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.
Evaluation of groundwater-flow models for estimating drawdown from proposed groundwater development in Tule Desert, Nevada
At the request of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is releasing with this open-file report (OFR) a previously unpublished review and comparison of two numerical models for Tule Desert, Nevada. The original review was performed in spring 2013, and only minor editorial revisions were made in the current (2019)...
Halford, Keith J.
Streamflow gains and losses in New Fork and Green Rivers, upstream from Fontenelle Reservoir, Wyoming, October 2015
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative is a program created to implement a long-term, science-based program of assessing natural resources while facilitating responsible energy and other development and does studies in much of southwestern Wyoming, including all or parts of Lincoln, Sublette, Fremont, Sweetwater, and Carbon Counties. A...
Eddy-Miller, Cheryl A.; Davidson, Seth L.; Wheeler, Jerrod D.; Davis, Sarah J.; Stephens, J. Brooks; Campbell, James R.
Benthic algal (Periphyton) growth rates in response to nitrogen and phosphorus: Parameter estimation for water quality models
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are important pollutants that can stimulate nuisance blooms of algae. Water-quality models (e.g., WASP, CE-QUAL-R1, CE-QUAL-ICM, QUAL2k) are valuable and widely used management tools for algal accrual because of excess nutrients in the presence of other limiting factors. These models utilize the Monod and Droop...
Schmidt, Travis S.; Konrad, Christopher; Miller, Janet L.; Whitlock, Stephen D.; Stricker, Craig A.
Stratigraphic analysis of Corte Madera Creek flood control channel deposits
Sedimentation in a channel can reduce flood conveyance capability and potentially place nearby property and life at risk from flooding. In 1998, Marin County Public Works dredged the concrete-lined segment of Corte Madera Creek, which drains a hilly and largely urbanized watershed that terminates in San Francisco Bay, California. From then through...
Livsey, Daniel N.; Work, Paul A.; Downing-Kunz, Maureen Phosphorus and nitrogen transport in the binational Great Lakes Basin estimated using SPARROW watershed models
Eutrophication problems in the Great Lakes are caused by excessive nutrient inputs (primarily phosphorus, P, and nitrogen, N) from various sources throughout its basin. In developing protection and restoration plans, it is important to know where and from what sources the nutrients originate. As part of a binational effort, Midcontinent SPARROW (...
Robertson, Dale M.; Saad, David A.; Benoy, Glenn A.; Vouk, Ivana; Schwarz, Gregory E.; Laitta, Michael T Drought in the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands: Impacts to water resources
No abstract available.
Anthony, Stephen
Arsenic, antimony, mercury, and water temperature in streams near Stibnite mining area, central Idaho, 2011–17
Mineralization and historical mining of stibnite (antimony sulfide), tungsten, gold, silver, and mercury in the headwaters of the East Fork of the South Fork Salmon River (EFSFSR) near the former town of Stibnite in central Idaho resulted in water-quality impairments related to mercury, antimony, and arsenic. Additionally, mining-related...
Baldwin, Austin K.; Etheridge, Alexandra B.
Development and evaluation of a record extension technique for estimating discharge at selected stream sites in New Hampshire
Daily mean discharges are needed for rivers in New Hampshire for the management of instream flows. It is impractical, however, to continuously gage all streams in New Hampshire, and at many sites where information is needed, the discharge data required do not exist. For such sites, techniques for estimating discharge are available. The U.S....
Olson, Scott A.; Meyerhofer, Abraham J.
Flood-inundation maps for a 23-mile reach of the Medina River at Bandera, Texas, 2018
In 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District and the Texas Water Development Board, studied floods through the period of record to create a library of flood-inundation maps for the Medina River at Bandera, Texas. Digital flood-inundation maps for a 23-mile reach of the...
Choi, Namjeong; Engel, Frank L.
Flood warning toolset for the Medina River in Bandera County, Texas
OverviewFloods are the most common natural disaster in the United States. The Medina River in Bandera County, Texas, is in the Edwards Plateau, where high-intensity rain rates and steep terrain frequently contribute to severe flash flooding capable of causing loss of life and property. For example, the July 5, 2002, flood claimed a total of 12...
Engel, Frank L.; Choi, Namjeong Small ponds in headwater catchments are a dominant influence on regional nutrient and sediment budgets
Small ponds—farm ponds, detention ponds, or impoundments below 0.01 km2—serve important human needs throughout most large river basins. Yet the role of small ponds in regional nutrient and sediment budgets is essentially unknown, currently making it impossible to evaluate their management potential to achieve water quality objectives. Here we used...
Schmadel, Noah; Harvey, Judson; Schwarz, Gregory E.; Alexander, Richard; Gomez-Velez, Jesus D.; Scott, Durelle; Ator, Scott W. Urban stormwater: An overlooked pathway of extensive mixed contaminants to surface and groundwaters in the United States
Increasing global reliance on stormwater control measures to reduce discharge to surface water, increase groundwater recharge, and minimize contaminant delivery to receiving waterbodies necessitates improved understanding of stormwater-contaminant profiles. A multi-agency study of organic and inorganic chemicals in urban stormwater from 50 runoff...
Masoner, Jason R.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Cozzarelli, Isabelle M.; Barber, Larry B.; Burden, D.S.; Foreman, William T.; Forshay, Kenneth J.; Furlong, Edward; Groves, Justin F.; Hladik, Michelle; Hopton, Matthew E.; Jaeschke, Jeanne B.; Keefe, Steffanie H.; Krabbenhoft, David; Lowrance , Richard; Romanok, Kristin; Rus, David L.; Selbig, William R.; Williams, Brad; Bradley, Paul