Oregon Water Science Center
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Welcome to the USGS in Oregon. Our mission is to explore the natural world around us and provide reliable scientific information to help Federal, State, and local agencies, Tribes, and the public make well-informed decisions. Our research is widely used to manage Oregon's water resources for the benefit and safety of people and the environment.
Current Stream Conditions
See what is happening in streams near you. View real-time stream data for streams around Oregon.
View DataWeekly Science Seminar
Our lunchtime seminars are held Tuesdays from 12pm to 1 pm and are open to the public.
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USGS Responds to Spring Flooding
U.S. Geological Survey field crews are measuring flooding across the country as spring weather is in full swing. Warming temperatures, increased precipitation and snowmelt have caused moderate to major flooding in the upper Midwest, East Coast, Central Plains and the Southeast portions of the country.
COVID-19 Statement
The USGS Oregon Water Science Center is open and operational.
Lunchtime Seminar Series (Winter 2020)
Our lunchtime seminars are held Tuesdays from 12pm to 1 pm PT. The science lectures are held at the USGS Oregon Water Science Center at 2130 SW 5th Avenue in Portland, OR (unless otherwise noted). The presentations are informal and are open to the public. Please, bring your lunch.
Publications
Quantitative paleoflood hydrology
This chapter reviews the paleohydrologic techniques and approaches used to reconstruct the magnitude and frequency of past floods using geological evidence. Quantitative paleoflood hydrology typically leads to two phases of analysis: (1) documentation and assessment of flood physical evidence (paleostage indicators), and (2) relating identified...
Benito, Gerardo; Harden, Tessa M.; O'Connor, Jim E.
Benthic vertical hydraulic gradients in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2017
Groundwater piezometers and lake stilling wells were deployed as paired sets at 10 locations in Upper Klamath Lake in south-central Oregon from May to October 2017 to measure hydraulic heads in and beneath the lake. Continuous water-level data from piezometers and stilling wells were then used to calculate the vertical hydraulic gradient (VHG)...
Corson-Dosch, Nicholas
Evaluation of restoration alternatives using hydraulic models of lake outflow at Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge, northwestern Oregon
Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge near the city of Gaston in northwestern Oregon was established in 2013, and planning is underway to restore a more natural lake and wetland system after more than 100 years of agricultural activity on the lakebed. Several water-management and restoration alternatives are under consideration, one of which...
Rounds, Stewart A.; Pilson, Stephen L.; Sullivan, Annett B.; Stonewall, Adam J.