Dakota Water Science Center

USGS technician Chris Broz helps take water measurements on the Big Sioux River during record flooding in March, 2019.

USGS scientists and technicians took water measurements during flooding on the Big Sioux River near Jefferson, SD in March 2019. Measurements for this site were 52,000 cfs at a gage height of 40.14 ft. More information about this USGS streamgage is available at https://waterdata.usgs.gov/sd/nwis/uv?site_no=

USGS scientists and technicians took water measurements during flooding on the Big Sioux River near Hawarden, Iowa in March 2019.

USGS Hydrologic Technician Chris Broz attempting to find flow at the Rush River at Amenia, ND (USGS streamgage 05060500).  It took the technicians an hour to dig through the snow drift under the wire weight gage just to get to the ice. Then they drilled holes in the ice so they could see if there was any water to measure. 

On February 8, 2019, USGS hydrologic technicians Joel Petersen and Sarah Davis measured a streamflow of 368 cubic feet per second at the Belle Fourche River near Elm Springs (USGS streamgage 06438000). Because of the depth of the ice, at times staff needed to lay flat on the snow and ice to ensure the equipment reaches to the stream bed.  And because of the extreme cold

USGS Hydrologic technician Sarah Davis measuring streamflow at the South Fork Grand River near Cash, SD (streamgage 06356500) on January 31, 2019.  Measuring the streamflow under ice requires drilling holes across the width of the stream and then collecting data from each hole.  At times streams can freeze solid but drilling holes are necessary to verify that. The

Staff gage for Spearfish Creek at Spearfish, SD (USGS streamgage 06431500). This site was established as a U.S. Geological Survey streamgage on October 9, 1946, and is operated in cooperation with South Dakota Department of Natural Resources. More information on this streamgage is available at 

Gage house for Spearfish Creek at Spearfish, SD (USGS streamgage 06431500). This site was established as a U.S. Geological Survey streamgage on October 9, 1946, and is operated in cooperation with South Dakota Department of Natural Resources. Streamgages are visited by a USGS hydrologic technician on 6-week intervals throughout the year. The October or early November visit

Hydrologic technician Kammy Durham reading the elevation of a known reference point at streamgage 06404998, Grace Coolidge Creek near Game Lodge near Custer, SD. One step in ensuring consistent streamflow data is verifying that the reference elevation at the streamgage stays consistent and that any changes are documented. All of the USGS streamgages have multiple reference

Student hydrologic technician Jackie Eldredge holding the rod over one of the known reference points at streamgage 06404998, Grace Coolidge Creek near Game Lodge near Custer, SD. One step in ensuring consistent streamflow data is verifying that the reference elevation at the streamgage stays consistent and that any changes are documented. All of the USGS streamgages have

Hydrologic Technician Kammy Durham collecting water-quality samples from a well at Ellsworth Air Force Base for analysis.