Types of Water

You might think that the most obvious thing about water is that it’s wet, but actually ‘wet’ is not what we sense when we feel liquid water! Of our five senses - wetness is not one of them. When we feel wetness what we are mostly experiencing is the temperature of the water or the feeling of it moving across our skin! For example, if you have ever have dried clothes outside on a cool day, you may...

Throughout the world, irrigation (water for agriculture) is essential for keeping fruits, vegetables, and grains growing to feed the world's population. In addition, irrigation can alleviate crop stress from droughts, decrease soil erosion, and can reduce water pollution. USGS scientists provide estimates of irrigation water use to help water managers make informed decisions.

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.

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

The USGS collects real-time flood data and conducts flood science to help keep communities safe before, during, and after a flood.

Since 1950, the USGS has regularly produced nationwide water‑use data, creating one of the most comprehensive pictures of how water is used across the United States. Building on this rich historical record, these data give water managers a critical foundation to evaluate long‑term trends, plan strategically, and identify and quantify water availability so they can design more adaptive, resilient...

When planning for a flood, there are three key questions that must be answered:  What areas will be flooded? How deep will the floodwaters get? When will the flood arrive? A flood inundation map library is a set of maps that together show where flooding may occur – and how deep it may be - over a range of potential flooding scenarios in a stream or river.

The USGS Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) Program helps communities protect lives and property by providing tools and information to help them understand their local flood risks and make cost-effective mitigation decisions.

High-water marks are like footprints left behind by a flood — they show how high the water reached during a flood event. High-water marks serve as valuable data points for both educational purposes and scientific research, helping us understand past and recent flood events. Collecting this information is an essential and time-sensitive task for understanding flood risk and improving public safety.

Federal Priority Streamgages (FPS) are automated stations that monitor water conditions in streams and rivers throughout the country. Originally established in 1999, these are important for meeting specific long-term needs of the Nation. The FPS Network was recently re-prioritized which resulted in size of the network increasing to nearly 12,400 locations.

The USGS groundwater Climate Response Network is a national network of wells selected to monitor natural groundwater-level conditions in unconfined or near-surface confined aquifers that are minimally affected by pumping or other human-induced stresses.

To manage our water resources effectively, we need to understand how much water is available and its usefulness. The USGS monitors the nation’s water resources through various national observing networks that use a range of technologies and methods to assess real-time water conditions and predict future changes in water availability for human and ecological uses.