Water Resources

News media and the public are invited to a free meeting about critical South Dakota-area water issues on Thursday, April 11, in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Reporters: Do you want to interview USGS scientists as they measure flooding in and near Fargo, North Dakota? Please contact Dave Ozman, Marisa Lubeck or Chris Laveau.

USGS crews continue fieldwork in response to the ongoing flooding in the Midwest. Nearly 70 USGS gages in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota are above minor flood stage with more rain forecast in the coming days.

An interactive viewer to visualize groundwater resources in Gaines, Terry and Yoakum Counties, Texas, is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Llano Estacado Underground Water Conservation District, Sandy Land Underground Water Conservation District and South Plains Underground Water Conservation District. 

Reporters: Do you want to interview USGS scientists in the Sioux Falls area on Monday, March 25, or Tuesday, March 26, as they measure flooding? Please contact Jennifer LaVista, Marisa Lubeck or Chris Laveau.

Reporters: Do you want to accompany a USGS field crew as they measure flood impacts? Please contact Marisa Lubeck or Jason Lambrecht to coordinate.

Some of the major human influences on water quality, in particular the ways we use land, water, and chemicals, have undergone dramatic changes over the last five decades, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Program. Patterns of urbanization, chemical use, and...

Mercury concentrations within Lake Powell are highest in side canyons within the lower portion of the reservoir, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report. This finding is part of a study to better understand why mercury concentrations in striped bass are higher in the lower part of the reservoir.

About one-third of more than 8,300 wells tested across the U.S. had groundwater with chemical characteristics that could cause lead, if present in plumbing, to leach into tap water at levels above the EPA Action Level, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Program. These...

Budget Focuses on Priorities Supporting American Energy Enterprise, National Security, and Natural Hazard Response Efforts

The topic of pharmaceuticals and hormones in drinking water gets people’s attention, but if that drinking water is pumped from a well, those chemicals are less likely to be present, according to a new national study by the U.S. Geological Survey and published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.