Drinking Water and Source Water Research Active
Reliable drinking water is vital for the health and safety of all Americans. The USGS monitors and assesses the quality of the water used as a source for our nation's drinking water needs.
Featured: 3-D Models of As and Mn in the Glacial Aquifer System
New 3-D models from the USGS National Water Quality Program predict where high concentrations of arsenic and manganese likely occur in the glacial aquifer system, groundwater supply for 30 million. Redox conditions and pH are controlling factors.
Updated Information on Groundwater Quality From Public-Supply Wells
Three new USGS fact sheets update information on groundwater quality in the nation's most heavily used aquifers. Fact sheets are now available for the Edwards-Trinity aquifer system, the Stream Valley aquifers, and the Colorado Plateau aquifers.
BACKGROUND
One of the central missions of the USGS is to monitor the natural resources we rely on every day, and one of the most important natural resources monitored is water. As humans, we need water to live, especially clean water. But where does the water we rely on come from? How long can we use it to meet our drinking water needs?
DRINKING WATER IN THE UNITED STATES
Nearly 270 million people rely on public water supply every year. That means over 85 percent of the United States population depends on municipal water suppliers to provide clean water to their homes and businesses. The source of that water typically is surface water from rivers, lakes, or reservoirs, or groundwater, which is treated before delivery to consumers. The remaining U.S. population relies on private groundwater wells to meet their household needs. The USGS monitors and assesses the quality of the water used as a source for our nation's drinking water needs. The USGS does not regulate or directly monitor water treatment operations, nor does it enforce water-quality standards.
RELATED USGS RESEARCH
- Water quality of public supply wells
- Factors affecting the vulnerability of public supply wells to contamination
- Water quality of domestic (private) wells
- Health-based screening levels (HBSLs) for drinking water
- Arsenic and drinking water
- Estimating toxin concentrations from harmful algal blooms in Ohio recreational and source waters
- Harmful algal blooms and drinking water in Oregon
- Groundwater viruses in Minnesota drinking water wells
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Examples of research USGS conducts with drinking water and source water.
Public Supply Wells
Explore the tools that show what is happening in the waters around us.
The USGS produces many types of multimedia products. Use the links below to browse our offerings of photograph galleries, podcasts and sound files, videos, aerial photos, and posters related to drinking water and source water.
The USGS has a vast library of research on the source water people rely on everyday. Here's a few examples of publications that define the current understanding of the quality of the water supply that makes it into everyday drinking water.
The U.S. Geological Survey Drinking Water Initiative
Fluoride occurrence in United States groundwater
Landscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers
Causal factors for pesticide trends in streams of the United States: Atrazine and deethylatrazine
Time scales of arsenic variability and the role of high-frequency monitoring at three water-supply wells in New Hampshire, USA
Using age tracers and decadal sampling to discern trends in nitrate, arsenic and uranium in groundwater beneath irrigated cropland
Drinking water quality in the glacial aquifer system, northern USA
Regional patterns of anthropogenic influences on streams and rivers in the conterminous United States, from the early 1970s to 2012
Assessing the lead solubility potential of untreated groundwater of the United States
Hormones and pharmaceuticals in groundwater used as a source of drinking water across the United States
Quality of Source Water from Public-Supply Wells in the United States, 1993-2007
The quality of our Nation’s waters: Quality of water from public-supply wells in the United States, 1993–2007: Overview of major findings
Anthropogenic organic compounds in source water of selected community water systems that use groundwater, 2002-05
Explore the tools that show what is happening in the waters around us.
The USGS newsroom distributes media alerts, press releases, and technical memos that highlight new and relevant research.
Contaminants present in many parts of the Glacial aquifer system
Are you one of 30 million Americans whose drinking-water supply relies on groundwater from the glacial aquifer system? A new USGS study assesses the quality of untreated groundwater from this critical water resource, which underlies parts of 25 northern U.S. states.
Below are frequently asked questions associated with the drinking water and source water research.
- Overview
Reliable drinking water is vital for the health and safety of all Americans. The USGS monitors and assesses the quality of the water used as a source for our nation's drinking water needs.
Featured: 3-D Models of As and Mn in the Glacial Aquifer SystemNew 3-D models from the USGS National Water Quality Program predict where high concentrations of arsenic and manganese likely occur in the glacial aquifer system, groundwater supply for 30 million. Redox conditions and pH are controlling factors.
Updated Information on Groundwater Quality From Public-Supply WellsThree new USGS fact sheets update information on groundwater quality in the nation's most heavily used aquifers. Fact sheets are now available for the Edwards-Trinity aquifer system, the Stream Valley aquifers, and the Colorado Plateau aquifers.
BACKGROUND
One of the central missions of the USGS is to monitor the natural resources we rely on every day, and one of the most important natural resources monitored is water. As humans, we need water to live, especially clean water. But where does the water we rely on come from? How long can we use it to meet our drinking water needs?
DRINKING WATER IN THE UNITED STATES
Nearly 270 million people rely on public water supply every year. That means over 85 percent of the United States population depends on municipal water suppliers to provide clean water to their homes and businesses. The source of that water typically is surface water from rivers, lakes, or reservoirs, or groundwater, which is treated before delivery to consumers. The remaining U.S. population relies on private groundwater wells to meet their household needs. The USGS monitors and assesses the quality of the water used as a source for our nation's drinking water needs. The USGS does not regulate or directly monitor water treatment operations, nor does it enforce water-quality standards.
RELATED USGS RESEARCH
- Water quality of public supply wells
- Factors affecting the vulnerability of public supply wells to contamination
- Water quality of domestic (private) wells
- Health-based screening levels (HBSLs) for drinking water
- Arsenic and drinking water
- Estimating toxin concentrations from harmful algal blooms in Ohio recreational and source waters
- Harmful algal blooms and drinking water in Oregon
- Groundwater viruses in Minnesota drinking water wells
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Science
Examples of research USGS conducts with drinking water and source water.
Public Supply Wells
Are you among the more than 100 million people in the U.S. who relies on a public-supply well for your drinking water? Although the quality of finished drinking water from public water systems is regulated by the EPA, long-term protection and management of the raw groundwater tapped by public-supply wells requires an understanding of the occurrence of contaminants in this invisible, vital resource... - Data
Explore the tools that show what is happening in the waters around us.
- Multimedia
The USGS produces many types of multimedia products. Use the links below to browse our offerings of photograph galleries, podcasts and sound files, videos, aerial photos, and posters related to drinking water and source water.
- Publications
The USGS has a vast library of research on the source water people rely on everyday. Here's a few examples of publications that define the current understanding of the quality of the water supply that makes it into everyday drinking water.
The U.S. Geological Survey Drinking Water Initiative
Safe drinking-water supplies are critical to maintaining and preserving public health. Although the Nation's drinking water is generally safe, natural and introduced contaminants in water supplies throughout the country have adversely affected human health. This new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiative will provide information on the vulnerability of water supplies to be used by water-supply aAuthorsFilter Total Items: 30Fluoride occurrence in United States groundwater
Data from 38,105 wells were used to characterize fluoride (F) occurrence in untreated United States (U.S.) groundwater. For domestic wells (n = 11,032), water from which is generally not purposely fluoridated or monitored for quality, 10.9% of the samples have F concentrations >0.7 mg/L (U.S. Public Health Service recommended optimal F concentration in drinking water for preventing tooth decay) (8AuthorsPeter B. McMahon, Craig J. Brown, Tyler D. Johnson, Kenneth Belitz, Bruce D. LindseyLandscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers
Water security is a top concern for social well-being and dramatic changes in the availability of freshwater have occurred as a result of human uses and landscape management. Elevated nutrient loading and perturbations to major ion composition have resulted from human activities and have degraded freshwater resources. This study addresses the emerging nature of stream water quality in the 21st ceAuthorsEdward G. Stets, Lori A. Sprague, Gretchen P. Oelsner, Henry M. Johnson, Jennifer C. Murphy, Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia, Robert E. Zuellig, James A. Falcone, Melissa L. RiskinCausal factors for pesticide trends in streams of the United States: Atrazine and deethylatrazine
Pesticides are important for agriculture in the United States, and atrazine is one of the most widely used and widely detected pesticides in surface water. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which atrazine and its degradation product, deethylatrazine, increase and decrease in surface waters can help inform future decisions for water-quality improvement. This study considers causal factorsAuthorsKaren R. Ryberg, Wesley W. Stone, Nancy T. BakerTime scales of arsenic variability and the role of high-frequency monitoring at three water-supply wells in New Hampshire, USA
Groundwater geochemistry, redox process classification, high-frequency physicochemical and hydrologic measurements, and climate data were analyzed to identify controls on arsenic (As) concentration changes. Groundwater was monitored in two public-supply wells (one glacial aquifer and one bedrock aquifer), and one bedrock-aquifer domestic well in New Hampshire, USA, from 2014 to 2018 to identify tiAuthorsJames R. Degnan, Joseph P. Levitt, Melinda Erickson, Bryant C. Jurgens, Bruce D. Lindsey, Joseph D. AyotteUsing age tracers and decadal sampling to discern trends in nitrate, arsenic and uranium in groundwater beneath irrigated cropland
Repeat sampling and age tracers were used to examine trends in nitrate, arsenic and uranium concentrations in groundwater beneath irrigated cropland. Much higher nitrate concentrations in shallow modern groundwater were observed at both the Columbia Plateau and High Plains sites (median values of 10.2 and 15.4 mg/L as N, respectively) than in groundwater that recharged prior to the onset of intensAuthorsAnthony J. Tesoriero, Karen R. Burow, Lonna Frans, Jonathan V. Haynes, Christopher M. Hobza, Bruce D. Lindsey, John E. SolderDrinking water quality in the glacial aquifer system, northern USA
Groundwater supplies 50% of drinking water worldwide, but compromised water quality from anthropogenic and geogenic contaminants can limit usage of groundwater as a drinking water source. Groundwater quality in the glacial aquifer system, USA (GLAC), is presented in the context of a hydrogeologic framework that divides the study area into 17 hydrogeologic terranes. Results are reported at aquifer-AuthorsMelinda L. Erickson, Richard M. Yager, Leon J. Kauffman, John T. WilsonRegional patterns of anthropogenic influences on streams and rivers in the conterminous United States, from the early 1970s to 2012
This paper introduces a dataset containing consistent time-series measurements of anthropogenic activities potentially affecting stream quality across the conterminous United States and summarizes the most noteworthy trends from 61 variables in 16 categories. Data include measures of atmospheric deposition, agricultural production, livestock, urbanization, irrigation, land use, nutrients from ferAuthorsJames A. Falcone, Jennifer C. Murphy, Lori A. SpragueAssessing the lead solubility potential of untreated groundwater of the United States
In the U.S., about 44 million people rely on self-supplied groundwater for drinking water. Because most self-supplied homeowners do not treat their water to control corrosion, drinking water can be susceptible to lead (Pb) contamination from metal plumbing. To assess the types and locations of susceptible groundwater, a geochemical reaction model that included pure Pb minerals and solid solutionsAuthorsBryant Jurgens, David L. Parkhurst, Kenneth BelitzHormones and pharmaceuticals in groundwater used as a source of drinking water across the United States
This is the first large-scale, systematic assessment of hormone and pharmaceutical occurrence in groundwater used for drinking across the United States. Samples from 1091 sites in Principal Aquifers representing 60% of the volume pumped for drinking-water supply had final data for 21 hormones and 103 pharmaceuticals. At least one compound was detected at 5.9% of 844 sites representing the resourceAuthorsLaura M. Bexfield, Patricia Toccalino, Kenneth Belitz, William T. Foreman, Edward FurlongQuality of Source Water from Public-Supply Wells in the United States, 1993-2007
More than one-third of the Nation's population receives their drinking water from public water systems that use groundwater as their source. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled untreated source water from 932 public-supply wells, hereafter referred to as public wells, as part of multiple groundwater assessments conducted across the Nation during 1993-2007. The objectives of this study were tAuthorsPatricia L. Toccalino, Julia E. Norman, Kerie J. HittThe quality of our Nation’s waters: Quality of water from public-supply wells in the United States, 1993–2007: Overview of major findings
Summary of Major Findings and Implications About 105 million people in the United States-more than one-third of the Nation's population-receive their drinking water from about 140,000 public water systems that use groundwater as their source. Although the quality of finished drinking water (after treatment and before distribution) from these public water systems is regulated by the U.S. EnvironmeAuthorsPatricia L. Toccalino, Jessica A. HoppleAnthropogenic organic compounds in source water of selected community water systems that use groundwater, 2002-05
Source water, defined as groundwater collected from a community water system well prior to water treatment, was sampled from 221 wells during October 2002 to July 2005 and analyzed for 258 anthropogenic organic compounds. Most of these compounds are unregulated in drinking water and include pesticides and pesticide degradates, gasoline hydrocarbons, personal-care and domestic-use products, and solAuthorsJessica A. Hopple, Gregory C. Delzer, James A. Kingsbury - Web Tools
Explore the tools that show what is happening in the waters around us.
- News
The USGS newsroom distributes media alerts, press releases, and technical memos that highlight new and relevant research.
Contaminants present in many parts of the Glacial aquifer system
Are you one of 30 million Americans whose drinking-water supply relies on groundwater from the glacial aquifer system? A new USGS study assesses the quality of untreated groundwater from this critical water resource, which underlies parts of 25 northern U.S. states.
Filter Total Items: 18 - FAQ
Below are frequently asked questions associated with the drinking water and source water research.