Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Colorado Water Science Center

Welcome to the USGS Colorado Water Science Center!  Please use these pages to explore the hydrologic data and scientific investigations we conduct on Colorado water resources.

NOTICE: USGS is improving the way that sample data are stored and served to the public.

News

Media Alert: USGS Dye Tracing Study in Fraser River

Media Alert: USGS Dye Tracing Study in Fraser River

Media Alert: USGS Dye-Tracing Study in Lake Fork Creek to Map Groundwater Flow

Media Alert: USGS Dye-Tracing Study in Lake Fork Creek to Map Groundwater Flow

Art Illuminates the Grand Canyon: Exploring the Environmental Puzzle

Art Illuminates the Grand Canyon: Exploring the Environmental Puzzle

Publications

U.S. Geological Survey 2024 Rocky Mountain Region Science Exchange—Showcasing cutting-edge science to adapt to extreme weather events and stakeholder needs

IntroductionThe Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River Basin in the Western United States are complex, interconnected systems that sustain a large variety of species, including tens of millions of humans. These regions face risks from drought, wildfires, invasive plant and animal species, and habitat reduction. Working with many stakeholders, scientists can help to characterize these...
Authors
William J. Andrews, Timothy N. Titus, Lauren Ellissa Eng, Kristine L. Zellman, Patrick J. Anderson, Jeremy C Havens

Data gap analysis for estimation of agricultural return flows in the Upper Gunnison River Basin, Colorado

The Gunnison River and many tributaries in the Upper Gunnison River Basin provide water to irrigate agricultural crops. The application of irrigation water can recharge some aquifers locally by water percolating below the root zone and eventually flowing back to the stream or river through the subsurface. Diverting surface water for irrigation reduces streamflow during the irrigation...
Authors
Rachel G. Gidley, Quinn M. Miller, Wayne R. Belcher

Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing of hydrologic processes—Diverse deployments and new applications by the U.S. Geological Survey

Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing instruments harness the temperature-dependent properties of glass to measure temperature continuously along optical fibers by using precise pulses of laser light. In the mid-2000s, this technology was refined for environmental monitoring purposes such as snowpack-air exchange, groundwater/surface-water exchange, and lake-water stratification...
Authors
Martin Briggs, David Matthew Rey, Chad C. Opatz, Neil C. Terry, Connor P. Newman, Lance R. Gruhn, Carole D. Johnson

Science

Agricultural Return Flows in the Upper Gunnison River Basin

Canals and ditches divert water from streams in the Upper Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, to irrigate agricultural fields. In some areas, irrigation water that percolates below the root zone can locally recharge groundwater and later return to streams through the subsurface, which can extend streamflow outside of the snowmelt runoff season. Understanding the timing and quantity of agricultural...
link

Agricultural Return Flows in the Upper Gunnison River Basin

Canals and ditches divert water from streams in the Upper Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, to irrigate agricultural fields. In some areas, irrigation water that percolates below the root zone can locally recharge groundwater and later return to streams through the subsurface, which can extend streamflow outside of the snowmelt runoff season. Understanding the timing and quantity of agricultural...
Learn More

Camera Installations Collecting Hydrologic Imagery at USGS Monitoring Locations in Colorado

The Colorado Water Science Center Network Integration and Science Innovation team has focused on installing cameras at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitoring locations for situational and observational awareness of conditions at streams, rivers, and lakes in Colorado. Several USGS monitoring locations have been configured with cellular modems and network cameras to obtain still and video imagery...
link

Camera Installations Collecting Hydrologic Imagery at USGS Monitoring Locations in Colorado

The Colorado Water Science Center Network Integration and Science Innovation team has focused on installing cameras at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitoring locations for situational and observational awareness of conditions at streams, rivers, and lakes in Colorado. Several USGS monitoring locations have been configured with cellular modems and network cameras to obtain still and video imagery...
Learn More

Colorado River Headwaters, Water Isotope Network

Water availability is controlled by processes that can be hard to measure, like the process of groundwater discharging from a streambed that becomes streamflow. Naturally occurring, radioactive and stable (non-radioactive) isotopes can help trace those processes, particularly the isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen that are part of the water molecule. Tritium, the radioactive isotope of hydrogen, has...
link

Colorado River Headwaters, Water Isotope Network

Water availability is controlled by processes that can be hard to measure, like the process of groundwater discharging from a streambed that becomes streamflow. Naturally occurring, radioactive and stable (non-radioactive) isotopes can help trace those processes, particularly the isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen that are part of the water molecule. Tritium, the radioactive isotope of hydrogen, has...
Learn More
Was this page helpful?