Texas Water Science Center
Water Quality
Water quality encompasses a wide variety of conditions that can affect the usability of water, whether for supplying drinking water or supporting aquatic life. Water quality includes physical qualities, such as pH or temperature, and chemical qualities, such as pesticides or nutrients in the water.
The USGS Texas Water Science Center conducts water-quality studies from initial assessments to long-term monitoring.
Water Quality Overview
These overviews summarize the science, capabilities, and research activities for each topic.
Contaminants Overview
Water chemistry Overview
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Overview
Nutrients Overview
Sediments Overview
Capabilities
Find out more about TXWSC water-quality science and sediement science expertise in these printable information sheets.
Browse Water Quality science related to:
Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Edwards Aquifer Recharge in a Developing Landscape
San Antonio Texas consistently ranks as one of the fastest growing large cities in the United States. Urban development can affect groundwater quality as trees and open space are replaced by buildings and roads, increasing the amount of urban runoff draining directly into the Edwards aquifer. A network of sophisticated surface water and groundwater monitoring sites is being used to help...
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Monitoring and Assessment Program Development
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and USGS will jointly lead the development of foundational components for Gulf region-wide monitoring.
Urban Waters Federal Partnership - Suspended Sediment and Nutrient Delivery to the Gulf of Mexico
Suspended sediment and nutrients from greater San Antonio can affect instream ecological health of the San Antonio River and ultimately impact Gulf of Mexico bays and estuaries. Real-time monitoring in urban and rural parts of the river basin may provide a glimpse into the importance of urban sediment and nutrient sources. Real-time sensors provide a tool to better understand and manage water...
Biological Resources of Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas
Innovations in three-dimensional seismic surveying technology spawned an unprecedented wave of oil and gas prospecting throughout Big Thicket National Preserve. The preserve resource managers were concerned about the potential impacts to aquatic resources from these operations. The USGS Texas Water Science Center (TXWSC) provided a baseline assessment of the biological resources in the...
National Water-Quality Assessment Project in Texas - Groundwater 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...
Salado Creek Bacteria Source Tracking
The USGS Texas Water Science Center (TXWSC) is collecting surface-water samples from Salado Creek to investigate the concentrations of waste-related constituents and identify their sources (human or other animals) using microbial source tracking.
Pecos River Basin Salinity Assessment
The USGS Texas Water Science Center is assessing salinity of the Pecos River Basin from Santa Rosa Lake, New Mexico to the confluence of Pecos River and Rio Grande, Texas. This assessment includes an extensive literature review, compilation of previously published salinity related data, data gap analysis, additional data collection to fill data gaps, and identification of potential areas of...
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.
Upper Rio Grande Basin Focus Area Study
USGS is undertaking a 3-year study of water use, availability, and change in the Upper Rio Grande Basin in one of several national “Focus Area Studies” in the Department of Interior’s WaterSMART initiative. The Upper Rio Grande study area runs 670 miles from its headwaters in Colorado through New Mexico and northern Mexico to Ft....
Water Quality Monitoring at Offshore Artificial Reefs
USGS Texas Water Science Center scientists are collecting physical and chemical water properties at selected Texas artificial reefs to provide the initial foundation to establish the status and long-term trends in the environment and information essential for sound management decisions and long-term planning.
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...