National Water Quality Program
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The National Water Quality Program provides an understanding of water-quality conditions; whether conditions are getting better or worse over time; and how natural features and human activities affect those conditions.
Featured Study: Flow Modification of the Nation's Streams
A new USGS study reports that human management of land and water resources have modified natural patterns of streamflow along more than 1.2 million miles of U.S. streams. Flow modification was associated with losses of native fish or invertebrates.
Learn moreNew information on toxicity of fipronil to stream organisms
The common insecticide fipronil and some of the compounds it degrades to are more toxic to aquatic insects, such as mayflies and stoneflies, than previously estimated, reports a new USGS study.
Learn MoreNews
Common insecticide is more harmful to aquatic ecosystems than previously thought
The insecticide fipronil and some of the compounds it degrades to are more toxic to aquatic insects, such as mayflies and stoneflies, than previously estimated, reports a new study from the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment.
Surface-water nutrient and sediment mappers are now available
SPARROW mappers are interactive tools that allow users to evaluate streamflow and nutrient and sediment conditions as well as the importance of different sources of contaminants in a selected river basin. Data can be visualized at different scales using maps and interactive graphs and tables.
New Study Identifies Pesticide Mixtures in U.S. Rivers and Streams
A mix of multiple pesticides is common in many U.S. streams, reports a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Program.
Publications
Pesticide mixtures show potential toxicity to aquatic life in U.S. streams, water years 2013-2017
During water years (WY) 2013–2017, the U.S. Geological Survey, National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project, sampled the National Water Quality Network – Rivers and Streams (NWQN) year-round and reported on 221 pesticides at 72 sites across the United States in agricultural, developed, and mixed land use watersheds. The Pesticide Toxicity...
Covert, S. Alex.; Shoda, Megan E.; Stackpoole, Sarah M.; Stone, Wesley W. Hydrocarbons in upland groundwater, Marcellus Shale Region, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New York, USA
Water samples from 50 domestic wells located <1 km (proximal) and >1 km (distal) from shale-gas wells in upland areas of the Marcellus Shale region were analyzed for chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. Uplands were targeted because natural mixing with brine and hydrocarbons from deep formations is less common in those areas...
McMahon, Peter B.; Lindsey, Bruce D.; Conlon, Matthew D.; Hunt, Andrew G.; Belitz, Kenneth; Jurgens, Bryant; Varela, Brian Estimating domestic well locations and populations served in the contiguous U.S. for years 2000 and 2010
Domestic wells provide drinking water supply for approximately 40 million people in the United States. Knowing the location of these wells, and the populations they serve, is important for identifying heavily used aquifers, locations susceptible to contamination, and populations potentially impacted by poor-quality groundwater. The 1990 census was...
Johnson, Tyler D.; Belitz, Kenneth; Lombard, Melissa