Climate Change and Water Resources
Climate Change and Water Resources
Consideration of potential climate change effects on water resources is regularly integrated into many of our investigations, particularly those focused on water availability and use and hydrologic hazards. We often use our hydrology computer models to simulate the potential effects of climate change, and integrate those effects with those from other stressors such as land-use change or population growth to help our partners plan resilient water supply and hazard reduction strategies.
Filter Total Items: 18
Hoh geomorphology
The Issue: Glaciers in the Hoh River watershed are expected to largely disappear by 2050, while flooding is expected to become more intense. Understanding if or how this will impact sediment transport and channel change in the watershed is relevant for salmon habitat, restoration efforts, and flood hazard management. However, there is relatively little information about historical channel...
Osoyoos Ice Jam
The Issue: Ice jams can occur at the outlet of Osoyoos Lake on the border of Canada and the United States, resulting in a decrease or complete interruption in streamflow on the Okanogan River. These ice jams appear to be occurring at a greater frequency than they have in the past and interruptions in streamflow can hinder the passage of anadromous fish and impact downstream water rights and water...
Bolt Creek Wildfire Sediment Runoff and Water Quality
The Issue: Scientists and water-resource managers recognize the increasing impact of wildfires on water supply in the western U.S. The increasing frequency and severity of wildfires are linked to changes in snowpack, warmer temperatures, and drought. Sedimentation following wildfire can impact aquatic habitat, reservoir storage capacity, water quality, and thus public drinking water supplies...
Hydrogeologic Framework for Lower Duwamish River Valley, Washington
The Issue: Most of the Lower Duwamish River Valley in Seattle, Washington, is less than 20 feet above sea level; consequently, the river valley is prone to flooding during high tides, extreme rainfall, and high streamflow. In addition, groundwater inundation—localized coastal flooding due to a rise of the groundwater table with global sea-level rise—may compound flooding issues in the area. The...
Channel Change and Sediment Transport in the Puyallup River Watershed
The Issue: Sediment loads in the Puyallup River and its major tributaries, the White River and Carbon River, are high and river channels are dynamic. While there is a relatively rich history of sediment transport and channel change studies in the Puyallup River and its tributaries, there has not been an integrated assessment of channel-elevation trends in nearly a decade. This lack of up-to-date...
Water Availability for Tribal Treaty Rights in Western Washington
The Issue: Native American treaty rights depend on the availability of adequate and high-quality streamflow across the Western Washington, which can be degraded by water and land use, reservoir operations, and climate change among other factors. Streamflow during critical low-flow periods depend on groundwater discharge from aquifers, which also is vulnerable to human activities in the Western...
Updated classifications of flow permanence on streams in the Colville National Forest
The Issue: Streamflow permanence refers to the probability that a stream will lose surface flow (become a dry channel), as well as the timing, duration, and frequency of drying. Patterns of streamflow permanence drive important decisions regarding forest management and other land uses. The Colville National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (2019), for example, specifies riparian management...
Analysis of USGS Surface Water Monitoring Networks
The issue: National interests in water information are important but challenging to incorporate into planning and operation of a monitoring network driven by local information needs. These interests include an understanding of the spatial variability in water availability across the United States, anthro-physical factors including climate and land use that affect water availability, and federal...
Water Temperature Mapping in the Snoqualmie and Skykomish River Basins
The Skykomish, Snoqualmie, and Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Basins have historically provided critical spawning, rearing, and core habitat for several salmonid species.
Assess the utility of a regional aquifer system groundwater model to inform the USGS National Hydrologic Model
The Issue: In Washington State, groundwater (GW) inflow to streams, or baseflow, is essential for maintaining aquatic habitats, and for out-of-stream uses such as irrigated agriculture during the typically dry summers. However, the National Hydrologic Model (NHM) currently is most suited to predicting total daily streamflow. This project aims to assess the NHM’s performance in simulating baseflow...
Southeast Sound Groundwater Flow Model
The Issue: Groundwater is an important resource for domestic, commercial, and industrial usage in the Puyallup River and Chambers-Clover Creek Watersheds, 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...
Sauk River Sediment
Fine-grained sediments in the lower reach of the Sauk River are adversely affecting the health and spawning of Chinook salmon. Climate change and forestry practices have been proposed as suspected causes of a reported increase in sediment loading to the river. To determine the amount and timing of suspended-sediment loading to the river and possible connections to adverse effects on Chinook salmon...