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Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Water information is fundamental to national and local economic well-being, protection of life and property, and effective management of water resources. USGS works with partners in Oklahoma and Texas to monitor, assess, conduct targeted research, and deliver information on a wide range of water resources including streamflow, groundwater, water quality, and water use and availability.

News

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New USGS report provides insights into groundwater and subsidence in the Houston area

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OTWSC Webinar, Friday November 19th - Data Driven Applications

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OTWSC Webinar, Friday October 22nd - Wildfire and Water

Publications

A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies

Wildfires pose a risk to water supplies in the western U.S. and many other parts of the world, due to the potential for degradation of water quality. However, a lack of adequate data hinders prediction and assessment of post-wildfire impacts and recovery. The dearth of such data is related to lack of funding for monitoring extreme events and the challenge of measuring the outsized hydrologic and e

Status of water-level altitudes and long-term and short-term water-level changes in the Chicot and Evangeline (undifferentiated) and Jasper aquifers, greater Houston area, Texas, 2022

Since the early 1900s, groundwater withdrawn from the primary aquifers that compose the Gulf Coast aquifer system—the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers—has been an important source of water in the greater Houston area, Texas. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, City of Houston, Fort Bend Subsidence District, Lone S

Flood-inundation maps created using a synthetic rating curve for a 10-mile reach of the Sabinal River and a 7-mile reach of the West Sabinal River near Utopia, Texas, 2021

In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District and the Texas Water Development Board, studied floods to produce a library of flood-inundation maps for the Sabinal River near Utopia, Texas. Digital flood-inundation maps were created for a 10-mile reach of the Sabinal River from USGS streamgage 08197936 Sabinal River below

Science

Socio-Hydrology

The Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center Socio-Hydrology Team conducts interdisciplinary studies spanning socioeconomic, hydrologic and climate science. Applying qualitative and quantitative approaches, we help stakeholders identify and assess a suite of water and climate risks. Our methodology provides a means for water and natural resource managers to analyze and evaluate risks, vulnerability...
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Socio-Hydrology

The Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center Socio-Hydrology Team conducts interdisciplinary studies spanning socioeconomic, hydrologic and climate science. Applying qualitative and quantitative approaches, we help stakeholders identify and assess a suite of water and climate risks. Our methodology provides a means for water and natural resource managers to analyze and evaluate risks, vulnerability...
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Microplastics in Tributaries to Galveston Bay

Galveston Bay is the habitat of many organisms including many species of oysters, fish, and birds. USGS scientists from the Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center are conducting a study, in cooperation with the Galveston Bay Estuary Program, to assess the occurrence and abundance of microplastics (plastic particles smaller than 5 mm in diameter) in Galveston Bay and its tributaries.
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Microplastics in Tributaries to Galveston Bay

Galveston Bay is the habitat of many organisms including many species of oysters, fish, and birds. USGS scientists from the Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center are conducting a study, in cooperation with the Galveston Bay Estuary Program, to assess the occurrence and abundance of microplastics (plastic particles smaller than 5 mm in diameter) in Galveston Bay and its tributaries.
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Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Edwards Aquifer Recharge in a Developing Landscape

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...
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Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Edwards Aquifer Recharge in a Developing Landscape

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...
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