Publications

In 1990, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a study of the hydrogeology of Huron County, Michigan. In 1993, Huron County and the USGS entered into an agreement to continue collecting water levels at selected wells throughout Huron County. As part of the agreement, the USGS provided training and instrumentation for County personnel to measure, on a quarterly basis, the depth to water...

The objective of the watershed-management evaluation monitoring program in Wisconsin is to evaluate the effectiveness of best-management practices (BMP) for controlling nonpoint-source contamination in rural and urban watersheds. This report is an annual summary of the data collected for the program by the U.S Geological Survey and a report of the results of several different detailed...

In 1991, the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program was fully implemented by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The goals of the NAWQA program are to (1) provide a nationally consistent description of water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation’s water resources; (2) define long-term trends (or lack of trends) in water quality; and (3) identify, describe, and...

The water-surface elevations on the Inland Waterway Navigation System of the upper Mississippi River are controlled during normal operating conditions by various flow controls at 29 locks and dams. The headwater (navigation pool) and tailwater elevations at Lock and Dam No. 7 are controlled by the regulation of 11 tainter gates and 5 roller gates. Discharge ratings for these tainter and...

Although there have been recent significant gains in our understanding of mercury (Hg) cycling in aquatic environments, few studies have addressed Hg cycling on a watershed scale in particular, attention to Hg species transfer between watershed components (upland soils, groundwater, wetlands, streams, and lakes) has been lacking. This study describes spatial and temporal distributions of...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) in the bottom sediment and water column of Little Lake Butte des Morts were studied by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey. The lake is a 8-kilometer-long impoundment of the Fox River between Lake Winnebago and Appleton, Wisconsin. Discharge of PCB's into the lake by paper mills and waste-treatment plants has...

Total withdrawal Statewide by municipal suppliers serving over 1,000 people was 108 billion gallons in 1993. Most of Minnesota's municipal deliveries were for residential purposes. About 87 percent of suppliers withdraw from ground-water and 13 percent withdraw from surface-water sources. Water withdrawn for public supply has steadily risen since 1955 and the increase has mainly come...

A solute mass balance method was used to estimate groundwater inflow and outflow rates for Nevins Lake, Michigan, a seepage lake in the upper peninsula that historically has shown extremely variable water chemistry compared with most other seepage lakes. A 4-year study (1989–1992) of the hydrology and geochemistry of Nevins Lake and its contiguous groundwater system revealed that changes...

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 yes rs, 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...

Two identical cone splitters, devices designed to split water and its suspended solids into equal aliquots for semi-volatile organic chemical and trace element analyses, were evaluated for their precision. The water-splitting evaluations consisted of experiments to test the effect of water volume, the effect of combining outlet ports, and the effect of different techniques of water...

A water-quality assessment began in 1991 for the Red River of the North (Red River) Basin as part of a national study. Data collection for the reconnainssance and intensive phases of the study briefly is described for each of the major components (streams, aquatic biology, and ground water) used to assess regional water quality. The data will be analyzed to address national and local...

Devils Lake is a 200 km2 terminal lake that contains sodium sulfate type water. Dissolved solids concentrations range from about 3,500 mg/L to 10,000 mg/L depending on location To investigate geochemical processes in the bottom sediments of Devils Lake, sediment cores were collected at two sites in the western half of the lake during a period of bottom water oxygen depletion. The upper...