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
Consider this site your source for water-related information, collected and interpreted by the USGS in MD, DE, and Washington, DC
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.
A 20-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey and Montgomery County, Maryland assesses ecosystem response to different types of stormwater management.
MD-DE-DC WSC Capabilities Sites
A new series of microsites featuring in-depth assessments of our center's abilities
A new series of microsites featuring in-depth assessments of our center's abilities
MD-DE-DC Seminar Series
Seminars presented by great scientific minds, hosted by the MD-DE-DC Water Science Center
Seminars presented by great scientific minds, hosted by the MD-DE-DC Water Science Center
MD-DE-DC Stream Gaging Network
The USGS operates thousands of stream gages throughout the US. See how our science center does our part!
The USGS operates thousands of stream gages throughout the US. See how our science center does our part!
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.
Explore Our Capabilities
Explore Our Capabilities
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.
Local Water Conditions
Local Water Conditions
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.
QUICK LINKS
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.
News
Fall 2024 Newsletter - In The Flow
Fall 2024 Newsletter - In The Flow
Spring 2024 Newsletter - In The Flow - Maryland-Delaware-DC Water Science Center
Spring 2024 Newsletter - In The Flow - Maryland-Delaware-DC Water Science Center
Testing New Water Quality Observation Methods In Philadelphia
Testing New Water Quality Observation Methods In Philadelphia
Publications
Predictive modeling reveals elevated conductivity relative to background levels in freshwater tributaries within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Elevated conductivity (i.e., specific conductance or SC) causes osmotic stress in freshwater aquatic organisms and may increase the toxicity of some contaminants. Indices of benthic macroinvertebrate integrity have declined in urban areas across the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW), and more information is needed about whether these declines may be due to elevated conductivity. A predictive SC model
Seasonally varying contributions of contemporaneous and lagged sources of instream total nitrogen and phosphorus load across the Illinois River basin
Quantifying nutrient sources in streams, their temporal and spatial variability, and drivers of that variability can support effective water resources management. Yet a lack of data and modeling capabilities has previously prevented comprehensive quantification across both space and time. Here a dynamic SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes) model that accounts for a la
A spatial machine learning model developed from noisy data requires multiscale performance evaluation: Predicting depth to bedrock in the Delaware River Basin, USA
Spatial machine learning models can be developed from observations with substantial unexplainable variability, sometimes called ‘noise’. Traditional point-scale metrics (e.g., R2) alone can be misleading when evaluating these models. We present a multi-scale performance evaluation (MPE) using two additional scales (distributional and geostatistical). We apply the MPE framework to predictions of de
Science
New study highlights impact of current and historic land use on stream incision in Maryland Piedmont headwaters
A new method was developed to remotely identify small, eroding streams and measure change over time.
Monitoring the Effectiveness of Conservation Practices in Small Agricultural Watersheds
Farmers are an important part of the economy and heritage of the Chesapeake Bay. Farmers also act as stewards of the land and water. Across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, members of the agricultural community are volunteering to adopt conservation practices on their land. The goal of these practices is to protect the health of the soil, local streams and rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. These...
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...