Ongoing drought, in Nevada and across the West, will require scientists to develop new ideas and techniques for measuring, monitoring, modeling, and managing water resources. NVWSC has the capabilities to meet these challenges with our extensive scientific expertise in data collection, modeling, and research. We also are creating new ways to provide data to the public and stakeholders through print and the internet.
NEVADA WATER SCIENCE CENTER DROUGHT SCIENCE
Ongoing drought, in Nevada and across the West, will require scientists to develop new ideas and techniques for measuring, monitoring, modeling, and managing water resources. NVWSC has the capabilities to meet these challenges with our extensive scientific expertise in data collection, modeling, and research. We also are creating new ways to provide data to the public and stakeholders through print and the internet. The brochure, “Drought Science Contributions,” has additional details about our commitment to water-resources challenges and is available from the link below.
USGS DATA RESOURCES
Current Conditions :: Surface Water :: Ground Water :: Water Quality :: Water Use
USGS DROUGHT RESOURCES
USGS maintains a network of wells to monitor the effects of droughts and other climate variability on groundwater levels. The network consists of about 200 wells monitored that are fully funded by the USGS Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, supplemented by funded wells in some States monitored from State, Local, Regional, and Tribal partners with USGS Cooperative Matching Funds, or with funded wells from other Federal partners.
Below Normal Groundwater Levels
A well with below normal groundwater levels is identified on these pages when the most recent water-level measurement is in the 24th percentile or lower in the month of measurement over the period of record for the well. To be included on this map in red or orange, the well must be in an active measurement program (the well appears on the Active Groundwater Level Network) and the well must have 10 or more years of record in the month of the most recent measurement.
WaterWatch is a national USGS web site that provides information about extreme hydrologic events like droughts.
Drought information includes maps of below normal average streamflow compared to historical streamflow for 7-day, 14-day, 28-day, and monthly averages.
ADDITIONAL DROUGHT RESOURCES
Quick Drought Response Index (QuickDRI) and Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI)
QuickDRI and VegDRI are complementary drought monitoring tools that show drought patterns at relatively high spatial detail compared to traditional drought indicators. Both of these tools are weekly drought indicators. QuickDRI is a monitoring tool for quick onset and rapidly evolving drought conditions. VegDRI is a tool that looks at longer data sets and provides information about the condition of vegetation on the land.
The U.S. Drought Monitor, established in 1999, is a weekly map of drought conditions produced jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The U.S. Drought Monitor website is hosted and maintained by the drought center.
National Weather Service U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook
This map depicts large-scale trends based on subjectively derived probabilities guided by short- and long-range statistical and dynamical forecasts. Use caution for applications that can be affected by short lived events. "Ongoing" drought areas are based on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
National Drought Mitigation Center
The National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), established at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1995, helps people and institutions develop and implement measures to reduce societal vulnerability to drought, stressing preparedness and risk management rather than crisis management.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Potential Effects of Changing Climate Patterns on Subalpine Lakes in Great Basin National Park
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Nevada Long-Term Groundwater Data Network
Actively-measured periodic, continuous, and/or real-time wells with at least 20 years of measurements.
Nevada Active Water Level Network
Water levels and well information for wells that have been measured by the USGS or USGS cooperators at least once within the past 13 months.
Select USGS publications related to drought in Nevada are listed below.
Climate scenarios for the Truckee-Carson River system
Streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality monitoring by USGS Nevada Water Science Center
Ground-water recharge in the arid and semiarid southwestern United States - Climatic and geologic framework: Chapter A in Ground-water recharge in the arid and semiarid southwestern United States (Professional Paper 1703)
Evaluation of U.S. Geological Survey Monitoring-well network and potential effects of changes in water use, Newlands Project, Churchill County, Nevada
Low streamflow conditions in the western states during 1987
Effects of drought in basins of interior drainage: Chapter E in Drought in the Southwest, 1942-56
- Overview
Ongoing drought, in Nevada and across the West, will require scientists to develop new ideas and techniques for measuring, monitoring, modeling, and managing water resources. NVWSC has the capabilities to meet these challenges with our extensive scientific expertise in data collection, modeling, and research. We also are creating new ways to provide data to the public and stakeholders through print and the internet.
NEVADA WATER SCIENCE CENTER DROUGHT SCIENCE
Ongoing drought, in Nevada and across the West, will require scientists to develop new ideas and techniques for measuring, monitoring, modeling, and managing water resources. NVWSC has the capabilities to meet these challenges with our extensive scientific expertise in data collection, modeling, and research. We also are creating new ways to provide data to the public and stakeholders through print and the internet. The brochure, “Drought Science Contributions,” has additional details about our commitment to water-resources challenges and is available from the link below.
USGS DATA RESOURCES
Current Conditions :: Surface Water :: Ground Water :: Water Quality :: Water Use
USGS DROUGHT RESOURCES
USGS maintains a network of wells to monitor the effects of droughts and other climate variability on groundwater levels. The network consists of about 200 wells monitored that are fully funded by the USGS Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, supplemented by funded wells in some States monitored from State, Local, Regional, and Tribal partners with USGS Cooperative Matching Funds, or with funded wells from other Federal partners.
Below Normal Groundwater Levels
A well with below normal groundwater levels is identified on these pages when the most recent water-level measurement is in the 24th percentile or lower in the month of measurement over the period of record for the well. To be included on this map in red or orange, the well must be in an active measurement program (the well appears on the Active Groundwater Level Network) and the well must have 10 or more years of record in the month of the most recent measurement.
WaterWatch is a national USGS web site that provides information about extreme hydrologic events like droughts.
Drought information includes maps of below normal average streamflow compared to historical streamflow for 7-day, 14-day, 28-day, and monthly averages.
ADDITIONAL DROUGHT RESOURCES
Quick Drought Response Index (QuickDRI) and Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI)
QuickDRI and VegDRI are complementary drought monitoring tools that show drought patterns at relatively high spatial detail compared to traditional drought indicators. Both of these tools are weekly drought indicators. QuickDRI is a monitoring tool for quick onset and rapidly evolving drought conditions. VegDRI is a tool that looks at longer data sets and provides information about the condition of vegetation on the land.
The U.S. Drought Monitor, established in 1999, is a weekly map of drought conditions produced jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The U.S. Drought Monitor website is hosted and maintained by the drought center.
National Weather Service U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook
This map depicts large-scale trends based on subjectively derived probabilities guided by short- and long-range statistical and dynamical forecasts. Use caution for applications that can be affected by short lived events. "Ongoing" drought areas are based on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
National Drought Mitigation Center
The National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), established at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1995, helps people and institutions develop and implement measures to reduce societal vulnerability to drought, stressing preparedness and risk management rather than crisis management.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Potential Effects of Changing Climate Patterns on Subalpine Lakes in Great Basin National Park
Great Basin National Park (GRBA), in White Pine County, Nev., has six small subalpine lakes. These lakes are a priority resource for park managers due to their pristine condition and high visitation. The only trout species native to these lakes is the Bonneville cutthroat trout (BCT). In the late 1990s, GRBA began a BCT reintroduction program. The success of this program was one of the major... - Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Nevada Long-Term Groundwater Data Network
Actively-measured periodic, continuous, and/or real-time wells with at least 20 years of measurements.
Nevada Active Water Level Network
Water levels and well information for wells that have been measured by the USGS or USGS cooperators at least once within the past 13 months.
- Publications
Select USGS publications related to drought in Nevada are listed below.
Climate scenarios for the Truckee-Carson River system
In this study, the scenarios ultimately take the form of gridded, daily (maximum and minimum) temperatures and precipitation totals spanning the entire Truckee-Carson River System, from which meteorological inputs to various hydrologic, water-balance and watermanagement models can be extracted by other parts of the Water for the Seasons project and by other studies and stakeholders. Climate scenarStreamflow, groundwater, and water-quality monitoring by USGS Nevada Water Science Center
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has monitored and assessed the quantity and quality of our Nation's streams and aquifers since its inception in 1879. Today, the USGS provides hydrologic information to aid in the evaluation of the availability and suitability of water for public and domestic supply, agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, mining, and energy development. Although the USGS has no responsiGround-water recharge in the arid and semiarid southwestern United States - Climatic and geologic framework: Chapter A in Ground-water recharge in the arid and semiarid southwestern United States (Professional Paper 1703)
Ground-water recharge in the arid and semiarid southwestern United States results from the complex interplay of climate, geology, and vegetation across widely ranging spatial and temporal scales. Present-day recharge tends to be narrowly focused in time and space. Widespread water-table declines accompanied agricultural development during the twentieth century, demonstrating that sustainable grounEvaluation of U.S. Geological Survey Monitoring-well network and potential effects of changes in water use, Newlands Project, Churchill County, Nevada
Domestic wells tapping shallow ground water are an important source of potable water for rural residents of Lahontan Valley. For this reason, the public has expressed concern over the acquisition of water rights directed by Public Law 101-618. The acquisition has resulted in removal of land from irrigation, which could cause shallow domestic wells to go dry and adversely affect shallow ground-wateLow streamflow conditions in the western states during 1987
Drought conditions prevailed throughout the States of California , Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington during the summer of 1987. Streamflows were the lowest since the drought of 1977. Many streams had less discharge in August-September 1987 than in August-September of 1977. At some sites flows for July, August, and September were the minimum ever recorded for those months. The reason for the loEffects of drought in basins of interior drainage: Chapter E in Drought in the Southwest, 1942-56
The effects of the recent drought 1942-56 have varied widely in the Southwestern basins of interior drainage which include, in addition to the Great Basin of Nevada, Utah, and California many smaller basins in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. These closed basins are characteristically separate hydrologic units, and their water resources may logically be developed and regulated independently, which