Publications

A one-dimensional step-backwater model was used to simulate flooding conditions for Catoma Creek near Montgomery, Alabama. A peak flow of 50,000 cubic feet per second was computed by the U.S. Geological Survey for the March 1990 flood at the Norman Bridge Road gaging station. Using this estimated peak flow, flood-plain surveys with associated roughness coefficients, and surveyed high...

Ground-water quality in the approximately 860 square-mile Coastal Los Angeles Basin study unit (CLAB) was investigated from June to November of 2006 as part of the Statewide Basin Assessment Project of the Ground-Water Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The GAMA Statewide Basin Assessment was developed in response to the Ground-Water Quality Monitoring Act of 2001, and is...

The influence of onsite septic wastewater-treatment systems (OWTS) on base-flow quantity needs to be understood to evaluate consumptive use of surface-water resources by OWTS. If the influence of OWTS on stream base flow can be measured and if the inflow to OWTS is known from water-use data, then water-budget approaches can be used to evaluate consumptive use. This report presents a...

Several severe thunderstorms that passed through Ohio between May 17 and June 17, 2004, produced large amounts of rain in an already wet central and eastern Ohio, resulting in flooding in this region from May 18 to June 21, 2004. Record peak streamflow occurred at three U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages. Damages caused by the flooding resulting from these storms were severe...

A band of severe thunderstorms at the end of August 2004 and the passage of the remnants of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan during September 2004 caused severe flooding in eastern Ohio during August and September 2004. Record peak streamflow occurred at 12 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages. Damages caused by the flooding produced by these storms were severe enough for 21 counties in...

A large snowstorm at the end of December 2004 that left more than 20 inches of snow in some areas of Ohio, followed by unseasonably warm temperatures in early January 2005, caused snowmelt to begin filling river channels. Widespread rain showers during January 2005 combined with this snowmelt to cause flooding throughout Ohio and mudslides in some areas. Record peak streamflows occurred...

Rainfall in central Nebraska in late May and early June 2008 elevated streamflows in the central Platte River. Topographic surveys collected along geomorphic monitoring transects prior to these flows (May 2007, July 2007, and March 2008) were repeated in mid-June 2008. These surveys provide characterization of river topography that could be used (1) to infer changes in channel morphology...

Water quality of streams in Johnson County, Kansas was evaluated from October 2002 through December 2007 in a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Johnson County Stormwater Management Program. Water quality at 42 stream sites, representing urban and rural basins, was characterized by evaluating benthic macroinvertebrates, water (discrete and continuous data), and...

High-elevation aquatic ecosystems in Mount Rainier and North Cascades National Parks are highly sensitive to atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur. Thin, rocky soils promote fast hydrologic flushing rates during snowmelt and rain events, limiting the ability of basins to neutralize acidity and assimilate nitrogen deposited from the atmosphere. Potential effects of nitrogen and...

Source water, herein defined as stream water collected at a water-system intake prior to water treatment, was sampled at nine community water systems, ranging in size from a system serving about 3,000 people to one that serves about 2 million people. As many as 17 source-water samples were collected at each site over about a 12-month period between 2002 and 2004 for analysis of 258...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of 117 pressure transducers (sensors) at 65 sites over an area of about 5,000 square miles to record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of inland hurricane storm surge and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Ike, which struck southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana September 12-13, 2008. Fifty-six...

The Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer Study (MERAS) is an investigation of ground-water availability and sustainability within the Mississippi embayment as part of the U.S. Geological Survey Ground-Water Resources Program. The MERAS area consists of approximately 70,000 square miles and encompasses parts of eight states including Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana...