Images

This public-supply well taps groundwater in the High Plains aquifer in Texas. The strontium concentration in the sample from this well was 4,630 micrograms per liter, exceeding the health-based screening level of 4,000 micrograms per liter.

Water flowing on the Colorado River near Moab, Utah. 

The entire Colorado River Basin currently supports 50 million people, and that amount is expected to increase by 23 million between 2000 and 2030. A new USGS study shows more than half of the streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin originates as groundwater. 

Instrumentation for measuring real-time groundwater properties at the SGW-93 bedrock-aquifer public-supply well pump house in Seabrook, NH. Read the journal article.

Coal-tar-based sealcoat is a potent source of PAHs and related chemicals. Worn particles of coal-tar-based sealcoat are transported by rain, wind, tires, and even our feet from pavement to other environmental settings. Sealcoat product (A), after it dries, gradually abrades to a powder and becomes part of the dust on the pavement (B).

Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in settings near pavement sealed with coal-tar-based sealants were substantially higher than concentrations in settings where coal-tar sealant was not used.

Coal tar is a byproduct of the coking, liquefaction, or gasification of coal. Coal-tar pitch is the residue that remains after the distillation of coal tar. Coal tar and coal-tar pitch are used in coal-tar-based sealcoat products, although use of coal-tar pitch is more common than use of coal tar. Both coal tar and coal-tar pitch are known human carcinogens.

A large-volume public supply well in San Antonio, Texas.  This well is being sampled for water-quality constituents as part of the NAWQA Enhanced Trend Network project.

Atrazine use (left) (left) is one of the most important factors used to predict atrazine and deethylatrazine concentrations in

Nitrate concentrations greater than the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 10 mg/L as N are predicted to occur primarily in the High Plains, northern Midwest, and areas of intense agriculture in the eastern and western United States.

A large-volume public supply well in San Antonio, Texas.  This well is being sampled for water-quality constituents as part of the NAWQA Enhanced Trend Network project.

A large-volume public supply well in San Antonio, Texas.  This well is being sampled for water-quality constituents as part of the NAWQA Enhanced Trend Network project.

Harmful algal blooms turn water in Milford Lake emerald green

USGS scientists collecting water quality samples at a public-supply well in Texas, overlying the Eagle Ford shale production area.

Signs warn the public of dangers of harmful algal blooms in Milford Lake, Kansas

Salmonids are inventoried during the ecosurveys done for the Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)

Photograph showing San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, residential development southeast of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and the Huachuca Mountains from Hereford Road, Cochise County, Arizona. 

Collecting a groundwater-quality sample from a public-supply well. This well is being sampled for water-quality constituents as part of the NAWQA Enhanced Trend Network project.

This well is being sampled for water-quality constituents as part of the NAWQA Enhanced Trend Network project.

The Columbia River flows by the highway on its way to the Pacific Ocean.

A large-volume public supply well in San Antonio, Texas.  This well is being sampled for water-quality constituents as part of the NAWQA Enhanced Trend Network project.

Glyphosate is frequently applied to corn and soybeans growing areas like these in Iowa.