Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Water Chemistry Science in Oklahoma and Texas Active

By Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center April 25, 2018

Water chemistry studies allow USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center (OTWSC) scientists to look at what has been dissolved in the water, how different constituents in water may react together, and how constituents in water interact with the minerals along its flow path. Visit the links below for more information on our data and science.

WATER CHEMISTRY SCIENCE CAPABILITIES

OTWSC has expertise in water chemistry science applications, including, but not limited to: 

  • Analyzing trends in water chemistry and water quality
  • Characterizing and quantify volume, suspended sediment, and nutrients in surface water 
  • Characterizing water-chemistry connection between surface water and groundwater 
  • Coupling water chemistry and stream-bed sediment data with changes in land cover
  • Developing continuous regression models based on surrogate parameters to estimate water chemistry concentrations
  • Developing local and regional conceptual models of geochemistry 
  • Integrated sampling networks including automated sampling, real-time data logging, and discrete sample collection
  • Quantifying compounds using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry
  • Low-level (parts per billion or lower) analytical techniques
  • Age-date tracer testing
  • Isotopic and radionuclide analysis
  • Analytical methods development and testing

 

Find out more about OTWSC water-quality science expertise in this printable information sheet.

Line
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

CURRENT WATER CHEMISTRY SCIENCE

Collecting samples from an offshore artificial reef
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Collecting samples from an offshore artificial reef, Texas. (Public domain.)

Cyanobacteria Methods

Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Monitoring Network

Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Surface-water and Groundwater Interaction

Hydrogeologic Atlas for Fort Bliss

Hydrogeologic Framework of Gaines, Terry, and Yoakum Counties

Water-Quality Monitoring of the Lake Houston Watershed

National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Surface Water Activities

National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Groundwater Activities

Nutrient and Sediment Variability in the Lower San Jacinto River

Pecos River Basin Salinity Assessment

Salado Creek Bacteria Source Tracking

San Antonio River Sediment and Water Quality Monitoring in an Oil and Gas Production Area

Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program

Water Quality Monitoring at Offshore Artificial Reefs

Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program (ZMMP)

Projects related to water chemistry studies are listed below.

Filter Total Items: 13
link
Zebra Mussels

Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program (ZMMP)

The zebra mussel is an invasive species that has spread rapidly in the United States. The first confirmed detection of zebra mussels in Texas occurred in 2009 at Lake Texoma along the Texas–Oklahoma border. The USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for Texas (ZMMP) began in April 2010 and has expanded over time in response to the continued spread of zebra mussels in Texas.
By
Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center
link

Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program (ZMMP)

The zebra mussel is an invasive species that has spread rapidly in the United States. The first confirmed detection of zebra mussels in Texas occurred in 2009 at Lake Texoma along the Texas–Oklahoma border. The USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for Texas (ZMMP) began in April 2010 and has expanded over time in response to the continued spread of zebra mussels in Texas.
Learn More

Below are publications associated with this project.

Filter Total Items: 19

Geologic, hydrologic, and geochemical identification of flow paths in the Edwards Aquifer, northeastern Bexar and southern Comal Counties, Texas

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, conducted a 4-year study during 2002?06 to identify major flow paths in the Edwards aquifer in northeastern Bexar and southern Comal Counties (study area). In the study area, faulting directs ground water into three hypothesized flow paths that move water, generally, from the southwest to the northeast. These flow paths
Authors
Cassi L. Otero
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Flow paths in the Edwards aquifer, northern Medina and northeastern Uvalde counties, Texas, based on hydrologic identification and geochemical characterization and simulation

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, conducted a 4-year study during 2001– 04 to identify major ground-water flow paths in the Edwards aquifer in northern Medina and northeastern Uvalde Counties, Texas. The study involved use of geologic structure, surfacewater and ground-water data, and geochemistry to identify ground-water flow paths. Relay ramps and asso
Authors
Allan K. Clark, Celeste A. Journey
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Recent (2003-05) water quality of Barton Springs, Austin, Texas, with emphasis on factors affecting variability

From 2003 to 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, collected and analyzed water samples from the four springs (orifices) of Barton Springs in Austin, Texas (Upper, Main, Eliza, and Old Mill Springs), with the objective of characterizing water quality. Barton Springs is the major discharge point for the Barton Springs segment of the Edw
Authors
Barbara Mahler, Bradley D. Garner, MaryLynn Musgrove, Amber L. Guilfoyle, Mohan V. Rao
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Hydrogeologic framework and geochemistry of the Edwards aquifer saline-water zone, south-central Texas

The Edwards aquifer supplies drinking water for more than 1 million people in south-central Texas. The saline-water zone of the Edwards aquifer extends from the downdip limit of freshwater to the southern and eastern edge of the Stuart City Formation. Water samples from 16 wells in the Edwards aquifer saline-water zone were collected during July–September 1990 and analyzed for major and minor diss
Authors
George E. Groschen, Paul M. Buszka
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Analysis of data from test-well sites along the downdip limit of freshwater in the Edwards Aquifer, San Antonio, Texas, 1985-87

Many researchers have studied the downdip limit of freshwater in the Edwards aquifer or various aspects of the saline-water zone and its relation to the freshwater zone. These studies were summarized and used to synthesize a consistent hydrologic and geochemical framework from which to interpret data from field studies. The concept derived from the previous work on the downdip limit of the freshwa
Authors
G.E. Groschen
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Hydrogeology, geochemistry, and quality of water of The Basin and Oak Spring areas of the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas

Test drilling near two sewage lagoons in The Basin area of the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas, has shown that the alluvium and colluvium on which the lagoons are located is not saturated in the immediate vicinity of the lagoons. A shallow aquifer, therefore, does not exist in this critical area at and near the lagoons. Should seepage outflow from the lagoons occur, the effluent fr
Authors
E. T. Baker, P.M. Buszka
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Planning report for the Edwards-Trinity Regional Aquifer-System analysis in central Texas, southeast Oklahoma, and southwest Arkansas

The Edwards-Trinity regional aquifer system supplies more than 0.78 million acre-feet per year (700 million gallons per day) of water for central Texas and small adjacent parts of southeast Oklahoma and southwest Arkansas. The system consists of three major aquifers and at least three minor aquifers in predominantly Cretaceous rocks, which together have an areal extent of about 80,000 square miles
Authors
Peter W. Bush
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center