NAWQA Studies in Nebraska Active
In 1991, Congress established the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) to address where, when, why, and how the Nation's water quality has changed, or is likely to change in the future, in response to human activities and natural factors. Since then, NAWQA has been a leading source of scientific data and knowledge used by national, regional, state, and local agencies to develop science-based policies and management strategies to improve and protect water resources used for drinking water, recreation, irrigation, energy development, and ecosystem needs.
NAWQA is currently in its third decade-Cycle 3. The science strategy for Cycle 3 is based on evaluation of progress by NAWQA and its partners during Cycles 1 and 2 (1991-2012) and an analysis of stakeholder priorities. Specifically, input on key water issues and science needs has been solicited, reviewed, and supported by the National Research Council and more than 50 internal and external stakeholders who provided input between 2008-10. Nationally, the science strategy for Cycle 3 includes four common goals:
- Monitor surface-water and groundwater quality at multiple scales.
- Link the nature and distribution of water-quality conditions, as well as changes and trends in water-quality and aquatic ecosystems, to the human and natural factors that influence water quality and aquatic ecosystems.
- Evaluate relations between important water-quality and hydrologic stressors that cause degradation of stream ecosystems; findings will be incorporated into regional ecological models that examine the interdependent effects of multiple stressors.
- Evaluate the effects of management practices and future land use on stream ecosystems.
NEBRASKA WATER SCIENCE CENTER NAWQA STUDIES
Surface Water Status and Trends
The Nebraska Water Science Center (NEWSC) currently collects water samples from four surface-water sites in Nebraska. These four sites are sampled year round, but sampling is more frequent during the agricultural growing season (April through August):
- Dismal River near Thedford
- Maple Creek near Nickerson
- Elkhorn River near Waterloo
- Platte River at Louisville
One of the sites is considered a reference site (Dismal River near Thedford) because the watershed is relatively undisturbed. Constituents collected at these sites include nutrients, major ions, trace metals, carbon, and pesticides. Field parameters (water temperature, pH, specific conductance, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen) are measured in conjunction with each sample.
See how water-quality of the Nation's River and Streams has changed over time
Agriculture and Land Use Study
Thirty monitoring wells in the shallow glacial aquifers of eastern Nebraska were sampled to evaluate the amount of agricultural chemicals.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment
The Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) goals are to characterize multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life ‐ contaminants, nutrients, sediment, and streamflow alteration – and to develop a better understanding of the relation of these stressors to ecological conditions in streams throughout the region. The Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) focused on a different region of the U.S. each year—the Midwest (2013), the Southeast (2014), the Pacific Northwest (2015), the Northeast (2016), and California (2017). Eight sites in Nebraska were sampled as part of the Midwest Stream Quality Assessment.
Midwest Stream Quality Assessment
Thirty-two public-supply wells, screened in the deeper portions of the High Plains aquifer, were sampled to evaluate the quality of public drinking water supply. Samples were analyzed for a large suite of regulated and unregulated constituents.
Learn more about the Principal Aquifer Survey: USGS Fact Sheet 2014-3024
Vertical Flow Path study
Fifteen moderate-depth domestic wells and 15 shallow-depth monitoring wells, screened in shallow quaternary aquifers within the High Plains aquifer in eastern Nebraska, were sampled to evaluate age-related trends of constituents across different land uses.
Agricultural Chemicals: Sources, Transport, and Fate
NAWQA assessed the sources, transport, and fate of chemicals applied to crops in agricultural basins across the Nation. Chemicals selected for study include nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and about 50 commonly used pesticides and their transformation products, including triazine and acetanilide herbicides such as atrazine and metolachlor, and organophosphorus insecticides such as chlorpyrifos and diazinon.
Maple Creek, in Nebraska, respresents nationally important agricultural settings (chemical use, crops, and agricultural management practices) and natural settings (climate, geology, topography, and soils). Maple Creek, which is part of the Elkhorn River watershed, is representative of corn and soybean row cropping in the upper Great Plains. Water-quality samples were collected in the Maple Creek watershed from 2003 to 2005.
Effects of Nutrient Enrichment on Stream Ecosystems
This study determined how biological communities and processes respond to varying levels of nutrient enrichment among agricultural streams from contrasting environmental settings. Data for assessments of water quality, algae, invertebrates, and physical habitat were collected at 28 Nebraska streams during summer 2003. At each sampling site, water-quality, invertebrate and algal community structure and physical habitat parameters were assessed. At a subset of 20 sites measurements of specific conductance, pH, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen were collected at 5- to 15-minute intervals for a 48-hour period to allow the calculation of stream metabolism.
A NAWQA study of mercury contamination in streams across the U.S. was designed to describe the occurrence of total mercury and methylmercury in water and sediment, and total mercury in fish. Sampling sites were selected to represent the large national range of mercury deposition, and across the ranges of the transport and methylation of mercury in differing aquatic ecosystems. Samples of fish fillets, water, and bed sediments were collected at eight sites in Nebraska during low-flow conditions in July 2002. Widely available predacious fish species, of approximately 3 to 4 years of age, were targeted for sampling. Channel catfish were sampled at five Nebraska sites, and black crappie, creek chub, and largemouth bass were sampled at one site each. Laboratories determined mercury concentrations in the water, sediment, and tissue, and will verify fish-specimen age.
Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to Supply Wells Study
As part of NAWQA, a study was conducted from 2001 to 2011 to shed light on factors that affect the vulnerability of water from public-supply wells to contamination. The study was designed as a follow-up to earlier NAWQA studies that found mixtures of contaminants at low concentrations in groundwater near the water table in urban areas across the Nation and, less frequently, in deeper groundwater typically used for public supply.
Select publications from NAWQA studies in Nebraska are listed below.
Complete list of NAWQA publications for Nebraska :: All NAWQA publications
Holistic assessment of occurrence and fate of metolachlor within environmental compartments of agricultural watersheds
Data worth and prediction uncertainty for pesticide transport and fate models in Nebraska and Maryland, United States
Annual agricultural pesticide use for Midwest Stream-Quality Assessment, 2012-13
The Midwest Stream Quality Assessment
Verifiable metamodels for nitrate losses to drains and groundwater in the Corn Belt, USA
Application of the SPARROW watershed model to describe nutrient sources and transport in the Missouri River Basin
Agricultural herbicide transport in a first-order intermittent stream, Nebraska, USA
Discrete and continuous water-quality data and hydrologic parameters from seven agricultural watersheds in the United States, 2002-09
Watershed regressions for pesticides (WARP) for predicting atrazine concentration in Corn Belt streams
Suspended-sediment and suspended-sand concentrations and loads for selected streams in the Mississippi River Basin, 1940-2009
The relative influence of nutrients and habitat on stream metabolism in agricultural streams
Trends in pesticide concentrations in corn-belt streams, 1996-2006
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
- Overview
In 1991, Congress established the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) to address where, when, why, and how the Nation's water quality has changed, or is likely to change in the future, in response to human activities and natural factors. Since then, NAWQA has been a leading source of scientific data and knowledge used by national, regional, state, and local agencies to develop science-based policies and management strategies to improve and protect water resources used for drinking water, recreation, irrigation, energy development, and ecosystem needs.
NAWQA is currently in its third decade-Cycle 3. The science strategy for Cycle 3 is based on evaluation of progress by NAWQA and its partners during Cycles 1 and 2 (1991-2012) and an analysis of stakeholder priorities. Specifically, input on key water issues and science needs has been solicited, reviewed, and supported by the National Research Council and more than 50 internal and external stakeholders who provided input between 2008-10. Nationally, the science strategy for Cycle 3 includes four common goals:
- Monitor surface-water and groundwater quality at multiple scales.
- Link the nature and distribution of water-quality conditions, as well as changes and trends in water-quality and aquatic ecosystems, to the human and natural factors that influence water quality and aquatic ecosystems.
- Evaluate relations between important water-quality and hydrologic stressors that cause degradation of stream ecosystems; findings will be incorporated into regional ecological models that examine the interdependent effects of multiple stressors.
- Evaluate the effects of management practices and future land use on stream ecosystems.
NEBRASKA WATER SCIENCE CENTER NAWQA STUDIES
Surface Water Status and Trends
The Nebraska Water Science Center (NEWSC) currently collects water samples from four surface-water sites in Nebraska. These four sites are sampled year round, but sampling is more frequent during the agricultural growing season (April through August):
- Dismal River near Thedford
- Maple Creek near Nickerson
- Elkhorn River near Waterloo
- Platte River at Louisville
One of the sites is considered a reference site (Dismal River near Thedford) because the watershed is relatively undisturbed. Constituents collected at these sites include nutrients, major ions, trace metals, carbon, and pesticides. Field parameters (water temperature, pH, specific conductance, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen) are measured in conjunction with each sample.
See how water-quality of the Nation's River and Streams has changed over time
Agriculture and Land Use Study
Thirty monitoring wells in the shallow glacial aquifers of eastern Nebraska were sampled to evaluate the amount of agricultural chemicals.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment
The Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) goals are to characterize multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life ‐ contaminants, nutrients, sediment, and streamflow alteration – and to develop a better understanding of the relation of these stressors to ecological conditions in streams throughout the region. The Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) focused on a different region of the U.S. each year—the Midwest (2013), the Southeast (2014), the Pacific Northwest (2015), the Northeast (2016), and California (2017). Eight sites in Nebraska were sampled as part of the Midwest Stream Quality Assessment.
Midwest Stream Quality Assessment
Thirty-two public-supply wells, screened in the deeper portions of the High Plains aquifer, were sampled to evaluate the quality of public drinking water supply. Samples were analyzed for a large suite of regulated and unregulated constituents.
Learn more about the Principal Aquifer Survey: USGS Fact Sheet 2014-3024
Vertical Flow Path study
Fifteen moderate-depth domestic wells and 15 shallow-depth monitoring wells, screened in shallow quaternary aquifers within the High Plains aquifer in eastern Nebraska, were sampled to evaluate age-related trends of constituents across different land uses.
Agricultural Chemicals: Sources, Transport, and Fate
NAWQA assessed the sources, transport, and fate of chemicals applied to crops in agricultural basins across the Nation. Chemicals selected for study include nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and about 50 commonly used pesticides and their transformation products, including triazine and acetanilide herbicides such as atrazine and metolachlor, and organophosphorus insecticides such as chlorpyrifos and diazinon.
Maple Creek, in Nebraska, respresents nationally important agricultural settings (chemical use, crops, and agricultural management practices) and natural settings (climate, geology, topography, and soils). Maple Creek, which is part of the Elkhorn River watershed, is representative of corn and soybean row cropping in the upper Great Plains. Water-quality samples were collected in the Maple Creek watershed from 2003 to 2005.
Effects of Nutrient Enrichment on Stream Ecosystems
This study determined how biological communities and processes respond to varying levels of nutrient enrichment among agricultural streams from contrasting environmental settings. Data for assessments of water quality, algae, invertebrates, and physical habitat were collected at 28 Nebraska streams during summer 2003. At each sampling site, water-quality, invertebrate and algal community structure and physical habitat parameters were assessed. At a subset of 20 sites measurements of specific conductance, pH, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen were collected at 5- to 15-minute intervals for a 48-hour period to allow the calculation of stream metabolism.
A NAWQA study of mercury contamination in streams across the U.S. was designed to describe the occurrence of total mercury and methylmercury in water and sediment, and total mercury in fish. Sampling sites were selected to represent the large national range of mercury deposition, and across the ranges of the transport and methylation of mercury in differing aquatic ecosystems. Samples of fish fillets, water, and bed sediments were collected at eight sites in Nebraska during low-flow conditions in July 2002. Widely available predacious fish species, of approximately 3 to 4 years of age, were targeted for sampling. Channel catfish were sampled at five Nebraska sites, and black crappie, creek chub, and largemouth bass were sampled at one site each. Laboratories determined mercury concentrations in the water, sediment, and tissue, and will verify fish-specimen age.
Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to Supply Wells Study
As part of NAWQA, a study was conducted from 2001 to 2011 to shed light on factors that affect the vulnerability of water from public-supply wells to contamination. The study was designed as a follow-up to earlier NAWQA studies that found mixtures of contaminants at low concentrations in groundwater near the water table in urban areas across the Nation and, less frequently, in deeper groundwater typically used for public supply.
- Publications
Select publications from NAWQA studies in Nebraska are listed below.
Complete list of NAWQA publications for Nebraska :: All NAWQA publications
Filter Total Items: 29Holistic assessment of occurrence and fate of metolachlor within environmental compartments of agricultural watersheds
Background: Metolachlor [(RS)-2-Chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methyl-phenyl)-N-(1-methoxypropan-2-yl)acetamide] and two degradates (metolachlor ethane-sulfonic acid and metolachlor oxanilic acid) are commonly observed in surface and groundwater. The behavior and fate of these compounds were examined over a 12-year period in seven agricultural watersheds in the United States. They were quantified in air, raiAuthorsClaire E. Rose, Richard H. Coupe, Paul D. Capel, Richard M. WebbData worth and prediction uncertainty for pesticide transport and fate models in Nebraska and Maryland, United States
BACKGROUND Complex environmental models are frequently extrapolated to overcome data limitations in space and time, but quantifying data worth to such models is rarely attempted. The authors determined which field observations most informed the parameters of agricultural system models applied to field sites in Nebraska (NE) and Maryland (MD), and identified parameters and observations that mostAuthorsBernard T. Nolan, Robert W. Malone, John E. Doherty, Jack E. Barbash, Liwang Ma, Dale L. ShanerAnnual agricultural pesticide use for Midwest Stream-Quality Assessment, 2012-13
This report provides estimates of annual agricultural use of 190 pesticide compounds for counties and selected watersheds of Midwestern States for 2012 and 2013 compiled for subsequent analysis by the National Water-Quality Assessment Program, Midwest Stream-Quality Assessment (MSQA). One of the goals of MSQA is to characterize contaminants at perennial-stream sites throughout the Corn Belt. EvaluAuthorsNancy T. Baker, Wesley W. StoneThe Midwest Stream Quality Assessment
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) and USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) will be collaborating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA) to assess stream quality across the Midwestern United States. The sites selected for this study are a subset of the larger NRSA, impAuthorsPeter C. Van Metre, Jeffrey W. Frey, Ellen TarquinioVerifiable metamodels for nitrate losses to drains and groundwater in the Corn Belt, USA
Nitrate leaching in the unsaturated zone poses a risk to groundwater, whereas nitrate in tile drainage is conveyed directly to streams. We developed metamodels (MMs) consisting of artificial neural networks to simplify and upscale mechanistic fate and transport models for prediction of nitrate losses by drains and leaching in the Corn Belt, USA. The two final MMs predicted nitrate concentration anAuthorsBernard T. Nolan, Robert W. Malone, Jo Ann M. Gronberg, K.R. Thorp, Liwang MaApplication of the SPARROW watershed model to describe nutrient sources and transport in the Missouri River Basin
Spatially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed to provide spatially explicit information on local and regional total nitrogen and total phosphorus sources and transport in the Missouri River Basin. Model results provide estimates of the relative contributions from various nutrient sources and delivery factors. The models also describe instream decay and resAuthorsJuliane B. BrownAgricultural herbicide transport in a first-order intermittent stream, Nebraska, USA
The behavior of herbicides in surface waters is a function of many variables, including scale of the watershed, physical and chemical properties of the herbicide, physical and chemical properties of the soil, rainfall intensity, and time of year. In this study, the transport of 6 herbicides and 12 herbicide degradates was examined during the 2004 growing season in an intermediate-scale agriculturaAuthorsJ. R. Vogel, J.I. LinardDiscrete and continuous water-quality data and hydrologic parameters from seven agricultural watersheds in the United States, 2002-09
Field and analytical methods; discrete organic and non-organic water-quality data and associated quality-control data; and continuous hydrologic and water-quality parameters are reported for sites in California, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Washington. The sites were sampled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program?s Agricultural ChemicAuthorsKathleen A. McCarthy, David C. Lampe, Paul D. CapelWatershed regressions for pesticides (WARP) for predicting atrazine concentration in Corn Belt streams
Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) models, previously developed for atrazine at the national scale, can be improved for application to the U.S. Corn Belt region by developing region-specific models that include important watershed characteristics that are influential in predicting atrazine concentration statistics within the Corn Belt. WARP models for the Corn Belt (WARP-CB) were developeAuthorsWesley W. Stone, Robert J. GilliomSuspended-sediment and suspended-sand concentrations and loads for selected streams in the Mississippi River Basin, 1940-2009
This report presents suspended-sediment concentration and streamflow data, describes load-estimation techniques used in the computation of annual suspended-sediment loads, and presents annual suspended-sediment loads for 48 streamgaging stations within the Mississippi River Basin. Available published, unpublished, and computed annual total suspended-sediment and suspended-sand loads are presentedAuthorsDavid C. Heimann, Teri L. Cline, Lori M. GlaspieThe relative influence of nutrients and habitat on stream metabolism in agricultural streams
Stream metabolism was measured in 33 streams across a gradient of nutrient concentrations in four agricultural areas of the USA to determine the relative influence of nutrient concentrations and habitat on primary production (GPP) and respiration (CR-24). In conjunction with the stream metabolism estimates, water quality and algal biomass samples were collected, as was an assessment of habitat inAuthorsJ.D. Frankforter, H.S. Weyers, J. D. Bales, P.W. Moran, D.L. CalhounTrends in pesticide concentrations in corn-belt streams, 1996-2006
Trends in the concentrations of commonly occurring pesticides in the Corn Belt of the United States were assessed, and the performance and application of several statistical methods for trend analysis were evaluated. Trends in the concentrations of 11 pesticides with sufficient data for trend assessment were assessed at up to 31 stream sites for two time periods: 1996–2002 and 2000–2006. PesticideAuthorsDaniel J. Sullivan, Aldo V. Vecchia, David L. Lorenz, Robert J. Gilliom, Jeffrey D. Martin - Web Tools
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.