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Kelly L Warner

Kelly is the Deputy Director of Science for the USGS Central Midwest Water Science Center and manages a science and research program of $14.6M and over 65 staff. 

Kelly has been on the leading edge of new technology and interpretive science. She began her career as a graduate student collecting surface water data and working on an urban lake project.  As digital spatial applications evolved, she developed an international study of groundwater quality in the Great Lakes basin that was supported by International Joint Commission. Kelly helped to write the groundwater and urban water component of the first biennial report on Great Lakes groundwater quality as part of international Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Kelly and colleagues presented this research to the International Association of Hydrogeologists in Rome, Italy, on the impact of urban development on water quality for US and Canada.

Kelly spent part of her career as Regional Aquifer Coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program where she led a regional team of hydrologists from Maine to Washington on investigations of water quality in the glacial aquifer system. New analytical and interpretive methods were used for understanding changes in water quality across northern United States including methods of arsenic speciation and redox mapping. As a supervisor of water quality studies in Illinois, Kelly helped grow a large program using new methods for continuous monitoring of nitrate and phosphate. The network in Illinois was one of the largest in the country which led to her participation in a Congressional briefing in Washington, DC on the science and interpretive value of the new continuous nutrient sensors.  Since 2017, she has been the Deputy Director of Science and leading innovative science and research on water resources in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.

 

Education and Certifications

  • B.S., Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois

  • M.S. Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, Illinois

  • University of Illinois, additional study, Urbana, Illinois 

Affiliations and Memberships

  • Illinois Nutrient Monitoring Council

  • Prairie Research Institute Technical Advisory Board

  • USGS Diversity and Inclusion Regional and National (interim) Councils from 2015-2021

  • Upper Mississippi River Basin Association Water Quality Task Force

  • Illinois Coordinating Committee on Groundwater

Honors and Awards

  • USGS Superior Service Award

  • USGS Shoemaker Award (2010 and 2019)

  • National Association of Government Communicators Blue Pencil Award for Excellence (2019).

  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Commander Coin for Excellence, Rock Island District (2019)

Abstracts and Presentations

  • Warner, K., Howard, K., Gerber, R. Soo Chan, G., and Ford, D., 2016. Effects of urban development on groundwater. Chapt. 6 in Grannemann, G. and Van Stempvoort, D. (Eds.), Groundwater science relevant to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: A status report. Final version, May, 2016. Published (online) by Environment and Climate Change Canada and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

  • Howard, K., Ricardo, H., Shivakoti, B.R., Warner, K., Gogu, R., Nkhuwa, D., 2015, Resilient cities and groundwater.  Foster, S. and Tyson, G., eds., International Association of Hydrogeologists, publisher.

  • Warner, K.L., and Howard, K.W.F, 2015, United States and Canada Assess the Impact of Urban Development on Groundwater Quality—Example from the Great Lakes Basin:  42nd Congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, Rome, Italy, September, 2015, 

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 22

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 the tip of the iceberg. Numerous opportunities in
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Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center

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 issues influence integrated groundwater management. One
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Water Resources, Central Midwest Water Science Center

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 system also provides drinking water for domestic u
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Water Resources

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 in urban areas of Illinois. In agricultural areas,
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Water Resources, Central Midwest Water Science Center

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 (USEPA) Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 10 mg/L (mi
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Water Resources, Central Midwest Water Science Center

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 hydrologically and geographically: 1) Agriculture in the Plains,

Using 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-cover change in the United States. The data produce

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. Concentrations of dissolved trace elements in ground water can v
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Water Resources, Central Midwest Water Science Center

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 ground-water quality on a regional scale indicates
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Water Resources, Central Midwest Water Science Center

Pesticide and transformation product detections and age-dating relations from till and sand deposits

Pesticide and transformation product concentrations and frequencies in ground water from areas of similar crop and pesticide applications may vary substantially with differing lithologies. Pesticide analysis data for atrazine, metolachlor, alachlor, acetochlor, and cyanazine and their pesticide transformation products were collected at 69 monitoring wells in Illinois and northern Indiana to docume

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 grouped into large, extensive aquifer systems such as th
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Water Resources, Central Midwest Water Science Center

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 discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues.
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Water Resources

Pre-USGS Publications

Mehnert, E., Wehrmann, H.A., Warner, K.L., Hackley, K.C., Holm, T.R., Larson, T.H.,
Roadcap, G.S., Panno, S.V., Wilson, S.D., and Pugin, A., 2004, The Mahomet
Aquifer--recent advances in our knowledge: Illinois State Geological Survey Open
File Series 2004-16, 19 p.
Herzog, B., Stiff, B., Chenowith, C.A., Warner, K.L., Sieverling, J.B., and Avery, C.F.,
1994, Buried bedrock surface of Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey Map Series,
Map 5, 1:500,000 scale map
Warner, K.L., 1992, The role of the U.S. Geological Survey in the Great Lakes basin:
U.S. Water News, v.9, no.6, p.21-22.
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WaterWatch Map of flood and high flow conditions in Iowa

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).A map of Iowa gages currently at high-flow or flood conditions can...
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Central Midwest Water Science Center
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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).A map of Iowa gages currently at high-flow or flood conditions can...
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Photo of Hydrologist Dan Christiansen

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.
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Central Midwest Water Science Center
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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.
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Aerial view of Missouri River during 1993 flooding

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.Photo albumThe Great Flood of 1993-Recordbreaking Peaks
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Central Midwest Water Science Center
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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.Photo albumThe Great Flood of 1993-Recordbreaking Peaks
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Groundwater waterfall

Completed and Archived Projects - Streamflow, Groundwater, and Lakes, CMWSC

Completed and Archived Projects - Streamflow, Groundwater, and Lakes, CMWSC
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Central Midwest Water Science Center
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Completed and Archived Projects - Streamflow, Groundwater, and Lakes, CMWSC

Completed and Archived Projects - Streamflow, Groundwater, and Lakes, CMWSC
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Science and Products