Wherever you live, there’s a creek or stream near you. The eighty percent of Americans who live in metropolitan areas are often unaware of the network of urban creeks—many teeming with life—that weaves through our cities and town. Nowhere are the environmental changes associated with urban development more evident than in urban streams.
Featured: Deciphering the U.S. urban stream pesticide signature
A new USGS study reports that 16 dissolved pesticides were consistently detected in small streams in 16 urban centers across five regions of the United States.
Featured: Nutrient yields in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin
A new USGS study estimates total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P) yields from catchments throughout the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin. Local inputs from wastewater treatment plants in some cases were large contributors.
In urbanized areas, small streams are often overlooked or forgotten, but these streams can reduce contamination, ease flash flooding, and improve the esthetics and livability of our daily environment.
Contaminants, habitat destruction, and streamflow flashiness resulting from urban development disrupt biological communities, particularly sensitive aquatic species. Every stream is connected downstream to larger water bodies, including rivers, reservoirs, and ultimately coastal waters. Inputs of chemical contaminants or sediments at any point along the stream can cause degradation of water quality downstream, harming biological communities and economically valuable resources, such as fisheries and tourism. It’s therefore important to know which urban-related stressors are most closely linked to biological community degradation, and how multiple stressors can be managed to protect stream health as a watershed becomes increasingly urbanized.
Water Quality and Ecology of Small Streams (RSQA)
The USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) is studying the relations between stressors (chemical and physical) and stream ecology (fish, algae, and aquatic invertebrates) at hundreds of small streams across five major regions of the United States. Users can access an online mapping tool to compare water quality at small streams across a region, see scorecards that summarize stream health at each stream site, and download data for hundreds of chemical compounds.
Effects of Urban Development on Stream Ecosystems
In response to concerns about the degradation of urban streams, the USGS did a national-scale, scientific investigation of the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems. A nationally consistent study design was used in nine metropolitan areas of the United States—Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read this comprehensive study of effects of urban development on stream ecosystems and learn about strategies for managing the effects of development.
Streamflow Alteration
Humans, just like aquatic organisms, need water, but flood control, urban infrastructure, and myriad other ways we manage water affect the natural flow of streams and rivers. Learn how the ways we manage land and water affects the natural patterns of streamflow and the ecosystems that depend on them.
PAHs, Coal-Tar Sealcoat, and Environmental Health
A commonly used product in urban and suburban areas, coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat, is contributing to toxicity in streams. Coal-tar-based sealcoat, a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is applied to many asphalt driveways and parking lots across much of the central, eastern, and southern U.S. Read about the toxicity of runoff and particles washed from coal-tar-sealcoated surfaces in a 6-page, color fact sheet.
Urban Land Use and Groundwater Quality
The effects of our daily lives on groundwater quality are apparent in the concentrations of nitrate, pesticides, and other manmade chemicals found in shallow groundwater beneath urban and suburban land. The USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project characterized the quality of recently recharged groundwater in residential settings, typically with low to medium population densities (300 to 5,600 people per square mile). Read about the relations between urban land use and salinity, nitrate, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds in groundwater.
Lake and Reservoir Sediment Records the Effects of Urbanization
Many chemicals associated with urban and suburban activities—pesticides, PAHs, metals—adhere to sediment and are deposited at the bottoms of lakes and reservoirs. By collecting cores of sediment and analyzing if for chemicals in the oldest sediments at the bottom of the core to the most recently deposited sediments at the top, we can see how urbanization in the watershed has affected sediment quality through time.
Interested in more water quality topics?
► Learn about the effects of agriculture on stream quality
Learn more about topics related to urban development and other surface-water quality topics.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
Emerging Contaminants
Chloride, Salinity, and Dissolved Solids
Coal-Tar-Based Pavement Sealcoat, PAHs, and Environmental Health
Corrosivity
Streamflow Alteration
Water-Quality Trends From Lake Cores
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Stream Ecology
Sediment-Associated Contaminants
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Isotopic tracers in fish in Northeast provide clue to mercury sources
Isotopes of mercury in fish can indicate the source of that mercury, reports a new study from the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment.
- Overview
Wherever you live, there’s a creek or stream near you. The eighty percent of Americans who live in metropolitan areas are often unaware of the network of urban creeks—many teeming with life—that weaves through our cities and town. Nowhere are the environmental changes associated with urban development more evident than in urban streams.
Featured: Deciphering the U.S. urban stream pesticide signature
A new USGS study reports that 16 dissolved pesticides were consistently detected in small streams in 16 urban centers across five regions of the United States.
Featured: Nutrient yields in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin
A new USGS study estimates total nitrogen (N) and total phosphorus (P) yields from catchments throughout the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin. Local inputs from wastewater treatment plants in some cases were large contributors.
In urbanized areas, small streams are often overlooked or forgotten, but these streams can reduce contamination, ease flash flooding, and improve the esthetics and livability of our daily environment.
Contaminants, habitat destruction, and streamflow flashiness resulting from urban development disrupt biological communities, particularly sensitive aquatic species. Every stream is connected downstream to larger water bodies, including rivers, reservoirs, and ultimately coastal waters. Inputs of chemical contaminants or sediments at any point along the stream can cause degradation of water quality downstream, harming biological communities and economically valuable resources, such as fisheries and tourism. It’s therefore important to know which urban-related stressors are most closely linked to biological community degradation, and how multiple stressors can be managed to protect stream health as a watershed becomes increasingly urbanized.
Water Quality and Ecology of Small Streams (RSQA)
The USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) is studying the relations between stressors (chemical and physical) and stream ecology (fish, algae, and aquatic invertebrates) at hundreds of small streams across five major regions of the United States. Users can access an online mapping tool to compare water quality at small streams across a region, see scorecards that summarize stream health at each stream site, and download data for hundreds of chemical compounds.Effects of Urban Development on Stream Ecosystems
In response to concerns about the degradation of urban streams, the USGS did a national-scale, scientific investigation of the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems. A nationally consistent study design was used in nine metropolitan areas of the United States—Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read this comprehensive study of effects of urban development on stream ecosystems and learn about strategies for managing the effects of development.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Water quality, ecological sampling, and stream data collection at various urban streams in California, as part of the Regional Stream Quality Assessment. (Credit: Dorene MacCoy and Barbara Mahler, USGS) Streamflow Alteration
Humans, just like aquatic organisms, need water, but flood control, urban infrastructure, and myriad other ways we manage water affect the natural flow of streams and rivers. Learn how the ways we manage land and water affects the natural patterns of streamflow and the ecosystems that depend on them.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Enoree River at the remains of the Pelham Mill Dam during summer flow (August 2012) and during flood conditions (April 2014)(left). The Pelham Mill site includes the remnants of a cotton mill and stonework dam (right). (Credit: Peter Van Metre, USGS) PAHs, Coal-Tar Sealcoat, and Environmental Health
A commonly used product in urban and suburban areas, coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat, is contributing to toxicity in streams. Coal-tar-based sealcoat, a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is applied to many asphalt driveways and parking lots across much of the central, eastern, and southern U.S. Read about the toxicity of runoff and particles washed from coal-tar-sealcoated surfaces in a 6-page, color fact sheet.Urban Land Use and Groundwater Quality
The effects of our daily lives on groundwater quality are apparent in the concentrations of nitrate, pesticides, and other manmade chemicals found in shallow groundwater beneath urban and suburban land. The USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project characterized the quality of recently recharged groundwater in residential settings, typically with low to medium population densities (300 to 5,600 people per square mile). Read about the relations between urban land use and salinity, nitrate, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds in groundwater.Lake and Reservoir Sediment Records the Effects of Urbanization
Many chemicals associated with urban and suburban activities—pesticides, PAHs, metals—adhere to sediment and are deposited at the bottoms of lakes and reservoirs. By collecting cores of sediment and analyzing if for chemicals in the oldest sediments at the bottom of the core to the most recently deposited sediments at the top, we can see how urbanization in the watershed has affected sediment quality through time.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.(Left to right) Collecting PAH samples in an urban creek adjacent to coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat treated surfaces; Surficial aquifer groundwater sampling; Collecting lake sediment core at Town Lake in Austin, Texas. (Credit: Barbara Mahler and Alan Cressler, USGS) Interested in more water quality topics?
► Learn about the effects of agriculture on stream quality - Science
Learn more about topics related to urban development and other surface-water quality topics.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
The goals of the Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) are to characterize multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life (contaminants, nutrients, sediment, and streamflow alteration) and to develop a better understanding of the relation of these stressors to ecological conditions in streams throughout the region.Emerging Contaminants
Emerging contaminants, or contaminants of emerging concern, can refer to many different kinds of chemicals, including medicines, personal care or household cleaning products, lawn care and agricultural products, among others. These chemicals make it into our Nation's lakes and rivers and have a detrimental affect on fish and other aquatic species. That have also been shown to bioaccumulate up the...Chloride, Salinity, and Dissolved Solids
All natural waters contain some dissolved solids (salinity) from contact with soils, rocks, and other natural materials. Too much, though, and dissolved solids can impair water use. Unpleasant taste, high water-treatment costs, mineral accumulation in plumbing, staining, corrosion, and restricted use for irrigation are among the problems associated with elevated concentrations of dissolved solids.Coal-Tar-Based Pavement Sealcoat, PAHs, and Environmental Health
Sealcoat is the black, viscous liquid applied to many asphalt parking lots, driveways, and playgrounds in North America to protect and enhance the appearance of the underlying asphalt. Coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat is a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in urban and suburban areas and a potential concern for human health and aquatic life.Corrosivity
Corrosivity describes how aggressive water is at corroding pipes and fixtures. Corrosive water can cause lead and copper in pipes to leach into drinking water and can eventually cause leaks in plumbing. Surface water and groundwater, both sources of drinking water, can potentially be corrosive.Streamflow Alteration
Humans, just like aquatic organisms, need water. Flood control, urban infrastructure, irrigation of agriculture, and myriad other ways we manage water affect the natural flow of streams and rivers. How do the ways we manage land and water affect the natural patterns of streamflow that ecosystems depend on?Water-Quality Trends From Lake Cores
Sediment cores let us look back in time at the contaminant history of a watershed. Learn about what lake and reservoir sediment cores tell us about trends in metals, organochlorine pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other sediment-related contaminants.Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals that both vaporize into air and dissolve in water. VOCs are pervasive in daily life, because they’re used in industry, agriculture, transportation, and day-to-day activities around the home. Once released into groundwater, many VOCs are persistent and can migrate to drinking-water supply wells.Stream Ecology
Who lives in your stream? Rivers and streams, even small ones, are teeming with a vast number of species, including fish, aquatic invertebrates, and algae. Stream ecology is the study of those aquatic species, the way they interrelate, and their interactions with all aspects of these flowing water systems.Sediment-Associated Contaminants
Stream, river, and lake bed sediment are reservoirs for many contaminants. These contaminants include some “legacy” contaminants, like DDT, PCBs, and chlordane, and chemicals currently in use, like the insecticide bifenthrin and many flame retardants. Learn about techniques used to study sediment-associated contaminants and their importance to aquatic biota. - Data
- Publications
- News
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Isotopic tracers in fish in Northeast provide clue to mercury sources
Isotopes of mercury in fish can indicate the source of that mercury, reports a new study from the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment.