Modeling

Since the late 1990s, USGS has worked to characterize the regional groundwater hydrology of the upper Klamath Basin. Research focuses on collecting data to evaluate the groundwater system and its response to external stresses, and to develop computer models that provide insights for water management. These efforts build on earlier USGS studies going back to the 1950s.

Scientists Stephen Gingerich and Adel Haj, Jr. are leading efforts to estimate groundwater budgets across the state. Water hidden beneath the earth’s surface is a vital resource and quantifying its availability is crucial for long-term management. USGS scientists are collaborating with scientists at the Oregon Water Resources Department to gain a better understanding of this valuable resource.

The Issue: Decades of declining groundwater levels in the Walla Walla River Basin (WWRB), which spans Oregon and Washington, are affecting instream flows for threatened and culturally important fish populations and water availability for competing interests across state lines. The public and state resource management agencies have begun implementing efforts to stabilize groundwater levels and...

The USGS Oregon Water Science Center water-quality modeling group develops and uses models at a range of scales, from those that focus on a specific reservoir or river reach to large-scale nutrient models of the entire Pacific Northwest.

SPARROW can be used to relate water-quality data to landscape characteristics, such as natural properties and human activities

The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for a variety of highly valued ecosystem services, including shorebirds, waterfowl, and a diversity of other wildlife species.

USGS research directly helps local public agencies that are responsible for the design and maintenance of the levees that surround the northern Portland metropolitan area with the goal of protecting life and property in the event of flooding from the Columbia and Willamette Rivers that surround the city.

"Determining water availability in the Upper Klamath Basin has always had a degree of uncertainty as a result of the complex hydrology and geology in the region and limited streamflow data."

"SELDM facilitates analysis by providing precipitation, pre-storm streamflow, and other variables by region or from hydrologically similar sites."

In 2009, the USGS completed a comprehensive study of gravel transport and storage along the lower Chetco River.

Welcome to the Willamette River Study page. Here you will find links to USGS research for the Willamette River and the Willamette River Basin.

Hills Creek, Lookout Point, and Dexter Dams are located on the Middle Fork Willamette River upstream of Eugene in western Oregon, and are important resources managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for flood control, hydroelectric power, recreation, navigation, and irrigation. On the South Santiam River east of Albany in western Oregon, Green Peter and Foster Dams provide functions and...