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.
Measuring channel planform change from image time series: A generalizable, spatially distributed, probabilistic method for quantifying uncertainty
Channels change in response to natural or anthropogenic fluctuations in streamflow and/or sediment supply and measurements of channel change are critical to many river management applications. Whereas repeated field surveys are costly and time‐consuming, remote sensing can be used to detect channel change at multiple temporal and spatial scales....
Leonard, Christina M.; Legleiter, Carl J.; Lea, Devin M.; Schmidt, John C. Influence of hydropower outflow characteristics affecting riverbank stability: The lower Osage River case (Missouri, USA)
This research examined the influences of outflow characteristics affecting riverbank stability. The 130 km stretch of the lower Osage River downstream from Bagnell Dam (Missouri, USA) provided an excellent case study for this purpose. The integrated BSTEM model with the HEC-RAS model was accurately calibrated and validated with data from the U.S....
Mohammed-Ali, Wesam; Mendoza, Cesar; Holmes, Robert R. Comparison of SELDM simulated total-phosphorus concentrations with ecological impervious-area criteria
Ecological studies indicate that impervious cover (IC) greater than approximately 5%–20% may have adverse effects on receiving-stream ecology. It is difficult to separate the effects of runoff quality from other effects of urbanization on receiving streams. This study presents the results of a numerical experiment to assess the effects of...
Jeznach, Lillian C.; Granato, Gregory E.
Groundwater levels and generalized potentiometric surfaces, former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2018
Groundwater-level conditions, generalized groundwater potentiometric surfaces, and generalized flow directions at the decommissioned Naval Air Warfare Center in West Trenton, New Jersey, were evaluated for calendar year 2018. Groundwater levels measured continuously in five on-site wells and one nearby off-site well were plotted as hydrographs for...
Fiore, Alex R.; Pierre J. Lacombe Changes in climate and land cover affect seasonal streamflow forecasts in the Rio Grande headwaters
Seasonal streamflow forecast bias, changes in climate, snowpack, and land cover, and the effects of these changes on relations between basin‐wide snowpack, SNOw TELemetry (SNOTEL) station snowpack, and seasonal streamflow were evaluated in the headwaters of the Rio Grande, Colorado. Results indicate that shifts in the seasonality of precipitation...
Penn, Colin A.; Clow, David W.; Sexstone, Graham A.; Murphy, Sheila F. Nowcasting methods for determining microbiological water quality at recreational beaches and drinking-water source waters
Nowcasts are tools used to provide timely and accurate water-quality assessments of threats to drinking-water and recreational resources from fecal contamination or cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms. They use mathematical models and techniques to provide near-real-time estimates of fecal-indicator bacteria (FIB) and cyanotoxin concentrations....
Francy, Donna S.; Brady, Amie M.G.; Cicale, Jessica; Dalby, Harrison D; Stelzer, Erin
Streambed scour of salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) redds in the South Fork Tolt River, King County, Washington
Prior to emergence as fry, salmonid embryos incubating within gravel nests called “redds” are vulnerable to substrate mobilization and lowering of the streambed, a process termed “streambed scour,” during floods. Water managers regulating discharge in salmonid-bearing rivers need information about the magnitude of discharge during which the scour...
Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Ablow, Elizabeth; Marks, Derek
Dye-tracing plan for verifying the Kansas River time-of-travel model
The Kansas River provides drinking water for multiple cities in northeastern Kansas and is used for recreational purposes. Thus, improving the scientific knowledge of streamflow velocities and traveltimes will greatly aid in water-treatment plans and response to critical events and threats to water supplies. Dye-tracer studies are usually done to...
Davis, Chantelle A.; Lukasz, Bradley S.; May, Madison R.
Application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) to simulate near-native streamflow in the Upper Rio Grande Basin
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) is widely used to simulate the effects of climate, topography, land cover, and soils on landscape-level hydrologic response and streamflow. This study developed, calibrated, and assessed a PRMS model that simulates near-native or naturalized streamflow conditions in the Upper...
Chavarria, Shaleene B.; Moeser, C. David; Douglas-Mankin, Kyle R. Assessment of restorative maintenance practices on the infiltration capacity of permeable pavement
Permeable pavement has the potential to be an effective tool in managing stormwater runoff through retention of sediment and other contaminants associated with urban development. The infiltration capacity of permeable pavement declines as more sediment is captured, thereby reducing its ability to treat runoff. Regular restorative maintenance...
Danz, Mari; Selbig, William R.; Buer, Nicolas
Regional hydrostratigraphic framework of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and vicinity, New Jersey, in the context of perfluoroalkyl substances contamination of groundwater and surface water
A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, to describe the regional hydrostratigraphy of shallow aquifers and confining units underlying Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) and vicinity, New Jersey, in the context of contamination of groundwater and surface water by per- and polyfluoroalkyl...
Fiore, Alex R.
Methods of collection and quality assessment of arsenic data in well-water supplies in Maine, 2001–2 and 2006–7
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, assessed the chemical characteristics and the occurrence, distribution, and oxidation state of inorganic arsenic in drinking water from selected domestic well-water supplies in Maine in 2001–2...
Culbertson, Charles W.; Caldwell, James M.; Schalk, Luther F.; Manassaram, Deana; Backer, Lorraine C.; Smith, Andrew E.