The National Water Census will deliver routinely updated water availability information in the United States.
Take a short user survey
Fill out this short online survey to tell the National Water Census team how they can best serve your water data needs. Results from this survey will be used to guide both short and long-term National Water Census development plans.
Sign up for user beta testing
Help shape the development of the USGS National Water Census by becoming a beta tester.
The National Water Census is a centralized website and data delivery system that will provide routinely updated and nationally consistent modeled water quantity, water quality, and water use information, along with long-term trends in observational data. The National Water Census can be used by scientists, policymakers, resource managers, private companies, environmental advocates, media sources, and the general public to better understand the status of water systems across the Nation. It is a key component of the USGS Water Mission Area Water Availability Assessments.
This centralized delivery of model and trend information will be complementary to the centralized delivery of observational data in USGS Water Data for the Nation (WDFN; waterdata.usgs.gov). The NWC extends WDFN's data by providing modeled data and long-term trend calculations that are spatially and temporally continuous, filling in spatial gaps between monitoring stations and temporal gaps between periodic sampling at these stations. These nationally consistent datasets are available at the sub-watershed scale (12-digit Hydrologic Unit Codes or HUC12s; tracts of 10,000-40,000 acres) and will cover past conditions over multiple decades, updated information on current or near-current conditions, and forecasts of future condition in the short and long term.
Science programs related to the National Water Census.
Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program
Water Availability and Use Science Program
National Water Quality Program
- Overview
The National Water Census will deliver routinely updated water availability information in the United States.
Take a short user survey
Fill out this short online survey to tell the National Water Census team how they can best serve your water data needs. Results from this survey will be used to guide both short and long-term National Water Census development plans.
Sign up for user beta testing
Help shape the development of the USGS National Water Census by becoming a beta tester.
The National Water Census is a centralized website and data delivery system that will provide routinely updated and nationally consistent modeled water quantity, water quality, and water use information, along with long-term trends in observational data. The National Water Census can be used by scientists, policymakers, resource managers, private companies, environmental advocates, media sources, and the general public to better understand the status of water systems across the Nation. It is a key component of the USGS Water Mission Area Water Availability Assessments.
This centralized delivery of model and trend information will be complementary to the centralized delivery of observational data in USGS Water Data for the Nation (WDFN; waterdata.usgs.gov). The NWC extends WDFN's data by providing modeled data and long-term trend calculations that are spatially and temporally continuous, filling in spatial gaps between monitoring stations and temporal gaps between periodic sampling at these stations. These nationally consistent datasets are available at the sub-watershed scale (12-digit Hydrologic Unit Codes or HUC12s; tracts of 10,000-40,000 acres) and will cover past conditions over multiple decades, updated information on current or near-current conditions, and forecasts of future condition in the short and long term.
- Science
Science programs related to the National Water Census.
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.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.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? - Publications