Recreation and Tourism

Regional Water Availability Assessments are scientific assessments of water availability in different hydrologic regions across the Nation. They are designed to capture a range of conditions in major drivers of water availability.

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.

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition, changing environmental patterns, and recreation are rapidly altering high elevation ecosystems. This project will evaluate long-term biogeochemical, hydrological, and ecological trends in Rocky Mountain National Park to understand the causes and rates of change in alpine and subalpine waters, soils, and vegetation. Resource managers of high-elevation, protected...

As of October 2024, the USGS Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program supports the collection and (or) delivery of both streamflow and water-level information at 8,705 sites and water-level information alone at 3,460 additional sites. The data are served online—most in near real-time—to meet many diverse needs including the protection of life, property, the environment, and our economy.

Centennial Streamgages are USGS streamgages that have been in operation for more than 100 years.

The Willamette River Basin reflects the conflicting water demands between humans and ecosystems—particularly salmon— and the challenge resource managers face throughout the Pacific Northwest.

How does the water quality measure up? It all depends on what the water will be used for and what contaminants are of interest. Water-quality benchmarks are designed to protect drinking water, recreation, aquatic life, and wildlife. Here you’ll find links to some of the most widely used sets of water, sediment, and fish tissue benchmarks and general guidance about their interpretation.

Through the Water Availability and Use Science Program, USGS will provide national information on withdrawal, conveyance, consumptive use, and return flow by water-use category at spatial and temporal resolutions important for risk-informed water management decisions. Water-use data provide a foundation for water managers to analyze trends over time, plan more strategically, identify, and...

Water use estimates for 2000 through 2020 are now available for the three largest categories of use in the United States: self-supplied thermoelectric power generation, self-supplied irrigation, and public supply. Five additional categories of use (self-supplied industrial, domestic, mining, livestock, and aquaculture) will be available in 2025.

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 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.

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...