Hydrologist for the Dakota Water Science Center
Rochelle Nustad is a hydrologist at the Dakota Water Science Center. Rochelle received a B.S. degree in Environmental Studies from Bemidji State University and a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from North Dakota State University. Since joining the USGS in 2000, Rochelle has been involved in various hydrologic investigations including, numerical modeling of water quality and quantity, sediment and nutrient loading, and water-quality monitoring.
Education and Certifications
M.S. Environmental Engineering, 2001, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota
B.S. Environmental Studies, 1997, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota
Science and Products
Water Resources of the Energy Development Area of the Williston Basin in Eastern Montana, Western North Dakota, and Northwest South Dakota
A set of comma-separated value tables containing data for streamflow, water quality, surface-water features, and produced waters in the energy development area of the Williston Basin in eastern Montana, western North Dakota, and northwest South Dakota.
Model Scripts and Water-Quality Data for Trends in the Rapid Creek Basin, South Dakota, 1970–2020
This page contains a zipped folder which contains all items necessary to run trend models and produce results published in U.S. Geological Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5086 [Tatge, W.S., Hoogestraat, G., and Nustad, R.A., 2022, Water-Quality Data and Trends in the Rapid Creek Basin, South Dakota, 1970–2020: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5086]. To run t
Data and scripts used in water-quality trend and load analysis in the Heart River Basin, North Dakota, 1970-2020
A comprehensive study to evaluate salinity and nutrient conditions in the Heart River Basin, North Dakota was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Grant County Soil Conservation District. In this dataset three zipped folders are provided which contain all files necessary to run trend, load, and geochemical models and
Water-quality and streamflow data for United States and Canadian sites in the Red River Basin and scripts for trend analysis - Data supporting water-quality trend analysis in the Red River of the North basin, 1970-2017
A comprehensive study to evaluate water-quality trends in the international Red River of the North basin and to assess water-quality conditions for Red River of the North crossing the international boundary near Emerson, Manitoba was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the International Joint Commission, North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ) and Mi
Filter Total Items: 21
Potential effects of energy development on environmental resources of the Williston Basin in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota—Water resources
The Williston Basin has been a leading oil and gas producing area for more than 50 years. While oil production initially peaked within the Williston Basin in the mid-1980s, production rapidly increased in the mid-2000s, largely because of improved horizontal (directional) drilling and hydraulic fracturing methods. In 2012, energy development associated with the Bakken Formation was identified as a
Water-quality data and trends in the Rapid Creek Basin, South Dakota, 1970–2020
Surface-water-quality data in the Rapid Creek Basin in South Dakota were compiled to assess basic trends in the water quality of Rapid Creek. Spatial and temporal patterns in water quality were described for major ions, sediment, total suspended solids, nutrients, field measurements, bacteria, and select metals for the period of 1970–2020, and a water-quality trend analysis was completed for sites
Evaluation of salinity and nutrient conditions in the Heart River Basin, North Dakota, 1970–2020
The Heart River Basin is predominantly an agricultural basin in western North Dakota and is approximately 3,350 square miles. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Grant County Soil Conservation District, completed a study to assess spatial and temporal patterns of water quality in the Heart River Basin. Th
Water-quality trends for selected sites and constituents in the international Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota and North Dakota, United States, and Manitoba, Canada, 1970–2017
A comprehensive study to evaluate water-quality trends, while considering natural hydroclimatic variability, in the Red River of the North Basin and assess water-quality conditions for the Red River of the North crossing the international boundary near Emerson, Manitoba, Canada (the binational site), was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the International Joint Commission
Time-series model, statistical methods, and software documentation for R–QWTREND—An R package for analyzing trends in stream-water quality
As part of a U.S. Geological Survey water-quality study started in 2018, in cooperation with the International Joint Commission, North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, a publicly available software package called R–QWTREND was developed for analyzing trends in stream-water quality. The R–QWTREND package is a collection of functions written in R, a
Interactive tool to estimate groundwater elevations in central and eastern North Dakota
This report describes an interactive tool (NDakGWtool) in which a statistical model is developed using locally weighted regression to estimate monthly mean groundwater elevations for a specified latitude and longitude, referred to as the “user-specified location.” For each user-specified location, seven models are developed for each month from April through October. Localized, high spatial-resolut
Streamflow, sediment transport, and geomorphic change during the 2011 flood on the Missouri River near Bismarck-Mandan, ND
Geomorphic change from extreme events in large managed rivers has implications for river management. A steady-state, quasi-three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was applied to a 29-km reach of the Missouri River using 2011 flood data. Model results for an extreme flow (500-year recurrence interval [RI]) and an elevated managed flow (75-year RI) were used to assess sediment mobility through examinat
Runoff and water-quality characteristics of three Discovery Farms in North Dakota, 2008–16
Agricultural producers in North Dakota are aware of concerns about degrading water quality, and many of the producers are interested in implementing conservation practices to reduce the export of nutrients from their farms. Producers often implement conservation practices without knowledge of the water quality of the runoff from their farm or if conservation practices they may implement have any e
Flood effects provide evidence of an alternate stable state from dam management on the Upper Missouri River
We examine how historic flooding in 2011 affected the geomorphic adjustments created by dam regulation along the approximately 120 km free flowing reach of the Upper Missouri River bounded upstream by the Garrison Dam (1953) and downstream by Lake Oahe Reservoir (1959) near the City of Bismarck, ND, USA. The largest flood since dam regulation occurred in 2011. Flood releases from the Garrison Dam
2011 Souris River flood—Will it happen again?
The Souris River Basin is a 61,000 square kilometer basin in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the state of North Dakota. Record setting rains in May and June of 2011 led to record flooding with peak annual streamflow values (762 cubic meters per second [m3/s]) more than twice that of any previously recorded peak streamflow and more than five times the estimated 100 year postregulatio
Water-quality characteristics in runoff for three discovery farms in North Dakota, 2008-12
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with North Dakota State University Agriculture Research Extension and in collaboration with North Dakota State Department of Health, North Dakota State Water Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and several agricultural producers, helped organize a Discovery Farms program in North Dakota in 2007. Discharge measurements and water-quality sampl
Geomorphic change on the Missouri River during the flood of 2011
The 2011 flood on the Missouri River was one of the largest floods since the river became regulated by a series of high dams in the mid-20th century (greater than 150,000 cubic feet per second during the peak). The flood persisted through most of the summer, eroding river banks, adding sand to sandbars, and moving the thalweg of the channel in many places. The U.S. Geological Survey monitored and
Science and Products
- Data
Water Resources of the Energy Development Area of the Williston Basin in Eastern Montana, Western North Dakota, and Northwest South Dakota
A set of comma-separated value tables containing data for streamflow, water quality, surface-water features, and produced waters in the energy development area of the Williston Basin in eastern Montana, western North Dakota, and northwest South Dakota.Model Scripts and Water-Quality Data for Trends in the Rapid Creek Basin, South Dakota, 1970–2020
This page contains a zipped folder which contains all items necessary to run trend models and produce results published in U.S. Geological Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5086 [Tatge, W.S., Hoogestraat, G., and Nustad, R.A., 2022, Water-Quality Data and Trends in the Rapid Creek Basin, South Dakota, 1970–2020: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5086]. To run tData and scripts used in water-quality trend and load analysis in the Heart River Basin, North Dakota, 1970-2020
A comprehensive study to evaluate salinity and nutrient conditions in the Heart River Basin, North Dakota was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Grant County Soil Conservation District. In this dataset three zipped folders are provided which contain all files necessary to run trend, load, and geochemical models andWater-quality and streamflow data for United States and Canadian sites in the Red River Basin and scripts for trend analysis - Data supporting water-quality trend analysis in the Red River of the North basin, 1970-2017
A comprehensive study to evaluate water-quality trends in the international Red River of the North basin and to assess water-quality conditions for Red River of the North crossing the international boundary near Emerson, Manitoba was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the International Joint Commission, North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality (NDDEQ) and Mi - Publications
Filter Total Items: 21
Potential effects of energy development on environmental resources of the Williston Basin in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota—Water resources
The Williston Basin has been a leading oil and gas producing area for more than 50 years. While oil production initially peaked within the Williston Basin in the mid-1980s, production rapidly increased in the mid-2000s, largely because of improved horizontal (directional) drilling and hydraulic fracturing methods. In 2012, energy development associated with the Bakken Formation was identified as aWater-quality data and trends in the Rapid Creek Basin, South Dakota, 1970–2020
Surface-water-quality data in the Rapid Creek Basin in South Dakota were compiled to assess basic trends in the water quality of Rapid Creek. Spatial and temporal patterns in water quality were described for major ions, sediment, total suspended solids, nutrients, field measurements, bacteria, and select metals for the period of 1970–2020, and a water-quality trend analysis was completed for sitesEvaluation of salinity and nutrient conditions in the Heart River Basin, North Dakota, 1970–2020
The Heart River Basin is predominantly an agricultural basin in western North Dakota and is approximately 3,350 square miles. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Grant County Soil Conservation District, completed a study to assess spatial and temporal patterns of water quality in the Heart River Basin. ThWater-quality trends for selected sites and constituents in the international Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota and North Dakota, United States, and Manitoba, Canada, 1970–2017
A comprehensive study to evaluate water-quality trends, while considering natural hydroclimatic variability, in the Red River of the North Basin and assess water-quality conditions for the Red River of the North crossing the international boundary near Emerson, Manitoba, Canada (the binational site), was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the International Joint CommissionTime-series model, statistical methods, and software documentation for R–QWTREND—An R package for analyzing trends in stream-water quality
As part of a U.S. Geological Survey water-quality study started in 2018, in cooperation with the International Joint Commission, North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, a publicly available software package called R–QWTREND was developed for analyzing trends in stream-water quality. The R–QWTREND package is a collection of functions written in R, aInteractive tool to estimate groundwater elevations in central and eastern North Dakota
This report describes an interactive tool (NDakGWtool) in which a statistical model is developed using locally weighted regression to estimate monthly mean groundwater elevations for a specified latitude and longitude, referred to as the “user-specified location.” For each user-specified location, seven models are developed for each month from April through October. Localized, high spatial-resolutStreamflow, sediment transport, and geomorphic change during the 2011 flood on the Missouri River near Bismarck-Mandan, ND
Geomorphic change from extreme events in large managed rivers has implications for river management. A steady-state, quasi-three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was applied to a 29-km reach of the Missouri River using 2011 flood data. Model results for an extreme flow (500-year recurrence interval [RI]) and an elevated managed flow (75-year RI) were used to assess sediment mobility through examinatRunoff and water-quality characteristics of three Discovery Farms in North Dakota, 2008–16
Agricultural producers in North Dakota are aware of concerns about degrading water quality, and many of the producers are interested in implementing conservation practices to reduce the export of nutrients from their farms. Producers often implement conservation practices without knowledge of the water quality of the runoff from their farm or if conservation practices they may implement have any eFlood effects provide evidence of an alternate stable state from dam management on the Upper Missouri River
We examine how historic flooding in 2011 affected the geomorphic adjustments created by dam regulation along the approximately 120 km free flowing reach of the Upper Missouri River bounded upstream by the Garrison Dam (1953) and downstream by Lake Oahe Reservoir (1959) near the City of Bismarck, ND, USA. The largest flood since dam regulation occurred in 2011. Flood releases from the Garrison Dam2011 Souris River flood—Will it happen again?
The Souris River Basin is a 61,000 square kilometer basin in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the state of North Dakota. Record setting rains in May and June of 2011 led to record flooding with peak annual streamflow values (762 cubic meters per second [m3/s]) more than twice that of any previously recorded peak streamflow and more than five times the estimated 100 year postregulatioWater-quality characteristics in runoff for three discovery farms in North Dakota, 2008-12
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with North Dakota State University Agriculture Research Extension and in collaboration with North Dakota State Department of Health, North Dakota State Water Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and several agricultural producers, helped organize a Discovery Farms program in North Dakota in 2007. Discharge measurements and water-quality samplGeomorphic change on the Missouri River during the flood of 2011
The 2011 flood on the Missouri River was one of the largest floods since the river became regulated by a series of high dams in the mid-20th century (greater than 150,000 cubic feet per second during the peak). The flood persisted through most of the summer, eroding river banks, adding sand to sandbars, and moving the thalweg of the channel in many places. The U.S. Geological Survey monitored and - Multimedia