Publications

An intensive study of nonpoint-source runoff was conducted in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Minnesota during 1980. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationships between land use, watershed characteristics, and the quantity, quality, and timing of runoff. Discharge and water-quality data were collected at 19 sites located in 6 rural and 4 urban watersheds. Basin...

Steiner Branch basin in southwestern Wisconsin has rugged mature topography. Corn is planted in 30 percent of the basin on slopes ranging from 0 to 20 percent. Although contour stripcropping is a recommended practice for these easily eroded soil slopes, few conservation practices are followed to reduce soil losses. Because the stream drains into a manmade lake used for recreation, its...

Quality of water in the Ironton-Galesville aquifer is generally acceptable for all kinds of uses. Calcium magnesium bicarbonate type water is most common. The dissolved-solids concentration ranges from about 200 to 1,000 milligrams per liter. The lowest values are in the northern part of the aquifer, where the bedrock is at or close to land surface, and the lowest ones are in the...

Water resources data for the 1981 water year for Michigan consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water temperature of ground water. This report contains discharge records for 178 gaging stations; stage only records for 4 gaging stations; stage and contents for 5 lakes and...

Surface water arid;ground water from an area underlain by coal- bearing rocks in the vicinity of St. Charles Michigan, were analyzed to determine the quality characteristics of these water resources and to assess the relation between the two. Data for 15 constituents, including boron, phenol, lithium, strontium and manganese, were in such high concentrations that they could be used to

Three test holes drilled at Windigo in Isle Royale National Park in 1981 indicate that the ophitic basaltic lava flows underlying the area contain little water and cannot be considered a source for public water supply. The holes were 135, 175, and 71 feet deep. One hole yielded about 1 gallon of water perminute; the other two yielded less. Glacial deposits seem to offer the best...

Ground-water resources of Marquette County are about evenly divided between bedrock aquifers and aquifers in glacial deposits. In the northern and the extreme southern parts of the county, most wells are completed in bedrock at depths less than 100 feet. In the central part, most wells are completed in glacial deposits; some of these wells are as deep as 200 feet. Yields, in some places...

This report presents the results of biologic investigations by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources during a study of hydrology and water quality in a small drainage basin in the "Driftless Area" of southwest Wisconsin. The investigation included aquatic macrophytes, periphytic and planktonic algae, benthic invertebrates, and trout population...

The primary effects of a floodwater-retarding structure (FRS) on the streamflow of Trout Creek, Wisconsin, are attenuation of flood peaks and extension of the time base of flood hydrographs. Reduction of flood peaks ranged from 58 to 91 percent during the study period from 1975 to 1979. There is an inverse relation between sediment concentration and outflow from the FRS during floods. As...

This inventory of reports and data concerning the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers in the Twin Cities metropolitan area was compiled from November 1981 through January 1982 for a planned river-quality assessment to be conducted cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Metropolitan Waste Control Commission. There are 260 annotated citations: 176 citations of reports; 8...

Tapping the surficial sand-plain aquifers in west-central Minnesota has raised the possibility for degradation of water quality. The sand-plain areas are generally overlain by sandy soils that permit rapid infiltration of precipitation and, possibly, of surface contaminants. One hundred twenty-five wells were sampled in Hubbard, Morrison, Otter Tail, and Wadena Counties during 1979-81 to...

This report summarizes data on water levels in 124 observation wells and provides information on well locations, depths, altitudes, and aquifers that they tap. Tabulated data include extremes of water levels for 1981 and for the period of record; pumpage of most major groundwater users in the State; and quality data on selected wells. The city of Lansing was the largest reported user of...