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Welcome to the MD-DE-DC Water Science Center

Consider this site your source for water-related information, collected and interpreted by the USGS in MD, DE, and Washington, DC

WE ARE WATER SCIENCE

Soaking Up Stormwater In Clarksburg

A 20-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey and Montgomery County, Maryland assesses ecosystem response to different types of stormwater management.

LEARN MORE & WATCH THE VIDEO

MD-DE-DC WSC Capabilities Sites

A new series of microsites featuring in-depth assessments of our center's abilities

SEE OUR CAPABILITIES

MD-DE-DC Seminar Series

Seminars presented by great scientific minds, hosted by the MD-DE-DC Water Science Center

SEE OUR SEMINARS...

MD-DE-DC Stream Gaging Network

The USGS operates thousands of stream gages throughout the US. See how our science center does our part!

EXPLORE OUR NETWORKS

Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center

Welcome to the USGS Water Science Center serving Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. We operate streamgages, observation wells, and monitoring stations that provide the reliable scientific information needed to understand our natural world.

See our video: Working with the USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center

Explore Our Capabilities

Chesapeake Bay at Edgewater, MD

We’ve created a series of websites thematically named to characterize our work as “Capabilities”. Our highly skilled staff work with diverse groups of cooperative partners, producing the high-quality output for which the USGS is world-renown.

SEE OUR CAPABILITIES

Local Water Conditions

MD Surface Water Conditions Screenshot

Explore real-time streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality conditions and access data for MD, DE, and DC with our new interactive map application. This application offers data displays on multiple device platforms with various basemap options.

MD Surface Water

QUICK LINKS

Featured below are some popular features on the MD-DE-DC Water Science site. To better navigate our pages, please use the vertical header listing to the left side of this window.

OUR NEW NWIS-MAPPER

News

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Fall 2023 - In The Flow - USGS Maryland-Delaware-Washington DC Water Science Newsletter

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2023 Center Awards

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In The Flow - USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center Newsletter - Summer 2023

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Publications

Thirty years of regional groundwater-quality trend studies in the United States: Major findings and lessons learned

Changes in groundwater quality have been evaluated for more than 2,200 wells in 25 Principal Aquifers in the United States based on repeated decadal sampling (once every 10 years) from 1988 to 2021. The purpose of this study is to identify contaminants with changing concentrations, the locations and magnitude of those changes, the factors driving those changes, the obstacles to interpreting the ch
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Bruce D. Lindsey, Brandon J. Fleming, Phillip J. Goodling, Amanda Nicole May
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Water Resources Mission Area, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center

CONUS404: The NCAR-USGS 4-km long-term regional hydroclimate reanalysis over the CONUS

A unique, high-resolution, hydroclimate reanalysis, 40-plus-year (October 1979–September 2021), 4 km (named as CONUS404), has been created using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model by dynamically downscaling of the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate dataset (ERA5) over the conterminous United States. The p
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R. M. Rasmussen, F. Chen, C. H. Liu, K. Ikeda, A. Prein, J. Kim, T. Schneider, A. Dai, D. Gochis, A. Dugger, Y. Zhang, A. Jaye, J. Dudhia, C. He, M. Harrold, L. Xue, S. Chen, A. Newman, E. Dougherty, R. Abolafia-Rozenzweig, N. Lybarger, Roland J. Viger, David P. Lesmes, Katherine Skalak, John Brakebill, Donald Walter Cline, Krista A. Dunne, K. Rasmussen, G. Miguez-Macho
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Water Resources Mission Area, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center

River water quality in the Delaware River Basin—Concentrations and trends through 2018

IntroductionThe Delaware River Basin provides drinking water to 13.3 million people and supports endangered species, provides recreational opportunities, and is an essential resource to regional industries. The efforts of Federal and State governments have substantially improved overall water quality in the basin, which had been severely degraded prior to the mid-20th century. Recent trend analyse
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Megan E. Shoda, Emily G Gain, Jennifer C. Murphy
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Central Midwest Water Science Center, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center
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Science

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Corn field in front of barn, silo, and houses

New study evaluates effects of agricultural conservation practices on nitrogen in streams of the Chesapeake Bay

Issue: Adaptive management in support of Chesapeake Bay restoration is complicated by uncertainty about the effects of agricultural management practices on water quality. Despite increasing investment, effects of agricultural conservation practices on regional water quality remain difficult to quantify due to factors such as groundwater travel times, varying modes-of-action, and the general lack...
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center
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New study evaluates effects of agricultural conservation practices on nitrogen in streams of the Chesapeake Bay

Issue: Adaptive management in support of Chesapeake Bay restoration is complicated by uncertainty about the effects of agricultural management practices on water quality. Despite increasing investment, effects of agricultural conservation practices on regional water quality remain difficult to quantify due to factors such as groundwater travel times, varying modes-of-action, and the general lack...
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Photograph of road cut showing fractured sedimentary rocks

A Field Method to Quantify Chlorinated Solvent Diffusion, Sorption, Abiotic and Biotic Degradation in Low-Permeability Zones

Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program project ER-2533 In chlorinated-solvent-contaminated fractured-sedimentary-rock aquifers, low-permeability (low-K) strata typically act as long-term or secondary sources of contamination to mobile groundwater in the high-permeability fractures. The fate of dissolved trichloroethene (TCE) in the low-K matrix is controlled by abiotic...
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Toxic Substances Hydrology, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center
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A Field Method to Quantify Chlorinated Solvent Diffusion, Sorption, Abiotic and Biotic Degradation in Low-Permeability Zones

Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program project ER-2533 In chlorinated-solvent-contaminated fractured-sedimentary-rock aquifers, low-permeability (low-K) strata typically act as long-term or secondary sources of contamination to mobile groundwater in the high-permeability fractures. The fate of dissolved trichloroethene (TCE) in the low-K matrix is controlled by abiotic...
Learn More
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Chesapeake Bay at Edgewater, MD

Summarizing Scientific Findings for Common Stakeholder Questions to Inform Nutrient and Sediment Management Activities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership is striving to improve water-quality conditions in the Bay by using a variety of management strategies to reduce nutrient and sediment loads. The partnership uses monitoring results and modeling tools to implement management strategies, relying on the scientific community to synthesize existing information and direct new research to address...
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Chesapeake Bay Activities, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center
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Summarizing Scientific Findings for Common Stakeholder Questions to Inform Nutrient and Sediment Management Activities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership is striving to improve water-quality conditions in the Bay by using a variety of management strategies to reduce nutrient and sediment loads. The partnership uses monitoring results and modeling tools to implement management strategies, relying on the scientific community to synthesize existing information and direct new research to address...
Learn More
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