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Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Welcome to the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center. We deliver timely and reliable data, advanced interpretive science, and tools needed to understand the water resources of Virginia and West Virginia in support of effective decision making.

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News

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USGS post-Ian science continues

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Response and recovery, preparation and prediction

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New intensive water-resource monitoring stations support stream and ecological restoration research in Reston, Virginia

Publications

Geospatial standard operating procedures of the Chesapeake Bay Program

Introduction The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) has operated a geographic information system (GIS) program since the early 1990s to address the established and growing need for and use of geospatial data, maps, and analysis within the CBP Partnership. This report is intended to detail the standard operating procedures of the CBP GIS program and address the quality assurance, quality control, and oth

Wastewater reuse and predicted ecological risk posed by contaminant mixtures in Potomac River watershed streams

A wastewater model was applied to the Potomac River watershed to provide (i) a means to identify streams with a high likelihood of carrying elevated effluent-derived contaminants and (ii) risk assessments to aquatic life and drinking water. The model linked effluent discharges along stream networks, accumulated wastewater, and predicted contaminant loads of municipal wastewater constituents while

Science

Integrated Assessments of Potential Risks to Aquatic Organisms and Public Water Supply from Wastewater-Derived Chemical Mixtures in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Proper management of contaminants of emerging concern in the Chesapeake Bay region requires scientific efforts to understand the risk posed to aquatic resources from the “cocktail” of multiple contaminants that is often present. This research aims to assess the occurrence, sources, environmental impacts, biological effects, and the human health impacts of toxic contaminants in rivers.
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Integrated Assessments of Potential Risks to Aquatic Organisms and Public Water Supply from Wastewater-Derived Chemical Mixtures in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Proper management of contaminants of emerging concern in the Chesapeake Bay region requires scientific efforts to understand the risk posed to aquatic resources from the “cocktail” of multiple contaminants that is often present. This research aims to assess the occurrence, sources, environmental impacts, biological effects, and the human health impacts of toxic contaminants in rivers.
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USGS revises 2020 nontidal load and trend results

Issue: The USGS has revised loads and trends through 2020 from monitoring stations in the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Nontidal Network (NTN). The original release of the results was in July 2022. During a process to implement a new software package for the next update of NTN data, the USGS discovered some questionable data values. Most of the questionable values were related to a coding...
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USGS revises 2020 nontidal load and trend results

Issue: The USGS has revised loads and trends through 2020 from monitoring stations in the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) Nontidal Network (NTN). The original release of the results was in July 2022. During a process to implement a new software package for the next update of NTN data, the USGS discovered some questionable data values. Most of the questionable values were related to a coding...
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PFAS Investigations at the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Exposure to some per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals. The Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center works with local and regional partners to determine the drivers and distribution of PFAS contamination in groundwater, surface water, and drinking water supplies across Virginia and West Virginia.
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PFAS Investigations at the Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center

Exposure to some per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals. The Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center works with local and regional partners to determine the drivers and distribution of PFAS contamination in groundwater, surface water, and drinking water supplies across Virginia and West Virginia.
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