eDNA for Water-Quality Monitoring and Public Health Protection
By analyzing genetic traces left behind in water, eDNA provides early warning signs of problems—helping managers respond faster, protect public health, and keep freshwater ecosystems resilient.
Clean, healthy water is essential for people, wildlife, and communities. Streams and lakes provide drinking water, support fish and wildlife, and offer recreation, but they can quickly be stressed by pollution, habitat loss, or harmful algal blooms. USGS scientists are using environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor the tiny creatures that signal stream health and to detect harmful algae before they create dangerous blooms.
Stream Health Monitoring with eDNA
Healthy streams are essential—they provide clean drinking water, support fish and wildlife, and offer recreation. But streams can quickly become stressed by pollution, habitat loss, or other changes. USGS scientists are using environmental DNA (eDNA) to spot early warning sign by testing for tiny DNA traces left by insects and other small creatures that live in the water.These tools can track water quality across seasons and regions, and new robotic samplers even deliver near real-time updates, helping communities protect freshwater before problems spread. In the National Capital Region, this method has been used to map aquatic insect communities as indicators of water quality. New tools, like robotic eDNA samplers, can even collect and analyze water samples automatically, giving managers near real-time information to keep freshwater ecosystems healthy.
Early Detection of Harmful Algal Blooms with eDNA
When algae grow out of control, lakes and reservoirs can become toxic. These harmful algal blooms (HABs) release poisons that sicken people, pets, and wildlife, rob fish of oxygen, and shut down swimming and boating and drinking water supplies. The result: dead fish, unsafe tap water, closed beaches, and impacts to local economies. USGS scientists are tackling this threat with eDNA, which can flag dangerous species before blooms explode—giving managers time to issue health advisories, protect water treatment plants, and guide recreation away from unsafe waters. Paired with satellite images, water sensors, and on-the-ground sampling, eDNA is helping to build a powerful early warning system. Together, these tools protect public health, support local communities, and keep our freshwater resources safe for people and nature.
Using environmental DNA (eDNA) to track harmful algal blooms
USGS harmful algal bloom research and monitoring
These advances illustrate USGS’s leadership in adapting eDNA for non-traditional sampling media—extending molecular monitoring to air as well as water and soil.
eDNA to Inform Invasive Mosquito Distribution
Advancing the Environmental DNA Toolkit for Ecosystem Monitoring and Management
Harmful Algal Bloom Research and Monitoring - CMWSC
By analyzing genetic traces left behind in water, eDNA provides early warning signs of problems—helping managers respond faster, protect public health, and keep freshwater ecosystems resilient.
Clean, healthy water is essential for people, wildlife, and communities. Streams and lakes provide drinking water, support fish and wildlife, and offer recreation, but they can quickly be stressed by pollution, habitat loss, or harmful algal blooms. USGS scientists are using environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor the tiny creatures that signal stream health and to detect harmful algae before they create dangerous blooms.
Stream Health Monitoring with eDNA
Healthy streams are essential—they provide clean drinking water, support fish and wildlife, and offer recreation. But streams can quickly become stressed by pollution, habitat loss, or other changes. USGS scientists are using environmental DNA (eDNA) to spot early warning sign by testing for tiny DNA traces left by insects and other small creatures that live in the water.These tools can track water quality across seasons and regions, and new robotic samplers even deliver near real-time updates, helping communities protect freshwater before problems spread. In the National Capital Region, this method has been used to map aquatic insect communities as indicators of water quality. New tools, like robotic eDNA samplers, can even collect and analyze water samples automatically, giving managers near real-time information to keep freshwater ecosystems healthy.
Early Detection of Harmful Algal Blooms with eDNA
When algae grow out of control, lakes and reservoirs can become toxic. These harmful algal blooms (HABs) release poisons that sicken people, pets, and wildlife, rob fish of oxygen, and shut down swimming and boating and drinking water supplies. The result: dead fish, unsafe tap water, closed beaches, and impacts to local economies. USGS scientists are tackling this threat with eDNA, which can flag dangerous species before blooms explode—giving managers time to issue health advisories, protect water treatment plants, and guide recreation away from unsafe waters. Paired with satellite images, water sensors, and on-the-ground sampling, eDNA is helping to build a powerful early warning system. Together, these tools protect public health, support local communities, and keep our freshwater resources safe for people and nature.
Using environmental DNA (eDNA) to track harmful algal blooms
USGS harmful algal bloom research and monitoring
These advances illustrate USGS’s leadership in adapting eDNA for non-traditional sampling media—extending molecular monitoring to air as well as water and soil.
eDNA to Inform Invasive Mosquito Distribution
Advancing the Environmental DNA Toolkit for Ecosystem Monitoring and Management