Aliesha L. Diekoff has been a hydrologic technician with the Upper Midwest Water Science Center since 2011.
During her time at the USGS, Aliesha has worked on projects studying groundwater and surface water interaction, assessing the influence of natural copper-nickel bedrocks on water quality, and assessing the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) reliability as a screening tool for CEC in shallow groundwater.
Work Experience
- Collect groundwater and surface samples
- Measure water levels in wells
- Deploy, monitor, and process dataloggers
- Collect, process, and analyze slug tests data
- Develop synthetic hydrographs for ungaged stream sites
- Collect, process, and analyze water quality samples using ELISA
Technical Skills
- RStudio
- Microsoft suites (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint)
- Adobe Illustrator
- Aqtesolv
Other Publications
Diekoff, A.L., Jones, P.M., 2015, Results of slug tests used to characterize groundwater and surface-water interactions in White Bear Lake, Minnesota: U.S. Geological Survey Internal Report, 22 p.
Professional Experience
USGS Training Courses
QW 1297 – Water-Quality Data Toolbox
QW 1028 – Field Water-Quality Methods for Groundwater and Surface Water
Education and Certifications
B.S. Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management with an emphasis in Water Resources - University of Minnesota, 2013
Science and Products
Ecoflows: Developing Indices of Streamflow Alteration
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) lists streamflow alteration as a key stressor on aquatic life in many watersheds. However, the MPCA currently does not have the information needed to quantitatively associate metrics from Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) surveys with metrics of streamflow alteration. We are using USGS streamgage data and MPCA IBI data to develop relations between...
Water-surface profile map files for the Mississippi River near Prairie Island, Welch, Minnesota, 2019
Four digital water-surface profile maps for a 14-mile reach of the Mississippi River near Prairie Island in Welch, Minnesota from the confluence of the St. Croix River at Prescott, Wisconsin to upstream of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Lock and Dam No. 3 in Welch, Minnesota, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Prairie Island Indian Communit
Concentrations and laboratory quality-assurance data for six unregulated contaminants measured in source and finished drinking-water samples collected from public water systems throughout Minnesota by using ELISA and MS-based analytical methods
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Health, conducted a study to determine the occurrence of six unregulated contaminants in source and finished drinking-water samples collected from 67 public water supply systems throughout Minnesota. Minnesota relies on groundwater and surface water sources for drinking water. Land use, such as wastewater discharge and agr
Hydrologic metrics, biological metrics, R scripts, and model archives associated with regression analyses used to quantify relations between altered hydrological and biological responses in rivers of Minnesota, 1945-2015
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) conducted a cooperative study to develop linear regression models that quantify relations among 173 hydrologic explanatory metrics in five categories (duration, frequency, magnitude, rate-of-change, and timing) computed from streamgage records and 132 biological response metrics in six categories (composition, habi
Pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and wastewater indicator compounds in water and bottom sediment samples collected from Great Lake tributaries, 2019
This dataset consists of select contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) including pesticides and transformation products, pharmaceuticals and transformation products, and wastewater indicator compound results measured in 131 surface water, 129 bottom sediment, 7 field replicate, and 6 field blank samples collected from 131 sites located on 27 tributaries of the Great Lakes during the summer of 2019
Data Sets from the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site near Bemidji, Minnesota, USA (ver. 3.0, March 2020)
This version supersedes the previous version of this data release: Trost, J.J., Krall, A.L., Baedecker, M., Cozzarelli, I.M., Herkelrath, W.N., Jaeschke, J.B., and Bekins, B.A., 2018, Historical data sets including inorganic and organic chemistry of water, oil, and sediments, aquifer hydraulic conductivity, and sediment grain size distribution at the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Atten
Sampling site information, well construction details, and data dictionaries for data sets associated with the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Site near Bemidji, Minnesota
This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides detailed sampling site information, hole and well construction details, and data dictionaries necessary to interpret historical and future physical, chemical, and biological data sets derived from samples collected and measurements made in association with the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site. In 1979, a high-
Historical data sets including inorganic and organic chemistry of water, oil, and sediments, aquifer hydraulic conductivity, and sediment grain size distribution at the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site near Bemidji, Minn
This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data Release provides analytical data from samples and measurements completed at the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site near Bemidji, Minnesota (Site) between 1984 and 2010. Included are inorganic and organic chemistry data from water, oil, and sediment samples, hydraulic conductivity data from well slug tests, and sediment grai
Creek and quarry water quality at Pipestone National Monument and pilot study of pathogen detection methods in waterfall mist at Winnewissa Falls, Pipestone, Minnesota, 2018–19
Pipestone National Monument is a 301-acre site sacred to many Native American Tribes, providing cultural exhibits and walking trails to Pipestone Creek, Winnewissa Falls, and historical pipestone quarries for numerous visitors each year. However, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has determined turbidity and fecal coliform bacteria occur in Pipestone Creek in high enough numbers to be a poten
Water-surface profile maps for the Mississippi River near Prairie Island, Minnesota, 2019
Digital water-surface profile maps for a 14-mile reach of the Mississippi River near Prairie Island, Minnesota, from the confluence of the St. Croix River at Prescott, Wisconsin, to upstream from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam No. 3 (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams number MN00595) in Welch, Minnesota, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in coope
Comparison of the results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to mass-spectrometry based analytical methods for six unregulated contaminants in source water and finished drinking-water samples
Regulatory entities, such as the Minnesota Department of Health, monitor public water systems for conformance with Federal and State monitoring requirements and water-quality standards. Although some contaminants have Federal and (or) State regulations and guidance values, many contaminants, such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals, are unregulated in that only non-enforceable health-based guidance
Quantifying relations between altered hydrology and fish community responses for streams in Minnesota
Altered hydrology is a stressor on aquatic life for several streams in Minnesota, but quantitative relations between specific aspects of streamflow alteration and biological responses have not been developed on a statewide scale in Minnesota. Best subsets regression analysis was used to develop linear regression models that quantify relations among five categories of hydrologic explanatory metric
Assessing the influence of natural copper-nickel-bearing bedrocks of the Duluth Complex on water quality in Minnesota, 2013–15
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute, completed an assessment of regional water quality in areas of potential base-metal mining in Minnesota. Bedrock, soil, streambed sediment, and surface-water samples were collected in three watersheds that cross the basal part of the Duluth Complex with different mineral-deposit
Predicting geogenic arsenic in drinking water wells in glacial aquifers, north-central USA: Accounting for depth-dependent features
Chronic exposure to arsenic (As) via drinking groundwater is a human health concern worldwide. Probabilities of elevated geogenic As concentrations in groundwater were predicted in complex, glacial aquifers in Minnesota, north‐central USA, a region that commonly has elevated As concentrations in well water. Maps of elevated As hazard were created for depths typical of drinking water supply and wit
Concentrations of pharmaceuticals and other micropollutants in groundwater downgradient from large on-site wastewater discharges
Large subsurface treatment systems (LSTS) and rapid infiltration basins (RIB) are preferred onsite wastewater treatments compared to direct discharge of treated wastewater to streams and adjacent facilities. Discharge of these wastewater treatments may result in contaminant loading to aquifers that also serve as drinking water sources downgradient from the discharge site. Until recently, few studi
Wastewater indicators, hormones, sterols, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals in soil at an agricultural field irrigated with domestic septage, central Minnesota, September 2014
Treated domestic septage can be used to irrigate agricultural fields as a disposal method or as a means to reuse water. Because traditional on-site treatment systems are not designed to remove wastewater indicators, hormones, sterols, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals, land application of septage potentially results in soil contamination. Soils were collected and analyzed from four sites in a centr
Simulation and assessment of groundwater flow and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes of the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2003 through 2013: Chapter B of Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes
Water levels during 2003 through 2013 were less than mean water levels for the period 1925–2013 for several lakes in the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area in Minnesota. Previous periods of low lake-water levels generally were correlated with periods with less than mean precipitation. Increases in groundwater withdrawals and land-use changes have brought into question whether or not recent (2
smwrGraphs—An R package for graphing hydrologic data, version 1.1.2
This report describes an R package called smwrGraphs, which consists of a collection of graphing functions for hydrologic data within R, a programming language and software environment for statistical computing. The functions in the package have been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to create high-quality graphs for publication or presentation of hydrologic data that meet U.S. Geological Su
Statistical analysis of lake levels and field study of groundwater and surface-water exchanges in the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2002 through 2015: Chapter A of Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes
Water levels declined from 2003 to 2011 in many lakes in Ramsey and Washington Counties in the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota; however, water levels in other northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area lakes increased during the same period. Groundwater and surface-water exchanges can be important in determining lake levels where these exchanges are an important component of the wa
Science and Products
- Science
Ecoflows: Developing Indices of Streamflow Alteration
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) lists streamflow alteration as a key stressor on aquatic life in many watersheds. However, the MPCA currently does not have the information needed to quantitatively associate metrics from Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) surveys with metrics of streamflow alteration. We are using USGS streamgage data and MPCA IBI data to develop relations between... - Data
Water-surface profile map files for the Mississippi River near Prairie Island, Welch, Minnesota, 2019
Four digital water-surface profile maps for a 14-mile reach of the Mississippi River near Prairie Island in Welch, Minnesota from the confluence of the St. Croix River at Prescott, Wisconsin to upstream of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Lock and Dam No. 3 in Welch, Minnesota, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Prairie Island Indian CommunitConcentrations and laboratory quality-assurance data for six unregulated contaminants measured in source and finished drinking-water samples collected from public water systems throughout Minnesota by using ELISA and MS-based analytical methods
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Health, conducted a study to determine the occurrence of six unregulated contaminants in source and finished drinking-water samples collected from 67 public water supply systems throughout Minnesota. Minnesota relies on groundwater and surface water sources for drinking water. Land use, such as wastewater discharge and agrHydrologic metrics, biological metrics, R scripts, and model archives associated with regression analyses used to quantify relations between altered hydrological and biological responses in rivers of Minnesota, 1945-2015
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) conducted a cooperative study to develop linear regression models that quantify relations among 173 hydrologic explanatory metrics in five categories (duration, frequency, magnitude, rate-of-change, and timing) computed from streamgage records and 132 biological response metrics in six categories (composition, habiPesticides, pharmaceuticals, and wastewater indicator compounds in water and bottom sediment samples collected from Great Lake tributaries, 2019
This dataset consists of select contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) including pesticides and transformation products, pharmaceuticals and transformation products, and wastewater indicator compound results measured in 131 surface water, 129 bottom sediment, 7 field replicate, and 6 field blank samples collected from 131 sites located on 27 tributaries of the Great Lakes during the summer of 2019Data Sets from the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site near Bemidji, Minnesota, USA (ver. 3.0, March 2020)
This version supersedes the previous version of this data release: Trost, J.J., Krall, A.L., Baedecker, M., Cozzarelli, I.M., Herkelrath, W.N., Jaeschke, J.B., and Bekins, B.A., 2018, Historical data sets including inorganic and organic chemistry of water, oil, and sediments, aquifer hydraulic conductivity, and sediment grain size distribution at the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural AttenSampling site information, well construction details, and data dictionaries for data sets associated with the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Site near Bemidji, Minnesota
This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides detailed sampling site information, hole and well construction details, and data dictionaries necessary to interpret historical and future physical, chemical, and biological data sets derived from samples collected and measurements made in association with the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site. In 1979, a high-Historical data sets including inorganic and organic chemistry of water, oil, and sediments, aquifer hydraulic conductivity, and sediment grain size distribution at the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site near Bemidji, Minn
This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data Release provides analytical data from samples and measurements completed at the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site near Bemidji, Minnesota (Site) between 1984 and 2010. Included are inorganic and organic chemistry data from water, oil, and sediment samples, hydraulic conductivity data from well slug tests, and sediment grai - Publications
Creek and quarry water quality at Pipestone National Monument and pilot study of pathogen detection methods in waterfall mist at Winnewissa Falls, Pipestone, Minnesota, 2018–19
Pipestone National Monument is a 301-acre site sacred to many Native American Tribes, providing cultural exhibits and walking trails to Pipestone Creek, Winnewissa Falls, and historical pipestone quarries for numerous visitors each year. However, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has determined turbidity and fecal coliform bacteria occur in Pipestone Creek in high enough numbers to be a potenWater-surface profile maps for the Mississippi River near Prairie Island, Minnesota, 2019
Digital water-surface profile maps for a 14-mile reach of the Mississippi River near Prairie Island, Minnesota, from the confluence of the St. Croix River at Prescott, Wisconsin, to upstream from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam No. 3 (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams number MN00595) in Welch, Minnesota, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in coopeComparison of the results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to mass-spectrometry based analytical methods for six unregulated contaminants in source water and finished drinking-water samples
Regulatory entities, such as the Minnesota Department of Health, monitor public water systems for conformance with Federal and State monitoring requirements and water-quality standards. Although some contaminants have Federal and (or) State regulations and guidance values, many contaminants, such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals, are unregulated in that only non-enforceable health-based guidanceQuantifying relations between altered hydrology and fish community responses for streams in Minnesota
Altered hydrology is a stressor on aquatic life for several streams in Minnesota, but quantitative relations between specific aspects of streamflow alteration and biological responses have not been developed on a statewide scale in Minnesota. Best subsets regression analysis was used to develop linear regression models that quantify relations among five categories of hydrologic explanatory metricAssessing the influence of natural copper-nickel-bearing bedrocks of the Duluth Complex on water quality in Minnesota, 2013–15
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute, completed an assessment of regional water quality in areas of potential base-metal mining in Minnesota. Bedrock, soil, streambed sediment, and surface-water samples were collected in three watersheds that cross the basal part of the Duluth Complex with different mineral-depositPredicting geogenic arsenic in drinking water wells in glacial aquifers, north-central USA: Accounting for depth-dependent features
Chronic exposure to arsenic (As) via drinking groundwater is a human health concern worldwide. Probabilities of elevated geogenic As concentrations in groundwater were predicted in complex, glacial aquifers in Minnesota, north‐central USA, a region that commonly has elevated As concentrations in well water. Maps of elevated As hazard were created for depths typical of drinking water supply and witConcentrations of pharmaceuticals and other micropollutants in groundwater downgradient from large on-site wastewater discharges
Large subsurface treatment systems (LSTS) and rapid infiltration basins (RIB) are preferred onsite wastewater treatments compared to direct discharge of treated wastewater to streams and adjacent facilities. Discharge of these wastewater treatments may result in contaminant loading to aquifers that also serve as drinking water sources downgradient from the discharge site. Until recently, few studiWastewater indicators, hormones, sterols, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals in soil at an agricultural field irrigated with domestic septage, central Minnesota, September 2014
Treated domestic septage can be used to irrigate agricultural fields as a disposal method or as a means to reuse water. Because traditional on-site treatment systems are not designed to remove wastewater indicators, hormones, sterols, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals, land application of septage potentially results in soil contamination. Soils were collected and analyzed from four sites in a centrSimulation and assessment of groundwater flow and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes of the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2003 through 2013: Chapter B of Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes
Water levels during 2003 through 2013 were less than mean water levels for the period 1925–2013 for several lakes in the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area in Minnesota. Previous periods of low lake-water levels generally were correlated with periods with less than mean precipitation. Increases in groundwater withdrawals and land-use changes have brought into question whether or not recent (2smwrGraphs—An R package for graphing hydrologic data, version 1.1.2
This report describes an R package called smwrGraphs, which consists of a collection of graphing functions for hydrologic data within R, a programming language and software environment for statistical computing. The functions in the package have been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to create high-quality graphs for publication or presentation of hydrologic data that meet U.S. Geological SuStatistical analysis of lake levels and field study of groundwater and surface-water exchanges in the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2002 through 2015: Chapter A of Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes
Water levels declined from 2003 to 2011 in many lakes in Ramsey and Washington Counties in the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota; however, water levels in other northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area lakes increased during the same period. Groundwater and surface-water exchanges can be important in determining lake levels where these exchanges are an important component of the wa - News