Publications

A study was completed in September 2007 in the Chehalis River basin to determine gain or loss of streamflow by measuring discharge at selected intervals within various reaches along the Chehalis River and its tributaries. Discharge was measured at 68 new and existing streamflow sites, where gains and losses were determined for 36 stream reaches. Streamflow gains were measured for 22...

Clarity of Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada has been decreasing due to inflows of sediment and nutrients associated with stormwater runoff. Detention basins are considered effective best management practices for mitigation of suspended sediment and nutrients associated with runoff, but effects of infiltrated stormwater on shallow ground water are not known. This report documents 2005-07

The Ozark aquifer in northern Arkansas is composed of dolomite, limestone, sandstone, and shale of Late Cambrian to Middle Devonian age, and ranges in thickness from approximately 1,100 feet to more than 4,000 feet. Hydrologically, the aquifer is complex, characterized by discrete and discontinuous flow components with large variations in permeability. The potentiometric-surface map...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is assessing the availability and use of the Nation's water resources to gain a clearer understanding of the status of our water resources and the land-use, water-use, and climatic trends that affect them. The goal of the National assessment is to improve our ability to forecast water availability for future economic and environmental uses. Assessments...

The conversion of agricultural land to urban residential land is associated with rapid population growth in the Grand Valley of western Colorado. Information regarding the effects of this land-use conversion on deep percolation, irrigation-water application, and associated salt loading to the Colorado River is needed to support water-resource planning and conservation efforts. The...

This paper provides an updated technical description of the USGS Polar Temperature Logging System (PTLS) and a complete assessment of the measurement uncertainties. This measurement system is used to acquire subsurface temperature data for climate-change detection in the polar regions and for reconstructing past climate changes using the 'borehole paleothermometry' inverse method...

A computer model of hydrologic and water-quality processes of the Onondaga Lake basin in Onondaga County, N.Y., was developed during 2003-07 to assist water-resources managers in making basin-wide management decisions that could affect peak flows and the water quality of tributaries to Onondaga Lake. The model was developed with the Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF) and was...

The accuracy, characterization, and completeness of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) peak-flow data drive the determination of flood-frequency estimates that are used daily to design water and transportation infrastructure, delineate flood-plain boundaries, and regulate development and utilization of lands throughout the Nation and are essential to understanding the implications of...

Between 1974 and 2001 water from as many as one-third of wells in the Eastern San Joaquin Ground Water Subbasin, about 80 miles east of San Francisco, had arsenic concentrations greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for arsenic of 10 micrograms per liter (ug/L). Water from some wells had arsenic concentrations greater than 60 ug/L. The...

The central Platte River is a dynamic, braided, sand-bed river located near Grand Island, Nebraska. An understanding of the Platte River channel characteristics, hydrologic flow patterns, and geomorphic conditions is important for the operation and management of water resources by the City of Grand Island. The north channel of the Platte River flows within 1 mile of the municipal well...

More than 100 years of mining and processing of metal-rich ores in northern Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene River basin have resulted in widespread metal contamination of the basin’s soil, sediment, water, and biota, including Coeur d’Alene Lake. Previous studies reported that about 85 percent of the bottom of Coeur d’Alene Lake is substantially enriched in antimony, arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead...

Water and suspended-sediment samples were collected at eight sites on the Alamo and New Rivers in the Imperial Valley/Salton Sea Basin of California and analyzed for both current-use and organochlorine pesticides by the U.S. Geological Survey. Samples were collected in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007, corresponding to the seasons of greatest pesticide use in the basin. Large-volume...