Oregon Water Science Center
Welcome to the USGS in Oregon. Our mission is to explore the natural world around us and provide reliable scientific information to help Federal, State, and local agencies, Tribes, and the public make well-informed decisions. Our research is widely used to manage Oregon's water resources for the benefit and safety of people and the environment.
Live Stream Conditions
Live Stream Conditions
See what is happening in streams near you. View real-time stream data for streams around Oregon.
Relevant Information
Relevant Information
See what the USGS is doing locally.
News
Saline Lake Ecosystems IWAA Fall 2024 Webinar Series
Saline Lake Ecosystems IWAA Fall 2024 Webinar Series
Low-flow periods and trends across the United States
Low-flow periods and trends across the United States
Surface-water extent in the Klamath Marsh
Surface-water extent in the Klamath Marsh
Publications
Declining reservoir reliability and increasing reservoir vulnerability: Long-term observations reveal longer and more severe periods of low reservoir storage for major United States reservoirs
Hydrological drought is a pervasive and reoccurring challenge in managing water resources. Reservoirs are critical for lessening the impacts of drought on water available for many uses. We use a novel and generalized approach to identify periods of unusually low reservoir storage—via comparisons to operational rule curves and historical patterns—to investigate how droughts affect storage in 250 re
Low-flow period seasonality, trends, and climate linkages across the United States
Low-flow period properties, including timing, magnitude, and duration, influence many key processes for water resource managers and ecosystems. We computed annual low-flow period duration and timing metrics from 1951 to 2020 for 1032 conterminous United States (CONUS) streamgages and analyzed spatial patterns, trends through time, and relationships to climate. Results show northwestern and eastern
Assessment of long-term changes in surface-water extent within Klamath Marsh, south-central Oregon, 1985–2021
The annual maximum extent of surface water in Klamath Marsh has naturally fluctuated in response to periods of wet and dry conditions in the surrounding basin. Field observations during the 2010s indicate that the annual maximum extent of surface water has been declining and the marsh is not responding to hydrologic inputs as it had historically. This report describes the results of a hydrologic e
Science
Groundwater Availability in Oregon
Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are working together to estimate groundwater recharge across the state.
Surface-water extent in the Klamath Marsh
Satellite imagery and the interplay of climate and hydrologic data tell the story of surface-water decline in the Klamath Marsh.
Integrated Water Science Basins: Willamette River
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.