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.
Filter Total Items: 19039
Depth-dependent sampling to identify short-circuit pathways to public-supply wells in multiple aquifer settings in the United States Depth-dependent sampling to identify short-circuit pathways to public-supply wells in multiple aquifer settings in the United States
Depth-dependent water-quality and borehole flow data were used to determine where and how contamination enters public-supply wells (PSWs) at study sites in different principal aquifers of the United States. At each of three study sites, depth-dependent samples and wellbore flow data were collected from multiple depths in selected PSWs under pumping conditions. The chemistry of these...
Authors
Matthew K. Landon, Bryant C. Jurgens, Brian G. Katz, Sandra M. Eberts, Karen R. Burow, Christy A. Crandall
Optimal pump and recharge management model for nitrate removal in the Warren groundwater basin, California Optimal pump and recharge management model for nitrate removal in the Warren groundwater basin, California
The town of Yucca Valley located in the southwest part of the Mojave Desert in southern California relies on groundwater pumping from the Warren groundwater basin as its sole source of water supply. This significant dependency has resulted in a large imbalance between groundwater pumpage and natural recharge, causing groundwater levels in the basin to decline more than 90 m from the late...
Authors
Yung-Chia Chiu, Tracy Nishikawa, William W.-G. Yeh
Evaluating the behavior of gadolinium and other rare earth elements through large metropolitan sewage treatment plants Evaluating the behavior of gadolinium and other rare earth elements through large metropolitan sewage treatment plants
A primary pathway for emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals, personal care products, steroids, and hormones) to enter aquatic ecosystems is effluent from sewage treatment plants (STP), and identifying technologies to minimize the amount of these contaminants released is important. Quantifying the flux of these contaminants through STPs is difficult. This study evaluates the behavior of...
Authors
Philip L. Verplanck, Edward T. Furlong, James L. Gray, Patrick J. Phillips, Ruth E. Wolf, Kathleen Esposito
Fluvial processes and vegetation - Glimpses of the past, the present, and perhaps the future. Fluvial processes and vegetation - Glimpses of the past, the present, and perhaps the future.
"Most research before 1960 into interactions among fluvial processes, resulting landforms, and vegetation was descriptive. Since then, however, research has become more detailed and quantitative permitting numerical modeling and applications including agricultural-erosion abatement and rehabilitation of altered bottomlands. Although progress was largely observational, the empiricism...
Authors
Waite R. Osterkamp, Cliff R. Hupp
A comparison of algal, macroinvertebrate, and fish assemblage indices for assessing low-level nutrient enrichment in wadeable Ozark streams A comparison of algal, macroinvertebrate, and fish assemblage indices for assessing low-level nutrient enrichment in wadeable Ozark streams
Biotic indices for algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish assemblages can be effective for monitoring stream enrichment, but little is known regarding the value of the three assemblages for detecting perturbance as a consequence of low-level nutrient enrichment. In the summer of 2006, we collected nutrient and biotic samples from 30 wadeable Ozark streams that spanned a nutrient...
Authors
B. G. Justus, James C. Petersen, Suzanne R. Femmer, Jerri V. Davis, J. E. Wallace
Flood of April and May 2008 in Northern Maine Flood of April and May 2008 in Northern Maine
Severe flooding occurred in Aroostook and Penobscot Counties in northern Maine between April 28 and May 1, 2008, and damage was extensive in the town of Fort Kent. Aroostook County was declared a Federal disaster area on May 9, and the declaration was expanded to include Penobscot County on May 16-qualifying the entire region for federal assistance. Water in the St. John River peaked at...
Authors
Pamela J. Lombard
Techniques for Estimating the Magnitude and Frequency of Peak Flows on Small Streams in Minnesota Based on Data through Water Year 2005 Techniques for Estimating the Magnitude and Frequency of Peak Flows on Small Streams in Minnesota Based on Data through Water Year 2005
Knowledge of the peak flow of floods of a given recurrence interval is essential for regulation and planning of water resources and for design of bridges, culverts, and dams along Minnesota's rivers and streams. Statistical techniques are needed to estimate peak flow at ungaged sites because long-term streamflow records are available at relatively few places. Because of the need to have...
Authors
David L. Lorenz, Christopher A. Sanocki, Matthew J. Kocian
Flood of April and May 2008 in Northern Maine Flood of April and May 2008 in Northern Maine
Severe flooding occurred in Aroostook and Penobscot Counties in northern Maine between April 28 and May 1, 2008, and was most extreme in the town of Fort Kent. Peak streamflows in northern Aroostook County were the result of a persistent heavy snowpack that caused high streamflows when it quickly melted during the third week of April 2008. Snowmelt was followed by from two to four inches...
Authors
Pamela J. Lombard
Trends in groundwater levels in wells in the active management areas of Arizona, USA Trends in groundwater levels in wells in the active management areas of Arizona, USA
In 1980, the Arizona legislature passed the Groundwater Management Act (GMA), creating the active management areas (AMAs) to protect shared groundwater resources and to control severe overdrafts occurring in many parts of the state. With the 30-year anniversary of the GMA approaching, this article addresses the question: Have there been notable changes in the trends in observed...
Authors
Fred D. Tillman, Stanley A. Leake
Field Surveys of Rare Plants on Santa Cruz Island, California, 2003-2006: Historical Records and Current Distributions Field Surveys of Rare Plants on Santa Cruz Island, California, 2003-2006: Historical Records and Current Distributions
Santa Cruz Island is the largest of the northern Channel Islands located off the coast of California. It is owned and managed as a conservation reserve by The Nature Conservancy and the Channel Islands National Park. The island is home to nine plant taxa listed in 1997 as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, because of declines related to nearly 150 years of...
Authors
A. Kathryn McEachern, Katherine A. Chess, Ken Niessen
Quality of groundwater at and near an aquifer storage and recovery site, Bexar, Atascosa, and Wilson Counties, Texas, June 2004-August 2008 Quality of groundwater at and near an aquifer storage and recovery site, Bexar, Atascosa, and Wilson Counties, Texas, June 2004-August 2008
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, did a study during 2004–08 to characterize the quality of native groundwater from the Edwards aquifer and pre- and post-injection water from the Carrizo aquifer at and near an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) site in Bexar, Atascosa, and Wilson Counties, Texas. Groundwater samples were collected and analyzed...
Authors
Cassi L. Otero, Brian L. Petri
Source identification of Florida Bay's methylmercury problem: Mainland runoff versus atmospheric deposition and in situ production Source identification of Florida Bay's methylmercury problem: Mainland runoff versus atmospheric deposition and in situ production
The first advisory to limit consumption of Florida Bay fish due to mercury was issued in 1995. Studies done by others in the late 1990s found elevated water column concentrations of both total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in creeks discharging from the Everglades, which had its own recognized mercury problem. To investigate the significance of allochthonous MeHg discharging from the...
Authors
Darren G. Rumbold, David W. Evans, Sharon Niemczyk, Larry E. Fink, Krysten A. Laine, Nicole Howard, David P. Krabbenhoft, Mark Zucker