Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS) Active
Trinity-San Jacinto River Basin selected as 5th Integrated Water Science Basin
Studies in this Texas basin will focus on the impacts of climate change and sea level variability in urban envirnoments
Willamette River Basin selected as 4th Integrated Water Science Basin
Studies in this Pacific Northwest basin will advance the science used to manage water for the diverse needs of major cities, fertile agriculture, and ecologically important species
How We Model Stream Temperature in the Delaware River Basin
New data visualization explores neural networks, and how the USGS uses them to make physically-realistic predictions with less data
From Snow to Flow
What changing snowmelt means for water availability in the western U.S.
NGWOS Illinois River Basin briefing sheet now available
IRB efforts will focus on nutrients, sediment, harmful algal blooms, water availability, urban flooding, and emerging contaminants
Balancing water availability and quality in the Delaware River Basin
How new USGS science and monitoring can inform water management
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.
USGS's NGWOS will integrate fixed and mobile monitoring assets in the water, ground, and air, including innovative webcams and new ground- and space-based sensors. When fully implemented, the NGWOS will provide high temporal and spatial resolution data on streamflow, evapotranspiration, snowpack, soil moisture, water quality, groundwater/surface-water connections, stream velocity distribution, sediment transport, and water use. USGS partner and stakeholder needs are helping to inform the NGWOS design so that data and information generated by the NGWOS will help them anticipate water shortages more accurately and react to water hazards more quickly.
An NGWOS pilot in the Delaware River Basin is providing an opportunity to develop the NGWOS in a nationally important, complex interstate river system.
A western basin—the Upper Colorado River Basin—was selected for inclusion in the NGWOS in November 2019. This basin is providing an opportunity to improve regional water prediction in snowmelt dominated systems.
The Illinois River Basin is being added to the NGWOS (2020) to fill monitoring gaps and data needs to advance nutrient delivery and harmful algal bloom prediction.
Characteristics of a Next Generation Water Observing System
- State-of-the-art measurements
- Dense array of sensors at selected sites
- Increased spatial and temporal coverage
- New technology testing and implementation
- Improved operational efficiency
- Modernized and timely data storage and delivery
NGWOS data will support advanced modeling tools to provide state-of-the-art flood and drought forecasts, drive emergency- and water-management decision support systems, and address difficult questions such as:
- What are the near-term and long-term risks of floods and droughts, and what scenarios change these risks?
- How much water is stored in seasonal snow packs, and how will changes affect water supplies?
- Are we in the early stages of a drought? How long will drought recovery take?
- How much water is lost to evapotranspiration?
- What is the quality of water and how will it change during wet/dry periods?
- How much does groundwater contribute to streamflow, or vice-versa?
Emerging and Innovative Technologies
The NGWOS aims to foster innovation and development of monitoring technologies and methodologies to make data more affordable and more rapidly available. Monitoring innovations also are expected to lead to more types of data at higher temporal and spatial frequencies. Innovation testing sites will be identified on main-stem streams and small streams within NGWOS watersheds. These locations will provide a platform for rigorous, transparent, and reproducible testing of emerging and innovative monitoring technologies by the USGS and other entities. Technologies of interest include radar and image velocimetry for remotely sensing surface-water velocities, drone-mounted ground-penetrating radar for measuring bathymetry for improving flow estimates, new sensors for monitoring continuous water-quality and suspended sediment, and others. The application and benefits of these innovations will extend beyond the NGWOS watersheds and be incorporated into routine operation of USGS monitoring networks.
NGWOS Design Strategy
The USGS has a nearly 140-year history of providing reliable and relevant scientific information to decision makers. Today (2019), the USGS operates and maintains real-time, continuous monitoring networks nationwide consisting of more than 8,200 streamflow-gaging stations, 2,100 water-quality stations, 1,700 groundwater-level monitoring wells, and 1,000 precipitation stations. USGS hydrographers make tens of thousands of discrete water measurements each year. Requests for USGS data exceed 670 million annually. Yet, the current National Streamflow Network—while providing data at critical locations—covers less than 1 percent of the Nation’s streams and rivers. This sampling density helps to inform current and past water conditions (see, for example, WaterWatch) but is not sufficient for predicting interactions between climate, surface water, groundwater and soil moisture across large watersheds.
From the perspectives of science, cost, and operations and maintenance, it is not necessary or feasible to collect data at a high spatial density throughout all large watersheds and aquifers. A more practical approach is to develop intensive monitoring networks in a small number of medium-sized watersheds (10,000-20,000 square miles) and underlying aquifers that are representative of larger regions across the Nation. Data from these intensively monitored watersheds can then be used in combination with data from existing monitoring networks to construct and reduce the uncertainty in advanced models to fill in data and knowledge gaps in regional and national water assessments and predictions. At present (2019), it is anticipated that the NGWOS will include at least 10 intensively monitored medium-sized watersheds, selected with input from USGS stakeholders, to represent a wide range of environmental, hydrologic and landscape settings across the Nation. At least one basin in each of 18 water resource regions will be identified for potential NGWOS consideration.
Water Data Management and Delivery
The USGS information systems for water-data management and delivery are being transformed and modernized as part of the NGWOS to accommodate new data and sensor networks, allow for integration with water data from multiple agencies and sectors, display observational data uncertainty, and enable data and analytical products to feed directly into models. Data telemetry systems also are being updated to allow for two-way communications and more frequent transmission of data to the internet.
Next Steps for the Next Generation Water Observing System
- Continue equipment deployment and testing in the Delaware River Basin pilot
- Conduct network design and analysis for the Upper Colorado River Basin NGWOS
- Make modest investments in new monitoring in the Upper Colorado River Basin NGWOS
- Engage stakeholders to help plan for the Illinois River Basin NGWOS
- Identify monitoring gaps in the Illinois River Basin NGWOS
- Map out remote sensing, data delivery components of NGWOS
- Continue research-to-operations efforts for NextGen technologies
Below are other science projects associated with NGWOS.
Data Science for Water Resources
Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) Network
Sediment Acoustics
Thermal Imaging Cameras for Studying Groundwater/Surface-Water Exchange
Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing Technology for Surface-Water and Groundwater Studies
Flood Inundation Mapping Science
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV)
Below are data or web applications associated with NGWOS.
Below are multimedia items associated with NGWOS.
Next Generation Water Observing System Conceptual Diagram
Conceptual illustration showing how USGS's Next Generation Water Observing System will enhance the spatial and temporal monitoring of water within reference basins and larger hydrologic regions in all U.S. states and territories.
Below are publications associated with NGWOS.
Water priorities for the nation—The U.S. Geological Survey next generation water observing system
U.S. Geological Survey continuous monitoring workshop—Workshop summary report
MoisturEC: a new R program for moisture content estimation from electrical conductivity data
Challenges in complementing data from ground-based sensors with satellite-derived products to measure ecological changes in relation to climate – lessons from temperate wetland-upland landscapes
Monitoring algal blooms in drinking water reservoirs using the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager
Laboratory evaluation of the Sequoia Scientific LISST-ABS acoustic backscatter sediment sensor
Evaluation of the Hydrolab HL4 water-quality sonde and sensors
Potential for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems applications for identifying groundwater-surface water exchange in a meandering river reach
Estimating discharge and nonpoint source nitrate loading to streams from three end‐member pathways using high‐frequency water quality data
Remote measurement of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry (PIV) and various sources of bathymetric information
The NorWeST summer stream temperature model and scenarios for the western U.S.: A crowd-sourced database and new geospatial tools foster a user-community and predict broad climate warming of rivers and streams
Designing a high-frequency nutrient and biogeochemical monitoring network for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, northern California
Camera system considerations for geomorphic applications of SfM photogrammetry
Below are data or web applications associated with NGWOS.
- Overview
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.
USGS's NGWOS will integrate fixed and mobile monitoring assets in the water, ground, and air, including innovative webcams and new ground- and space-based sensors. When fully implemented, the NGWOS will provide high temporal and spatial resolution data on streamflow, evapotranspiration, snowpack, soil moisture, water quality, groundwater/surface-water connections, stream velocity distribution, sediment transport, and water use. USGS partner and stakeholder needs are helping to inform the NGWOS design so that data and information generated by the NGWOS will help them anticipate water shortages more accurately and react to water hazards more quickly.
An NGWOS pilot in the Delaware River Basin is providing an opportunity to develop the NGWOS in a nationally important, complex interstate river system.
A western basin—the Upper Colorado River Basin—was selected for inclusion in the NGWOS in November 2019. This basin is providing an opportunity to improve regional water prediction in snowmelt dominated systems.
The Illinois River Basin is being added to the NGWOS (2020) to fill monitoring gaps and data needs to advance nutrient delivery and harmful algal bloom prediction.
Characteristics of a Next Generation Water Observing System
- State-of-the-art measurements
- Dense array of sensors at selected sites
- Increased spatial and temporal coverage
- New technology testing and implementation
- Improved operational efficiency
- Modernized and timely data storage and delivery
NGWOS data will support advanced modeling tools to provide state-of-the-art flood and drought forecasts, drive emergency- and water-management decision support systems, and address difficult questions such as:
- What are the near-term and long-term risks of floods and droughts, and what scenarios change these risks?
- How much water is stored in seasonal snow packs, and how will changes affect water supplies?
- Are we in the early stages of a drought? How long will drought recovery take?
- How much water is lost to evapotranspiration?
- What is the quality of water and how will it change during wet/dry periods?
- How much does groundwater contribute to streamflow, or vice-versa?
Emerging and Innovative Technologies
The NGWOS aims to foster innovation and development of monitoring technologies and methodologies to make data more affordable and more rapidly available. Monitoring innovations also are expected to lead to more types of data at higher temporal and spatial frequencies. Innovation testing sites will be identified on main-stem streams and small streams within NGWOS watersheds. These locations will provide a platform for rigorous, transparent, and reproducible testing of emerging and innovative monitoring technologies by the USGS and other entities. Technologies of interest include radar and image velocimetry for remotely sensing surface-water velocities, drone-mounted ground-penetrating radar for measuring bathymetry for improving flow estimates, new sensors for monitoring continuous water-quality and suspended sediment, and others. The application and benefits of these innovations will extend beyond the NGWOS watersheds and be incorporated into routine operation of USGS monitoring networks.
NGWOS Design Strategy
The USGS has a nearly 140-year history of providing reliable and relevant scientific information to decision makers. Today (2019), the USGS operates and maintains real-time, continuous monitoring networks nationwide consisting of more than 8,200 streamflow-gaging stations, 2,100 water-quality stations, 1,700 groundwater-level monitoring wells, and 1,000 precipitation stations. USGS hydrographers make tens of thousands of discrete water measurements each year. Requests for USGS data exceed 670 million annually. Yet, the current National Streamflow Network—while providing data at critical locations—covers less than 1 percent of the Nation’s streams and rivers. This sampling density helps to inform current and past water conditions (see, for example, WaterWatch) but is not sufficient for predicting interactions between climate, surface water, groundwater and soil moisture across large watersheds.
From the perspectives of science, cost, and operations and maintenance, it is not necessary or feasible to collect data at a high spatial density throughout all large watersheds and aquifers. A more practical approach is to develop intensive monitoring networks in a small number of medium-sized watersheds (10,000-20,000 square miles) and underlying aquifers that are representative of larger regions across the Nation. Data from these intensively monitored watersheds can then be used in combination with data from existing monitoring networks to construct and reduce the uncertainty in advanced models to fill in data and knowledge gaps in regional and national water assessments and predictions. At present (2019), it is anticipated that the NGWOS will include at least 10 intensively monitored medium-sized watersheds, selected with input from USGS stakeholders, to represent a wide range of environmental, hydrologic and landscape settings across the Nation. At least one basin in each of 18 water resource regions will be identified for potential NGWOS consideration.
Water Data Management and Delivery
The USGS information systems for water-data management and delivery are being transformed and modernized as part of the NGWOS to accommodate new data and sensor networks, allow for integration with water data from multiple agencies and sectors, display observational data uncertainty, and enable data and analytical products to feed directly into models. Data telemetry systems also are being updated to allow for two-way communications and more frequent transmission of data to the internet.
Next Steps for the Next Generation Water Observing System
- Continue equipment deployment and testing in the Delaware River Basin pilot
- Conduct network design and analysis for the Upper Colorado River Basin NGWOS
- Make modest investments in new monitoring in the Upper Colorado River Basin NGWOS
- Engage stakeholders to help plan for the Illinois River Basin NGWOS
- Identify monitoring gaps in the Illinois River Basin NGWOS
- Map out remote sensing, data delivery components of NGWOS
- Continue research-to-operations efforts for NextGen technologies
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with NGWOS.
Filter Total Items: 19Data Science for Water Resources
Data scientists in the USGS Water Resources Mission Area make sense of large environmental and operational datasets by applying various modeling, statistical, and visualization techniques to generate actionable information.Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) Network
During large coastal storms, the storm surge and waves are the main cause of destruction and landscape change, transporting saline water, sediment, and debris inland. The USGS, in collaboration with stakeholders, has constructed a national Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) Network for the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Central Pacific. SWaTH monitors and documents the height, extent, and...Sediment Acoustics
The U.S. Geological Survey recognizes the need to provide sediment acoustic training and to develop standardized techniques and practices.Thermal Imaging Cameras for Studying Groundwater/Surface-Water Exchange
USGS scientists are using high-resolution handheld and airborne thermal imaging cameras in groundwater/surface-water exchange studies and other investigations where surface temperature contrasts indicate various hydrological processes. These cameras are used to quickly locate and characterize thermal (temperature) anomalies along streams, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, and across the landscape...Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing Technology for Surface-Water and Groundwater Studies
Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) technology can be used for characterizing estuary-aquifer and stream-aquifer interaction and for identifying transmissive fractures in bedrock boreholes.Flood Inundation Mapping Science
When planning for a flood, there are three key questions that must be answered: What areas will be flooded? How deep will the flood waters get? When will the flood arrive? Historical flooding can help a community anticipate how much impact similar flood events could have, but there are other methods and tools that can provide more accurate and nuanced estimations of a wide variety of flood...Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV)
Scientists are using the Ecomapper Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to collect imagery, bathymetry, and basic water-quality parameters. The Ecomapper provides a innovative visualization of data. - Data
Below are data or web applications associated with NGWOS.
- Multimedia
Below are multimedia items associated with NGWOS.
Next Generation Water Observing System Conceptual Diagram
Conceptual illustration showing how USGS's Next Generation Water Observing System will enhance the spatial and temporal monitoring of water within reference basins and larger hydrologic regions in all U.S. states and territories.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with NGWOS.
Water priorities for the nation—The U.S. Geological Survey next generation water observing system
The challenges of providing safe and sustainable water supplies for human and ecological uses and protecting lives and property during water emergencies are well recognized. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) plays an essential role in meeting these challenges through its observational networks and renowned water science and research activities (National Academies of Science, Engineering, and MedicAuthorsSandra M. Eberts, Chad R. Wagner, Michael D. WoodsideFilter Total Items: 29U.S. Geological Survey continuous monitoring workshop—Workshop summary report
Executive SummaryThe collection of high-frequency (in other words, “continuous”) water data has been made easier over the years because of advances in technologies to measure, transmit, store, and query large, temporally dense datasets. Commercially available, in-situ sensors and data-collection platforms—together with new techniques for data analysis—provide an opportunity to monitor water quantiAuthorsDaniel J. Sullivan, John K. Joiner, Kerry A. Caslow, Mark N. Landers, Brian A. Pellerin, Patrick P. Rasmussen, Rodney A. SheetsMoisturEC: a new R program for moisture content estimation from electrical conductivity data
Noninvasive geophysical estimation of soil moisture has potential to improve understanding of flow in the unsaturated zone for problems involving agricultural management, aquifer recharge, and optimization of landfill design and operations. In principle, several geophysical techniques (e.g., electrical resistivity, electromagnetic induction, and nuclear magnetic resonance) offer insight into soilAuthorsNeil Terry, Frederick D. Day-Lewis, Dale D. Werkema, John W. LaneChallenges in complementing data from ground-based sensors with satellite-derived products to measure ecological changes in relation to climate – lessons from temperate wetland-upland landscapes
Assessing climate-related ecological changes across spatiotemporal scales meaningful to resource managers is challenging because no one method reliably produces essential data at both fine and broad scales. We recently confronted such challenges while integrating data from ground- and satellite-based sensors for an assessment of four wetland-rich study areas in the U.S. Midwest. We examined relatiAuthorsAlisa L. Gallant, Walter J. Sadinski, Jesslyn F. Brown, Gabriel B. Senay, Mark F. RothMonitoring algal blooms in drinking water reservoirs using the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager
In this study, we demonstrated that the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor is a powerful tool that can provide periodic and system-wide information on the condition of drinking water reservoirs. The OLI is a multispectral radiometer (30 m spatial resolution) that allows ecosystem observations at spatial and temporal scales that allow the environmental community and water managers anothAuthorsDarryl Keith, Jennifer Rover, Jason Green, Brian Zalewsky, Mike Charpentier, Glen Hursby, Joseph BishopLaboratory evaluation of the Sequoia Scientific LISST-ABS acoustic backscatter sediment sensor
Sequoia Scientific’s LISST-ABS is an acoustic backscatter sensor designed to measure suspended-sediment concentration at a point source. Three LISST-ABS were evaluated at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF). Serial numbers 6010, 6039, and 6058 were assessed for accuracy in solutions with varying particle-size distributions and for the effect of temperature oAuthorsTeri T. SnazelleEvaluation of the Hydrolab HL4 water-quality sonde and sensors
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility evaluated three Hydrolab HL4 multiparameter water-quality sondes by OTT Hydromet. The sondes were equipped with temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and turbidity sensors. The sensors were evaluated for compliance with the USGS National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data (NFM) criteria for conAuthorsTeri T. SnazellePotential for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems applications for identifying groundwater-surface water exchange in a meandering river reach
The exchange of groundwater and surface water (GW-SW), including dissolved constituents and energy, represents a critical yet challenging characterization problem for hydrogeologists and stream ecologists. Here, we describe the use of a suite of high spatial-resolution remote-sensing techniques, collected using a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS), to provide novel and complementary data to anaAuthorsH. Pai, H. Malenda, Martin A. Briggs, K. Singha, R. González-Pinzón, M. Gooseff, S.W. TylerEstimating discharge and nonpoint source nitrate loading to streams from three end‐member pathways using high‐frequency water quality data
The myriad hydrologic and biogeochemical processes taking place in watersheds occurring across space and time are integrated and reflected in the quantity and quality of water in streams and rivers. Collection of high‐frequency water quality data with sensors in surface waters provides new opportunities to disentangle these processes and quantify sources and transport of water and solutes in the cAuthorsMatthew P. Miller, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Krista Hood, Silvia Terziotti, David M. WolockRemote measurement of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry (PIV) and various sources of bathymetric information
Although river discharge is a fundamental hydrologic quantity, conventional methods of streamgaging are impractical, expensive, and potentially dangerous in remote locations. This study evaluated the potential for measuring discharge via various forms of remote sensing, primarily thermal imaging of flow velocities but also spectrally-based depth retrieval from passive optical image data. We acquirAuthorsCarl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Jonathan M. NelsonThe NorWeST summer stream temperature model and scenarios for the western U.S.: A crowd-sourced database and new geospatial tools foster a user-community and predict broad climate warming of rivers and streams
Thermal regimes are fundamental determinants of aquatic ecosystems, which makes description and prediction of temperatures critical during a period of rapid global change. The advent of inexpensive temperature sensors dramatically increased monitoring in recent decades, and although most monitoring is done by individuals for agency‐specific purposes, collectively these efforts constitute a massiveAuthorsDaniel J. Isaak, Seth J. Wenger, Erin E. Peterson, Jay M Ver Hoef, David E Nagel, Charlie H. Luce, Steven W. Hostetler, Jason B. Dunham, Brett B. Roper, Sherry P Wollrab, Gwynne L Chandler, Dona L Horan, Sharon Parkes-PayneDesigning a high-frequency nutrient and biogeochemical monitoring network for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, northern California
Executive SummaryThis report is the third in a series of three reports that provide information about how high-frequency (HF) nutrient monitoring may be used to assess nutrient inputs and dynamics in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California (Delta). The purpose of this report is to provide the background, principles, and considerations for designing an HF nutrient-monitoring network for the DeAuthorsBrian A. Bergamaschi, Bryan D. Downing, Tamara E.C. Kraus, Brian A. PellerinCamera system considerations for geomorphic applications of SfM photogrammetry
The availability of high-resolution, multi-temporal, remotely sensed topographic data is revolutionizing geomorphic analysis. Three-dimensional topographic point measurements acquired from structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry have been shown to be highly accurate and cost-effective compared to laser-based alternatives in some environments. Use of consumer-grade digital cameras to generate teAuthorsAdam R. Mosbrucker, Jon J. Major, Kurt R. Spicer, John Pitlick - Web Tools
Below are data or web applications associated with NGWOS.