Water Resources
Publications
This list of Water Resources Mission Area publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. A searchable database of all USGS publications can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Reactivity of As and U co-occurring in mine wastes in northeastern Arizona
The reactivity of co-occurring arsenic (As) and uranium (U) in mine wastes was investigated using batch reactors, microscopy, spectroscopy, and aqueous chemistry. Analyses of field samples collected in proximity to mine wastes in northeastern Arizona confirm the presence of As and U in soils and surrounding waters, as reported in a previous study...
Blake, Johanna; Avasarala, Sumant; Ali, Abdul-Mehdi; Spilde, Michael; Lezama-Pacheco, Juan S; Latta, Drew; Artyushkova, Kateryna; Ilgen, Anastasia G; Christopher Shuey; Christopher Nez; Cerrato, Jose M
Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in southern Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona and Utah, 2016–17
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination related to boat use is one of the most important water-quality issues affecting Lake Powell. High concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water are common around marinas and other areas with extensive motorboat activity because of releases of uncombusted or partially combusted oil and...
Coes, Alissa L.; Paretti, Nicholas V.; Alvarez, David A.; Macy, Jamie P.
Guidelines for determining flood flow frequency—Bulletin 17C
Accurate estimates of flood frequency and magnitude are a key component of any effective nationwide flood risk management and flood damage abatement program. In addition to accuracy, methods for estimating flood risk must be uniformly and consistently applied because management of the Nation’s water and related land resources is a collaborative...
England, John F.; Cohn, Timothy A.; Faber, Beth A.; Stedinger, Jery R.; Thomas, Wilbert O.; Veilleux, Andrea G.; Kiang, Julie E.; Mason, Robert R.
Triangle area water supply monitoring project, North Carolina-Summary of monitoring activities, quality assurance, and data, October 2015–September 2017
Surface-water supplies are important sources of drinking water for residents in the Triangle area of North Carolina, which is located within the upper Cape Fear and Neuse River Basins. Since 1988, the U.S. Geological Survey and a consortium of local governments have tracked water-quality conditions and trends in several of the area’s water-supply...
Pfeifle, C.A.; Cain, J.L.; Rasmussen, R.B.
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2016 through September 2017) and statistical summaries of data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in selected streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the Clark Fork Basin of western Montana. The sampling program was led by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize aquatic resources in the Clark...
Cleasby, Thomas E.; Hornberger, Michelle I.; Heinert, Terry L. ; Turner, Matthew A.
Hydrologic study at Farm Creek Marsh, Dorchester County, Maryland, from April 2015 to April 2016
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey began a 1-year hydrologic study to investigate the extent and cause of inundation at Farm Creek Marsh, in Dorchester County, Maryland. In combination with a tide and precipitation gage, a representative section of the marsh was instrumented with surface-water monitors and shallow groundwater piezometers to...
Walker, Charles W.; Lester, Todd R.; Nealen, Christopher W. Timber harvest alters mercury bioaccumulation and food web structure in headwater streams
Timber harvest has many effects on aquatic ecosystems, including changes in hydrological, biogeochemical, and ecological processes that can influence mercury (Hg) cycling. Although timber harvest’s influence on aqueous Hg transformation and transport are well studied, the effects on Hg bioaccumulation are not. We evaluated Hg bioaccumulation,...
Willacker, James; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Kowalski, Brandon M; Danehy, Robert J; Jackson, Allyson K.; Adams, Evan M.; Evers, David C.; Eckley, Chris S.; Tate, Michael T.; Krabbenhoft, David P. Long-term (1986–2015) crop water use characterization over the Upper Rio Grande Basin of United States and Mexico using Landsat-based evapotranspiration
The evaluation of historical water use in the Upper Rio Grande Basin (URGB), United States and Mexico, using Landsat-derived actual evapotranspiration (ETa) from 1986 to 2015 is presented here as the first study of its kind to apply satellite observations to quantify long-term, basin-wide crop consumptive use in a large basin. The rich archive of...
Senay, Gabriel; Schauer, Matthew (Contractor); Velpuri, Naga Manohar (Contractor); Singh, Ramesh (Contractor); Kagone, Stefanie (Contractor); Friedrichs, MacKenzie (Contractor); Litvak, Marcy; Douglas-Mankin, Kyle R.
Hydrologic site assessment for passive treatment of groundwater nitrogen with permeable reactive barriers, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Wastewater disposal associated with rapid population growth and development on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, during the past several decades has resulted in widespread contamination of groundwater with nitrogen. As a result, water quality in many of the streams, lakes, and coastal embayments on Cape Cod is impaired by excess nitrogen. To reduce...
Barbaro, Jeffrey R.; Belaval, Marcel; Truslow, Danna B.; LeBlanc, Denis R.; Cambareri, Thomas C.; Michaud, Scott C. Differentiating anthropogenic and natural sources of uranium by geochemical fingerprinting of groundwater at the Homestake Uranium Mill, Milan, New Mexico, USA
A multiparameter geochemical-isotopic fingerprinting approach was used to differentiate natural and anthropogenic signatures of uranium contamination near the Homestake uranium mill site (Site), near Milan, New Mexico, USA. The Site consists of two tailings piles from milling operations and groundwater contamination from these tailings have been...
Blake, Johanna; Harte, Philip; Becher, Kent
Groundwater quality and hydrology with emphasis on selenium mobilization and transport in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, 2012–16
Dissolved selenium is a contaminant of concern in the lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado. Selenium is naturally present in the Cretaceous Mancos Shale and is leached to groundwater and surface water by irrigation. The groundwater on the east side of the Uncompahgre River in Delta and Montrose Counties is one of the primary sources of selenium...
Thomas, Judith C.; McMahon, Peter B.; Arnold, L. R.
Capacity and area of Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, northeastern Oklahoma, 2009
In February 2017, the Grand River Dam Authority filed to relicense the Pensacola Hydroelectric Project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The predominant feature of the Pensacola Hydroelectric Project is Pensacola Dam, which impounds Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees (locally called Grand Lake) in northeastern Oklahoma. Identification of...
Hunter, Shelby L.; Labriola, Laura G.