The USGS Water Resources Mission Area is assessing how much water is available for human and ecological needs in the United States and identifying where and when the Nation may have challenges meeting its demand for water.
Integrated Water Availability Assessments produced by the USGS Water Resources Mission Area (WMA) will provide estimates of water supply and demand in the past, present, and future. These assessments, or studies with an emphasis on quantifying and understanding water availability, will investigate historical changes in water supply and demand and their causes, and help us identify where and when the Nation may have challenges meeting its demand for water because of insufficient water quantity or quality. Understanding water supply and demand will support better and more efficient water management for economic growth, protection of aquatic ecosystems, agriculture and energy production, and human population growth. These assessments will also support adaptive management in areas of emerging imbalance between water supply and demand.
What is the Water Resources Mission Area producing as part of its water availability assessments?
We have identified three high-priority outcomes, or products, for our water availability assessments:
Product |
Description |
Objectives |
National Water Census
|
Regularly updated online |
|
National Water
|
Scientific assessments of water availability in the United States, completed every five years |
|
Regional Water Availability Assessments |
One-time scientific assessments of water availability in different hydrologic regions across the United States |
|
These three products are designed to be interdependent:
-
Models underpinning the National Water Census will be used for interpretation in the National Water Availability Assessments.
-
Activities in each Regional Water Availability Assessment will help fill gaps in national models, improving future versions of the National Water Census.
-
Activities in the Regional Water Availability Assessments will also provide detailed and variable case studies to help explain national patterns identified in the National Water Availability Assessments.
National Water Census
The National Water Census will provide regularly updated online information about water quantity, quality, and use of the Nation’s surface and groundwater. The information in the National Water Census will cover past conditions over multiple decades, updated information on current or near-current conditions, and forecasts of future conditions in the short and long term. This centralized delivery of model and trend information will complement the centralized delivery of observational data in USGS Water Data for the Nation (WDFN).
The National Water Census will allow people outside USGS to use webservices and APIs to pull data and model predictions into their own models, map viewers, and other tools. It also will allow users to interactively visualize and explore the data online through mappers and dashboards.
National Water Availability Assessments
The National Water Availability Assessments will provide the synthesis and interpretation of water availability in the past, present, and future. These assessments will be modeled in part after the previous national assessments conducted by the Water Resources Council in the 1960s and 1970s. They will also build on more recent reporting by the USGS on national water use and water quality conducted through the WMA’s Water Availability and Use Program and the former National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. These new assessments will include more model predictions, allowing us to fill in spatial and temporal gaps in our monitoring records; evaluate water quantity, quality, and use at the same time; and make forecasts into the future.
The National Water Availability Assessments will also provide insights into regional and topical aspects of water availability. For example, the National Water Availability Assessments may use results from the Regional Water Availability Assessments to better understand the behavior of individual water-availability components and help explain broader regional and national patterns. The National Water Availability Assessment reports may also consider topical issues that cut across multiple components of water availability, such as wildfire and its effects on water quantity, quality, and use.
Because of the large scope of the National Water Availability Assessments, they will be produced on a five-year cycle to allow enough time for generation of new information, synthesis, interpretation, review, and publication. Additional products that are smaller in scope, like data visualizations, short topical summaries, and journal articles, will be released in the years between the national assessments.
Regional Water Availability Assessments
Regional Water Availability Assessments will be conducted in medium-sized watersheds that are representative of larger regions throughout the Nation. These assessments are designed to capture a range of conditions in major drivers of water availability. Some regional water availability assessments occur in Integrated Water Science Basins, which represent a wide range of environmental, hydrologic, and landscape settings and human stressors of water resources. Models, tools, and supporting data developed for the National Water Census and National Water Availability Assessments will provide a starting point for the Regional Water Availability Assessments. In turn, the regions will provide a test bed for innovative methods and approaches in data collection, trend analysis, research, model development, and assessment of water availability. These innovations will be designed to inform the Regional Water Availability Assessments and improve the accuracy of national models and assessments.
The Regional Water Availability Assessments have two main tasks:
Task |
Description |
Focused assessment of regionally relevant threats to water availability |
|
Base evaluation of regional water supply and demand |
|
Below are other USGS science efforts related to Integrated Water Availability Assessments.
Water Availability and Use Science Program
Regional Water Availability Assessment: Upper Colorado River Basin
Regional Water Availability Assessment: Delaware River Basin
Integrated Water Science (IWS) Basins
Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS)
Integrated Water Prediction (IWP)
National Hydrologic Model Infrastructure
Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program
National Water Quality Program
Groundwater-withdrawal and well-construction data in the Upper Colorado River Basin from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming state databases, 1980–2022
Digital hydrogeologic framework model of the Upper Colorado River Basin, western U.S.
Datasets of depth to water, spring 2016, 2018, and 2020, and spring-to-spring water-level change 2016-18, 2018-20, and 2016-20, Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer
Compilation of the salient characteristics of numerical groundwater-flow and solute- and heat-transport models published or developed by the U.S. Geological Survey for regions in the U.S. and its territories and commonwealths, 1970 through 2022
Monthly inorganic nitrogen atmospheric wet deposition estimates for the conterminous United States, 1999 through 2020
PRMS simulator used to assess rainfall, runoff, and river flow for the National Hydrologic Model (NHM) Puerto Rico
Monthly estimates of natural baseflow for 15,866 stream reaches, defined by the National Hydrography Dataset Plus Version 2.0 (NHDPlusV2), in the Delaware River Basin for the period 1950-2015
Water-quality trends for rivers and streams in the Delaware River Basin using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models, Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) tests, and multisource data, Water Year 1978-2018
Daily-timestep and monthly-timestep estimates of baseflow at 49 reference stream gages located within 25 miles of the Delaware River basin watershed boundary for the years 1950 through 2015
Annual low flow, climate and watershed properties for 325 USGS gages in and near the Delaware River Basin
Multi-source surface-water-quality data and U.S. Geological Survey streamgage match for the Delaware River Basin
Below are publications associated with Integrated Water Availability Assessments.
Water priorities for the Nation—U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Availability Assessments
Water Resources Trend Assessments: State of the Science, Challenges, and Opportunities for Advancement
Simulation of monthly mean and monthly base flow of streamflow using random forests for the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, 1901 to 2018
Water-quality trends in the Delaware River Basin calculated using multisource data and two methods for trend periods ending in 2018
A review of current capabilities and science gaps in water supply data, modeling, and trends for water availability assessments in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Spatial patterns and seasonal timing of increasing riverine specific conductance from 1998 to 2018 suggest legacy contamination in the Delaware River Basin
Insight into Hurricane Maria peak flows from the development and application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS): Including Río Grande de Arecibo, Puerto Rico, 1981–2017
Quality of groundwater used for public supply in the continental United States: A comprehensive assessment
The presence of contaminants in a source water can constrain its suitability for drinking. The quality of groundwater used for public supply was assessed in 25 principal aquifers (PAs) that account for 84% of groundwater pumped for public supply in the U.S. (89.6 million people on a proportional basis). Each PA was sampled across its lateral extent using an equal-area grid, typically with 60 wells
Stakeholder engagement to guide decision-relevant water data delivery
Water priorities for the Nation—USGS Integrated Water Science basins
Below are data or web applications associated with Integrated Water Availability Assessments.
National Water Dashboard (NWD)
The National Water Dashboard (NWD) is a mobile, interactive tool that provides real-time information on water levels, weather, and flood forecasts - all in one place on a computer, smartphone, or other mobile device. The NWD presents real-time stream, lake and reservoir, precipitation, and groundwater data from more than 13,500 USGS observation stations across the country.
How We Monitor Stream Temperature in the Delaware River Basin
The USGS has been monitoring stream temperature in the Delaware River Basin since 1901, and has amassed over 650,000 daily temperature measurements. This data visualization story explores temporal and locational patterns in stream temperature observations, and how spatial variability and data gaps add complexity to prediction efforts.
From Snow to Flow (data visualization story)
A majority of the water in the western U.S. comes from snowmelt, but changes in the timing, magnitude, and duration of snowmelt can alter water availability downstream. This data visualization story explores what changing snowmelt means for water in the West, and how new USGS efforts can advance snow science by modeling snowpack and snowmelt dynamics and linking these results to streamflow.
Multisource Water-Quality Trends in the Delaware River Basin
Water quality is essential for understanding water availability by providing insights into the drivers of change and possible availability constraints. Using data from eight monitoring organizations including the USGS, the Multisource Water-Quality Trends in the Delaware River Basin mapper shows changing water-quality trends from 2008-2018 in rivers and streams across the Delaware River Basin.
Surface Water Flow Trends in the Nation's Streams and Rivers
Changes in streamflow conditions can affect infrastructure, water supply, and ecosystems. The IWAAs Surface Water Flow Trends mapper provides access to information about long-term changes in low flows, mean flows, and peak flows. View national trends for the last 100, 75, or 50 years, or calculate trend values for a custom time period at an individual site.
Water science and management in the Delaware River Basin (data visualization story)
The Delaware River supports thriving ecosystems and drinking water for 16 million people. How water is shared, and the quality of that water, has been the focus of decades of inter-state discussion, negotiation, and research. This data visualization story uses streamflow, salinity, and temperature to show how new USGS science and monitoring can inform water management in this age of cooperation.
Water-Quality Changes in the Nation's Streams and Rivers
This mapper provides results from the largest-ever assessment of water quality changes in the Nation's streams and rivers. More than 185 million water-quality records from over 600 Federal, State, Tribal, and local organizations were screened as part of this assessment.
Groundwater Quality: Decadal Change
Almost one-half of the U.S. population rely on groundwater for their water supply, and demand for groundwater for public supply, irrigation, and agriculture continues to increase. This mapper shows how concentrations of pesticides, nutrients, metals, and organic contaminants in groundwater are changing during decadal periods across the Nation.
Tracking Water Quality of the Nation's Streams and Rivers
An online graphical data tool provides annual summaries of nutrient and sediment concentrations and loads and streamflow information for 106 sites monitored as part of the USGS National Water-Quality Network for Streams and Rivers.
- Overview
The USGS Water Resources Mission Area is assessing how much water is available for human and ecological needs in the United States and identifying where and when the Nation may have challenges meeting its demand for water.
Integrated Water Availability Assessments produced by the USGS Water Resources Mission Area (WMA) will provide estimates of water supply and demand in the past, present, and future. These assessments, or studies with an emphasis on quantifying and understanding water availability, will investigate historical changes in water supply and demand and their causes, and help us identify where and when the Nation may have challenges meeting its demand for water because of insufficient water quantity or quality. Understanding water supply and demand will support better and more efficient water management for economic growth, protection of aquatic ecosystems, agriculture and energy production, and human population growth. These assessments will also support adaptive management in areas of emerging imbalance between water supply and demand.
What is the Water Resources Mission Area producing as part of its water availability assessments?
We have identified three high-priority outcomes, or products, for our water availability assessments:
Product
Description
Objectives
National Water Census
Regularly updated online
information on water availability in the United States-
Deliver model-based estimates of water supply
and demand over time and space, as well as
estimates of the core components of water
supply and demand -
Provide short- and long-term forecasting
to support adaptive management over
different timescales
National Water
Availability AssessmentsScientific assessments of water availability in the United States, completed every five years
-
Provide a comprehensive, scientific summary
and interpretation of water quantity, quality,
and use at a national level, using information
delivered through the National Water Census
and other projects of the Water Resources
Mission Area and Water Science Centers
Regional Water Availability Assessments
One-time scientific assessments of water availability in different hydrologic regions across the United States
-
Provide a more detailed assessment of water availability than will be possible at the national scale
-
Provide insights across regions to help explain national patterns
-
Provide targeted data collection, research, and model development to improve national models while addressing selected needs of local stakeholders
These three products are designed to be interdependent:
-
Models underpinning the National Water Census will be used for interpretation in the National Water Availability Assessments.
-
Activities in each Regional Water Availability Assessment will help fill gaps in national models, improving future versions of the National Water Census.
-
Activities in the Regional Water Availability Assessments will also provide detailed and variable case studies to help explain national patterns identified in the National Water Availability Assessments.
The USGS Integrated Water Availability Assessments Program is coordinating the delivery of these three products. National Water Census
The National Water Census will provide regularly updated online information about water quantity, quality, and use of the Nation’s surface and groundwater. The information in the National Water Census will cover past conditions over multiple decades, updated information on current or near-current conditions, and forecasts of future conditions in the short and long term. This centralized delivery of model and trend information will complement the centralized delivery of observational data in USGS Water Data for the Nation (WDFN).
The National Water Census will allow people outside USGS to use webservices and APIs to pull data and model predictions into their own models, map viewers, and other tools. It also will allow users to interactively visualize and explore the data online through mappers and dashboards.
National Water Availability Assessments
The National Water Availability Assessments will provide the synthesis and interpretation of water availability in the past, present, and future. These assessments will be modeled in part after the previous national assessments conducted by the Water Resources Council in the 1960s and 1970s. They will also build on more recent reporting by the USGS on national water use and water quality conducted through the WMA’s Water Availability and Use Program and the former National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. These new assessments will include more model predictions, allowing us to fill in spatial and temporal gaps in our monitoring records; evaluate water quantity, quality, and use at the same time; and make forecasts into the future.
The National Water Availability Assessments will also provide insights into regional and topical aspects of water availability. For example, the National Water Availability Assessments may use results from the Regional Water Availability Assessments to better understand the behavior of individual water-availability components and help explain broader regional and national patterns. The National Water Availability Assessment reports may also consider topical issues that cut across multiple components of water availability, such as wildfire and its effects on water quantity, quality, and use.
Because of the large scope of the National Water Availability Assessments, they will be produced on a five-year cycle to allow enough time for generation of new information, synthesis, interpretation, review, and publication. Additional products that are smaller in scope, like data visualizations, short topical summaries, and journal articles, will be released in the years between the national assessments.
Regional Water Availability Assessments
Regional Water Availability Assessments will be conducted in medium-sized watersheds that are representative of larger regions throughout the Nation. These assessments are designed to capture a range of conditions in major drivers of water availability. Some regional water availability assessments occur in Integrated Water Science Basins, which represent a wide range of environmental, hydrologic, and landscape settings and human stressors of water resources. Models, tools, and supporting data developed for the National Water Census and National Water Availability Assessments will provide a starting point for the Regional Water Availability Assessments. In turn, the regions will provide a test bed for innovative methods and approaches in data collection, trend analysis, research, model development, and assessment of water availability. These innovations will be designed to inform the Regional Water Availability Assessments and improve the accuracy of national models and assessments.
The Regional Water Availability Assessments have two main tasks:
Task
Description
Focused assessment of regionally relevant threats to water availability
-
Address regionally important water-resource questions in ways that support local stakeholders and improve national-assessment capacity
Base evaluation of regional water supply and demand
-
Conduct an integrated and comprehensive assessment of factors affecting water quantity, quality, and use in each region
-
Answer the same questions as the National Water Availability Assessments but with more detail and greater focus on important regional water issues
Regional water availability assessment basins, as of 2023. USGS is conducting regional water availability assessments in medium-sized watersheds throughout the US. These assessments are designed to capture a range of conditions in major drivers of water availability. Some regional water availability assessments occur in Integrated Water Science Basins. -
- Science
Below are other USGS science efforts related to Integrated Water Availability Assessments.
Water Availability and Use Science Program
The Water Availability and Use Science Program exists to provide a more accurate assessment of the status of the water resources of the U.S., assist in the determination of the quantity and quality of water that is available for beneficial uses, identify long-term trends in water availability, and develop the basis for an improved ability to forecast the availability of fresh water.Regional Water Availability Assessment: Upper Colorado River Basin
Regional Water Availability Assessments are scientific assessments of water availability in different hydrologic regions across the Nation. In the Upper Colorado River Basin, the USGS will conduct a focused assessment of how snowpack and snowmelt influence hydrology and water quality, and an integrated and comprehensive assessment of multiple water quantity, quality and use factors.Regional Water Availability Assessment: Delaware River Basin
Regional Water Availability Assessments are scientific assessments of water availability in different hydrologic regions across the Nation. In the Delaware River Basin, the USGS will conduct a focused assessment of increasing freshwater salinity and an integrated and comprehensive assessment of multiple water quantity, quality and use factors.Integrated Water Science (IWS) Basins
The U.S. Geological Survey is integrating its water science programs to better address the Nation’s greatest water resource challenges. At the heart of this effort are plans to intensively study at least 10 Integrated Water Science (IWS) basins — medium-sized watersheds (10,000-20,000 square miles) and underlying aquifers — over the next decade. The IWS basins will represent a wide range of...Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS)
Substantial advances in water science, together with emerging breakthroughs in technical and computational capabilities, have led the USGS to develop a Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS). The USGS NGWOS will provide real-time data on water quantity and quality in more affordable and rapid ways than previously possible, and in more locations.Integrated Water Prediction (IWP)
The USGS Integrated Water Prediction science program focuses on the development of advanced models for forecasting multiple water quality and quantity attributes including water budgets and components of the water cycle; water use; temperature; dissolved and suspended water constituents, and ecological conditions. It is also developing the cyberinfrastructure and workflows required to implement...National Hydrologic Model Infrastructure
The USGS National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure supports the efficient construction of local-, regional-, and national-scale hydrologic models. The NHM infrastructure consists of: 1) an underlying geospatial fabric of modeling units with an associated parameter database, 2) a model input data archive, and 3) a repository of the physical model simulation code bases.Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program
The Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program serves as the national source of impartial, timely, quality-assured, and relevant water data for short- and long-term water decisions by local, State, tribal, regional, and national stakeholders. Our objectives are to collect, manage, and disseminate consistently high-quality and reliable hydrologic information in real-time and over the long-term.National Water Quality Program
The National Water Quality Program seeks to answer four questions regarding the quality of our freshwater resources: 1) What is the quality of the Nation's streams and groundwater? 2) How is water quality changing over time? 3) How do natural factors and human activities affect water quality? 4) How will water quality change in response to future changes in climate and human activities? - Data
Groundwater-withdrawal and well-construction data in the Upper Colorado River Basin from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming state databases, 1980–2022
The U.S. Geological Survey developed a coupled groundwater and surface-water flow (GSFLOW) model to represent the aquifers of the Colorado Plateau and Upper Colorado River Basin. The study area covers approximately 142,000 square miles and includes parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. To support this modeling effort, groundwater well withdrawal volume data were needed from JaDigital hydrogeologic framework model of the Upper Colorado River Basin, western U.S.
This digital dataset was created as part of a U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic resource assessment and development of an integrated numerical hydrologic model of the hydrologic system of the Upper Colorado River Basin, an extensive region covering approximately 412,000 square kilometers in five states: Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. As part of this larger study, the USGS develoDatasets of depth to water, spring 2016, 2018, and 2020, and spring-to-spring water-level change 2016-18, 2018-20, and 2016-20, Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer
This data release consists of 4 data sets--rasters of generalized depth to water in the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA) in spring 2016, 2018, and 2020 and a point file of the wells with water-level measurements used to create the depth to water rasters and, for each well with applicable data, the values of water-level change from spring 2016 to spring 2018, spring 2018 to spring 2Compilation of the salient characteristics of numerical groundwater-flow and solute- and heat-transport models published or developed by the U.S. Geological Survey for regions in the U.S. and its territories and commonwealths, 1970 through 2022
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Extent Hydrogeologic Framework for National Water Census (NEHF) project is a multi-year effort (2022 through 2025) that will compile existing assets (approaches, data, software, etc.), develop a strategic plan, and implement an operational framework that is dynamic and multi-scale. Within the USGS, numerical groundwater-flow and solute- and heat-transportMonthly inorganic nitrogen atmospheric wet deposition estimates for the conterminous United States, 1999 through 2020
This data release provides estimates of monthly wet atmospheric deposition of total inorganic nitrogen (TIN)--the summation of nitrate (NO3) and ammonium (NH4) ions--for the conterminous United States from 1999 through 2020 in units of kilograms nitrogen per square kilometer per month with spatial reference ESPG 4326. The spatial resolution of the gridded data provided in this release is approximaPRMS simulator used to assess rainfall, runoff, and river flow for the National Hydrologic Model (NHM) Puerto Rico
The National Hydrologic Model (NHM) is a modeling framework which has been applied to the continental United States through the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS). The PRMS model of Puerto Rico extends the NHM and allows the simulation of rainfall-driven hydrologic conditions in the Commonwealth. Calibration of the NHM Puerto Rico model involved an initial manual calibration to understandMonthly estimates of natural baseflow for 15,866 stream reaches, defined by the National Hydrography Dataset Plus Version 2.0 (NHDPlusV2), in the Delaware River Basin for the period 1950-2015
This metadata record describes monthly estimates of natural baseflow for 15,866 stream reaches, defined by the National Hydrography Dataset Plus Version 2.0 (NHDPlusV2), in the Delaware River Basin for the period 1950-2015. A statistical machine learning technique - random forest modeling (Liaw and Wiener, 2018; R Core Team, 2020) - was applied to estimate natural flows using about 150 potential pWater-quality trends for rivers and streams in the Delaware River Basin using Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) models, Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) tests, and multisource data, Water Year 1978-2018
This data release provides water-quality trends for rivers and streams in the Delaware River Basin determined using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) model and the Seasonal Kendall Trend (SKT) test. Sixteen water-quality parameters were assessed, including nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, filtered orthophosphate, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and unfiltered orthophospDaily-timestep and monthly-timestep estimates of baseflow at 49 reference stream gages located within 25 miles of the Delaware River basin watershed boundary for the years 1950 through 2015
This USGS data release contains daily-timestep and monthly-timestep estimates of baseflow at 49 reference stream gages located within 25 miles of the Delaware River basin watershed boundary. Estimates are provided for the available period of record of streamflow data at each site between 1950 and 2015. A two-parameter recursive digital filter was used to estimate baseflow at the selected stream gaAnnual low flow, climate and watershed properties for 325 USGS gages in and near the Delaware River Basin
This dataset contains annual metrics quantifying low streamflows, climate, topography, land cover and geology for 325 USGS GAGES-2 watersheds within the Delaware River Basin boundary or with watershed centroids within a 25-mile buffer of the Delaware River Basin boundary.Multi-source surface-water-quality data and U.S. Geological Survey streamgage match for the Delaware River Basin
Jointly managed by multiple states and the federal government, there are many ongoing efforts to characterize and understand water quality in the Delaware River Basin (DRB). Many State, Federal and non-profit organizations have collected surface-water-quality samples across the DRB for decades and many of these data are available through the National Water Quality Monitoring Council's Water Qualit - Publications
Below are publications associated with Integrated Water Availability Assessments.
Water priorities for the Nation—U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Availability Assessments
The United States faces growing challenges to its water supply, infrastructure, and aquatic ecosystems because of population growth, climate change, floods and droughts, and aging water delivery systems. To help address these challenges, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Mission Area has established new strategic priorities that capitalize on the operational and scientific strengthAuthorsMark P. Miller, Brian R. Clark, Sandra M. Eberts, Patrick M. Lambert, Patricia ToccalinoWater Resources Trend Assessments: State of the Science, Challenges, and Opportunities for Advancement
Water is vital to human life and healthy ecosystems. Here we outline the current state of national-scale water resources trend assessments, identify key gaps, and suggest advancements to better address critical issues related to changes in water resources that may threaten human development or the environment. Questions like, “Do we have less suitable drinking water now than we had 20 years ago?”AuthorsSarah M. Stackpoole, Gretchen P. Oelsner, Edward G. Stets, Jory Seth Hecht, Zachary Johnson, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Michelle A. Walvoord, Jeffrey G. Chanat, Krista A. Dunne, Phillip J. Goodling, Bruce D. Lindsey, Michael Meador, Sarah SpauldingSimulation of monthly mean and monthly base flow of streamflow using random forests for the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, 1901 to 2018
Improved simulations of streamflow and base flow for selected sites within and adjacent to the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain area are important for modeling groundwater flow because surface-water flows have a substantial effect on groundwater levels. One method for simulating streamflow and base flow, random forest (RF) models, was developed from the data at gaged sites and, in turn, was used tAuthorsBenjamin J. Dietsch, William H. Asquith, Brian K. Breaker, Stephen M. Westenbroek, Wade H. KressWater-quality trends in the Delaware River Basin calculated using multisource data and two methods for trend periods ending in 2018
Many organizations in the Delaware River Basin (DRB) monitor surface-water quality for regulatory, scientific, and decision-making purposes. In support of these purposes, over 260,000 water-quality records provided by 8 different organizations were compiled, screened, and used to generate water-quality trends in the DRB. These trends, for periods of record that end in 2018, were generated for 124AuthorsMegan E. Shoda, Jennifer C. MurphyA review of current capabilities and science gaps in water supply data, modeling, and trends for water availability assessments in the Upper Colorado River Basin
The Colorado River is a critical water resource in the southwestern United States, supplying drinking water for 40 million people in the region and water for irrigation of 2.2 million hectares of land. Extended drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCOL) and the prospect of a warmer climate in the future pose water availability challenges for those charged with managing the river. Limited watAuthorsFred D. Tillman, Natalie K. Day, Matthew P. Miller, Olivia L. Miller, Christine Rumsey, Daniel Wise, Patrick Cullen Longley, Morgan C. McDonnellSpatial patterns and seasonal timing of increasing riverine specific conductance from 1998 to 2018 suggest legacy contamination in the Delaware River Basin
Increasing salinization of freshwater threatens water supplies that support a range of human and ecological uses. The latest assessments of Delaware River Basin (DRB) surface-water-quality changes indicate widespread salinization has occurred in recent decades, which may lead to meaningful degradation in water quality. To better understand how and when salinity transport occurs and implications foAuthorsChristine Rumsey, John C. Hammond, Jennifer C. Murphy, Megan E. Shoda, Alex SorokaInsight into Hurricane Maria peak flows from the development and application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS): Including Río Grande de Arecibo, Puerto Rico, 1981–2017
The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) was used to develop a simulation of watershed hydrology on the island of Puerto Rico for the period 1981–2017, concentrating on the Río Grande de Arecibo, a river with some of the highest streamflows on the island. This development is part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Hydrologic Model (NHM) infrastructure which supports coordinatedAuthorsEric Swain, Jason C. BellinoQuality of groundwater used for public supply in the continental United States: A comprehensive assessment
The presence of contaminants in a source water can constrain its suitability for drinking. The quality of groundwater used for public supply was assessed in 25 principal aquifers (PAs) that account for 84% of groundwater pumped for public supply in the U.S. (89.6 million people on a proportional basis). Each PA was sampled across its lateral extent using an equal-area grid, typically with 60 wells
AuthorsKenneth Belitz, Miranda S. Fram, Bruce D. Lindsey, Paul Stackelberg, Laura M. Bexfield, Tyler D. Johnson, Bryant Jurgens, James A. Kingsbury, Peter B. McMahon, Neil M. DubrovskyStakeholder engagement to guide decision-relevant water data delivery
Water resources management and policy making require access to reliable scientific data. However, water managers may need to overcome various obstacles to accessing data. For example, insufficient technological infrastructures, low data literacy, and data format complexities often inhibit data user access. Thus, it is imperative to include stakeholders in the design of data delivery systems. The UAuthorsDiana Restrepo-Osorio, Amanda D. Stoltz, Nicole M. Herman-MercerWater priorities for the Nation—USGS Integrated Water Science basins
The United States faces growing challenges to its water supply, infrastructure, and aquatic ecosystems because of population growth, climate change, floods, and droughts. To help address these challenges, the U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Mission Area is integrating recent advances in monitoring, research, and modeling to improve assessments of water availability throughout the United StaAuthorsMark P. Miller, Sandra M. Eberts, Lori A. Sprague - Web Tools
Below are data or web applications associated with Integrated Water Availability Assessments.
National Water Dashboard (NWD)
The National Water Dashboard (NWD) is a mobile, interactive tool that provides real-time information on water levels, weather, and flood forecasts - all in one place on a computer, smartphone, or other mobile device. The NWD presents real-time stream, lake and reservoir, precipitation, and groundwater data from more than 13,500 USGS observation stations across the country.
ByWater Resources Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, Arizona Water Science Center, California Water Science Center, Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center (CFWSC), Central Midwest Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Dakota Water Science Center, Idaho Water Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, Nebraska Water Science Center, Nevada Water Science Center, New England Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Pacific Islands Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Utah Water Science Center, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center, Washington Water Science Center, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF), Saline Lakes Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability AssessmentHow We Monitor Stream Temperature in the Delaware River Basin
The USGS has been monitoring stream temperature in the Delaware River Basin since 1901, and has amassed over 650,000 daily temperature measurements. This data visualization story explores temporal and locational patterns in stream temperature observations, and how spatial variability and data gaps add complexity to prediction efforts.
From Snow to Flow (data visualization story)
A majority of the water in the western U.S. comes from snowmelt, but changes in the timing, magnitude, and duration of snowmelt can alter water availability downstream. This data visualization story explores what changing snowmelt means for water in the West, and how new USGS efforts can advance snow science by modeling snowpack and snowmelt dynamics and linking these results to streamflow.
Multisource Water-Quality Trends in the Delaware River Basin
Water quality is essential for understanding water availability by providing insights into the drivers of change and possible availability constraints. Using data from eight monitoring organizations including the USGS, the Multisource Water-Quality Trends in the Delaware River Basin mapper shows changing water-quality trends from 2008-2018 in rivers and streams across the Delaware River Basin.
Surface Water Flow Trends in the Nation's Streams and Rivers
Changes in streamflow conditions can affect infrastructure, water supply, and ecosystems. The IWAAs Surface Water Flow Trends mapper provides access to information about long-term changes in low flows, mean flows, and peak flows. View national trends for the last 100, 75, or 50 years, or calculate trend values for a custom time period at an individual site.
Water science and management in the Delaware River Basin (data visualization story)
The Delaware River supports thriving ecosystems and drinking water for 16 million people. How water is shared, and the quality of that water, has been the focus of decades of inter-state discussion, negotiation, and research. This data visualization story uses streamflow, salinity, and temperature to show how new USGS science and monitoring can inform water management in this age of cooperation.
Water-Quality Changes in the Nation's Streams and Rivers
This mapper provides results from the largest-ever assessment of water quality changes in the Nation's streams and rivers. More than 185 million water-quality records from over 600 Federal, State, Tribal, and local organizations were screened as part of this assessment.
Groundwater Quality: Decadal Change
Almost one-half of the U.S. population rely on groundwater for their water supply, and demand for groundwater for public supply, irrigation, and agriculture continues to increase. This mapper shows how concentrations of pesticides, nutrients, metals, and organic contaminants in groundwater are changing during decadal periods across the Nation.
Tracking Water Quality of the Nation's Streams and Rivers
An online graphical data tool provides annual summaries of nutrient and sediment concentrations and loads and streamflow information for 106 sites monitored as part of the USGS National Water-Quality Network for Streams and Rivers.