Tracking Our Rivers and Streams: How USGS Surface Water Monitoring Provides Important Information For The MD-DE-DC Region

As humans leave an ever-increasing impact upon the earth’s natural resources, and in an increasingly complex world of water infrastructure and man-made structures, understanding where water comes from and where it flows to is more important than ever. One of the U.S. Geological Survey’s core capabilities is to monitor our nation’s waterways, providing publicly available data that impact all our lives.

The USGS has 190 surface water streamgages in Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., which are part of the USGS’ network of over 11,000 automated streamgages collecting continuous data on streams, rivers, lakes, canals, rainfall, and more.

Our publicly available high-quality USGS data is used by federal partners, states, municipalities, non-profits, meteorologists, and citizens, so it’s important that we report accurate data. That’s why you can find our dedicated crew of hydrologic technicians collecting measurements and servicing our gages on nearly any day of the year, rain or shine, holidays and weekends.

Watch our video on USGS surface water monitoring capabilities in the Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C. region.

🔗 GET THE LATEST SURFACE WATER DATA

Leetown PFAS Lab Studies An Emerging Contaminant of Concern

PFAS, also called “forever chemicals,” are emerging contaminants of concern that can be found in air, rain, lakes, rivers, groundwater, soils, and in products we use every day, like non-stick pans and popcorn bags. PFAS exposure has been associated with a variety of human and ecosystem health effects, making it very important to have good analytical methods to ensure the data is of the highest quality.

The U.S. Geological Survey laboratory for the analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) uses cutting-edge techniques to analyze environmental samples including tissues, plasma, water, and soils to undertake and support research projects across the country.

This video was produced for the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center office at Leetown, West Virginia. If you have any questions feel free to email Andrea Tokranov at atokranov@usgs.gov.

2023 Center Awards

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Every year, the USGS Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center awards employees and teams for their outstanding contributions to our center. Their selfless dedication, scientific excellence, and work ethic bring great credit upon themselves and the U.S. Geological Survey, and truly uphold the USGS motto, "Science for a changing world."

🔗 FIND OUT WHO RECEIVED AWARDS

Updates To Our Gage Network

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Please welcome our latest water quality gages located at Northwest Branch Anacostia at Brentwood, MD (01651003) and at Monocacy River near Dickerson, MD (01643580). Both streamgages collect data on gage height, specific conductance, temperature, and turbidity. The Anacostia gage also provides discharge measurements, and the Monocacy gage also collects data on dissolved oxygen, pH, and stream water-level elevation.

In other water-quality news, we added a nitrate sensor to our gage at the Choptank River near Greensboro, MD (01491000), which collects continuous nitrate plus nitrite data.  The additional sensor augments our existing water-quality capabilities at this site.

Testing New Water Quality Observation Methods In Philadelphia

When USGS scientists need to test new ways of monitoring waterways, we use a test bed! This site is located at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a crucial point of the Delaware River, and is operated by the Pennsylvania Water Science Center.

The Delaware River is rich in history, ecologically diverse, and critical to the regional economy. Water managers in this basin have a long history of applying innovative solutions to ensure the long-term sustainability of a treasured resource that provides drinking water to over 15 million people in the region.

Implementing the USGS Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS) in the Delaware River Basin provides an opportunity to develop an integrated system to support innovative modern water prediction and decision support systems in a nationally important, complex interstate river system.

This Summer in Photos

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Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Recent Publications

New study evaluates effects of agricultural conservation practices on nitrogen in streams of the Chesapeake Bay | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)

Examining terrestrial and subterranean sediment sources and transport processes in an urban sewershed with an entirely buried stream network, Washington, D.C., United States (usgs.gov)

Quantifying connectivity and its effects on sediment budgeting for an agricultural basin, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, United States (usgs.gov)

Spatial patterns and seasonal timing of increasing riverine specific conductance from 1998 to 2018 suggest legacy contamination in the Delaware River Basin (usgs.gov)

Geology, hydrology, and groundwater contamination in the vicinity of Central Chemical facility, Hagerstown, Maryland (usgs.gov)