Publications

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Hydrologic and precipitation data and water-quality samples were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from rivers in the East River basin in northeastern Wisconsin during 1985-86. The Fox Valley Water Quality Planning Agency suspected that agricultural and urban nonpoint-source discharges were contributing significantly to the degradation of water quality in the basin. Two continuous...

An investigation of the effects of hypothetical residential development in the Graber Pond watershed was done by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the city of Middleton. The investigation entailed evaluation of the existing (1989) water budget and water-level conditions for the pond and the water-level conditions expected to result from the hypothetical development that may...

Changes in the distribution of inorganic solutes in a shallow ground water contaminated by crude oil document a series of geochemical reactions initiated by biodegradation of the oil. Upgradient of an oil body floating on the water table, oxidation of oil to carbonic acid dissolves carbonate minerals in the aquifer matrix. In this oxidized zone pH is depressed ∼1 pH unit, and the...

The northern cornbelt sand-plains Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) program is a multiagency, multistate initiative to evaluate the effects of modified and prevailing farming systems on water quality in a sand-plain area in Minnesota and at satellite areas in North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The primary objective of Minnesota MSEA is to evaluate the effects of ridge-tillage...