Water Quality

The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) is a multi-partner atmospheric monitoring program that measures the concentrations and deposition of atmospheric constituents across North America. The USGS has been an NADP partner agency since 1981 and participates by providing funds for 72 National Trend Network (NTN) sites.

Get access to spatial datasets related to water through the NSDI node on ScienceBase.

The National Modeled Water Atlas will deliver routinely updated water availability information in the United States.

The U.S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the University of Alabama, is constructing a new Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility, a science and engineering facility that will support our water observing networks and research.

From the second half of the 19th century, land reclamation has transformed the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). The landscape of the Delta has gone from a network of shifting waterways and tidal marshland to channels and islands fixed in position by hardened levees.

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.

WaterNow is no longer available as of December 15, 2023. An alternative USGS service, called WaterAlert, is available. WaterAlert provides notifications to your email or phone for changes in water conditions based on thresholds you choose.

The Proxies Project is a series of studies to improve our understanding of water contaminants and water quality hazards. These studies develop models and technical approaches for estimating concentrations and assessing risk associated with: - harmful algal blooms (HABs) - per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - 12 elements of concern (EoC)

Lead Researcher: Travis Schmidt Project Manager: Melissa Schaar Water-Quality Field Lead: Chad Reese

Karst terrain is created from the dissolution of soluble rocks, principally limestone and dolomite. Karst areas are characterized by distinctive landforms (like springs, caves, sinkholes) and a unique hydrogeology that results in aquifers that are highly productive but extremely vulnerable to contamination.

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...