Publications

The Highland Lakes, located in central Texas, are a series of seven reservoirs on the Colorado River (Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake Lyndon B. Johnson, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, Lake Austin, and Town Lake). The reservoirs provide hydroelectric power for the area. In addition, Lake Austin and Town Lake also provide the public water supply for the Austin metropolitan area. Saline...

This report summarizes in table format 32 aquatic vertebrate (primarily fish), 54 aquatic invertebrate, and 13 aquatic plant studies available for the area of the South-Central Texas study unit of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment. The studies, published mostly during 1973–97, pertain to the Guadalupe, San Antonio, and Nueces River Basins, the San Antonio...

Encroachment of urban development on the outcrop of the Edwards aquifer (the recharge zone), particularly in Bexar County, has raised the issue of possible contamination of water that enters the aquifer. Increasing residential and commercial development on the recharge zone increases the potential for runoff containing toxic substances, oil spills, or leakage of hazardous materials to...

Water-quality samples were collected during April 1996-April 1998 at three intensive fixed sites in the San Antonio region of the South-Central Texas study unit as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program. The sampling strategy for the intensive fixed-site assessment is centered on obtaining information about the occurrence and seasonal patterns of...

Water-resources data for the 1998 water year for Texas consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents in lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality in wells. Volume 4 contains water levels for 759 observation wells and 146 water-quality data for monitoring wells. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System...

Town Lake, the last in the chain of Highland Lakes on the Colorado River, runs through the center of Austin, Texas. On any given day, grebes and coots dot the water, rowers skim alongside, and the sparkle of the sun on the water can be admired from the adjacent hike and bike path and from the windows of nearby office buildings. During the summer months, crowds gather along the shores of...

Water quality in the Trinity River basin was studied during 1992-95 as part of the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Studies included chemical sampling of streams, streambed sediments, biota, and ground water; measuring distributions of biological communities in streams; and measuring physical characteristics of streams that affect biological habitat. The sampling...

This report is one in an annual series of reports that depicts water-level altitudes and water-level changes since 1977 and compaction since 1973 in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers in the Houston-Galveston region, Texas. The report, prepared in cooperation with the City of Houston and the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District, presents maps for the Chicot and Evangeline...

As of September 30, 1998, the surface-water data-collection network of Texas (table 1) included 313 continuous-recording streamflow stations (D), 22 gage-height record only stations (G), 23 crest-stage partial-record stations (C), 39 flood-hydrograph partial-record stations (H), 25 low-flow partial-record stations (L), 1 continuous-recording temperature station (M1), 25 continuous...

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, began a study to evaluate the effects of agricultural best-management practices on surface- and ground-water quantity and quality in the Seco Creek watershed. The USGS study is part of a larger study known as the Seco Creek Water...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation, has developed a computer program to estimate peak-streamflow frequency for ungaged sites in natural basins in Texas. Peak-streamflow frequency refers to the peak streamflows for recurrence intervals of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years. Peak-streamflow frequency estimates are needed by planners...

Lake Houston, a reservoir completed in 1954 about 25 miles east-northeast of Houston, Texas, is a principal surface-water source for the city of Houston. The increase in water supply to meet future demands is expected to be accommodated by supplementing surface-water inflows to Lake Houston. The Trinity River is considered a potential source for interbasin transfer of water to Lake...