Streamflow, Groundwater, and Lakes

Streams in the Loup River basin have a close hydrologic connection between groundwater and surface water. Groundwater springs are important hydrologic features that sustain the flow of the South Loup River. This study assesses the ability of these springs to maintain consistent flow of the South Loup River over periods of prolonged drought.

The Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (ENWRA) project was initiated in 2006 to assist water managers by developing a hydrogeologic framework and water budget for the glaciated portion of eastern Nebraska. Within the ENWRA area, the primary groundwater sources for municipal, domestic, and irrigation water needs are provided by withdrawals from alluvial, buried paleovalley, and the High...

Nitrate, age tracer, and continuous groundwater-level data within the BGMA were interpreted in conjunction with AEM data as a case demonstration of the Nebraska Geocloud. The Nebraska Geocloud was initiated to protect taxpayer investments in AEM data collection and realize maximum benefit of these data by creating a publicly available, online digital database for long-term data storage. The Lower...

Recent droughts in Nebraska (2000–06; 2012–13) have amplified concerns about the long-term sustainability of groundwater and surface-water resources as well as concerns about the effect of groundwater irrigation on streamflow and water supplies needed to meet wildlife, recreational, and municipal needs. The Lower Platte River Basin-wide Management Plan is currently being developed jointly by the...

Homestead National Monument of America , (HOME) a National Park Service (NPS) site which commemorates the impacts of the Homestead Act of 1862 is located on the site of one of the first homestead claims filed in the United States of America, a site that was chosen by Daniel Freeman because of the clean abundant water that Cub Creek provided for his family and livestock. The USGS Nebraska Water...

In 2012, the USGS Nebraska Water Science Center, in cooperation with the City of Omaha, began monitoring the Missouri River near Omaha to document water-quality changes in the river as the City improved their combined sewer overflow (CSO) system. The monitoring program includes both discrete and continuous data collection at four sampling sites on the Missouri River. Monitoring at each site...

The USGS Nebraska Water Science Center maintains a network of continuous water-quality monitors across Nebraska which provide near-real-time water-quality data. Continuous water-quality monitors are typically installed at or near existing USGS stream gages or wells. Parameters that are monitored at continuous water-quality sites include water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen...

Water availability is a function of many factors, including the quantity and quality of water and the laws, regulations, economics, and environmental factors that control its use. The focus of the High Plains Groundwater Availability Study is on improving fundamental knowledge of the water balance of the basin, including the flows, storage, and water use by humans and the environment. An improved...

The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (about 175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. In response to a directive from Congress, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with local, state, and federal entities, has collected water-level data from wells screened in the High Plains...

Water resource sustainability in the Elkhorn River Basin, Nebraska is a critical issue. Understanding streamflow trends is important to the determination of sustainable surface water and groundwater in the basin. The Lower Elkhorn and Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources Districts and the USGS cooperatively studied trends in streamflow characteristics of sites in the Elkhorn River, Salt Creek, and...

In the Elkhorn River and Loup River Basins, Natural Resources Districts (Upper Elkhorn, Lower Elkhorn, Upper Loup, Lower Loup, Middle Niobrara, Lower Niobrara, Lewis and Clark, and Lower Platte North) are collecting data and developing tools to assist with water resource planning. Critical planning issues in the Elkhorn River and Loup River basins are focused on the availability of the groundwater...

The Niobrara-Missouri Rivers delta at the head of Lewis and Clark Reservoir and the 59-mile reach of Missouri River below Gavins Point Dam are important river ecosystems for a variety of fish species including paddlefish, sauger, catfish and the endangered pallid sturgeon. From August 2015 through August 2016, we collected nutrient and chlorophyll water samples, and nutrient and carbon bed...