Water Quality

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...

In 2002, The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers launched a collaborative effort to find more sustainable ways to manage river infrastructure to maximize benefits for people and nature. As of 2021, the Sustainable Rivers Program study area includes 40 rivers, 89 reservoirs, and 10,953 downstream river miles. The USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center and USGS Wetland and...

Fort Gordon is a U.S. Department of the Army facility located in east-central Georgia, approximately 10 miles west of Augusta, Georgia). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) South Atlantic Water Science Center is working cooperatively with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon to assess the quality of...

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...

Urban development can have detrimental impacts on streams including altering hydrology, increasing nutrient, sediment, and pollutant loadings, and degrading biological integrity. Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be used to mitigate the effects of urban development by retaining large volumes of stormwater runoff and treating runoff to remove pollutants. This project focuses on...

The Research Triangle area, located within the upper Cape Fear and Neuse River basins, is one of the most rapidly developing areas in the Nation. Growth has increased demand for water from public suppliers, the majority of which draw water from streams and lakes in the region. Growth also brings the threat of greater loads of contaminants and new contaminant sources that, if not properly managed...

A pilot-scale phytoremediation system is being implemented to address shallow groundwater contaminated by residual pesticides from a landfill near West Columbia, South Carolina. The pilot-scale phytoremediation system will test the idea that fast growing hybrid poplar trees will take up shallow groundwater that contains organochlorine pesticides, such as β-BHC compounds and toxaphene, at higher...

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assess the water-quality and geomorphologic impacts resulting from the I-26 construction projects in western North Carolina. Streamflow, precipitation, and water-quality monitoring data, coupled with periodic assessments of geomorphology, will support the NCDOT construction-site...

The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) began in 2000 with the goal of determining the status and trends of amphibian populations throughout the U.S. The program was designed to provide information useful in determining causes of declines or other changes in population distributions. Personnel in the South Atlantic Water Science Center are...

Issue: Floodplains provide important services to people by retaining sediments, nutrients, and floodwaters, thereby improving water quality and reducing flooding impacts. Having information on how the monetary benefit that floodplains provide varies across the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River watersheds helps resource managers describe the benefits that floodplains provide in their current state...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC) geographic area has two Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP) watersheds: Proctor Creek in Atlanta, GA, and Walnut Creek in Raleigh, NC. The local efforts in Walnut Creek are supported by many partner organizations, including but not limited to: Partners for Environmental Justice, the Carolina Wetlands Association, the...

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...