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.
Wildfires: Identification of a new suite of aromatic polycarboxylic acids in ash and surface water
Ash and surface water samples collected after wildfires in four different geographical locations (California, Colorado, Kansas and Alberta) were analyzed. The ash samples were leached with deionized water, and leachates were concentrated by solid phase extraction and analyzed by liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In addition,...
Ferrer, Imma; Thurman, E. Michael; Zweigenbaum, Jerry A.; Murphy, Sheila F.; Webster, Jackson P.; Rosario-Ortiz, Fernando L. An integrated geochemical approach for defining sources of groundwater salinity in the southern Rio Grande Valley of the Mesilla Basin, New Mexico and west Texas, USA
A significantly elevated groundwater salinity zone was identified in the southern part of the Mesilla Valley. This investigation characterized the occurrence, spatial extent, and source of the plume of elevated groundwater salinity using a wide range of geochemical and geophysical data and methods.
Kubicki, Christopher; Carroll, Kenneth C.; Witcher, James C.; Robertson, Andrew J. Groundwater development leads to decreasing arsenic concentrations in the San Joaquin Valley, California
In the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), California, about 10% of drinking water wells since 2010 had arsenic concentrations above the US maximum contaminant level of 10 μg/L. High concentrations of arsenic are often associated with high pH (greater than 7.8) or reduced geochemical conditions. Although most wells have low arsenic (<3 μg/L)...
Haugen, Emily; Jurgens, Bryant; Arroyo-Lopez, Jose Alfredo; Bennett, George L. Assessing the impact of drought on arsenic exposure from private domestic wells in the conterminous United States
This study assesses the potential impact of drought on arsenic exposure from private domestic wells by using a previously developed statistical model that predicts the probability of elevated arsenic concentrations (>10 μg per liter) in water from domestic wells located in the conterminous United States (CONUS). The application of the model to...
Lombard, Melissa; Daniel, Johnni; Jeddy, Zuha; Hay, Lauren; Ayotte, Joseph D. Monitoring wetland water quality related to livestock grazing in amphibian habitats
Land use alteration such as livestock grazing can affect water quality in habitats of at-risk wildlife species. Data from managed wetlands are needed to understand levels of exposure for aquatic life stages and monitor grazing-related changes afield. We quantified spatial and temporal variation in water quality in wetlands occupied by threatened...
Smalling, Kelly; Rowe, Jennifer; Pearl, Christopher; Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Givens, Carrie E.; Anderson, Chauncey W.; Mccreary, Brome; Adams, Michael J. Widespread use of the nitrification inhibitor nitrapyrin: Assessing benefits and costs to agriculture, ecosystems, and environmental health
Agricultural production and associated applications of nitrogen (N) fertilizers have increased dramatically in the last century, and current projections to 2050 show that demands will continue to increase as the human population grows. Applied in both organic and inorganic fertilizer forms, N is an essential nutrient in crop productivity....
Woodward, Emily; Edwards, Thea Margaret; Givens, Carrie E; Kolpin, Dana W.; Hladik, Michelle Three-dimensional distribution of residence time metrics in the glaciated United States using metamodels trained on general numerical models
Residence time distribution (RTD) is a critically important characteristic of groundwater flow systems; however, it cannot be measured directly. RTD can be inferred from tracer data with analytical models (few parameters) or with numerical models (many parameters). The second approach permits more variation in system properties but is used less...
Starn, J. Jeffrey; Kauffman, Leon J.; Carlson, Carl S.; Reddy, James E.; Fienen, Michael N. Eroding Cascadia—Sediment and solute transport and landscape denudation in western Oregon and northwestern California
Riverine measurements of sediment and solute transport give empirical basin-scale estimates of bed-load, suspended-sediment, and silicate-solute fluxes for 100,000 km2 of northwestern California and western Oregon. This spatially explicit sediment budget shows the multifaceted control of geology and physiography on the rates and processes of...
O'Connor, Jim E.; Mangano, Joseph F.; Wise, Daniel R.; Roering, Joshua R. Multiple co-occurring and persistently detected cyanotoxins and associated cyanobacteria in adjacent California lakes
The global proliferation of toxin producing cyanobacterial blooms has been attributed to a wide variety of environmental factors with nutrient pollution, increased temperatures, and drought being three of the most significant. The current study is the first formal assessment of cyanotoxins in two impaired lakes, Canyon Lake and Lake Elsinore, in...
Howard, Meredith D. A.; Kudela, Raphael M.; Hayashi, Kendra; Tatters, Avery O.; Caron, David A.; Theroux, Susanna; Oehrle, Stuart; Roethler, Miranda; Donovan, Ariel; Loftin, Keith; Laughrey, Zachary
Trends in groundwater levels in and near the Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, water years 1956–2017
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, completed a study to characterize water-level fluctuations in observation wells to examine driving factors that affect water levels in and near the Rosebud Indian Reservation, which comprises all of Todd County. The study investigates concerns regarding potential...
Valseth, Kristen J.; Driscoll, Daniel G.
Statistical methods for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
This report documents statistics for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM). The U.S. Geological Survey developed SELDM and the statistics documented in this report in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration to indicate the risk for...
Granato, Gregory E.; Spaetzel, Alana B.; Medalie, Laura
Water-resource management monitoring needs, State of Hawai‘i
In cooperation with the State of Hawai‘i Commission on Water Resource Management and in collaboration with the University of Hawaiʻi Water Resources Research Center, the U.S. Geological Survey developed a water-resource monitoring program—a rainfall, surface-water, and groundwater data-collection program—that is required to meet State needs for...
Cheng, Chui Ling; Izuka, Scot K.; Kennedy, Joseph; Frazier, Abby G. ; Giambelluca, Thomas W.