Publications

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...

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...

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)...

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...

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...

The U.S. Geological Survey and Desert Research Institute, in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Victoria County Groundwater Conservation District, Victoria Soil and Water Conservation District, and the San Antonio River Authority, evaluated the hydrologic effects of Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana (huisache)...

Widespread disposal of landfill leachate to municipal sewer infrastructure in the United States calls for an improved understanding of the relative organic-chemical contributions to the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) waste stream and associated surface-water discharge to receptors in the environment. Landfill leachate, WWTP influent, and WWTP effluent samples were collected from three...

Sediment contamination of freshwater streams in urban areas is a recognized and growing concern. As a part of a comprehensive regional stream‐quality assessment, stream‐bed sediment was sampled from streams spanning a gradient of urban intensity in the Piedmont ecoregion of the southeastern United States. We evaluated relations between a broad suite of sediment contaminants (metals...

One of the objectives of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project is to assess groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water such as the coastal lowlands aquifer system, which is often referred to in Texas as the “Gulf Coast aquifer system.” The Gulf Coast aquifer system extends from Louisiana to Mexico and is a source of

The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assessed the quality of groundwater in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water in the United States. One major aquifer in Texas that was assessed by NAWQA in 2013 is the coastal lowlands aquifer system, which is often referred to in Texas as the “Gulf Coast aquifer system.” The coastal lowlands...

Human-use pharmaceuticals in urban streams link aquatic-ecosystem health to human health. Pharmaceutical mixtures have been widely reported in larger streams due to historical emphasis on wastewater-treatment plant (WWTP) sources, with limited investigation of pharmaceutical exposures and potential effects in smaller headwater streams. In 2014–2017, the United States Geological Survey...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), analyzed streamflow trends and streamflow-related variables through 2017 in seven important water-supply basins to provide information that can help water managers with the USACE and river authorities make future water management decisions. The primary purpose of this report is to document...