Surface Water

The temperature, water quality, and channel connectivity along headwater stream networks often show highly dynamic spatiotemporal patterns that are tied to localized hydrogeologic and landcover controls. Groundwater exchanges exert a spatially discontinuous influence on streams that reflect, in part, the preferential nature of groundwater discharge as controlled by recharge, topography, and...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and other partners, is conducting an extensive, coordinated study of physical, chemical, and biological processes in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary. The study integrates findings of teams from the USGS New Jersey Water Science Center and USGS Coastal and Marine Science...

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey after several days of impacting the Atlantic coastline. Ten years later the impacted communities have recovered and rebuilt, and the New Jersey Water Science Center has expanded its scientific understanding of storm impacts on our state.

The Current Period Streamflow Statistics project is computing low flow statistics for both a historic (1950-1979) and more recent (1990-2019) 30-year period. The computed statistics will provide information about streamflow changes over time and an evaluation of more recent streamflow conditions. The project will also present land-use changes, precipitation patterns, and water use in the...

An online geonarrative consisting of an interactive discussion and maps of the groundwater resources of 10 confined aquifers beneath Central and Southern New Jersey, provides a view of the geology, hydrology and water use in this area. A regional-scale groundwater-level survey of the New Jersey Coastal Plain by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is highlighted. These assessments, performed every 5...

StreamStats is a web application (Web Tool) for water-resources planning and engineering purposes. The map-based user interface can be used to delineate drainage areas for user-selected sites on streams, generate basin characteristics and estimate flow statistics for the selected sites. Users also can select the locations of USGS data-collection stations, shown as triangles on the StreamStats map...

The USGS NJWSC is collaborating with the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) on an Urban Waters Federal Partnership project in the Lower Passaic River basin to investigate the occurrence and potential sources of E. coli fecal indicator bacteria.

Water resource managers regularly utilize streamflow statistics from the USGS for planning and regulation across the state. The impacts of climate, water use, and land use changes can alter streamflow over time. Periodically updated streamflow statistics are essential for the effective management of water resources in New Jersey.

Following Hurricane Sandy, the USGS began construction of an overland Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) Network along the Northeastern Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to Maine. This network, developed collaboratively with numerous partners, features the integration of long-term tide gage networks, with real-time rapid-deployment gages (RDG) and mobile storm-tide sensors (STS). An...

The NJWSC conducts research and investigations related to topics such as groundwater and surface-water quality related to anthropogenic and agricultural activities, hydraulic and hydrologic modeling, tracking the movement of groundwater contamination, groundwater resource assessments and modeling, ecological assessments and response to urbanization, and estimating water-use for human and...

The USGS New Jersey Water Science Center, in cooperation with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), New Jersey Water Supply Authority, and the Delaware River Basin Commission, maintain the New Jersey Ambient Surface-Water-Quality Monitoring Network (ASWQMN) — a collection of monitoring stations on streams throughout New Jersey. Constituent concentration data from the ASWQMN are...

Water Resources Data reports were published annually for many decades for use by engineers, scientists, managers, educators, and the general public. These static archival products supplemented direct access to current and historical water data provided by the National Water Information System web interface (NWISWeb), the authoritative source for USGS water data.