Water Quality

Every day, millions of gallons of groundwater are pumped to supply drinking water for about 140 million people, almost one-half of the Nation’s population. Learn about the quality and availability of groundwater for drinking, where and why groundwater quality is degraded, and where groundwater quality is changing.

Brine Contamination to Plains and Potholes Environments from Energy Development in the Williston Basin

Projects conducted by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) sometimes result in unavoidable impacts to wetlands and other aquatic habitats. To compensate for these impacts, MDT mitigates the loss of wetlands by providing replacement wetlands within the watershed.

As a result of energy development, the Blackfeet Environmental Office has developed a groundwater monitoring program specifically focused on the Cut Bank Creek watershed of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The addition of groundwater data to an existing surface-water monitoring program will help the Blackfeet Tribe develop a more complete understanding of the current conditions of their water...

In 2008 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Jackson Hole Airport Board and Teton Conservation District, began a study designed to characterize the alluvial aquifer at the Jackson Hole Airport. The purpose of this study was to determine the direction of groundwater flow, calculate hydraulic gradients, and characterize groundwater quality both upgradient and downgradient of airport...

Brine is a byproduct of crude oil production. Handling and disposal of brine during the last 50 years in the East Poplar oil field has resulted in contamination of not only the shallow Quaternary aquifers, but also the Poplar River. Previous investigations have documented and partially delineated the extent of brine contamination in the East Poplar oil field during the early 1990s. In the 10 years...

The development of two nationally important energy-producing areas, the Williston structural basin (containing the Bakken Formation) and Powder River structural basin, provide a critical opportunity to study the water-energy nexus within a groundwater context. Large volumes of water are needed for energy development in these basins. The hydraulically connected aquifers in the regional glacial...

The Lame Deer Creek watershed of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeastern Montana encompasses about 82 square miles and is home to the community of Lame Deer. Local water resources within the Lame Deer Creek watershed include Lame Deer Creek and groundwater within unconsolidated sediments and bedrock aquifers. In 2017 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Northern Cheyenne...

The Yellowstone River Basin (YELL) study-unit in Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota, is part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of this program are to describe the status and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources, and to provide a sound, scientific understanding of...

Coal-bed methane development is in the initial stages of exploration and production in the Tongue River watershed. Long-term monitoring is needed to provide information to evaluate any changes or trends in surface-water quality and support informed decisions about resource use and management. The goals of this monitoring program are to collect water-quality data and disseminate these data to all...

The Powder River Structural Basin (PRB) in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana is an important source of energy resources for the United States. Resources developed from the basin include coal, oil, uranium, conventional natural gas, and within the last decade coal-bed natural gas (CBNG) which often is referred to as coal-bed methane. As of 2008, about 20,000 CBNG wells had been drilled...

A synoptic study was conducted June 27-July 1, 2010 in the Muddy Creek drainage basin. The Muddy Creek drainage basin is in an area of energy develoment in south-central Wyoming. The synoptic study was integrated in nature and included the collection of water-quality, basin-sediment, and macroinvertebrate samples. Sampling sites were located on Muddy Creek from the headwaters area to near Baggs...