Publications

Understanding the accuracy of commonly used methods for estimating peak streamflows is important because the designs of bridges, culverts, and other river structures are based on these flows. Different methods for estimating peak streamflows were analyzed for small drainage basins in Maine. For the smallest basins, with drainage areas of 0.2 to 1.0 square mile, nine peak streamflows from...

DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) is the active ingredient of most commercial insect repellents. This compound has commonly been detected in aquatic water samples from around the world indicating that DEET is both mobile and persistent, despite earlier assumptions that DEET was unlikely to enter aquatic ecosystems. DEET's registration category does not require an ecological risk assessment...

The effectiveness of best-management practices (BMPs) in improving water quality in Lake Champlain tributaries was evaluated from 2000 through 2005 on the basis of analysis of data collected on concentrations of total phosphorus and suspended sediment in Englesby Brook, an urban stream in Burlington, and Little Otter Creek, an agricultural stream in Ferrisburg. Data also were collected...

In 2002, the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) implemented Source Water-Quality Assessments (SWQAs) to characterize the quality of selected rivers and aquifers used as a source of supply to community water systems in the United States. These assessments are intended to complement drinking-water monitoring required by Federal, State...

The total amount of water in the Great Lakes Basin is important in the long-term allocation of water to human use and to riparian and aquatic ecosystems. The water available during low-flow periods is particularly important because the short-term demands for the water can exceed the supply. Precipitation increased over the last 90 years in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin. Total annual...

The Altamont-Bluebell oil and gas field in the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah has been an important oil and natural gas production area since the 1950s. Saline water is produced along with oil during the oil-well drilling and pumping process. The saline wastewater is disposed of by injection into wells completed in the Duchesne River Formation, Uinta Formation, and other underlying...

In accordance with guidelines set forth by the Office of Water Quality in the Water Resources Discipline of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), this quality-assurance plan has been created for use by the USGS Washington Water Science Center (WAWSC) in conducting water-quality activities. The plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the personnel of the WAWSC for...

Recent estimates of ground-water inflow to the basin-fill aquifers of Carson Valley, Nevada, and California, from the adjacent Carson Range and Pine Nut Mountains ranged from 22,000 to 40,000 acre-feet per year using water-yield and chloride-balance methods. In this study, watershed models were developed for watersheds with perennial streams and for watersheds with ephemeral streams in...

Concentrations of boron greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 900 μg/L removal action level (RAL) standard were detected in water sampled by the USEPA in 2004 from three domestic wells near Beverly Shores, Indiana. The RAL regulates only human-affected concentrations of a constituent. A lack of well logs and screened depth information precluded identification of...

The U. S. Geological Survey conducted hydrodynamic measurements in Upper Klamath Lake during four summer seasons (approximately mid-June to mid-September) during 2003 to 2006. Measurements included water current profiles made by acoustic Doppler current profilers at a number of fixed locations in the lake during all four years as well as from a moving boat during 2005 and 2006...

Multiple high-turbidity events with values greater than 250 Formazin Nephelometric Units occurred in streams of the North Santiam River basin during water years 1999-2004. By using a combination of field reconnaissance, aerial photography, and geographic information systems, eight of these high-turbidity events were investigated and linked to at least one likely source area and became...

Heavy rains caused severe flooding on June 22-24, 2006, and damaged approximately 4,580 homes and 48 businesses in Cuyahoga County. Damage estimates in Cuyahoga County for the two days of flooding exceed $47 million; statewide damage estimates exceed $150 million. Six counties (Cuyahoga, Erie, Huron, Lucas, Sandusky, and Stark) in northeast Ohio were declared Federal disaster areas. One...