Contaminants

San Antonio Texas consistently ranks as one of the fastest growing large cities in the United States. Urban development can affect groundwater quality as trees and open space are replaced by buildings and roads, increasing the amount of urban runoff draining directly into the Edwards aquifer. A network of sophisticated surface water and groundwater monitoring sites is being used to help managers...

Suspended sediment and nutrients from greater San Antonio can affect instream ecological health of the San Antonio River and ultimately impact Gulf of Mexico bays and estuaries. Real-time monitoring in urban and rural parts of the river basin may provide a glimpse into the importance of urban sediment and nutrient sources. Real-time sensors provide a tool to better understand and manage water...

The USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project was established by Congress in 1992 to answer the following question: What is the status of the Nation’s water quality and is it getting better or worse? Since 1992, NAWQA has been a primary source of nationally consistent data and information on the quality of the Nation’s streams and groundwater. Data and information obtained from...

THIS PROJECT WAS COMPLETED IN 2019.

Real-time water-quality, streamflow and water height information for Lake Houston and the surrounding San Jacinto watershed are now available from a new web application from the U.S. Geological Survey, done in cooperation with the City of Houston.

The USGS Texas Water Science Center is evaluating the water-quality effects of certain herbicides used in Arundo cane eradication along the Rio Grande from Del Rio downstream to the confluence with Sycamore Creek (approximately 10 miles), along which the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) will be conducting cane eradication using herbicides.

The effects of urbanization across the recharge zone in Bexar County and potential impact on the water quality in the Edwards aquifer is a topic of specific concern for the City of San Antonio. The USGS Texas Water Science Center is simultaneously collecting water-quality data from surface-water runoff sites and paired shallow groundwater wells within the recharge zone of the Edwards aquifer to...

During 2011-2013, baseline concentrations of many different water and streambed-sediment constituents were determined at Phase I sites upstream from, within, and downstream from the area of active oil and natural-gas production within the San Antonio River Basin. With baseline conditions previously established, this study will provide current information that couples recent water and stream-bed...

The USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project was established by Congress in 1992 to answer the following question: What is the status of the Nation’s water quality and is it getting better or worse? Since 1992, NAWQA has been a primary source of nationally consistent data and information on the quality of the Nation’s streams and groundwater. Data and information obtained from...

Successful long term stewardship of Fort Bliss lands includes managing traditional hydrologic resources such as surface water and groundwater resources and increasingly, geologic resources such as geothermal reservoirs and deep well injection locations. The USGS Texas Water Science Center is developing a garrison-wide hydrogeologic atlas that describes the hydrology and hydrogeology of Fort Bliss...

The USGS Texas Water Science Center is implementing a more complete and integrated monitoring network for the Edwards aquifer to improve the understanding of aquifer water quality and establish a baseline for measuring future water-quality changes.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), as environmental contaminants, are a source of increasing concern because of their possible disruption of endocrine systems in humans and other organisms. The USGS Texas Water Science Center is collecting and analyzing samples from inflows and outflows of five Dallas water treatment plants and five sites in the Trinity River for pharmaceuticals...