Water Monitoring
USGS collects water quantity and quality data throughout the Bay and Delta by both continuous monitoring stations as well as by discrete sampling taken from boats and shorelines at established stations.
USGS has developed and maintains a large network of monitoring stations in the Bay-Delta that collects real-time, around-the-clock water-quantity and water-quality data. The data collected by these stations includes water-quantity measures such as water-level elevation, temperature, and flow direction and speed, as well as water-quality measures such as salinity and clarity. These data are essential to research in the Delta and are used daily by State and Federal water managers. Water managers manipulate both the release of water from dams and the amount of water pumped in the south Delta to balance the water needs of wildlife (such as threatened and endangered species) with the needs of California’s communities and agriculture.
For more information on our continuous monitoring stations see:
California Streamgage Information
USGS also monitors water quality in the Bay-Delta through monthly sampling trips and specific data collection campaigns. Monthly cruises in San Francisco Bay collect data along a 145 kilometer transect. Data collected includes: salinity, temperature, suspended particulate matter, dissolved oxygen, light penetration, and chlorophyll concentration. These basic elements of water quality define the sustainability of the Bay as habitat for fish and organisms of the lower trophic levels.
For more information on our monthly cruises see:
Water Quality of San Francisco Bay
Back to San Francisco Bay-Delta Science
USGS collects water quantity and quality data throughout the Bay and Delta by both continuous monitoring stations as well as by discrete sampling taken from boats and shorelines at established stations.
USGS has developed and maintains a large network of monitoring stations in the Bay-Delta that collects real-time, around-the-clock water-quantity and water-quality data. The data collected by these stations includes water-quantity measures such as water-level elevation, temperature, and flow direction and speed, as well as water-quality measures such as salinity and clarity. These data are essential to research in the Delta and are used daily by State and Federal water managers. Water managers manipulate both the release of water from dams and the amount of water pumped in the south Delta to balance the water needs of wildlife (such as threatened and endangered species) with the needs of California’s communities and agriculture.
For more information on our continuous monitoring stations see:
California Streamgage Information
USGS also monitors water quality in the Bay-Delta through monthly sampling trips and specific data collection campaigns. Monthly cruises in San Francisco Bay collect data along a 145 kilometer transect. Data collected includes: salinity, temperature, suspended particulate matter, dissolved oxygen, light penetration, and chlorophyll concentration. These basic elements of water quality define the sustainability of the Bay as habitat for fish and organisms of the lower trophic levels.
For more information on our monthly cruises see:
Water Quality of San Francisco Bay
Back to San Francisco Bay-Delta Science