Groundwater

To view the interactive map for Mississippi DroughWatch click here .

SPARROW, a modeling tool for the regional interpretation of water-quality monitoring data. The model relates in-stream water-quality measurements to spatially referenced characteristics of watersheds, including contaminant sources and factors influencing terrestrial and aquatic transport. SPARROW empirically estimates the origin and fate of contaminants in river networks and quantifies...

Long-term water-level records are needed to evaluate the effects of climatic variations on the recharge to and discharge from the ground-water systems, to provide a data base from which to measure the effects of development, to assist in the prediction of future supplies, and to provide data for management of the resource.

Since 1950 when the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) first conducted water-use compilations, important changes in water use have occurred in Alabama. The early part of the history (1950 to 1980) showed a steady increase in water use. During this time, the expectation was that, as the population increased, so would water use. Contrary to this expectation, reported water withdrawals declined in 1985...

The U.S. Geological Survey's Groundwater Resources Program (GWRP) is conducting an assessment of groundwater availability throughout the United States to gain a better understanding of the status of the Nation's groundwater resources and how changes in water use and climate may affect those resources. Assessments will be completed for the Nation's principal aquifer systems to help characterize how...

The USGS is summarizing basic information on water resources for each parish in Louisiana and presenting the information in fact-sheet format. Information presented includes groundwater and surface-water availability, quality, development, use, and trends. These brief summaries of water resources will provide parish officials, local officials and concerned citizens with information needed to make...

Short Title: Ozark Karst Study Project Chiefs: Tim Kresse (USGS-Water), Phil Hays (USGS-Water), James Kaufmann (USGS-Geography), Mark Hudson (USGS-Geology), Esther Stroh (USGS-Biology) Cooperator: U.S. Geological Survey Project Time Frame: 2007 - 2011 Three major physiographic provinces in the Ozark Plateaus in Arkansas and Missouri include diverse topography and geomorphology, which greatly...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Mississippi Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, and the Mississippi Automated Resource Information System developed a 1:24,000-scale Watershed Boundary Dataset for Mississippi including...

Short Title: Principal Aquifers Project Chief: Brian Clark Cooperator: U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program Project Time Frame: May 2008 - Sept 2009 The principal aquifer study will use regional ground-water MODFLOW models and particle-tracking predictions to estimate travel time from the water table to aquifer zones in selected principal aquifers. Zones may be related...

Short Title: MERAS Model Project Chief: Brian Clark Cooperator: U.S. Geological Survey Office of Ground-Water Resources Program Project Time Frame: January 2006 - 2009 Fresh ground-water in the Mississippi embayment can be found in alternating formations of sand, silt and clay. Decades of pumping from the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer for irrigation and from the Sparta-Memphis aquifer...

The Mississippi embayment-Texas coastal uplands aquifer system is an important source of drinking water, providing about 724 million gallons per day to about 8.9 million people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Alabama. The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer ranks third in the Nation for total withdrawals of which more than 98 percent...

Saltwater encroachment has been detected in six aquifers, including the "1,500-foot" and "2,000-foot" sands, north of the Baton Rouge fault in East Baton Rouge Parish. The encroachment is in response to ground-water withdrawals, primarily for public supply and industrial uses, in Baton Rouge. Additional information is needed for water planners and managers in the Baton Rouge area to make decisions...