Web Tools

The Delaware River supports thriving ecosystems and drinking water for 16 million people. How water is shared, and the quality of that water, has been the focus of decades of inter-state discussion, negotiation, and research. This data visualization story uses streamflow, salinity, and temperature to show how new USGS science and monitoring can inform water management in this age of cooperation.

The 2020 fire season provided stark evidence that wildfires are changing the landscape of America. But when a forest burns, the impacts on water supply and quality last long after the flames go out. Learn more about how wildfires threaten U.S. water supplies – and what we can do to adapt to the complex impacts of hotter and bigger fires.

The USGS has been measuring streamflow since 1889. Explore how USGS streamgages have been supporting our Nation's changing water-resource needs and priorities for 130 years in an interactive data visualization story.

The Satellite Collection Calendar tool allows users to find historical and projected satellite imagery dates based on the previous two months of data collection for the Sentinel-2A/2B/2C and Landsat-8/9 satellites.

A tool that allows the public and water resource managers to understand the water quality of Clear Lake and its surrounding watersheds, particularly because of potential impacts on human health. Harmful algal blooms (featuring cyanobacteria, aka blue-green algae), elevated nutrient levels, elevated nutrient levels, mercury, and suspended sediment are key factors contributing to these concerns.

WaterMAP, or Water Monitoring Above the Planet, is an interactive web application that brings together surface water observations across the U.S. The application allows users to explore water conditions over time using both remotely sensed satellite and field measured data.

REACT: Satellite monitoring of aquatic chlorophyll-a in select Idaho and Texas waterbodies

Annual Water Data Reports were published annually for many decades as static archival products that supplemented direct access to current and historical water data provided by the USGS. These formal publications have been discontinued, but historical reports and modern replacements are available.

The U.S. Geological Survey uses a depiction and classification scheme for hydrologic units known as hydrologic unit codes (HUCs). HUCs generally represent catchments, and river basins are represented by a unique series of numbers with successively smaller hydrologic units nested inside of larger ones.

River DroughtCast delivers current streamflow drought conditions and weekly forecasts of streamflow drought at select streamgages with long-term, complete records across the lower 48 states (the conterminous U.S., or CONUS).

Water Data for the Nation (WDFN) is the home for USGS’s modernization of public delivery of water data.

This site is the home for modernized access to USGS water data in machine-readable formats via REST APIs, a common type of web service programs use to search and download data. These services provide USGS water data, ranging from continuous measurements of streamflow to information about individual USGS sites and more.