Water Availability and Use

Episodic droughts and increased pumpage since the mid-1970s have caused unprecedented ground-water level decline in the Upper Floridan aquifer in much of the roughly 8,000 square-mile Aucilla-Suwannee-Ochlockonee (ASO) River Basin. To address concerns about water availability, USGS worked with Georgia Environmental Protection Division to improve understanding of the hydrogeologic framework and...

This ongoing USGS study for Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina aims to (1) compute low-flow statistics at selected continuous-record streamgages in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina and to (2) develop regional regression equations for a subset of those low-flow characteristics for streams that are not substantially affected by tides, regulation, diversions, or other...

Groundwater use from the Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifers in South Carolina has increased during the past 70 years as the population has increased along with demands for municipal, industrial, and agricultural water needs. While South Carolina works to increase development of water supplies in response to the rapid population growth, the State is facing a number of unanswered questions regarding...

In the Atlanta metropolitan area, a hydrologic data-collection network has been established to collect real-time streamflow, precipitation, continuous and discrete water-quality data. The USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC) Urban Hydrology Unit (UHU), located in Norcross, Georgia, has been working in cooperation with local municipal and county agencies in and around the Atlanta...

The findings of this study show that salinity is elevated above background levels throughout most freshwater streams within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This information can help prioritize salt management strategies for local streams and rivers.

In the Brunswick, Georgia area, saltwater has contaminated the Upper Floridan aquifer for nearly 50 years. Saltwater contamination has constrained further development of the Upper Floridan aquifer in the Brunswick area, which has stimulated interest in the development of alternative sources of water supply, primarily from the shallower surficial and Brunswick aquifer systems. USGS is working...

Groundwater Monitoring Program for the Albany-Dougherty County Area, Georgia South Atlantic Water Science Center Long-term heavy pumping from the Claiborne, Clayton, and Upper Cretaceous aquifers, which underlie the Upper Floridan aquifer, has resulted in significant water-level declines in these deep aquifers in the Albany, Georgia area. These declines have raised concern over the ability of the...

The objective of this project is to develop a groundwater-flow model that can be used by Aiken County water managers to manage current and projected reported and unreported demands on groundwater resource and to ensure the highest quality of groundwater. Project Chief: Bruce Campbell Cooperator: Aiken County, Gilbert-Summit Rural Water District, City of Aiken, Breezy Hill Water and Sewer and...

To provide estimates of water withdrawal, water use, and return flows to surface water needed for water management, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division (GaEPD), developed the Georgia Water-Use Program in 1979. This ongoing program focuses on collecting, compiling, and disseminating water-use information...

The future health and welfare of the Nation's population is dependent upon a continuing supply of uncontaminated fresh water. Increasing withdrawals and increasing demands for instream flows are limiting the water available for future use. The USGS compiles water-use data from numerous sources for all parts of the country, and since 1950 has published a series of Circulars on the estimated use of...

As one of several national “Focus Area Studies” in the Department of Interior’s WaterSMART initiative, USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center is undertaking a 3-year study of water availability and use to meet competing societal and ecological needs in Southeastern Atlantic Coastal Basins of the Carolinas. The Coastal Carolinas study area includes lower parts of the Pee Dee/Waccamaw River and...

Total water use, for 2010,was estimated at 4,680 Mgal/d which included 1,130 Mgal/d of water delivered by public suppliers to domestic, commercial and public use, and industrial customer and publics supply losses. About 6.7 Mgal/d of water was delivered from public suppliers in Alabama and Tennessee to customers in Georgia. Furthermore, 2,230 Mgal/d of water was returned to surface-water bodies in...