Interviews with staff at Point Reyes National Seashore tell how this National Park Service unit uses USGS science to educate visitors, and manage the park.
People love to play in water. The USGS works to ensure that water in our nation’s streams, lakes, and oceans are suitable for the moments when you just need to jump in.
BACKGROUND
All people depend on water...plain and simple. But a person's dependence on water goes way beyond the basic need to drink it to stay alive. People also rely on water for the joy it brings. Water gives adventurers, wanderers, and lovers of nature a place to play, visit, and appreciate. It can be used to build a sense of community. Likewise, beaches, lakes, and rivers provide recreational opportunities to swim, surf, water ski, scuba dive, sail, boat, or fish. Given the human dependence for water, it’s easy to understand why there is a constant need to study water quality in the Nation’s waterways. The USGS monitors many of the country’s most beloved waters. Much of this effort focuses on assessing the current conditions of popular lakes, beaches, and streams.
MONITORING LAKES, BEACHES, AND STREAMS
Our activities and the ways we use our Nation's lakes, beaches, and streams affect the quality of our drinking water, our recreational opportunities, and the health and diversity of aquatic plants and animals. Our activities also affect whether our rivers and streams will continue to be beautiful places to visit and vistas to contemplate.
The water quality of a nearby lake, a watershed, or along the coast can be enhanced only by collecting good information about conditions and by responding locally to that information. People living and working in an area are often in the best position to identify priority water issues and to understand the political, social, and economic context in which those issues are addressed. The USGS monitors over 7,500 streams for streamflow - great for knowing rafting conditions - and water quality - great for deciding if fish might be biting. The USGS also conducts 1,000s of studies around the country to assess conditions that may affect environmental or human health. This USGS research helps those who manage our Nation's most important recreational resources have the best information to make decisions that keeps our Nation's most important resource - YOU - safe during your next trip.
RELATED USGS RESEARCH
- Florence Likely to Cause Short- and Long-Term Beach Erosion
- National Assessment of Storm-Induced Coastal Change Hazards
- Beach Health, Water Quality, USGS Microbiology Research
- Understanding Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
- Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- National Parks
- Environmental Protection Agency
Water and recreation go hand-in-hand. Whether you are interested in fishing, swimming, boating, or lounging on a beach, USGS research is there to answer your questions about the natural world around you.
Enhance Great Lakes Beach Recreational Water Quality Decision Making
Beach health in Wisconsin
Recreation Ecology
How are Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds Moving Through the Food Web in Lake Mead National Recreation Area?
Nowcast - Water-Quality Conditions At Beaches And A Recreational River
Whether you are fishing, rafting, or swimming the USGS offers tools and resources to help you plan for your next trip to the water. Let the USGS help you be water aware!”
WaterWatch (surface water)
WaterWatch displays maps, graphs, and tables describing real-time, recent, and past streamflow conditions for the United States, including flood and droughts. Real-time information generally is updated on an hourly basis.
Nowcast Beach Status
Nowcast predicts water quality conditions at select beach swimming areas in the Great Lakes. Nowcast estimates conditions by merging environment and climate data with variables measured at a beach by 8 AM each morning and entering them into a computer program which provides a probability from 1 to 100 as to whether or not the beach has exceeded the bathing-water standard of 235 units of E. coli.
Nowcast - Water-Quality Conditions At Beaches And A Recreational River
The Ohio Nowcast is a system that provides near-real-time beach advisories to the public through use of quick measurements and predictive models.
The USGS produces many types of multimedia products. Use the links below to browse our offerings of photographs, videos, and other files about recreational water research.
Interviews with staff at Point Reyes National Seashore tell how this National Park Service unit uses USGS science to educate visitors, and manage the park.
On the remote western coast of Australia lies a UNESCO World Heritage Site above and below the sea. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Western Australia convened here at Ningaloo Reef and Jurabi Coastal Reserve to embark on the most extensive study EVER done into how coral reefs shape our coasts.
On the remote western coast of Australia lies a UNESCO World Heritage Site above and below the sea. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Western Australia convened here at Ningaloo Reef and Jurabi Coastal Reserve to embark on the most extensive study EVER done into how coral reefs shape our coasts.
In this episode we explore how scientists for the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program investigate the ecological health of rivers and streams across the United States. Focusing on a recent sampling effort along the Minam River in northeast Oregon, this video highlights USGS sampling methods for fish, macroinvertebrates (bugs), algae, and habitat.
In this episode we explore how scientists for the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program investigate the ecological health of rivers and streams across the United States. Focusing on a recent sampling effort along the Minam River in northeast Oregon, this video highlights USGS sampling methods for fish, macroinvertebrates (bugs), algae, and habitat.
Here are examples of USGS publications that shed light on conditions of our nation's lakes, streams, and coasts.
The relative contribution of waves, tides, and nontidal residuals to extreme total water levels on U.S. West Coast sandy beaches
Predicting recreational water quality advisories: A comparison of statistical methods
Wildlife, urban inputs, and landscape configuration are responsible for degraded swimming water quality at an embayed beach
Vulnerability of U.S. National Parks to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Change
Wilderness restoration: What role does it play in managing recreational impacts
Whether you are fishing, rafting, or swimming the USGS offers tools and resources to help you plan for your next trip to the water. Let the USGS help you be water aware!”
WaterAlert
The U.S. Geological Survey WaterAlert service provides notifications to your email or phone for changes in water conditions based on thresholds you choose.
WaterQualityWatch
WaterQualityWatch provides access to real-time water-quality data collected at more than 2,000 stream sites throughout the United States, including streamflow, water temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and nitrate.
See what is newsworthy concerning water-quality in the Nation's lakes and rivers.
Below are frequently asked questions associated with USGS water-quality research.
Why are some lakes full of algae and thick plants?
Plants naturally grow in and around lakes, but sometimes lakes and ponds can get an overgrowth of plants, algae, or bacteria. In many cases, humans are responsible. Chemicals that are used on lawns and in agriculture (like nitrogen and potassium) wash into our water systems. Once there, plants and algae have a feast on this “food”. Sometimes overgrowths of cyanobacteria (called “blooms”) can make...
People love to play in water. The USGS works to ensure that water in our nation’s streams, lakes, and oceans are suitable for the moments when you just need to jump in.
BACKGROUND
All people depend on water...plain and simple. But a person's dependence on water goes way beyond the basic need to drink it to stay alive. People also rely on water for the joy it brings. Water gives adventurers, wanderers, and lovers of nature a place to play, visit, and appreciate. It can be used to build a sense of community. Likewise, beaches, lakes, and rivers provide recreational opportunities to swim, surf, water ski, scuba dive, sail, boat, or fish. Given the human dependence for water, it’s easy to understand why there is a constant need to study water quality in the Nation’s waterways. The USGS monitors many of the country’s most beloved waters. Much of this effort focuses on assessing the current conditions of popular lakes, beaches, and streams.
MONITORING LAKES, BEACHES, AND STREAMS
Our activities and the ways we use our Nation's lakes, beaches, and streams affect the quality of our drinking water, our recreational opportunities, and the health and diversity of aquatic plants and animals. Our activities also affect whether our rivers and streams will continue to be beautiful places to visit and vistas to contemplate.
The water quality of a nearby lake, a watershed, or along the coast can be enhanced only by collecting good information about conditions and by responding locally to that information. People living and working in an area are often in the best position to identify priority water issues and to understand the political, social, and economic context in which those issues are addressed. The USGS monitors over 7,500 streams for streamflow - great for knowing rafting conditions - and water quality - great for deciding if fish might be biting. The USGS also conducts 1,000s of studies around the country to assess conditions that may affect environmental or human health. This USGS research helps those who manage our Nation's most important recreational resources have the best information to make decisions that keeps our Nation's most important resource - YOU - safe during your next trip.
RELATED USGS RESEARCH
- Florence Likely to Cause Short- and Long-Term Beach Erosion
- National Assessment of Storm-Induced Coastal Change Hazards
- Beach Health, Water Quality, USGS Microbiology Research
- Understanding Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
- Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- National Parks
- Environmental Protection Agency
Water and recreation go hand-in-hand. Whether you are interested in fishing, swimming, boating, or lounging on a beach, USGS research is there to answer your questions about the natural world around you.
Enhance Great Lakes Beach Recreational Water Quality Decision Making
Beach health in Wisconsin
Recreation Ecology
How are Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds Moving Through the Food Web in Lake Mead National Recreation Area?
Nowcast - Water-Quality Conditions At Beaches And A Recreational River
Whether you are fishing, rafting, or swimming the USGS offers tools and resources to help you plan for your next trip to the water. Let the USGS help you be water aware!”
WaterWatch (surface water)
WaterWatch displays maps, graphs, and tables describing real-time, recent, and past streamflow conditions for the United States, including flood and droughts. Real-time information generally is updated on an hourly basis.
Nowcast Beach Status
Nowcast predicts water quality conditions at select beach swimming areas in the Great Lakes. Nowcast estimates conditions by merging environment and climate data with variables measured at a beach by 8 AM each morning and entering them into a computer program which provides a probability from 1 to 100 as to whether or not the beach has exceeded the bathing-water standard of 235 units of E. coli.
Nowcast - Water-Quality Conditions At Beaches And A Recreational River
The Ohio Nowcast is a system that provides near-real-time beach advisories to the public through use of quick measurements and predictive models.
The USGS produces many types of multimedia products. Use the links below to browse our offerings of photographs, videos, and other files about recreational water research.
Interviews with staff at Point Reyes National Seashore tell how this National Park Service unit uses USGS science to educate visitors, and manage the park.
Interviews with staff at Point Reyes National Seashore tell how this National Park Service unit uses USGS science to educate visitors, and manage the park.
On the remote western coast of Australia lies a UNESCO World Heritage Site above and below the sea. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Western Australia convened here at Ningaloo Reef and Jurabi Coastal Reserve to embark on the most extensive study EVER done into how coral reefs shape our coasts.
On the remote western coast of Australia lies a UNESCO World Heritage Site above and below the sea. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Western Australia convened here at Ningaloo Reef and Jurabi Coastal Reserve to embark on the most extensive study EVER done into how coral reefs shape our coasts.
In this episode we explore how scientists for the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program investigate the ecological health of rivers and streams across the United States. Focusing on a recent sampling effort along the Minam River in northeast Oregon, this video highlights USGS sampling methods for fish, macroinvertebrates (bugs), algae, and habitat.
In this episode we explore how scientists for the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program investigate the ecological health of rivers and streams across the United States. Focusing on a recent sampling effort along the Minam River in northeast Oregon, this video highlights USGS sampling methods for fish, macroinvertebrates (bugs), algae, and habitat.
Here are examples of USGS publications that shed light on conditions of our nation's lakes, streams, and coasts.
The relative contribution of waves, tides, and nontidal residuals to extreme total water levels on U.S. West Coast sandy beaches
Predicting recreational water quality advisories: A comparison of statistical methods
Wildlife, urban inputs, and landscape configuration are responsible for degraded swimming water quality at an embayed beach
Vulnerability of U.S. National Parks to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Change
Wilderness restoration: What role does it play in managing recreational impacts
Whether you are fishing, rafting, or swimming the USGS offers tools and resources to help you plan for your next trip to the water. Let the USGS help you be water aware!”
WaterAlert
The U.S. Geological Survey WaterAlert service provides notifications to your email or phone for changes in water conditions based on thresholds you choose.
WaterQualityWatch
WaterQualityWatch provides access to real-time water-quality data collected at more than 2,000 stream sites throughout the United States, including streamflow, water temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and nitrate.
See what is newsworthy concerning water-quality in the Nation's lakes and rivers.
Below are frequently asked questions associated with USGS water-quality research.
Why are some lakes full of algae and thick plants?
Plants naturally grow in and around lakes, but sometimes lakes and ponds can get an overgrowth of plants, algae, or bacteria. In many cases, humans are responsible. Chemicals that are used on lawns and in agriculture (like nitrogen and potassium) wash into our water systems. Once there, plants and algae have a feast on this “food”. Sometimes overgrowths of cyanobacteria (called “blooms”) can make...