Water Resources
Common Water Issues
Browse Common Water Issues science related to:
Aquifer Remediation Barrier for Removal of Inorganic Contaminants, US Patent 6,428,695
A permeable barrier for decontaminating groundwater having two distinct components for increasing contaminant removal. Preferably, the barrier material is a mixture or distinct layers of bone-char phosphate material and iron oxide pellets. (Full details provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.)
Crystallization of Powders Having Uniform Particle Sizes by Ostwald Ripening at Large Levels of Supersaturation, US Patent 6,379,459
A method is provided for the manufacture of mineral power crystals having a uniform mean size. The method includes forming a solution which is highly supersaturated with respect to the crystals. (Full details provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.)
Method for Enhancing Oxidation of Methyl Bromide With Strain IMB-1 (ATCC 202197) During Agricultural Fumigations, US Patent 6,013,254
A method is provided for enhancing oxidation of methyl bromide during agricultural fumigations of fields using a fumigant containing methyl bromide. The method comprises adding a methylotrophic bacterium to the soil in an amount effective to provide bacterial oxidation of the methyl bromide. (Full details provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.)
Selenate Removal from Waste Water, US Patents 5,271,831 and 5,009,786
A method and apparatus for removing selenate from waste water through the use of selenate respiring microorganisms under substantially anoxic conditions is described. The method includes a first zone for removing nitrate by assimilation into biomass. (Full details available at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website for patents ...
Karst Aquifers
This website presents information on USGS research on karst aquifers, a vital groundwater resource in the United States.
USGS Mine Drainage Activities
The USGS Mine Drainage Activities website (now archived) promoted communication, cooperation, and collaboration among interdisciplinary USGS scientists working on problems related to mining and the environment. It contains catalogs of past mining-related projects, activities, and publications.
Colorado River Basin Focus Area Study
As one of several Focus Area Studies within the USGS National Water Census (NWC), the USGS has completed a 3-year study of water availability and use in the Colorado River Basin.
Water-Quality Trends
Is water quality getting better or worse? Answering this deceptively simple question has been a fundamental objective of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Project’s research. Learn about trends in contaminants in the nation’s streams and rivers, trends in contaminants that collect in the bed sediment of streams and lakes, and changes in the quality of the nation’s groundwater.
Drinking Water Taste and Odor
Some water is just unpleasant to drink—it’s cloudy, or it smells or tastes bad. Some drinking water discolors teeth or skin, stains laundry or plumbing fixtures, or corrodes or clogs pipes. These effects are caused when some naturally occurring constituents occur at concentrations high enough to be a nuisance, and are particularly common where groundwater is used as a drinking water supply....
Stream Ecology
Who lives in your stream? Rivers and streams, even small ones, are teeming with a vast number of species, including fish, aquatic invertebrates, and algae. Stream ecology is the study of those aquatic species, the way they interrelate, and their interactions with all aspects of these flowing water systems.
Sediment-Associated Contaminants
Stream, river, and lake bed sediment are reservoirs for many contaminants. These contaminants include some “legacy” contaminants, like DDT, PCBs, and chlordane, and chemicals currently in use, like the insecticide bifenthrin and many flame retardants. Learn about techniques used to study sediment-associated contaminants and their importance to aquatic biota.
USGS / National Park Service Water-Quality Partnership
Since 1998, the USGS-National Park Service Water-Quality Partnership has supported 217 projects to protect and improve water quality in 119 national parks. These USGS-NPS collaborative projects support science-based resource management by the National Park Service to address critical water-quality issues for many of our Nation's most highly valued aquatic systems.