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Nevada Water Science Center

The Nevada Water Science Center (NVWSC) is committed to providing reliable, unbiased scientific information about Nevada's water resources to the public, cooperators, and stakeholders. To provide this information, we operate widespread data collection networks as well as conduct water-science research covering a wide range of scientific issues throughout Nevada and adjacent states.

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Current Data Dashboard

Map that represents the current water conditions in Nevada that was captured on March 24, 2021

See current streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality conditions with this new map interface to USGS data.

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Featured Science

Truckee Canal, Nevada

Quantifying Seepage Losses on the Truckee Canal, Derby Dam to Lahontan Reservoir

Canal Seepage

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News

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USGS Water Science Centers Join Forces at the 2023 Lake Tahoe Summit

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Saline Lakes Stakeholder Workshop Meeting Materials

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Water “bank account” running low in agricultural areas of Nevada

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Publications

Long-term mercury loading and trapping dynamics in a Western North America reservoir

Study RegionThe Carson River including Lahontan Reservoir in Northwestern Nevada, USAStudy FocusThe discovery, mining, and processing of silver and gold from the Comstock Lode in northwestern Nevada heavily contaminated the Carson River system with mercury (Hg). The river now contains some of the highest recorded water column and bed sediment Hg concentrations reported in peer-reviewed literature.
Authors
Eric D. Morway, Robert M. Hirsch, Angela Paul, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Carl E Thodal
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nevada Water Science Center

Flood-inundation maps for the Muddy River, near Moapa, Nevada

The Muddy River provides habitat for several wildlife and endemic aquatic species protected under the Endangered Species Act. Near Moapa, Nevada, in the Bureau of Land Management’s Muddy River Floodplain Restoration Project Area, a previously constructed levee on the east side of the river alters the natural hydrology and decreases connectivity between the river and its floodplain. The Bureau of L
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Christopher M. Morris, Hampton K. Childres
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nevada Water Science Center

New capabilities in MT3D-USGS for simulating unsaturated-zone heat transport

Changes in climate and land use will alter groundwater heat transport dynamics in the future. These changes will in turn affect watershed processes (e.g., nutrient cycling) as well as watershed characteristics (e.g., distribution and persistence of cold-water habitat). Thus, groundwater flow and heat transport models at watershed scales that can characterize and quantify thermal impacts of surfac
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Eric D. Morway, Daniel T. Feinstein, Randall J. Hunt, Richard W. Healy
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Water Resources Mission Area, Nevada Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
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Science

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Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Actionable Science

The Colorado River Basin Pilot Project is exploring new approaches for the USGS to answer complex earth systems questions identified in partnership with stakeholders, which cannot be answered through a single discipline approach. Science coproduction is a method where scientists, managers, policy makers, and other stakeholders first identify specific decisions to be informed by science, and then...
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Arizona Water Science Center, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Nevada Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
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Actionable Science

The Colorado River Basin Pilot Project is exploring new approaches for the USGS to answer complex earth systems questions identified in partnership with stakeholders, which cannot be answered through a single discipline approach. Science coproduction is a method where scientists, managers, policy makers, and other stakeholders first identify specific decisions to be informed by science, and then...
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Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Integrated Science Approach

The USGS has a long history of delivering science and tools to help decision-makers manage and mitigate effects of drought. The timing is critical for the USGS to consolidate its diverse expertise into a single landscape-scale effort to rapidly provide integrated transdisciplinary, targeted data, tools, and models required by decision makers in the Basin. This initiative unifies USGS expertise...
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Arizona Water Science Center, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Nevada Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
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Integrated Science Approach

The USGS has a long history of delivering science and tools to help decision-makers manage and mitigate effects of drought. The timing is critical for the USGS to consolidate its diverse expertise into a single landscape-scale effort to rapidly provide integrated transdisciplinary, targeted data, tools, and models required by decision makers in the Basin. This initiative unifies USGS expertise...
Learn More
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person kneeling on stream bank surrounded by sampling equipment

Pilot Project Team Members | CRB-ASIST

The Rocky Mountain Region is working with a multidisciplinary team of experts within the Colorado River Basin to determine how the USGS can develop integrative science, data, models, and tools that can be used to address key science challenges related to drought risk within the basin.
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California Water Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Nevada Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology
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Pilot Project Team Members | CRB-ASIST

The Rocky Mountain Region is working with a multidisciplinary team of experts within the Colorado River Basin to determine how the USGS can develop integrative science, data, models, and tools that can be used to address key science challenges related to drought risk within the basin.
Learn More
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