Flood

The Hydrologic Monitoring Branch (HMB) provides water data for all six New England states through an expansive network of monitoring locations. The HMB is responsible for a wide range of hydrologic monitoring activities, including collecting and analyzing streamflow, groundwater and coastal water levels, precipitation, and continuous water-quality information, such as water temperature and...

The Applied Hydrology Branch provides hydrologic data, research, and tools to water resource managers, stakeholders and policy makers that inform critical water management decisions throughout New England. This branch is divided into the Hydrology and Hydraulics Section, Water Quality Networks Section, Connecticut Water Quality Monitoring Section, and Massachusetts/Rhode Island Water Quality...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is conducting a study to characterize the magnitude and extent of the December 18-21, 2023 Flood in various portions of the State of Maine.

From July 9 through July 12, 2023, 3 to 9 inches of rain fell within 48 hours across the state of Vermont, causing catastrophic flooding and millions of dollars in damage. The high amount of rain caused several rivers to peak at record levels, in some cases exceeding records set during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center, in cooperation with Acadia National Park, is assessing the erosion potential and flood vulnerability of the park’s streams, culverts, and bridges to inform management decisions on infrastructure upgrades.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass Amherst), in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), began a series of studies in 2019 to develop a GIS-based hydraulic modeling tool and to provide preliminary culvert designs for stream-crossing replacement projects in Massachusetts on USGS StreamStats.

The term environmental streamflows refers to the magnitude, frequency, seasonal timing, duration, and rate of change of streamflows needed to sustain freshwater and estuary ecosystems and human wellbeing. It is important that environmental streamflow assessments by water managers consider changes in climate, land use, and water management; this cannot be done effectively without understanding...

2018 Nor’easters in Coastal Massachusetts

On August 28, 2011 Tropical Storm Irene made landfall in New England, leading to coastal storm surge, significant riverine flooding, sediment transport to Long Island Sound, and major infrastructure damage and destruction. Ten years later, the USGS New England Water Science Center looks back at Irene, the data collected by our Center during the event, the response by our employees before, during...

The USGS delivers continuous streamflow, stage (water-level), and tide data to help emergency managers and other decision makers protect life and property caused by floods and other water-related hazards.

FEMA has requested USGS expertise in hydraulics, hydrology, and mapping to generate flood insurance maps for New England.

The purpose of this work is to better understand the effects of dam removal on local hydraulics, fish passage, and flooding. This study is part of a larger effort to monitor ecological resilience changes at nine Hurricane Sandy coastal resiliency aquatic connectivity restoration projects. It will contribute crucial knowledge that will be used to improve aquatic connectivity system cost...