Publications

Monthly mean discharges for the period of record are given for the streamflow-gaging stations along the upper Mississippi River from its headwaters to Prescott, Wisconsin, as well as for the first upstream streamflow-gaging station on the major tributaries of the Mississippi River, the Minnesota and St. Croix Rivers. Differences in the monthly mean discharge between selected upstream and

Water-quality and streamflow data were collected in the Coteau des Prairies region of southwestern Minnesota and eastern South Dakota to document the water-quality characteristics of streams and impoundments in the Coteau, and to predict the effect of proposed impoundments on the quality of water in Coteau streams. Reconnaissance data collection at 66 stream and 24 impoundment sites plus...

The Twin Cities aquifer system in Minnesota contains 5 aquifers and 4 confining units composed of 14 stratigraphic units. Bedrock aquifers consist of friable sandstones and highly fractured carbonate rocks; aquifers in the glacial drift consist of outwash and alluvium. From 1880 to 1980, groundwater withdrawals had caused long-term declines of water levels of as much as 90 feet in the...

Thick, glacial sand and gravel deposits provide most ground-water supplies in Kalamazoo County. These deposits range in thickness from 50 to about 600 feet in areas that overlie buried bedrock valleys. Most domestic wells completed at depths of less than 75 feet in the sands and gravels yield adequate water supplies. Most industry, public supply, and irrigation wells completed at depths...

Hydraulic-conductivity measurements were made of 49 sandstone core plugs using a flow pump and a conventional triaxial confining apparatus. The sandstones tested are samples from the Marshall Sandstone and Grand River and Saginaw Formations, which are the principal bedrock aquifers in the Michigan basin. Sandstones ranging from poorly cemented to well cemented were selected to...

This report presents selected data that describe the characteristics of stream basins upstream from selected points on streams in the Watonwan River basin. The points on the streams include outlets of subbasins of about five square miles, sewage treatment plant outlets, and U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in the basin.

Water-quality and streamflow data were collected in the Coteau des Prairies region of southwestern Minnesota and eastern South Dakota from 1979- 84. Data were collected to (1) document the water-quality characteristics of streams and impoundments in the Coteau area, (2) predict the impact of proposed impoundments, (3) define the amount of dissolved and suspended material transported, and...

A model constructed to simulate ground-water flow in part of the Prairie du Chien-Jordan and St. Peter aquifers, St. Louis Park, Minnesota, was used to test hypotheses about the movement of ground water contaminated with coal-tar derivatives and to simulate alternatives for reducing the downgradient movement of contamination in the St. Peter aquifer. The model, constructed for a previous...

A map was prepared that shows the net change in the potentiometric surface of the Magothy aquifer (in the Cretaceous Magothy Formation) in southern Maryland from the fall of 1986 to the fall of 1988. The map, based on water level measurements from 79 observation wells, shows that during the 2 year period the potentiometric surface declined less than 5 ft in most of the northern part of...

Confined-drift aquifers in six aquifer zones identified in a 1,300-square-mile area of west-central Minnesota near Brooten and Belgrade range in thickness from 5 to 110 feet. Transmissivities generally range from 500 to 10,000 feet squared per day, and theoretical well yields generally range from 100 to 900 gallons per minute. Regional ground-water flow in the confined-drift aquifers is...

During 1984, above-normal ground-water levels flooded the fields and basements in the vicinity of the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area. In response to concerns of neighboring farmers and homeowners, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study to assess ground-water conditions in the area and to determine the causes of above-normal...

The 1988 drought was one of the most severe droughts since weather records have been kept in Wisconsin. This fact sheet describes the cause of the drought and its effects on the water resources, water use, and agriculture in the State.