Publications
Read publications and other informational products to learn more about USGS science occurring in Region 6.
Filter Total Items: 1623
Groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January 2017 through December 2019
Groundwater-quality environmental data were collected from 983 wells as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Program and are included in this report. The data were collected from six types of well networks: principal aquifer study networks, which are used to assess the quality of groundwater used for public water supply; land-us
Authors
James A. Kingsbury, Laura M. Bexfield, Terri Arnold, MaryLynn Musgrove, Melinda L. Erickson, James R. Degnan, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Bruce D. Lindsey, Kenneth Belitz
Multi-region assessment of chemical mixture exposures and predicted cumulative effects in USA wadeable urban/agriculture-gradient streams
Chemical-contaminant mixtures are widely reported in large stream reaches in urban/agriculture-developed watersheds, but mixture compositions and aggregate biological effects are less well understood in corresponding smaller headwaters, which comprise most of stream length, riparian connectivity, and spatial biodiversity. During 2014–2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured 389 unique orga
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Kristin M. Romanok, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Daniel T. Button, Daren M. Carlisle, Bradley Huffman, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Sharon L. Qi, Kelly L. Smalling, Ian R. Waite, Peter C. Van Metre
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
Assessing the impact of drought on arsenic exposure from private domestic wells in the conterminous United States
This study assesses the potential impact of drought on arsenic exposure from private domestic wells by using a previously developed statistical model that predicts the probability of elevated arsenic concentrations (>10 μg per liter) in water from domestic wells located in the conterminous United States (CONUS). The application of the model to simulate drought conditions used systematically reduce
Authors
Melissa Lombard, Johnni Daniel, Zuha Jeddy, Lauren Hay, Joseph D. Ayotte
Measuring U.S. Federal Agency progress toward implementation of alternative methods in toxicity testing
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended to Congress that federal agencies establish a workgroup through ICCVAM to propose metrics for assessing progress on the development and promotion of alternative methods. This document describes the recommendations of the ICCVAM Metrics Workgroup.
Authors
John D. Gordon, Carol Clarke, Matthew Johnson, Emily N. Reinke, Barnett A. Rattner, Steve Hwang, Evisabel Craig, Anna Lowit, Paul Brown, Karen L. Davis-Bruno, Annabelle Crusan, Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Jueichuan Kang, Robin Levis, Donna L. Mendrick, Jill Merrill, Brian Berridge, Warren Casey, Nicole Kleinstreuer, Harold Watson
Common insecticide disrupts aquatic communities: A mesocosm-to-field ecological risk assessment of fipronil and its degradates in U.S. streams
Insecticides in streams are increasingly a global concern, yet information on safe concentrations for aquatic ecosystems is sparse. In a 30-day mesocosm experiment exposing native benthic aquatic invertebrates to the common insecticide fipronil and four degradates, fipronil compounds caused altered emergence and trophic cascades. Effect concentrations eliciting a 50% response (EC50) were developed
Authors
Janet L. Miller, Travis S. Schmidt, Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler, Mark W. Sandstrom, Lisa H. Nowell, Daren Carlisle, Patrick W. Moran
Compounds of emerging concern detected in water samples from potable water and wastewater treatment plants and detected in water and bed-sediment samples from sites on the Trinity River, Dallas, Texas, 2009–13
The population in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area in northern Texas is rapidly growing, resulting in a rapid increase in the demand for potable water and an increase in the discharge of wastewater treatment plant effluent. An assessment of compounds of emerging concern (CECs) in samples collected at potable water and wastewater treatment plants in Dallas and downstream from Dallas in the T
Authors
Christopher J. Churchill, Stanley Baldys III, Cathina L. Gunn, Craig A. Mobley, Daniel P. Quigley
Effects of urbanization on water quality in the Edwards aquifer, San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas
OverviewContinuous water-quality monitoring data and chemical analysis of surface-water and groundwater samples collected during 2017–19 in the recharge zone of the Edwards aquifer were used to develop a better understanding of the surface-water/groundwater connection in and around Bexar County in south-central Texas. This fact sheet is provided to inform water-resource managers, city planners, th
Authors
Stephen P. Opsahl, MaryLynn Musgrove, Keith E. Mecum
Temporal and spatial variability of water quality in the San Antonio segment of the Edwards aquifer recharge zone, Texas, with an emphasis on periods of groundwater recharge, September 2017–July 2019
Ongoing urbanization on the Edwards aquifer recharge zone in the greater San Antonio area raises concern about the potential adverse effects on the public water supply from development. To address this concern, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of San Antonio, studied patterns of temporal and spatial changes in water quality at selected surface-water and groundwater sites in
Authors
Stephen P. Opsahl, MaryLynn Musgrove, Keith E. Mecum
Status of groundwater-level altitudes and long-term groundwater-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers, Houston-Galveston region, Texas, 2020
Since the early 1900s, most of the groundwater withdrawals in the Houston-Galveston region, Texas, have been from the three primary aquifers that compose the Gulf Coast aquifer system—the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers. Withdrawals from these aquifers are used for municipal supply, commercial and industrial use, and irrigation. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooper
Authors
Christopher L. Braun, Jason K. Ramage
Characterization of peak streamflow and stages at selected streamgages in eastern and northeastern Oklahoma from the May to June 2019 flood event—With an emphasis on flood peaks downstream from dams and on tributaries to the Arkansas River
As much as 22 inches of rain fell in Oklahoma in May 2019, resulting in historic flooding along the Arkansas River and its tributaries in eastern and northeastern Oklahoma. The flooding along the Arkansas River and its tributaries that began in May continued into June 2019. Peaks of record were measured at nine U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) streamgages on v
Authors
Jason M. Lewis, David J. Williams, Sarah J. Harris, A.R. Trevisan
Geochemical assessment of the Hueco Bolson, New Mexico and Texas, 2016–17
Understanding groundwater quality in transboundary aquifers like the Hueco Bolson is important for the 2.7 million people along the United States and Mexico border living in and near the combined metropolitan areas of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, who rely on groundwater for water supply. To better understand water-quality conditions in the Mexico–New Mexico–Texas transboundary area,
Authors
Patricia B. Ging, Delbert G. Humberson, Scott J. Ikard
InFRM Flood Decision Support Toolbox user guide
Digital geospatial flood inundation mapping can be a powerful tool for flood risk management. Flood preparedness, communication, warning, response and mitigation can be enhanced by flood inundation mapping that shows floodwater extent and depth over the land surface. Flood inundation maps that accurately reflect observed and forecasted hydrodynamic conditions enable officials to make timely oper
Authors