Water Availability and Use

To manage our water resources effectively, we need to understand how much water is available and its usefulness. The USGS monitors the nation’s water resources through various national observing networks that use a range of technologies and methods to assess real-time water conditions and predict future changes in water availability for human and ecological uses.

The USGS National Water Availability Assessment consists of reports, which provide a scientific summary and interpretation of water quantity, quality and use, and the data companion, which delivers model-based estimates of water supply and demand.

Regional Water Availability Assessments are scientific assessments of water availability in different hydrologic regions across the Nation. They are designed to capture a range of conditions in major drivers of water availability.

The USGS Water Resources Mission Area is assessing how much water is available for human and ecological needs in the United States and identifying where and when the Nation may have challenges meeting its demand for water.

The USGS Water Resources Mission Area is assessing how much water is available for human and ecological needs in the United States and identifying where and when the Nation may have challenges meeting its demand for water.

The National Water Availability Assessment Data Companion (NWDC) delivers model-based estimates of water supply and demand.

USGS is compiling data on locations and volumes of water withdrawals for bottled water production and learning how, when, and where bottled water withdrawals result in changes to groundwater levels, spring flows, and water quality.

As of October 2024, the USGS Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program supports the collection and (or) delivery of both streamflow and water-level information at 8,705 sites and water-level information alone at 3,460 additional sites. The data are served online—most in near real-time—to meet many diverse needs including the protection of life, property, the environment, and our economy.

The USGS Integrated Water Prediction science program is focused on developing and improving model code, workflows, and applications of core water availability components at a national extent.

Centennial Streamgages are USGS streamgages that have been in operation for more than 100 years.

The Willamette River Basin reflects the conflicting water demands between humans and ecosystems—particularly salmon— and the challenge resource managers face throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Get access to spatial datasets related to water through the NSDI node on ScienceBase.