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.
Populations using public-supply groundwater in the conterminous U.S. 2010; Identifying the wells, hydrogeologic regions, and hydrogeologic mapping units
Most Americans receive their drinking water from publicly supplied sources, a large portion of it from groundwater. Mapping these populations consistently and at a high resolution is important for understanding where the resource is used and needs to be protected. The results show that 269 million people are supplied by public supply, 107 million...
Johnson, Tyler D.; Belitz, Kenneth; Kauffman, Leon J.; Watson, Elise; Wilson, John T. Post-fire temporal trends in soil-physical and -hydraulic properties and simulated runoff generation: Insights from different burn severities in the 2013 Black Forest Fire, CO, USA
Burn severity influences on post-fire recovery of soil-hydraulic properties controlling runoff generation are poorly understood despite the importance for parameterizing infiltration models. We measured soil-hydraulic properties of field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs), sorptivity (S), and wetting front potential (ψf) for four years after...
Ebel, Brian A.; Moody, John A.; Martin, Deborah A. Evaluation of ELISA for the analysis of imidacloprid in biological matrices: Cross-reactivities, matrix interferences, and comparison to LC-MS/MS
Imidacloprid is among the most used pesticides worldwide and there are toxicity concerns for nontarget organisms. Accurate and sensitive methods are necessary to quantitate imidacloprid concentrations in biological matrices to better understand their fate and effects. Here we evaluated an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for...
Gross, Michael S.; Woodward, Emily; Hladik, Michelle
The water quality of selected streams in the Catskill and Delaware water-supply watersheds in New York, 1999–2009
From October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2009, water-quality samples were collected, and discharge was measured at 13 streamgages within the Catskill and Delaware watersheds of the New York City water supply system. The Catskill and Delaware watersheds supply about 90 percent of the water needed by 9 million customers. On average, 59 water-...
McHale, Michael R.; Siemion, Jason; Murdoch, Peter S.
Simulating the effects of climate-related changes to air temperature and precipitation on streamflow and water temperature in the Meduxnekeag River watershed, Maine
Responsible stewardship of native fish populations and riparian plants in the Meduxnekeag River watershed in northeastern Maine is a high priority for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. Understanding the potential changes in hydrology and water temperature as a result of climate change is important to this priority for evaluating future habitat...
Bjerklie, David M.; Olson, Scott A. Spatial and temporal controls on proglacial erosion rates: A comparison of four basins on Mount Rainier, 1960 to 2017
The retreat of alpine glaciers since the mid-19th century has triggered rapid landscape adjustments in many headwater basins. However, the degree to which decadal-scale glacier retreat is associated with systematic or substantial changes in overall coarse sediment export, with the potential to impact downstream river dynamics, remains poorly...
Anderson, Scott W.; Shean, David
Streambed scour of salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) redds in the Sauk River, Northwestern Washington
The autumn and winter flood season of western Washington coincides with the incubation period of many Pacific salmon (Onchorhynchus spp.) populations. During this period, salmon embryos incubating within gravel nests called “redds” are vulnerable to mobilization of surrounding sediment during floods. As overlying sediment is transported downstream...
Gendaszek, Andrew S.
Quantification of metal loading using tracer dilution and instantaneous synoptic sampling and importance of diel cycling in Leavenworth Creek, Clear Creek County, Colorado, 2012
Leavenworth Creek, a tributary of South Clear Creek and Clear Creek near Georgetown, Colorado, contains copper, lead, and zinc at concentrations close to or in excess of aquatic-life standards. In the summer of 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the Colorado Division of...
Walton-Day, Katherine; Runkel, Robert L.; Smith, Christin D.; Kimball, Briant A.
Continuous turbidity data used to compute constituent concentrations in the South Loup River, Nebraska, 2017–18
The South Loup River in central Nebraska has been impaired by bacteria since at least 2004, which has resulted in the river not meeting its intended use as a recreational waterway. As part of a strategy for reducing the bacterial load in the river, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Lower Loup Natural Resources District, made...
Rus, David L.; Densmore, Brenda K.
Simulation of groundwater budgets and travel times for watersheds on the north shore of Long Island Sound, with implications for nitrogen-transport studies
Aquatic systems in and around the Long Island Sound (LIS) provide a variety of ecological and economic benefits, but in some areas of the LIS, aquatic ecosystems have become degraded by excess nitrogen. A substantial fraction of the nitrogen inputs to the LIS are transported through the groundwater-flow system. Because groundwater travel times in...
Barclay, Janet R.; Mullaney, John R.
Capacity assessment for Earth Monitoring, Analysis, and Prediction (EarthMAP) and future integrated monitoring and predictive science at the U.S. Geological Survey
Executive SummaryManagers of our Nation’s resources face unprecedented challenges driven by the convergence of increasing, competing societal demands and a changing climate that affects the stability, vulnerability, and predictability of those resources. To help meet these challenges, the scientific community must take advantage of all available...
Keisman, Jennifer L.; Bristol, Sky; Brown, David S.; Flickinger, Allison K.; Gunther, Gregory; Murdoch, Peter S.; Musgrove, Marylynn; Nelson, John C.; Steyer, Gregory D.; Thomas, Kathryn A.; Waite, Ian R.
Water Resources Research Act Program—Current status, development opportunities, and priorities for 2020–30
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Research Act (WRRA) Program connects our Nation’s academic capital to the USGS mission by delivering university-based research, outreach, and education services to our citizens. For more than 50 years, the WRRA Program has invested in local, State, and regionally focused water-related research;...
Donohue, Mary J.; Greene, Earl A.; Lerner, Darren T.