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Dakota Water Science Center

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

News

USGS Measures Historic Flooding Across the Upper Midwest

USGS Measures Historic Flooding Across the Upper Midwest

Public Invitation: Learn the Latest on Your Water Resources in the Dakotas

Public Invitation: Learn the Latest on Your Water Resources in the Dakotas

Media Alert: Public Invitation: Remembering the 1972 Flood, Planning for the Future of Water Resources

Media Alert: Public Invitation: Remembering the 1972 Flood, Planning for the Future of Water Resources

Publications

Peak streamflow trends in South Dakota and their relation to changes in climate, water years 1921–2020

Peak-flow (flood) frequency analysis is essential to water-resources management applications, including the design of critical infrastructure such as bridges and culverts, and floodplain mapping. Federal guidelines for performing peak-flow flood frequency analyses are presented in a U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods Report known as Bulletin 17C. A basic assumption within Bulletin 17C,
Authors
Nancy A. Barth, Steven K. Sando

Dissolved oxygen monitoring on the Souris River, 2019–23

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with the International Joint Commission installed and operated continuous water-quality monitors at three sites on the Souris River from May 2019 to October 2023. Continuously recorded data included dissolved oxygen (DO), water temperature, and specific conductance at the Souris River near Sherwood, North Dakota (USGS station 05114000), Souris River
Authors
Joel M. Galloway

Evidence of long-range transport of selenium downstream of coal mining operations in the Elk River Valley, Canada

Expanding coal-mining operations in the Elk River Valley (British Columbia, Canada) have increased total selenium (Se) concentrations in the transboundary Lake Koocanusa (Canada and United States), but the spatial extent of Se transport from the Elk River Mines is unknown. We evaluated multiple lines of evidence of long-range transport of Se at five sites downstream of the mines relative to a site
Authors
Madison Jo Foster, Meryl Biesiot Storb, Johanna Blake, Travis S. Schmidt, Rochelle A. Nustad, Ashley Morgan Bussell

Science

Western South Dakota Hydrology Conference

The 2025 Western South Dakota Hydrology Conference will be held on April 10, 2025, at the Monument, Rapid City, SD. Registration will open on February 5, 2025. Previous years' program and abstracts are available from the "Multimedia" tab on this page.
link

Western South Dakota Hydrology Conference

The 2025 Western South Dakota Hydrology Conference will be held on April 10, 2025, at the Monument, Rapid City, SD. Registration will open on February 5, 2025. Previous years' program and abstracts are available from the "Multimedia" tab on this page.
Learn More

Flood-Frequency Analysis in the Midwest: Addressing Potential Nonstationary Annual Peak-Flow Records

Period of Project: 2021 - Study Area: Midwest Cooperating Agency: Transportation Pooled Fund
link

Flood-Frequency Analysis in the Midwest: Addressing Potential Nonstationary Annual Peak-Flow Records

Period of Project: 2021 - Study Area: Midwest Cooperating Agency: Transportation Pooled Fund
Learn More

Souris River Basin

Information and products on the Souris River Basin.
link

Souris River Basin

Information and products on the Souris River Basin.
Learn More
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