Water Resources

Southeast streams are becoming less biologically unique, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. Fish species present in any given Southeast stream are becoming more similar to those present in other Southeast streams, a phenomenon known as homogenization that is considered an emerging...

RSPARROW, now available on the USGS GitLab repository, provides the first open-source version of the USGS SPARROW water-quality model, with new features that improve the utility of the model for conducting studies of contaminants in surface waters and informing water resource management decisions.

Study Shows Water Quality Minimally Affected by Artificial Recharge

Despite decades of efforts to reduce phosphorus loads in streams, phosphorus continues to be a problem in many U.S. streams and rivers, causing explosive growth of aquatic plants and algae, including formation of harmful algal blooms. A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Program investigates why.

A new USGS report documents a simple method to classify groundwater age as premodern (recharged before 1953), modern (recharge in 1953 or later), or a mix of the two. The method—tritium-based age classification, or TBAC—requires just a single measurement of tritium, along with knowledge of sample date and location...

Editor’s Note: This story was revised Sept. 10, 2019 to include the later phases of USGS’ response to Hurricane Dorian.

To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Dorian, visit the USGS Hurricane Dorian page at www.usgs.gov/dorian.

To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Dorian, visit the USGS Hurricane Dorian page at www.usgs.gov/dorian.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published Aug. 29 and was updated Aug. 30 and Aug. 31 to reflect changes in the number and locations of sensor deployments as Hurricane Dorian's forecast track changed.

To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Dorian, visit the USGS Hurricane Dorian page at www.usgs.gov/dorian.

When a major storm threatens to make landfall in the United States or its territories, the USGS provides comprehensive scientific capabilities and information that decision makers, emergency responders and communities can use to help them prepare, cope and recover from a storm.

New tools for flood preparedness are now available for the Medina River near Bandera, Texas, from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District, and the Texas Water Development Board.

Isotopes of mercury in fish can indicate the source of that mercury, reports a new study from the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment.