Publications

The County Road A disposal site, located on the Bad River Indian Reservation, Ashland County, Wisconsin, contains papermill sludge generated by a former mill in the City of Ashland. Since the time of disposal (1968-1970) the site has been the subject of investigations by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and private consultants. During 1997-...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with local and other agencies, collects data at selected lakes throughout Wisconsin. These data, accumulated over many years, provide a data base for developing an improved understanding of the water quality of lakes. To make these data available to interested parties outside the USGS, the data are published annually in this report series...

Proposed changes to watershed management practices near C-3 Pool at Seney National Wildlife Refuge will affect surface-water flow patterns, ground-water levels, and possibly local plant communities. Data were collected between fall 1998 and spring 2000 to document existing conditions and to assess potential changes in hydrology that might occur as a consequence of modifications to water...

To protect and manage rivers and streams (hereafter, collectively referred to as streams) in the United States, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is establishing regionally based nutrient criteria that reflect the natural variability in water quality. As a basic approach to establish these criteria, the USEPA has divided the country into nutrient ecoregions (delineated on...

Success of agriculture in many areas of Michigan relies on withdrawal of large quantities of ground water for irrigation. In some areas of the State, water-level declines associated with large ground-water withdrawals may adversely affect nearby residential wells. Residential wells in several areas of Saginaw County, in Michigan's east-central Lower Peninsula, recently went dry shortly...

In the summer of 2001, there were renewed concerns about the effects of quarry dewatering on nearby domestic ground-water supplies in Monroe County, Michigan. Reports of domestic wells “going dry” are not uncommon historically in Monroe County. Such reports have been linked to droughts, nearby irrigation, quarrying, and other large ground-water uses since as early as 1900 (Sherzer, 1900)...

Optimal estimators are developed for computation of suspended-sediment concentrations in streams. The estimators are a function of parameters, computed by use of generalized least squares, which simultaneously account for effects of streamflow, seasonal variations in average sediment concentrations, a dynamic error component, and the uncertainty in concentration measurements. The...

Streams receiving runoff from General Mitchell International Airport (GMIA), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, were studied to assess toxic impacts of aircraft and runway deicers. Elevated levels of constituents related to deicing (propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, and ammonia) were observed in stream samples. The LC50s of type I deicer for Ceriodaphnia dubia, Pimephelas promelas, Hyalela...

Ground water is among the Nation's most important natural resources. It provides drinking water to urban and rural communities, supports irrigation and industry, sustains the flow of streams and rivers, and maintains riparian and wetland ecosystems. In many areas of the Nation, the future sustainability of ground-water resources is at risk from over use and contamination. Because ground...

The primary source of ground water for the city of Rochester, Olmsted County, southeastern Minnesota is the St. Peter-Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer. Based on results of a previous U.S. Geological Survey investigation in the Rochester area, relatively high rates of areal recharge to the St. Peter-Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer occur along the edge of the overlying Decorah-Platteville...

We examined historical suspended-sediment data and activities of fallout radioisotopes (lead-210 [210Pb], cesium-137 [137Cs], and beryllium-7 [7Be]) associated with suspended sediments and source-area sediments (cultivated soils, bank material, and reference soils) in the Wild Rice River Basin, a tributary to the Red River of the North, to better understand sources of suspended sediment...

Chemical anesthetics induce stress responses, and most leave residues in fish tissues that require a certain withdrawal time before the animal can be released into the environment. Therefore, alternatives are needed in cases when fish must be released immediately, for example, during egg-collecting operations or after implanting elastomer tags. To evaluate pulsed direct current as an...