Water Availability and Use
Water Availability and Use
Featured Science | Water Availability for Tribal Treaty Rights in Western Washington
We are working with Tribes to identify rivers vulnerable to changing climate, land use, or water use.
We are working with Tribes to identify rivers vulnerable to changing climate, land use, or water use.
Featured Science | Streamflow Permanence
Predicting the likelihood that streams will be wet or dry.
Predicting the likelihood that streams will be wet or dry.
Featured Science | Southeast Sound Groundwater Flow Model
Major aquifer study including the construction and calibration of a numerical groundwater flow model.
Major aquifer study including the construction and calibration of a numerical groundwater flow model.
We research water availability so that the public knows how much water is available now and into the future. Our research focuses on determining the quantity, quality, and timing of water. In addition to conducting extensive monitoring, we develop detailed models to aid in addressing these complex topics.
Water Budgets
Water Budgets
Water budgets are detailed accounts of water systems. They summarize the ins and outs, and sometimes the timing of water exchanges. Our work to develop water budgets helps water resource managers and communities make informed decisions about how they are using water.
Groundwater - Surface Water Interactions
Groundwater - Surface Water Interactions
In most areas of Washington, groundwater is hydraulically connected to nearby rivers, lakes, and wetlands. We study the groundwater – surface water interface to better understand how much water is moving from above and below ground. Knowledge of ground and surface water exchange helps managers protect these interconnected resources.
Hydrogeology
Hydrogeology
Our hydrogeologic studies focus on regional groundwater assessments, aquifer delineation, and inter-agency science support. We specialize in estimating aquifer properties, mapping 3-D hydrogeologic frameworks, determining flow rates and directions, and conducting tracer analyses.
Filter Total Items: 63
Mason County
The Issue: Groundwater is an important resource for domestic, commercial, and industrial usage in Mason County, and groundwater discharge helps maintain late-summer and early-fall streamflow (baseflow) in many area streams. Consequently, as the population grows, and commercial and industrial activity increase, so does the demand for groundwater. However, the quantity of usable groundwater, and the...
Kitsap Groundwater Model
The Issue: Groundwater provides a major source of drinking water for the population of the Kitsap Peninsula. Consequently, as the population grows, so does the demand for groundwater. However, the quantity of usable groundwater is limited, largely because the Peninsula is bounded by seawater and the potential for water-level declines and seawater intrusion increases as groundwater usage increases...
Raging River Temperature
The Issue: Large, in-channel wood that helps to create and maintain healthy aquatic habitat in rivers throughout the Pacific Northwest was removed from many rivers in the past. In 2009, King County put wood back into the river to restore the Raging River watershed. To guide the county's restoration of the Raging River watershed, managers need to know the effect of restoration actions on in-stream...
Pasco Groundwater Storage
The Issue: Since 1952 water diverted from the Columbia River has been used to irrigate parts of the Pasco basin in eastern Washington. As a result of the surface-water irrigation, groundwater levels generally have risen in the area. The increases in groundwater fluxes and groundwater in storage have created a need to better understand the flow system before and after the start of irrigation to...
South Fork Nooksack River Basin Groundwater and Surface-water Interactions and Processes
High water temperatures and low instream flows during the summer have been identified as some of the key limitations for the viability of South Fork Nooksack River salmon populations including summer and spring-run Chinook salmon. Restoration strategies including the placement of engineered log jams, the restoration of floodplains and wetlands, and instream flow negotiation have been developed by...
White River Bioenergetics
The White River Basin is located in western Washington and drains an area of about 500 square miles. Rivers in the White River Basin are fed by melt water from glaciers on Mt. Rainier, runoff from snowmelt and rain, and groundwater discharge. Beginning in the early to mid-twentieth century, the White River from river mile (RM) 9 to its confluence with the Puyallup River was extensively channelized...
Upper Kittitas County
The Issue: Baseflows in the tributary streams in the western portion of Kittitas County are important in the late summer and fall when demands on these streams peak. An ongoing USGS Yakima River basin study indicates that groundwater and surface water are interconnected, however the hydrogeologic framework and the potential impacts of groundwater withdrawals on tributary streamflow in the bedrock...
Recharge and frozen ground in the PNW
The Issue: Seasonally frozen ground occurs over approximately one-third of the contiguous United States, and the extent and duration of frozen ground have been decreasing as a result of global warming. In semi-arid regions such as the Columbia Plateau and Snake River Plain in the Pacific Northwest, nearly all natural recharge occurs between October and March when intermittent or seasonal frozen...
Nooksack River Streamflow and Network Analysis
The Lummi Nation is partner to six USGS streamflow-gaging stations in the Nooksack River basin that measure streamflow in small streams. The Lummi Nation uses data from these stations to help manage its natural resources and has requested that the USGS analyze the available data record. As a result, the USGS is using streamflow data collected in and near the Nooksack River basin to develop...
Little Spokane Hydrogeology
The Issue: Groundwater is an important resource for domestic, commercial, and agricultural usage in the Little Spokane River Basin, and groundwater discharge helps maintain streamflow in area streams. Consequently, as the population grows, and commercial and agricultural activity increase, so does the demand for groundwater. However, the quantity of usable groundwater, and the potential effects of...
Chimacum GW Model
Projected increases in population and development in northeastern Jefferson County, Washington, are expected to lead to increased groundwater withdrawals in the Chimacum Creek Basin. Changes in land use and climate could reduce groundwater recharge, thereby reducing groundwater available for drinking and for baseflow to streams that host endangered fish species. The USGS is developing quantitative...
Chamokane Framework and Model
Chamokane Creek Basin is a 179-square-mile area that borders and partially overlaps the Spokane Indian Reservation in southern Stevens County in northeastern Washington State. In 1979, all water rights in the Chamokane Creek Basin were adjudicated by a Federal court, which gave senior, reserved water rights to the Spokane Tribe of Indians for irrigation and protection of fish in Chamokane Creek...