Streamflow

The Humboldt River flows east to west through north-central Nevada and is about 330 miles long. It is an important water source for residents and agriculture, and it also supports one of Nevada’s largest industries—gold mining. Most of the state’s mines are in the Humboldt River Basin along the Carlin Trend. Nevada produces about 72 percent of all U.S. gold, making it the fifth largest producer in...

Walker Lake is one of the few natural terminal lakes in Nevada. The ecological and recreational value of Walker Lake and other terminal lakes in the Great Basin is at risk due to consumptive water use.

The Lake Tahoe Interagency Monitoring Program (LTIMP) is an essential part of integrated science in the Lake Tahoe Basin and has provided long-term, consistent, reliable, and accessible tributary monitoring data for decades.

Demand for water resources in the Carson River basin is increasing due to steady population growth and the resulting development and changes in land and water use throughout the middle part of the basin. Agricultural land is being urbanized while land not previously irrigated may be converted for agricultural use.

Since the late 1980’s, the USGS has collected discharge, sediment, and water quality data at seven major drainages under the Lake Tahoe Interagency Monitoring Program (LTIMP). Recently, continuous, real-time measurements of turbidity were added to the LTIMP. These data can be combined with in situ, model simulations, and remotely-sensed datasets available from the USGS, National Aeronautics and...

High concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) are responsible for excessive, or nuisance algal blooms in many ecosystems world-wide, and climate change is predicted to exacerbate the problem1,2. Excessive nutrients supplied to the nearshore zone of Lake Tahoe may have significant consequences to ecological communities, water clarity, and water quality. The nearshore zone represents the...

The USGS Nevada Water Science Center (NVWSC), in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), monitored mercury in the Carson River from 1997 to 2013. To preserve this long-term dataset, NVWSC is monitoring mercury concentrations and suspended sediment in the Carson River above and below Lahontan Reservoir. NVWSC also is beginning process-based sampling above and below...

The USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA) is now part of the USGS National Water-Quality Program (NWQP). NAWQA provides nationally consistent data and information on the quality of the Nation’s water. Studies provide information on current water-quality conditions, a baseline for trend evaluation, and an understanding of what factors affect water quality. Groundwater studies for...

Temperature measurements are routinely made for investigating ecological and hydrological processes. Temperature is a key parameter for monitoring the suitability of fisheries habitat and streambed temperature data are useful for estimating surface water and groundwater exchange. Measuring vertically nested temperatures at the streambed interface poses practical challenges.

For more than 100 years, the USGS has played a critical role in reducing flood losses by operating a nationwide streamgage network that monitors the water level and flow of the Nation's rivers and streams. Through satellite and computer technology, streamgages transmit real-time information, which the National Weather Service (NWS) uses to issue flood warnings.

The Black Mountain Industrial (BMI) complex, in Henderson, Nevada, has been the site of industrial chemical production since 1942. Perchlorate contaminants, from activities at BMI, have moved through the groundwater system and have been discovered in the Las Vegas Wash, prompting water resource investigations and groundwater treatment by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP). The...

On October 18, 2015 an intense, nearly stationary, thunderstorm triggered flooding in Grapevine Canyon. Grapevine Canyon Road, power and water infrastructure, and several buildings at Scotty’s Castle were damaged by the flood water, necessitating closure of the area to the public. In response to the flood event, the National Park Service requested the USGS Nevada Water Science Center perform a...