Surface Water

Our mission is provide the best quality stage and discharge information to our customers. The stage data along with discrete measurements are used to develop stage-discharge relationships thus inferring discharge.

The long-term goals of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) and National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) programs are to describe the status and trends in the quality of a large representative part of the Nation's surface-water and groundwater resources and to provide a sound, scientific understanding of the primary factors affecting the quality of these resources. USGS Water...

Hellbranch Run is a second order stream tributary to Big Darby Creek. Big Darby Creek was designated a “National Scenic River” in 1994 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Beginning in 1992, concern about the possible effects of urbanization on water quality in Hellbranch Run (and ultimately Big Darby Creek) prompted the USGS, in cooperation with the City of Columbus, Ohio, to begin collection...

Historically, streams with drainage areas less than 100 square miles have not been adequately represented in regional peak flow analysis. To help fill this data gap, crest-stage gages were installed in 2001 at 18 sites throughout Ohio in order to augment the peak flow record for small streams (less than 100 square miles). After enough peak flow data have been collected at these sites, an updated...

The Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair (LERI) Basins in Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania comprise one of more than 50 study units that are part of the USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of the NAWQA program are to describe the water-quality status and trends in a large representative part of the Nation's surface-water and groundwater...

The City of Columbus operates 5 high-capacity collector wells to extract groundwater for drinking-water supply. To assist the City, the USGS monitors water levels in 5 observation wells and operates a water-quality monitor on the Scioto River where specific conductance, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and turbidity are measured on an hourly basis. In addition, groundwater-level synoptic...

How much water is stored in the soil? Does agricultural management affect this? Will this change if temperatures increase and plants need more water? In order to answer this question, we have focused on the differences in soil physical properties under four land management types (forest, pasture, traditional agriculture, and conservation agriculture) and whether these differences effect how water...

Flood inundation maps (FIMs) translate the stage of a river (shown on a hydrograph) to a map showing the extent and depth of flood waters. FIMS are created by combining datasets calculated by hydraulic models with ArcGIS, a geographic information system. FIMs can be used in conjunction with USGS real-time data and National Weather Service Flood Forecasts to plan and prepare for flood events. FIMs...

In June 2008, heavy rainfall occurred in the upstream reaches of Haw Creek, a small stream that flows through the center of Columbus, Ind. A sudden flash flood occurred through the middle of Columbus which took the town by surprise since the rain was upstream. Many homes and more than 70 businesses were damaged in Columbus, including $125 million in damage to the Columbus Regional Hospital and...

Staff have been sampling Sugar Creek at New Palestine and the White River at Hazleton heavily since the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) pilot study in 1991. We have collected 26 years of nutrient, pesticide, major ions, and sediment data at these sites. Our intensive data collection is critical to the science and results published by the NAWQA program.

Water Science Center scientists monitor several rivers in Kentucky as part of the USGS National Water-Quality Program (NWQP) . As part of the NWQP program , USGS scientists from across the country are determine the status and trends of loads and concentrations of contaminants, nutrients, and sediment in the Nation’s large rivers.

Bathymetric surveys allow us to measure the depth of a water body as well as map the underwater features of a water body. Multiple methods can be used for bathymetric surveys including multi-beam and single-beam surveys, ADCPs, sub-bottom profilers, and the Ecomapper Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. We use bathymetric surveys for many different types of research including flood inundation, contour...