Publications

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with a consortium of 19 cities, towns, and villages in Dane County, Wis., undertook a study to compare the capability of rain gardens with different vegetative species and soil types to infiltrate stormwater runoff from the roof of an adjacent structure. Two rain gardens, one planted with turf grass and the other with native prairie species...

Many factors, such as river depth and velocity, biochemical oxygen demand, and algal productivity, as well as sediment oxygen demand, can affect the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water column. Measurements of sediment oxygen demand, in conjunction with those of other water-column water-quality constituents, are useful for quantifying the mechanisms that affect in-stream...

Natural hazards pose significant threats to the public safety and economic health of many communities throughout the world. Community leaders and decision-makers continually face the challenges of planning and allocating limited resources to invest in protecting their communities against catastrophic losses from natural-hazard events. Public efforts to assess community vulnerability and...

The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Chester County Water Resources Authority and the Chester County Health Department began a groundwater-quality monitoring program in 1980 in Chester County, Pa., where a large percentage of the population relies on wells for drinking-water supply. This report documents the program and serves as a reference for data collected through the...

Excess phosphorus (P) inputs from human sewage, animal feeding operations, and nonpoint source discharges to the environment have resulted in the eutrophication of sensitive receiving bodies of water such as the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. Phosphorus loads in wastewater discharged from such sources can be decreased by conventional treatment with iron and aluminum salts but these

Water managers in rural Arizona are under increasing pressure to provide sustainable supplies of water despite rapid population growth and demands for environmental protection. This report describes the results of a study of the hydrogeologic framework of the middle San Pedro watershed. The components of this report include: (1) a description of the geologic setting and depositional...

The Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers are important water resources in the Rosebud Indian Reservation area and are used extensively for irrigation, municipal, and domestic water supplies. Drought or increased withdrawals from the Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers in the Rosebud Indian Reservation area have the potential to affect water levels in these aquifers. This report documents revisions...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Dallas Water Utilities Division, did a study to characterize bromide, chloride, and sulfate concentrations and loads at three U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations on the reach of the Red River from Denison Dam, which impounds Lake Texoma, to the U.S. Highway 259 bridge near DeKalb, Texas. Bromide, chloride, and...

To help meet the goal of providing earth-science information to the Nation, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates and maintains the largest streamgage network in the world, with over 7,600 active streamgages in 2010. This network is operated in cooperation with over 850 Federal, tribal, State, and local funding partners. The streamflow information provided by the USGS is used for...

An unusually wet winter and spring of 2007 to 2008 resulted in extremely wet antecedent conditions throughout most of Iowa. Rainfall of 5 to 15 inches was observed in eastern Iowa during May 2008, and an additional 5 to 15 inches of rain was observed throughout most of Iowa in June. Because of the severity of the May and June 2008 flooding, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with...

Groundwater mounding occurs beneath stormwater management structures designed to infiltrate stormwater runoff. Concentrating recharge in a small area can cause groundwater mounding that affects the basements of nearby homes and other structures. Methods for quantitatively predicting the height and extent of groundwater mounding beneath and near stormwater Finite-difference groundwater...

Responses of benthic macroinvertebrates along gradients of urban intensity were investigated in nine metropolitan areas across the United States. Invertebrate assemblages in metropolitan areas where forests or shrublands were being converted to urban land were strongly related to urban intensity. In metropolitan areas where agriculture and grazing lands were being converted to urban land