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.
Low streamflow trends at human-impacted and reference basins in the United States
We present a continent-scale exploration of trends in annual 7-day low streamflows at 2482 U.S. Geological Survey streamgages across the conterminous United States over the past 100, 75, and 50 years (1916–2015, 1941–2015 and 1966–2015). We used basin characteristics to identify subsets of study basins representative of reference basins with...
Dudley, Robert; Hirsch, Robert M.; Archfield, Stacey A.; Blum, Annalise G.; Renard, Benjamin De facto water reuse: Bioassay suite approach delivers depth and breadth in endocrine active compound detection
Although endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have been detected in wastewater and surface waters worldwide using a variety of in vitro effects-based screening tools, e.g. bioassays, few have examined potential attenuation of environmental contaminants by both natural (sorption, degradation, etc) and anthropogenic (water treatment practices)...
Medlock Kakaley, Elizabeth K; Blackwell, Brett R.; Cardon, Mary C.; Conley, Justin M.; Evans, Nicola; Feifarek, David J.; Furlong, Edward; Glassmeyer, Susan T.; Gray, L. Earl Jr.; Hartig, Phillip C.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Mills, Marc A.; Rosenblum, Laura; Villeneuve, Daniel L.; Wilson, Vickie S.
Pesticide Mixtures in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, 2016–17: Results from Year 2 of the Delta Regional Monitoring Program
The Delta Regional Monitoring Program was developed by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board in response to the decline of pelagic fish species in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta that was observed in the early 2000s. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Delta Regional Monitoring Program, has been responsible for...
De Parsia, Matthew; Woodward, Emily E.; Orlando, James L.; Hladik, Michelle L. Observations of the spawning ecology of the imperiled Clear Lake Hitch Lavinia exilicauda chi
Migrations for the purposes of reproduction are widely documented across the animal kingdom and are particularly common in fishes and other aquatic organisms (Dingle 2014). One important migration strategy in fishes is potamodromy, which is the movement from one location to another entirely within freshwater (Morais and Daverat 2016). Thurow (...
Feyrer, Frederick
Reach-scale monitoring and modeling of rivers—Expanding hydraulic data collection beyond the cross section
For over 125 years, the U.S. Geological Survey streamgage network has provided important hydrologic information about rivers and streams throughout the Nation. Traditional streamgage methods provide reliable stage and streamflow data but typically only monitor stage at a single location in a river and require frequent calibration streamflow...
Forbes, Brandon T.; Bunch, Claire E.; DeBenedetto, Geoffrey; Shaw, Corey J.; Gungle, Bruce
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2009–November 30, 2010
A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New York City, to be made under the...
Russell, Kendra L.; Ockerman, Darwin; Krejmas, Bruce E.; Paulachok, Gary N.; Mason,, Robert R.
Pecos River Basin salinity assessment, Santa Rosa Lake, New Mexico, to the confluence of the Pecos River and the Rio Grande, Texas, 2015
The elevated salinity of the Pecos River throughout much of its length is of paramount concern to water users and water managers. Dissolved-solids concentrations in the Pecos River exceed 3,000 milligrams per liter in many of its reaches in the study area, from Santa Rosa Lake, New Mexico, to the confluence of the Pecos River with the Rio Grande,...
Houston, Natalie A.; Thomas, Jonathan V.; Ging, Patricia B.; Teeple, Andrew P.; Pedraza, Diana E.; Wallace, David S.
Evaluating associations between environmental variables and Escherichia coli levels for predictive modeling at Pawtuckaway Beach in Nottingham, New Hampshire, from 2015 to 2017
From 2015 through 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services studied occurrences of high levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria at the Pawtuckaway State Park Beach in Nottingham, New Hampshire. Historic data...
Coles, James F.; Kathleen F. Bush
Peak streamflow and stages at selected streamgages on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Arkansas, May to June 2019
As much as 22 inches of rain fell in Oklahoma in May 2019, resulting in historic flooding along the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The flooding along the Arkansas River and its tributaries that began in May continued into June 2019. Peaks of record were measured at 12 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages on various streams in...
Lewis, Jason M.; Trevisan, Adam R. Geospatial scaling of runoff and erosion modeling in the Chihuahuan Desert
Large-scale assessments of rangeland runoff and erosion require methods to extend plot-scale parameterizations to large areas. In this study, Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) parameters were developed from plot-scale foliar and ground-cover transect data for an arid, grass-shrub rangeland in southern New Mexico, and a method was...
Ball, Grady; Douglas-Mankin, Kyle
Potentiometric surface of groundwater-level altitudes near the planned Highway 270 bypass, east of Hot Springs, Arkansas, July–August 2017
The Ouachita Mountains aquifer system potentiometric-surface map is one component of the Hot Springs Bypass Groundwater Monitoring Project. The potentiometric-surface map provides a baseline assessment of shallow groundwater levels and flow directions before the construction of the Arkansas Department of Transportation planned extension of the...
Nottmeier, Anna M.; Hays, Phillip D.
Differentiating sediment sources using sediment fingerprinting techniques, in the Sprague River Basin, South-Central Oregon
Identifying sources of sediment to streams in the Sprague River Basin, in south-central Oregon, is important for restoration efforts that are focused on reducing sediment erosion and transport. Reducing sediment loads in these streams also contributes to compliance with the total maximum daily load reduction requirements for total phosphorus in...
Schenk, Liam N.; Harden, Tessa M.; Kelson, Julia K.