississippi River are maintained by the operation of tainter and roller gates at the locks and dams. Discharge ratings for the gates on Lock and Dam 21, at Quincy, Illinois, were developed from current meter discharge measurements made in the forebays of the gate structures. Methodology is given to compute the gate openings of the tainter...

The water level of the navigation pools on the Mississippi River are maintained by the operation of tainter and roller gates at the locks and dams. Discharge ratings for the gates on Lock and Dam 18, at Gladstone, Illinois, were developed from current meter discharge measurements made in the forebays of the gate structures. Methodology is given to accurately compute the gate openings of...

Water year 1986 was the second wettest on record in Iowa since records began being kept in the late 1800's. This report examines the spatial distribution of precipitation, the deviations from normal precipitation, and the effect of the excess precipitation on the water resources of Iowa. New high ground-water levels were established in water wells and new peak stages and new peak...

The U. S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, in accordance with Public Law 566, is implementing various types of water-land improvement practices in the Little Black River basin in southeastern Missouri. These practices are designed, in part, to decrease the suspended sediment (SS) transport in the basin, decrease flood damage in the basin, and improve drainage in the

This report provides techniques and procedures for estimating the probable magnitude and frequency of floods at ungaged sites on Iowa streams. Physiographic characteristics were used to define the boundaries of five hydrologic regions. Regional regression equations that relate the size of the drainage area to flood magnitude are defined for estimating peak discharges having specified...