Contaminant Science in Oklahoma and Texas Active
Contamination is the degradation of water quality compared to its original or natural conditions. USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center (OTWSC) scientists have been part of several projects to quantify the presence and effects of contaminants in surface water, groundwater, and sediment across Texas. OTWSC scientists also have looked at specific contaminant issues, such as establishing baseline water-quality conditions prior to oil and natural gas production, or evaluating the effectiveness of water treatment plants in removing pharmaceutical compounds from municipal water. Visit the links below for more information on our data and science.
Contaminants originate from a wide range of natural and man-made sources. Many commonly studied contaminants occur naturally, although concentrations of some contaminants may be altered by human activities. For example, nitrate from natural sources is present in most water, but concentrations often are increased by contributions from man-made sources in agricultural and urban areas.
CONTAMINATION SCIENCE CAPABILITIES
OTWSC has expertise in a wide variety of contaminant science applications, including, but not limited to:
- Sediment
- Coupling water and stream-bed sediment data with changes in land cover
- Characterizing Sediment Quality
- Identifying Source(s) of Contaminant Inputs
- Understanding Relations Between Streamflow and Sediment and Contaminant Transport
- Water Quality
- Studying Emerging Contaminants
- Monitoring Environmental Contaminants such as Pharmaceutical compounds, personal care products, pesticides, and herbicides
- Characterizing the water quality connection between surface water and groundwater
- Integrating monitoring networks including automated sampling, real-time data logging, and discrete sample collection
- Developing mapping applications for displaying real-time data
Find out more about OTWSC water-quality science expertise in this printable information sheet.
CURRENT CONTAMINANT SCIENCE
Contaminant Detection
Dallas Emerging Contaminants Study
San Antonio River Sediment and Water Quality Monitoring in an Oil and Gas Production Area
Salado Creek Bacteria Source Tracking
Water Quality Monitoring of Arundo Cane Removal Treatment
Long-Term Trends
Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Monitoring Network
Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Surface-water and Groundwater Interaction
Hydrogeologic Atlas for Fort Bliss
Water-Quality Monitoring of the Lake Houston Watershed
National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA)
National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Surface Water Activities
National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Groundwater Activities
Projects related to contamination science are listed below.
Water-Quality Monitoring of the Lake Houston Watershed
Water Quality Monitoring of Arundo Cane Removal Treatment
San Antonio River Sediment and Water Quality Monitoring in an Oil and Gas Production Area
Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Surface-water and Groundwater Interaction
National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Surface Water Activities
Hydrogeologic Atlas for Fort Bliss
Dallas Compounds of Emerging Concern Study
Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Monitoring Network
Recent publications related to contamination science are listed below. Additional publications are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: Contamination Studies || NAWQA
Water-quality observations of the San Antonio segment of the Edwards aquifer, Texas, with an emphasis on processes influencing nutrient and pesticide geochemistry and factors affecting aquifer vulnerability, 2010–16
Selected streambed sediment compounds and water toxicity results for Westside Creeks, San Antonio, Texas, 2014
Occurrence and concentrations of selected trace elements, halogenated organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in streambed sediments and results of water-toxicity testing in Westside Creeks and the San Antonio River, San Antonio, Texas, 20
- Overview
Contamination is the degradation of water quality compared to its original or natural conditions. USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center (OTWSC) scientists have been part of several projects to quantify the presence and effects of contaminants in surface water, groundwater, and sediment across Texas. OTWSC scientists also have looked at specific contaminant issues, such as establishing baseline water-quality conditions prior to oil and natural gas production, or evaluating the effectiveness of water treatment plants in removing pharmaceutical compounds from municipal water. Visit the links below for more information on our data and science.
Contaminants originate from a wide range of natural and man-made sources. Many commonly studied contaminants occur naturally, although concentrations of some contaminants may be altered by human activities. For example, nitrate from natural sources is present in most water, but concentrations often are increased by contributions from man-made sources in agricultural and urban areas.
CONTAMINATION SCIENCE CAPABILITIES
OTWSC has expertise in a wide variety of contaminant science applications, including, but not limited to:
- Sediment
- Coupling water and stream-bed sediment data with changes in land cover
- Characterizing Sediment Quality
- Identifying Source(s) of Contaminant Inputs
- Understanding Relations Between Streamflow and Sediment and Contaminant Transport
- Water Quality
- Studying Emerging Contaminants
- Monitoring Environmental Contaminants such as Pharmaceutical compounds, personal care products, pesticides, and herbicides
- Characterizing the water quality connection between surface water and groundwater
- Integrating monitoring networks including automated sampling, real-time data logging, and discrete sample collection
- Developing mapping applications for displaying real-time data
Find out more about OTWSC water-quality science expertise in this printable information sheet.
CURRENT CONTAMINANT SCIENCE
Contaminant Detection
Dallas Emerging Contaminants Study
San Antonio River Sediment and Water Quality Monitoring in an Oil and Gas Production Area
Salado Creek Bacteria Source Tracking
Water Quality Monitoring of Arundo Cane Removal Treatment
Long-Term Trends
Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Monitoring Network
Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Surface-water and Groundwater Interaction
Hydrogeologic Atlas for Fort Bliss
Water-Quality Monitoring of the Lake Houston Watershed
National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA)
National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Surface Water Activities
National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Groundwater Activities
- Sediment
- Science
Projects related to contamination science are listed below.
Water-Quality Monitoring of the Lake Houston Watershed
Real-time water-quality, streamflow and water height information for Lake Houston and the surrounding San Jacinto watershed are now available from a new web application from the U.S. Geological Survey, done in cooperation with the City of Houston.Water Quality Monitoring of Arundo Cane Removal Treatment
The USGS Texas Water Science Center is evaluating the water-quality effects of certain herbicides used in Arundo cane eradication along the Rio Grande from Del Rio downstream to the confluence with Sycamore Creek (approximately 10 miles), along which the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) will be conducting cane eradication using herbicides.San Antonio River Sediment and Water Quality Monitoring in an Oil and Gas Production Area
During 2011-2013, baseline concentrations of many different water and streambed-sediment constituents were determined at Phase I sites upstream from, within, and downstream from the area of active oil and natural-gas production within the San Antonio River Basin. With baseline conditions previously established, this study will provide current information that couples recent water and stream-bed...Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Surface-water and Groundwater Interaction
The effects of urbanization across the recharge zone in Bexar County and potential impact on the water quality in the Edwards aquifer is a topic of specific concern for the City of San Antonio. The USGS Texas Water Science Center is simultaneously collecting water-quality data from surface-water runoff sites and paired shallow groundwater wells within the recharge zone of the Edwards aquifer to...National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Surface Water Activities
The USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project was established by Congress in 1992 to answer the following question: What is the status of the Nation’s water quality and is it getting better or worse? Since 1992, NAWQA has been a primary source of nationally consistent data and information on the quality of the Nation’s streams and groundwater. Data and information obtained from...Hydrogeologic Atlas for Fort Bliss
Successful long term stewardship of Fort Bliss lands includes managing traditional hydrologic resources such as surface water and groundwater resources and increasingly, geologic resources such as geothermal reservoirs and deep well injection locations. The USGS Texas Water Science Center is developing a garrison-wide hydrogeologic atlas that describes the hydrology and hydrogeology of Fort Bliss...Dallas Compounds of Emerging Concern Study
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), as environmental contaminants, are a source of increasing concern because of their possible disruption of endocrine systems in humans and other organisms. The USGS Texas Water Science Center is collecting and analyzing samples from inflows and outflows of five Dallas water treatment plants and five sites in the Trinity River for pharmaceuticals...Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone Monitoring Network
The USGS Texas Water Science Center is implementing a more complete and integrated monitoring network for the Edwards aquifer to improve the understanding of aquifer water quality and establish a baseline for measuring future water-quality changes. - Publications
Recent publications related to contamination science are listed below. Additional publications are available from the USGS Publications Warehouse: Contamination Studies || NAWQA
Water-quality observations of the San Antonio segment of the Edwards aquifer, Texas, with an emphasis on processes influencing nutrient and pesticide geochemistry and factors affecting aquifer vulnerability, 2010–16
As questions regarding the influence of increasing urbanization on water quality in the Edwards aquifer are raised, a better understanding of the sources, fate, and transport of compounds of concern in the aquifer—in particular, nutrients and pesticides—is needed to improve water management decision-making capabilities. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System,AuthorsStephen P. Opsahl, MaryLynn Musgrove, Barbara Mahler, Rebecca B. LambertSelected streambed sediment compounds and water toxicity results for Westside Creeks, San Antonio, Texas, 2014
IntroductionThe Alazán, Apache, Martínez, and San Pedro Creeks in San Antonio, Texas, are part of a network of urban tributaries to the San Antonio River, known locally as the Westside Creeks. The Westside Creeks flow through some of the oldest neighborhoods in San Antonio. The disruption of streambed sediment is anticipated during a planned restoration to improve and restore the environmental conAuthorsCassi L. Crow, Jennifer T. Wilson, James L. KunzOccurrence and concentrations of selected trace elements, halogenated organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in streambed sediments and results of water-toxicity testing in Westside Creeks and the San Antonio River, San Antonio, Texas, 20
Sediment samples and samples for water-toxicity testing were collected during 2014 from several streams in San Antonio, Texas, known locally as the Westside Creeks (Alazán, Apache, Martínez, and San Pedro Creeks) and from the San Antonio River. Samples were collected during base flow and after periods of stormwater runoff (poststorm conditions) to determine baseline sediment- and water-quality conAuthorsCassi L. Crow, Jennifer T. Wilson, James L. Kunz