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Water data for Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin

Access real-time and historical data for surface water, groundwater, water quality, and water use

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Edge-of-field monitoring

Testing the effectiveness of agricultural conservation practices for reducing nutrient and sediment runoff

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SPARROW models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-s

SPARROW Watershed Models of Loads in Midwest Streams

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Great Lakes urban stormwater monitoring

Assessing the ability of green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff in Great Lakes urban areas

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Great Lakes mercury sources revealed

Mercury "footprinting" identifies sources of pollution in the Great Lakes

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Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Our USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center priority is to continue the important work of the Department of the Interior and the USGS, while also maintaining the health and safety of our employees and community.  Based on guidance from the White House, the CDC, and state and local authorities, we are shifting our operations to a virtual mode and have minimal staffing

Current conditions in MI, MN, and WI

Explore real-time streamflow, groundwater, and water-quality conditions and access data with our interactive map application.

Message from the Director

Headshot of John F. Walker

Learn more about the Upper Midwest Water Science Center from John Walker, our Center Director.

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Upper Midwest Water Science Cener Quick Links

News

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Upper Midwest Water Science Center Fiscal Year 2022 Newsletter is now available

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USGS meeting with National Agency for Water and Basic Sanitation and Geological Survey of Brazil

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Using sensor technology to develop a recreational contact warning tool for the Grand River, Grand Rapids, MI

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Publications

Evaluation of the Bushy Park Reservoir three-dimensional hydrodynamic and water-quality model, South Carolina, 2012–15

The Bushy Park Reservoir is a relatively shallow impoundment in southeastern South Carolina. The reservoir, located under a semi-tropical climate, is the principal water supply for the city of Charleston, South Carolina, and the surrounding areas including the Bushy Park Industrial Complex. Although there was an adequate supply of freshwater in the reservoir in 2022, water-quality concerns are pre
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Water Resources, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Simulation of regional groundwater flow and groundwater/lake interactions in the Central Sands, Wisconsin

A multiscale, multiprocess modeling approach was applied to the Wisconsin Central Sands region in central Wisconsin to quantify the connections between the groundwater system, land use, and lake levels in three seepage lakes in Waushara County, Wisconsin: Long and Plainfield (The Plainfield Tunnel Channel Lakes), and Pleasant Lakes. A regional groundwater-flow model, the Newton Raphson formulation
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Water-surface profile maps for the Mississippi River near Prairie Island, Minnesota, 2019

Digital water-surface profile maps for a 14-mile reach of the Mississippi River near Prairie Island, Minnesota, from the confluence of the St. Croix River at Prescott, Wisconsin, to upstream from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam No. 3 (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams number MN00595) in Welch, Minnesota, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in coope
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Michigan-Ohio Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
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Science

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Three people measure streamflow while standing in the middle of an Iowa stream, leafy foliage surrounds stream.

Assessing the health risk from waterborne pathogens for public users recreating on future Iowa Water Trails recreation sites near Des Moines

Scientists at LIDE are collaborating with Polk County Conservation in central Iowa to estimate the health risk posed to recreators in the Des Moines River and tributaries. Samples collected over two years are tested for viral, bacterial, and protozoan pathogens, and health risk is estimated using quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). Health risk will also be compared to microbial source...
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Laboratory for Infectious Disease and the Environment
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Assessing the health risk from waterborne pathogens for public users recreating on future Iowa Water Trails recreation sites near Des Moines

Scientists at LIDE are collaborating with Polk County Conservation in central Iowa to estimate the health risk posed to recreators in the Des Moines River and tributaries. Samples collected over two years are tested for viral, bacterial, and protozoan pathogens, and health risk is estimated using quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). Health risk will also be compared to microbial source...
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Scientist collecting homeowner water sample

Well Water Advisory Forecasts for northeast Wisconsin

The fractured bedrock of northeast Wisconsin is vulnerable to groundwater contamination because water and contaminants can move quickly. LIDE is launching a study to predict contamination of private wells in northeast WI using Runoff Risk Advisory Forecasts (RRAF). RRAF is an online tool that forecasts conditions conducive to surface runoff, and the long-term vision is to leverage its forecasts to...
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Laboratory for Infectious Disease and the Environment
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Well Water Advisory Forecasts for northeast Wisconsin

The fractured bedrock of northeast Wisconsin is vulnerable to groundwater contamination because water and contaminants can move quickly. LIDE is launching a study to predict contamination of private wells in northeast WI using Runoff Risk Advisory Forecasts (RRAF). RRAF is an online tool that forecasts conditions conducive to surface runoff, and the long-term vision is to leverage its forecasts to...
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Benthic algae growing at Oak Creek at East Drexel Avenue in Oak Creek, Wisconsin

MMSD Watercourse Corridor Study: Nutrient Evaluations

Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (HABs) are becoming an increasing concern in the Great Lakes. Although there is a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for phosphorus in the Milwaukee Estuary, abundance/biovolume of potential HAB-producing cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin presence in Milwaukee-area rivers and the estuary are largely unknown. USGS evaluations of nutrients in the MMSD Watercourse...
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center
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MMSD Watercourse Corridor Study: Nutrient Evaluations

Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (HABs) are becoming an increasing concern in the Great Lakes. Although there is a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for phosphorus in the Milwaukee Estuary, abundance/biovolume of potential HAB-producing cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin presence in Milwaukee-area rivers and the estuary are largely unknown. USGS evaluations of nutrients in the MMSD Watercourse...
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