New England Water Science Center
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Welcome to the USGS New England Water Science Center. Our mission is to collect timely and reliable information on the water resources of our six-state region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont), and to partner with Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies in hydrologic studies that advance human health, public safety, and environmental sustainability.
Science Highlights
The USGS and the EPA are collaborating on a study to better understand changes to groundwater quality beneath a densely developed coastal neighborhood.
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News
New publication by New England WSC Staff
Gregory Granato of the NEWSC and Susan Jones of the Federal Highway Administration recently published an article in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Transportation Research Record journal. The paper is:
Granato, G.E., Jones, S.C. 2019, Simulating Runoff Quality with the Highway Runoff Database and the...
Drought Streamflow Probabilities in Northeast Region
Maximum likelihood logistic regression (MLLR) is used to estimate drought probabilities for selected Northeast rivers and streams. Winter streamflows are used to estimate the chance of hydrologic drought during summer months. This application allows the display and query of these drought streamflow probabilities for Northeastern streams.
USGS contributes to the Fourth National Climate Assessment
USGS Research Hydrologist Glenn Hodgkins co-authored the Fourth National Climate Assessment’s Northeast chapter. USGS Research Geologist Erika Lentz was also a co-author. The recently published chapter discusses historical and potential future impacts of climatic changes on New England’s people and natural resources, including it’s inland and coastal waters.
Publications
Drought Forecasting for Streams and Groundwaters in Northeastern United States
BackgroundWhen rainfall is lower than normal over an extended period, streamflows decline, groundwater levels fall, and hydrological drought can occur. Droughts can reduce the water available for societal needs, such as public and private drinking-water supplies, farming, and industry, and for ecological health, such as maintenance of water...
Austin, Samuel H.; Dudley, Robert W.
Flood-inundation maps for Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York
In 2016, digital flood-inundation maps along the shoreline of Lake Champlain in Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont and northern Clinton County in New York were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the International Joint Commission (IJC). This report discusses the creation of updated...
Flynn, Robert H.; Hayes, Laura
Design and methods of the U.S. Geological Survey Northeast Stream Quality Assessment (NESQA), 2016
During 2016, as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA), the U.S. Geological Survey conducted the Northeast Stream Quality Assessment (NESQA) to investigate stream quality in the northeastern United States. The goal of the NESQA was to assess the health of wadeable streams in the region by characterizing multiple water-...
Coles, James F.; Riva-Murray, Karen; Van Metre, Peter C.; Button, Daniel T.; Bell, Amanda H.; Qi, Sharon L.; Journey, Celeste A.; Sheibley, Richard W.