Measuring and Monitoring Water

The Flaxville aquifer is present in the northern and central parts of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and consists of sand and gravel that forms extensive plateaus and topographic benches used for dryland farming. Because many residents rely on groundwater as their primary water supply on the Reservation, the Flaxville and underlying aquifers are important sources of groundwater. The goal of this...

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.

The USGS collects flood data and conducts targeted flood science to help Federal, State, and local agencies, decision makers, and the public before, during, and after a flood. Our efforts provide situational awareness, drive predictive models, inform infrastructure design and operation, undergird floodplain mapping, assist flood constituent/load quantification, and facilitate flood impact...

Our surface water, groundwater, and aquatic ecosystems are priceless resources, used by people across the Nation for drinking, irrigation, industry, and recreation. The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project is a leading source of scientific data and knowledge for development of science-based policies and management strategies to improve and protect our water resources.

The USGS maintains sediment laboratories in several Water Science Centers and offices across the country.

USGS develops and uses “surrogate” techniques to estimate sediment at times when it can’t be physically measured through samples.

USGS collects sediment samples at thousands of locations across the U.S. using nationally consistent methods.

A streamgage is a structure installed beside a stream or river that contains equipment that measures and records the water level (called gage height or stage) of the stream. Streamflow (also called discharge) is computed from measured water levels using a site-specific relation (called a stage-discharge rating curve) developed from onsite water level and streamflow measurements made by USGS...