Kelly L Warner
Kelly Warner has been a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey for over 20 years with expertise in water-quality, groundwater, and continuous nutrient monitoring. The focus of her research is on nutrients and arsenic. Kelly is the Deputy Director for Science at the Central Midwest Water Science Center and coordinates research for the Center.
Biography
Kelly received a B.A. from Knox College and a M.S. from Northern Illinois University. While in graduate school, she joined the USGS as a student intern studying lakes and surface water in northern Illinois. After completing graduate school, Kelly worked for the Illinois State Geological Survey on geologic and hydrologic site analyses for the superconducting super collider. She moved to Urbana, IL to work for the U.S. Geological Survey on a study of groundwater in the Great Lakes basin. This study involved States, Canada, and the International Joint Commission to assess groundwater quality in the Great Lakes Basin. Groundwater is now part of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and in 2016 Kelly helped in writing the first international biennial report on Great Lakes groundwater quality. Kelly has been an integral part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program as a Regional Aquifer Coordinator where she led a team of hydrologists from Maine to Washington in investigations of water quality of the glacial aquifer system. Water quality of the glacial aquifer system is critical to 41 million people that rely on the glacial aquifer for drinking water. While working with NAWQA, Kelly became Chief of Investigations at the USGS in Illinois and helped lead a regional team in implementing a continuous monitoring network and investigation of nutrients in the Mississippi River basin. Accurately quantifying nutrient loading to the Mississippi River is important for predicting the changes in the Hypoxic Zone, where oxygen is so depleted that life cannot be sustained. Since 2017, Kelly has been the Deputy Director for Science at the Central Midwest Water Science Center and is coordinating all water research studies in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.
Science and Products
Iowa Flood Information
The USGS provides practical, unbiased information about the Nation's rivers and streams that is crucial in mitigating hazards associated with floods. This site provides information about flooding that has occurred in Iowa.
Real-time information on floods in Iowa is available throught the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS)....
Research and Investigations
The USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center (CMWSC) is comprised of water science offices in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.
The MOWSC conducts research and monitoring on a wide variety of hydrologicial issues affecting steams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater in our three states and across the Nation.
Completed and Archived Projects - Streamflow, Groundwater, and Lakes, CMWSC
Completed and Archived Projects - Streamflow, Groundwater, and Lakes, CMWSC
The Great Flood of 1993
The Great Flood of 1993 occurred from May through September along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and their tributaries. Major flooding occurred across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois resulting in over 50 deaths and billions of dollars in damages.
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A snapshot of women of the U.S. Geological Survey in STEM and related careers
IntroductionThe term “STEM” has been used to group together the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to describe education and professions related to these fields. The professional fields connected to STEM education are thought of as engineering, medicine, and computer technology. Yet these professional fields are merely...
Aragon-Long, Susan C.; Burkett, Virginia R.; Weyers, Holly S.; Haig, Susan M.; Davenport, Marjorie S.; Warner, Kelly L.Interactions of water quality and integrated groundwater management: Examples from the United States and Europe: Chapter 14
Groundwater is available in many parts of the world, but the quality of the water may limit its use. Contaminants can limit the use of groundwater through concerns associated with human health, aquatic health, economic costs, or even societal perception. Given this broad range of concerns, this chapter focuses on examples of how water quality...
Warner, Kelly L.; Barataud, Fabienne; Hunt, Randall J.; Benoit, Marc; Anglade, Juliette; Borchardt, Mark A.The quality of our Nation's waters: water quality in the glacial aquifer system, northern United States, 1993-2009
The glacial aquifer system underlies much of the northern United States. About one-sixth (41 million people) of the United States population relies on the glacial aquifer system for drinking water. The primary importance of the glacial aquifer system is as a source of water for public supply to the population centers in the region, but the aquifer...
Warner, Kelly L.; Ayotte, Joseph D.Real-time continuous nitrate monitoring in Illinois in 2013
Many sources contribute to the nitrogen found in surface water in Illinois. Illinois is located in the most productive agricultural area in the country, and nitrogen fertilizer is commonly used to maximize corn production in this area. Additionally, septic/wastewater systems, industrial emissions, and lawn fertilizer are common sources of nitrogen...
Warner, Kelly L.; Terrio, Paul J.; Straub, Timothy D.; Roseboom, Donald; Johnson, Gary P.Relations that affect the probability and prediction of nitrate concentration in private wells in the glacial aquifer system in the United States
Nitrate in private wells in the glacial aquifer system is a concern for an estimated 17 million people using private wells because of the proximity of many private wells to nitrogen sources. Yet, less than 5 percent of private wells sampled in this study contained nitrate in concentrations that exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (...
Warner, Kelly L.; Arnold, Terri L.Using land-cover change as dynamic variables in surface-water and water-quality models
Land-cover data are typically used in hydrologic modeling to establish or describe land surface dynamics. This project is designed to demonstrate the use of land-cover change data in surface-water and water-quality models by incorporating land-cover as a variable condition. The project incorporates three different scenarios that vary...
Karstensen, Krista A.; Warner, Kelly L.; Kuhn, AnneUsing land-cover data to understand effects of agricultural and urban development on regional water quality
The Land-Cover Trends project is a collaborative effort between the Geographic Analysis and Monitoring Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to understand the rates, trends, causes, and consequences of contemporary land-use and land-...
Karstensen, Krista A.; Warner, Kelly L.Occurrence and Distribution of Iron, Manganese, and Selected Trace Elements in Ground Water in the Glacial Aquifer System of the Northern United States
Dissolved trace elements, including iron and manganese, are often an important factor in use of ground water for drinking-water supplies in the glacial aquifer system of the United States. The glacial aquifer system underlies most of New England, extends through the Midwest, and underlies portions of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska....
Groschen, George E.; Arnold, Terri L.; Morrow, William S.; Warner, Kelly L.Hydrochemical Regions of the Glacial Aquifer System, Northern United States, and Their Environmental and Water-Quality Characteristics
The glacial aquifer system in the United States is a large (953,000 square miles) regional aquifer system of heterogeneous composition. As described in this report, the glacial aquifer system includes all unconsolidated geologic material above bedrock that lies on or north of the line of maximum glacial advance within the United States. Examining...
Arnold, Terri L.; Warner, Kelly L.; Groschen, George E.; Caldwell, James P.; Kalkhoff, Stephen J.Framework for regional synthesis of water-quality data for the glacial aquifer system in the United States
The glacial aquifer system is the largest principal aquifer in aerial extent and ground-water use for public supply in the United States. A principal aquifer is defined as a regionally extensive aquifer or aquifer system that has the potential to be used as a source of potable water (U.S. Geological Survey, 2003). Multiple aquifers often are...
Warner, Kelly L.; Arnold, Terri L.Water Quality in the Upper Illinois River Basin Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, 1999-2001
This report contains the major findings of a 1999?2001 assessment of water quality in the upper Illinois River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is...
Groschen, George E.; Arnold, Terri L.; Harris, Mitchell A.; Dupre, David H.; Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Scudder, Barbara C.; Morrow, William S.; Terrio, Paul J.; Warner, Kelly L.; Murphy, Elizabeth A.Arsenic in Illinois ground water : community and private supplies
Assessing the distribution of arsenic in ground water from community-water supplies, private supplies, or monitoring wells is part of the process of determining the risk of arsenic contamination of drinking water in Illinois. Lifestyle, genetic, and environmental factors make certain members of the population more susceptible to adverse health...
Warner, Kelly L.; Martin, Angel; Arnold, Terri L.