USGS scientists are working with Federal, State, and local partners to ensure they have the information and models needed to evaluate potential resource-management actions and make difficult resource-management decisions.
Most of California’s water supply comes from precipitation in the form of rain and snowfall. When there is little precipitation for prolonged periods, drought conditions arise and water becomes scarce. USGS measures stream flow through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and throughout the State to ensure water-resource agencies have the data they need to efficiently and effectively allocate limited resources, especially during droughts. For the Delta, USGS provides hydrodynamic and water-quality information from an array of monitoring stations. USGS monitors groundwater availability and quality, as well as the subsidence resulting from groundwater withdrawal and the impacts of that subsidence on the integrity of levees and water-conveyance infrastructure, such as the Delta-Mendota Canal and the California Aqueduct. USGS continues to monitor natural hazards that could affect water availability and quality, as well as the effects of drought on plant and animal populations. USGS scientists are working with Federal, State, and local partners to ensure they have the information and models needed to evaluate potential resource-management actions and make difficult resource-management decisions.
For more information see:
California Drought Visualized with Open Data
Back to San Francisco Bay-Delta Science
- Overview
USGS scientists are working with Federal, State, and local partners to ensure they have the information and models needed to evaluate potential resource-management actions and make difficult resource-management decisions.
Most of California’s water supply comes from precipitation in the form of rain and snowfall. When there is little precipitation for prolonged periods, drought conditions arise and water becomes scarce. USGS measures stream flow through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and throughout the State to ensure water-resource agencies have the data they need to efficiently and effectively allocate limited resources, especially during droughts. For the Delta, USGS provides hydrodynamic and water-quality information from an array of monitoring stations. USGS monitors groundwater availability and quality, as well as the subsidence resulting from groundwater withdrawal and the impacts of that subsidence on the integrity of levees and water-conveyance infrastructure, such as the Delta-Mendota Canal and the California Aqueduct. USGS continues to monitor natural hazards that could affect water availability and quality, as well as the effects of drought on plant and animal populations. USGS scientists are working with Federal, State, and local partners to ensure they have the information and models needed to evaluate potential resource-management actions and make difficult resource-management decisions.
For more information see:
California Drought Visualized with Open Data
Back to San Francisco Bay-Delta Science