Publications

PROBLEM: Surface-water information is needed for surveillance, planning, design, hazard warning, operation, and management in water-related fields such as water supply, hydroelectric power, flood control, irrigation, bridge and culvert design, wildlife management, pollution abatement, flood-plain management, and water-resources development. An appropriate data base is necessary to...

Water quality in the 1,700-square-mile Anoka Sand Plain aquifer is affected by irrigated and nonirrigated agriculture and by residential land use. Concentrations of sulfate, chloride, nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen, and pesticides in ground water are related to human activities; nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen concentrations are affected more than concentrations of other chemical...

Although considerable effort has been expended during the past two decades to control nonpoint-source contamination of streams and lakes in urban and rural watersheds, little has been published on the effectiveness of various management practices at the watershed scale. This report presents a discussion of several parametric and nonparametric statistical techniques for detecting changes...

A 5,670-sq m wet detention pond was monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey to determine its effect on the water quality of urban runoff. The pond has a drainage area of 0.96-sq km, composed primarily of single-family residential land use. Event-mean concentrations (EMC) were determined from samples collected for sediment, nutrients, and selected metals at the pond's inflow and outflow...

This report describes the physical, chemical, and aquatic-biological characteristics that could affect regional water quality in the Red River of the North study unit. These characteristics define the overall environmental setting of the study unit. This report provides base line and historical information for future reports that will address specific water-quality issues and processes...

Water and total-phosphorus budgets were determined for Balsam Lake in northwestern Wisconsin. All significant components of the lake's water budget were determined independently. The lake's trophic state was evaluated in relation to total-phosphorus loading from December 1, 1987 through November 30, 1989. The information obtained in the study can be used by local and State agencies to...

The hydrology and water quality of Wind Lake-a recreational lake in a densely populated area of southeastern Wisconsin was studied from October 1, 1987 through September 30,1989. A drought in 1988 affected the hydrologic budget of Wind Lake in water years 1988-89. Precipitation was 5.9 inches less than normal in water year 1988 but was 2.3 inches greater than normal in water year 1989...

The U.S. Geological Survey began a research project at the site of a crude oil spill near Bemidji, Minnesota in 1983. The project is part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Toxic Substances Hydrology Program. The objectives of research at this site are to obtain an understanding of the mobilization, transport, and fate of petroleum derivatives in the shallow subsurface and to use this...

The U.S. Geological Survey collected water samples from the five major tributaries to Green Bay, Lake Michigan, to determine the load of total polychlorinated biphenyls (RGB's) entering the bay. These samples were collected from January 1989 through early May 1990 from the Escanaba, Menominee, Peshtigo, Oconto, and Fox Rivers. Sampling sites were located near the mouth of each river and...

Data on streamflow, water quality, and macroinvertebrate and smallmouth bass (microptercus dolomieni) populations were collected from July 1987 through September 1990, in four streams in southwestern Wisconsin to determine the effect of surface-water hydrology and quality on populations of macroinvertebrates and smallmouth bass. The study was a joint project of the U.S. Geological Survey...

Nitrate concentrations in excess of national drinking-water standards (10 mg/1 as N) are present in certain sand-plain aquifers in central Minnesota. To investigate nitrate sources in the aquifers, nitrogen-isotope values of nitrate (δ15NNO3No3) were measured in shallow ground water from 51 wells in five land-use settings. The land-use settings and corresponding average nitrate...

Water resources data for the 1992 water year for Michigan consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs; and ground water levels. This report contains discharge records for 145 streamflow-gaging stations; stage only records for 1 river-gaging station and 8 lake-gaging stations; stage and contents for 4 lakes and...