Sandra Eberts is the Director, Earth Systems Processes Division for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Sandra Eberts is the USGS representative to the Source Water Collaborative—30 national organizations united to protect America's sources of drinking water. She is a member of the American Water Works Association Groundwater Committee, the International Joint Commission Science Advisory Board - Research Coordination Committee, and the Great Lakes Coordinating Committee Executive Support Group.
Sandy is a Professional Hydrogeologist. She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology from The Ohio State University and a Certificate in Legislative Studies from Georgetown University. She has been with the USGS for more than 35 years.
Science and Products
Web-Based Tool Developed through Multiagency Effort Allows Visualization of Cyanobacteria Blooms in Lakes and Reservoirs—Steps Toward Public Awareness and Exposure Prevention
USGS Streamgaging Network
Improving representation of groundwater in foundational Great Lakes hydrologic and hydrodynamic models and data sets
Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Cooperative Matching Funds Projects
Urban Waters Federal Partnership Cooperative Matching Funds Projects
National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA)
USGS Streamgages By the Numbers
Factors Affecting Vulnerability of Public-Supply Wells to Contamination
Public-Supply Well Pumping Regimes Influence Quality of Water Produced
Can hydrological models benefit from using global soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and runoff products as calibration targets?
Water priorities for the Nation—USGS Integrated Water Science basins
Water priorities for the Nation—U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Availability Assessments
Water priorities for the nation—The U.S. Geological Survey next generation water observing system
Monitoring the pulse of our Nation's rivers and streams—The U.S. Geological Survey streamgaging network
A hybrid machine learning model to predict and visualize nitrate concentration throughout the Central Valley aquifer, California, USA
Phosphorus (P) and HABs: Sources of P discharged from the Maumee River into Lake Erie
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms and U.S. Geological Survey science capabilities
A ternary age-mixing model to explain contaminant occurrence in a deep supply well
Educational webtool illustrating groundwater age effects on contaminant trends in wells
If groundwater is contaminated, will water from the well be contaminated?
Modeling nitrate at domestic and public-supply well depths in the Central Valley, California
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Science
Web-Based Tool Developed through Multiagency Effort Allows Visualization of Cyanobacteria Blooms in Lakes and Reservoirs—Steps Toward Public Awareness and Exposure Prevention
A web-based application tool utilizing satellite data—CyANWeb—developed through collaborative interagency efforts was released as part of the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) to help Federal, State, Tribal, and local partners identify when cyanobacterial blooms may be forming. Available through a web browser or as an application, the tool can access, download, and provide data to notify...USGS Streamgaging Network
The USGS Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program supports the collection and (or) delivery of both streamflow and water-level information at approximately 8,500 sites and water-level information alone for more than 1,700 additional sites. The data are served online—most in near realtime—to meet many diverse needs.Improving representation of groundwater in foundational Great Lakes hydrologic and hydrodynamic models and data sets
Groundwater plays a critical role in the water balance, however the groundwater component of the hydrologic cycle is frequently overlooked at basin scales because it is difficult to observe and quantify. We address this problem through a novel framework that combines existing hydrological models and data sets with groundwater flux estimates across Earth's largest system of lakes; the Laurentian GHarmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Cooperative Matching Funds Projects
New projects from coast to coast will advance the research on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The vivid emerald-colored algal blooms are caused by cyanobacteria, which can produce cyanotoxins that threaten human health and aquatic ecosystems and can cause major economic damage.Urban Waters Federal Partnership Cooperative Matching Funds Projects
The Urban Waters Federal Partnership reconnects urban communities with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies, particularly those communities that have been disproportionately impacted by pollution or economic distress. The UWFP draws upon Environmental Justice principles—the idea that all people, regardless of race, religion, national origin, or economic station, deserve...National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA)
Our surface water, groundwater, and aquatic ecosystems are priceless resources, used by people across the Nation for drinking, irrigation, industry, and recreation. The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project is a leading source of scientific data and knowledge for development of science-based policies and management strategies to improve and protect our water resources.USGS Streamgages By the Numbers
Get the facts and figures about the USGS Streamgaging Network, one of the largest streamgaging enterprises in the world!Factors Affecting Vulnerability of Public-Supply Wells to Contamination
More than 100 million people in the United States—about 35 percent of the population—receive their drinking water from public-supply wells. These systems can be vulnerable to contamination from naturally occurring constituents, such as radon, uranium and arsenic, and from commonly used manmade chemicals, such as fertilizers, pesticides, solvents, and gasoline hydrocarbons. Learn about the...Public-Supply Well Pumping Regimes Influence Quality of Water Produced
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists studying the vulnerability of public-supply wells to contamination have identified ways in which the seasonal operation of public-supply wells can affect the quality of water that they produce. By incorporating historical water-quality data into models of fluid flow, USGS scientists were able to estimate the amount of contaminated groundwater reaching a... - Publications
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Can hydrological models benefit from using global soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and runoff products as calibration targets?
Hydrological models are usually calibrated to in-situ streamflow observations with reasonably long and uninterrupted records. This is challenging for poorly gage or ungaged basins where such information is not available. Even for gaged basins, the single-objective calibration to gaged streamflow cannot guarantee reliable forecasts because, as has been documented elsewhere, the inverse problem is mAuthorsYiwen Mei, Juliane Mai, Hong Xuan Do, Andrew Gronewold, Howard W. Reeves, Sandra M. Eberts, Richard G. Niswonger, R. Steve Regan, Randall J. HuntWater priorities for the Nation—USGS Integrated Water Science basins
The United States faces growing challenges to its water supply, infrastructure, and aquatic ecosystems because of population growth, climate change, floods, and droughts. To help address these challenges, the U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Mission Area is integrating recent advances in monitoring, research, and modeling to improve assessments of water availability throughout the United StaAuthorsMark P. Miller, Sandra M. Eberts, Lori A. SpragueWater priorities for the Nation—U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Availability Assessments
The United States faces growing challenges to its water supply, infrastructure, and aquatic ecosystems because of population growth, climate change, floods and droughts, and aging water delivery systems. To help address these challenges, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Mission Area has established new strategic priorities that capitalize on the operational and scientific strengthAuthorsMark P. Miller, Brian R. Clark, Sandra M. Eberts, Patrick M. Lambert, Patricia ToccalinoWater priorities for the nation—The U.S. Geological Survey next generation water observing system
The challenges of providing safe and sustainable water supplies for human and ecological uses and protecting lives and property during water emergencies are well recognized. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) plays an essential role in meeting these challenges through its observational networks and renowned water science and research activities (National Academies of Science, Engineering, and MedicAuthorsSandra M. Eberts, Chad R. Wagner, Michael D. WoodsideMonitoring the pulse of our Nation's rivers and streams—The U.S. Geological Survey streamgaging network
In the late 1800s, John Wesley Powell, second Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), proposed gaging the flow of rivers and streams in the Western United States to evaluate the potential for irrigation. Around the same time, several cities in the Eastern United States established primitive streamgages to help design water-supply systems. Streamgaging technology has greatly advanced since tAuthorsSandra M. Eberts, Michael D. Woodside, Mark N. Landers, Chad R. WagnerA hybrid machine learning model to predict and visualize nitrate concentration throughout the Central Valley aquifer, California, USA
Intense demand for water in the Central Valley of California and related increases in groundwater nitrate concentration threaten the sustainability of the groundwater resource. To assess contamination risk in the region, we developed a hybrid, non-linear, machine learning model within a statistical learning framework to predict nitrate contamination of groundwater to depths of approximately 500 mAuthorsKatherine M. Ransom, Bernard T. Nolan, Jonathan A. Traum, Claudia C. Faunt, Andrew M. Bell, Jo Ann M. Gronberg, David C. Wheeler, Celia Zamora, Bryant C. Jurgens, Gregory E. Schwarz, Kenneth Belitz, Sandra M. Eberts, George Kourakos, Thomas HarterPhosphorus (P) and HABs: Sources of P discharged from the Maumee River into Lake Erie
No abstract available.AuthorsRebecca Logsdon Muenich, Laura Johnson, John F. Bratton, Kristin DeVanna Fussell, Doug Kane, Margaret Kalcic, Dale M. Robertson, Sandra M. Eberts, Mary Anne Evans, Kenneth J. GibbonsCyanobacterial harmful algal blooms and U.S. Geological Survey science capabilities
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) are increasingly a global concern because CyanoHABs pose a threat to human and aquatic ecosystem health and cause economic damages. Despite advances in scientific understanding of cyanobacteria and associated compounds, many unanswered questions remain about occurrence, environmental triggers for toxicity, and the ability to predict the timing, duratAuthorsJennifer L. Graham, Neil M. Dubrovsky, Sandra M. EbertsA ternary age-mixing model to explain contaminant occurrence in a deep supply well
The age distribution of water from a public-supply well in a deep alluvial aquifer was estimated and used to help explain arsenic variability in the water. The age distribution was computed using a ternary mixing model that combines three lumped parameter models of advection-dispersion transport of environmental tracers, which represent relatively recent recharge (post- 1950s) containing volatileAuthorsBryant C. Jurgens, Laura M. Bexfield, Sandra M. EbertsEducational webtool illustrating groundwater age effects on contaminant trends in wells
No abstract available.AuthorsJohn Karl Böhlke, Bryant C. Jurgens, David J. Uselmann, Sandra M. EbertsIf groundwater is contaminated, will water from the well be contaminated?
No abstract available.AuthorsSandra M. EbertsModeling nitrate at domestic and public-supply well depths in the Central Valley, California
Aquifer vulnerability models were developed to map groundwater nitrate concentration at domestic and public-supply well depths in the Central Valley, California. We compared three modeling methods for ability to predict nitrate concentration >4 mg/L: logistic regression (LR), random forest classification (RFC), and random forest regression (RFR). All three models indicated processes of nitrogen feAuthorsBernard T. Nolan, JoAnn M. Gronberg, Claudia C. Faunt, Sandra M. Eberts, Ken BelitzNon-USGS Publications**
Landon, M.K., Jurgens, B.C., Katz, B.G., Eberts, S.M., Burow, K.R., and Crandall, C.A., 2010, Depth-dependent sampling to identify short-circuit pathways to public-supply wells in multiple aquifer settings in the United States: Hydrogeology Journal, v. 18, no. 3, p. 577-593.Eberts, S.M., Harvey, G.J., Beckman, S.W., and Jones, S.A., 2003, Multiple process assessment for a chlorinated-solvent plume, In Phytoremediation: Transformation and Control of Contaminants, McCutcheon, S.C. and Schnoor, J.L., eds.: New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.Eberts, S., Schalk, C., Vose, J. and Harvey, G., 2000, Hydrologic effects of cottonwood trees on a shallow aquifer containing trichloroethene: Hydrological Science and Technology, v. 15, p. 115-121.Bair, E.S., Sheets, R.A., and Eberts, S.M., 1990, Particle-tracking Analysis of flow paths and traveltimes from hypothetical spill sites within the capture area of a wellfield: Ground Water, 28: 884-892. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.1990.tb01724.x.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.