Advanced Capabilities and Research

The USGS Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) supports the water-resource monitoring efforts of USGS scientists and other Federal scientists by providing quality-assured hydrologic equipment and instrumentation support.

Declining snow cover is playing a key role in decreasing the flow of the Colorado River, “the lifeblood of the Southwest,” by enabling increased evaporation. As the warming continues, increasingly severe water shortages are expected.

As the USGS Water Resources Mission Area looks to the future, we are updating our water programs to meet 21st century water-resource challenges. As part of these updates, we are integrating the National Water Quality Assessment Project's water-resource monitoring, assessment, trends, modeling, and forecasting activities into new WMA programs.

Water data visualizations are provocative visuals and captivating stories that inform, inspire, and empower people to address our Nation's most pressing water issues. USGS data science and visualization experts use visualizations to communicate water data in compelling and often interactive ways when static images or written narrative can’t effectively communicate the interconnectivity and...

For 43 years, the Shingobee Headwaters Aquatic Ecosystems Project (SHAEP) brought together scientists from the USGS along with students and professors from universities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and California to study the physical, chemical, and biological processes of lakes, wetlands, and streams at local and watershed scales. In early 2022, The University of Minnesota and Bemidji...

New projects from coast to coast will advance the research on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The vivid emerald-colored algal blooms are caused by cyanobacteria, which can produce cyanotoxins that threaten human health and aquatic ecosystems and can cause major economic damage.

The Urban Waters Federal Partnership reconnects urban communities with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies, particularly those communities that have been disproportionately impacted by pollution or economic distress. The UWFP draws upon Environmental Justice principles—the idea that all people, regardless of race, religion, national origin, or economic station, deserve...

Naegleria fowleri ( N. fowleri ) commonly referred to as the "brain-eating amoeba", is a thermophilic free-living amoeba found in warm and hot surface water that include freshwater ponds, lakes, rivers, and hot springs (Yoder and others. 2010).

Offering a wide-range of environemental analytical services, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) is a world-class environmental analysis and research laboratory located on the campus of the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado.

Rapid Deployment Gages (RDGs) are fully-functional streamgages designed to be deployed quickly and temporarily to measure and transmit stream stage data in emergency situations.

The USGS is evaluating the integration of small unoccupied aircraft systems – sUAS or "drones" – into USGS hydrogeophysical studies.

StreamStats provides access to spatial analytical tools that are useful for water-resources planning and management, and for engineering and design purposes. The map-based user interface can be used to delineate drainage areas, get basin characteristics and estimates of flow statistics, and more. Available information varies from state to state.