Images

USGS hydrologists Irene Fisher and Michael Como sample water quality on Long Island.

The USGS monitors water quality at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Empire, Michigan. 

The USGS monitors water quality at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Empire, Michigan. 

Did you know that most streams in the United States have groundwater flowing into them at least part of the time? Contribution of groundwater to total streamflow varies widely among streams but can have a significant affect on water quality and (or) volume.

A corn farm in northeast Iowa. A new USGS report shows that drought periods followed by rainfall caused nitrate levels to increase to the highest ever measured in some Midwest streams during a 2013 study. 

Cows feed on a farm in southern Wisconsin. A new USGS report shows that drought periods followed by rainfall caused nitrate levels to increase to the highest ever measured in some Midwest streams during a 2013 study. 

A small stream flows through corn fields in northern Indiana. A new USGS report shows that drought periods followed by rainfall caused nitrate levels to increase to the highest ever measured in some Midwest streams during a 2013 study. 

An irrigation system waters crops in southern Wisconsin. A new USGS report shows that drought periods followed by rainfall caused nitrate levels to increase to the highest ever measured in some Midwest streams during a 2013 study. 

In this photo, a USGS intern is deploying fiber-optic cable along the bed of a trout stream to measure temperature in June 2016. This fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing system is used by USGS scientists to identify areas where groundwater is discharging into the stream.

The Great Basin area in the northern Snake Range near the Utah/Nevada boarder. 

The Great Basin area in the northern Snake Range near the Utah/Nevada boarder. 

The Great Basin area in the northern Snake Range near the Utah/Nevada boarder. 

The Great Basin area in the northern Snake Range near the Utah/Nevada boarder. 

USGS scientist Jody Avant installs a temporary streamgage on the Brazos River near West Columbia, Texas. Rapidly deployable streamgages can be installed temporarily to provide emergency managers with additional information needed to help protect public safety.

Temporary streamgage installed by the USGS on the Brazos River near Brazoria, Texas. Rapidly deployable streamgages can be installed temporarily to provide emergency managers with additional information needed to help protect public safety.

The Great Basin area in the northern Snake Range near the Utah/Nevada boarder. 

This public-supply well taps groundwater in the High Plains aquifer in Texas. The strontium concentration in the sample from this well was 4,630 micrograms per liter, exceeding the health-based screening level of 4,000 micrograms per liter.

USGS ecologist Jaimie Gillespie measuring a Sediment Elevation Table (SET) on the Pamunkey River, VA. This SET is part of a larger project which consists of two SETs at each of five research sites, on both the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers spanning Oligahaline to non-tidal conditions.

On May 18, 2016, a Landsat 8 acquisition of flood-ravaged Sri Lanka produced impressive imagery of swollen waterways.

Sampling for Impacts of UOG Wastes
USGS scientist collecting water-quality samples on a wastewater disposal facility in West Virginia to assess potential environmental impacts due to activities at the site.

Water flowing on the Colorado River near Moab, Utah. 

The entire Colorado River Basin currently supports 50 million people, and that amount is expected to increase by 23 million between 2000 and 2030. A new USGS study shows more than half of the streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin originates as groundwater.