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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
USGS1987

Selected chemical analyses of water from formations of Mesozoic and Paleozoic age in parts of Oklahoma, northern Texas, and Union County, New Mexico

Hydrochemical data were compiled into a data base as part of the Central Midwest Regional Aquifer System Analysis project. The data consist of chemical analyses of water samples collected from wells that are completed in formations of Mesozoic and Paleozoic age. The data base includes data from the National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System, the Petroleum Data System, the National Uranium Resource Evaluation, and selected publications. Chemical analyses were selected for inclusion within the hydrochemical data base if the total concentration of the cations differed from the total 10 percent or less of the total concentration of all ions. Those analyses which lacked the necessary data for an ionic balance were included if the ratios of dissolved-solids concentration to specific conductance were between 0.55 and 0.75. The tabulated chemical analyses, grouped by county, and a statistical summary of the analyses, listed by geologic unit, are presented.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1975

Water resources data for Iowa, water year 1974; Part II, Water quality records

Water resources data for the 1974 water year for Iowa including records of streamflow or reservoir storage at gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites, and records of water-quality data on the chemical and physical characteristics of surface and ground water, are given in this report. In Part 1, records are included for 127 gaging stations of which 119 are streamflow discharge stations, and 8 are reservoir or lake stations; also included are records for 426 low-flow partial-record stations, 128 crest-stage partial-record stations, and 30 miscellaneous sites. Locations of gaging stations are shown in Figure 2. In Part 2, water quality data on chemical, physical, biological, and sediment characteristics of surface water were collected from designated sampling sites at predetermined intervals such as once daily, weekly, monthly, or less frequently. Records are given for 353 sampling stations of which 23 are continuous record stations, 9 are partial-record stations, and 321 are miscellaneous sites. Locations of water-quality stations are shown in Figure 3. A summary of periodic water temperature data is given for 98 regular gaging stations. The records were collected and computed by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey under the direction of S.W. Wiitala, district chief. These data represent that portion of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Iowa.

Iowa↗
USGS2008

Summary of annual mean and annual harmonic mean statistics of daily mean streamflow for 620 U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations in Texas through water year 2007

Analysts and managers of surface-water resources have interest in annual mean and annual harmonic mean statistics of daily mean streamflow for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow-gaging stations in Texas. The mean streamflow represents streamflow volume, whereas the harmonic mean streamflow represents an appropriate statistic for assessing constituent concentrations that might adversely affect human health. In 2008, the USGS, in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, conducted a large-scale documentation of mean and harmonic mean streamflow for 620 active and inactive, continuous-record, streamflow-gaging stations using period of record data through water year 2007. About 99 stations within the Texas USGS streamflow-gaging network are part of the larger national Hydroclimatic Data Network and are identified. The graphical depictions of annual mean and annual harmonic mean statistics in this report provide a historical perspective of streamflow at each station. Each figure consists of three time-series plots, two flow-duration curves, and a statistical summary of the mean annual and annual harmonic mean streamflow statistics for available data for each station.The first time-series plot depicts daily mean streamflow for the period 1900-2007. Flow-duration curves follow and are a graphical depiction of streamflow variability. Next, the remaining two time-series plots depict annual mean and annual harmonic mean streamflow and are augmented with horizontal lines that depict mean and harmonic mean for the period of record. Monotonic trends for the annual mean streamflow and annual harmonic mean streamflow also are identified using Kendall's tau, and the slope of the trend is depicted using the nonparametric (linear) Theil-Sen line, which is only drawn for p-values less than .10 of tau. The history of annual mean and annual harmonic mean streamflow of one or more streamflow-gaging stations could be used in a watershed, river basin, or other regional context by analysts and managers of surface-water resources to guide scientific, regulatory, or other inquiries of streamflow conditions in Texas.

Data Series↗
USGS1988

Water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in New Mexico; fiscal year 1988

All hydrologic investigations in the New Mexico District in progress during fiscal year 1988 are summarized. The summaries include sections on the problem addressed, the objective and approach of the investigation, progress of the investigation. Reports released during 1986 and 1987 are listed. The New Mexico District office organization, cooperating agencies, and types of funding for the District operation are also summarized. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1993

National Research Program of the Water Resources Division, U. S. Geological Survey, Fiscal Year 1992

This report, one in a series of annual reports, provides current information about the National Research Program (NRP) of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Resources Division (WRD) during fiscal year 1992. Organized by NRP's six research disciplines, the volume contains a summary of the problem, objective, approach, and progress for each project that was active during fiscal year 1992. It also contains bibliographic information that, because of the long-term nature of the program, covers a 5-year period. The bibliographic information does not include abstracts or informal reports. Rather it contains those reports that are readily available in the form of journal articles, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publications, book chapters, or books.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1995

National Research Program of the Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Fiscal Year 1993

INTRODUCTION This report, one in a series of annual reports, provides current information about the National Research Program (NRP) of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Water Resources Division (WRD) during fiscal year 1993. Organized by NRP's six research disciplines, the volume contains a summary of the problem, objective, approach, and progress for each project that was active during fiscal year 1993. It also contains bibliographic information that, because of the long-term nature of the program, covers a 5-year period. The bibliographic information does not include abstracts or informal reports. Rather it contains those reports that are readily available in the form of journal articles, USGS publications, book chapters, or books.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2021

Hydrologic and water-quality conditions in the Cedar River alluvial aquifer, Linn County, Iowa, 1990–2019

Alluvial aquifers in Iowa have more wells with nitrate exceeding drinking-water standards than other aquifers; are susceptible to contamination by organic contaminants; and have high concentrations of naturally occurring iron and manganese in depositional areas that contain abundant organic matter. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, studied the Cedar River alluvial aquifer in Linn County, Iowa, from 1990 to 2019 to understand the effect of municipal pumping on spatial and temporal hydrologic and water-quality variability. The Cedar River alluvial aquifer is the source of water for the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Withdrawal of large quantities of water for municipal and industrial supply has altered the normal flow of water in the alluvial aquifer. Pumping induces flow from the Cedar River and the underlying bedrock aquifer into the alluvial aquifer. Water quality in the alluvial aquifer varies along the Cedar River. Changes in nitrate, ammonia, manganese, and iron in the alluvial aquifer are seen as the upstream free-flowing reach of the Cedar River transitions to a partially regulated downstream reach, likely because of differences in reduction-oxidation conditions in the aquifer, which are controlled by infiltration from the Cedar River under normal conditions and when wells are being pumped. Nitrate, normally found in oxygenated environments, had the highest concentrations in the most upstream wells in the Seminole well field and the lowest concentrations in the most downstream wells in the East well field. In contrast, ammonia, manganese, and iron, normally found in greatest abundance in anoxic (reducing) conditions, had the greatest concentrations in the most downstream wells. Additionally, dissolved nitrate plus nitrite nitrogen concentrations in wells were substantially less and manganese concentrations were greater in production wells near backwater wetlands in contrast to wells near the Cedar River. Temporal variability in water quality in the alluvial aquifer was driven by pumping that increased flow from the Cedar River into the alluvial aquifer and ultimately led to changes in reduction-oxidation conditions of the aquifer. Increasing dissolved nitrate plus nitrite nitrogen concentrations in the Cedar River from 1990 to 2019 were mirrored in the alluvial aquifer. Anoxic conditions are prevalent in the alluvial aquifer next to the Cedar River when the aquifer is not under pumping stress. However, production well pumping caused induced infiltration of oxygenated river water into the aquifer resulting in increased dissolved nitrate plus nitrite nitrogen concentrations and pesticides and decreased naturally occurring dissolved iron and manganese. Hydrologic and water-quality conditions in the Cedar River alluvial aquifer from 1990 to 2019 provide baseline conditions needed to evaluate the effects of current and future nutrient reduction efforts and land-use changes in the Cedar River Basin on water quality of the Cedar River alluvial aquifer and its source water, the Cedar River. This summary and analysis provide information that can assist the City of Cedar Rapids Utilities Water Department in managing groundwater resources, and provides information that could be used develop a groundwater-quality model to characterize variability over larger areas of the alluvial aquifer, allowing water providers to plan for future water needs of their users.

Iowa↗
USGS2010

Incorporation of water-use summaries into the StreamStats web application for Maryland

Approximately 25,000 new households and thousands of new jobs will be established in an area that extends from southwest to northeast of Baltimore, Maryland, as a result of the Federal Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, with consequent new demands on the water resources of the area. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Maryland Department of the Environment, has extended the area of implementation and added functionality to an existing map-based Web application named StreamStats to provide an improved tool for planning and managing the water resources in the BRAC-affected areas. StreamStats previously was implemented for only a small area surrounding Baltimore, Maryland, and it was extended to cover all BRAC-affected areas. StreamStats could provide previously published streamflow statistics, such as the 1-percent probability flood and the 7-day, 10-year low flow, for U.S. Geological Survey data-collection stations and estimates of streamflow statistics for any user-selected point on a stream within the implemented area. The application was modified for this study to also provide summaries of water withdrawals and discharges upstream from any user-selected point on a stream. This new functionality was made possible by creating a Web service that accepts a drainage-basin delineation from StreamStats, overlays it on a spatial layer of water withdrawal and discharge points, extracts the water-use data for the identified points, and sends it back to StreamStats, where it is summarized for the user. The underlying water-use data were extracted from the U.S. Geological Survey's Site-Specific Water-Use Database System (SWUDS) and placed into a Microsoft Access database that was created for this study for easy linkage to the Web service and StreamStats. This linkage of StreamStats with water-use information from SWUDS should enable Maryland regulators and planners to make more informed decisions on the use of water resources in the BRAC area, and the technology should be transferrable to other geographic areas.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2004

Occurrence of human pharmaceuticals in water resources of the United States: A review

The widespread environmental presence of some pharmaceuticals and other organic wastewater compounds has been documented globally (e.g. Buser et al. 1998; Ternes 1998; Stumpf et al.1999; Heberer et al. 2001; Kümmerer 2001; Ternes et al. 2001; Scheytt et al. 2001; Golet et al. 2002; Kolpin et al. 2002; Boyd et al. 2003; Metcalf et al. 2003). Recently, there have been several literature reviews and summary studies of the occurrence, fate, transport, and treatment of targeted human pharmaceuticals in wastewater effluent and associated environmental waters across the globe (e.g. Daughton and Ternes 1999; Sedlak et al. 2000; Suter and Giger 2000; Daughton and Jones-Lepp 2001; Jones et al. 2001; Heberer 2002; and Drewes et al. 2002). The occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds in water resources is explained by their ubiquitous use, excretion of large percentages of the mass consumed, and incomplete removal during wastewater treatment (Stumpf et al.1999). The recent increase in detection of trace concentrations (typically less than a part per billion) of pharmaceuticals in water resources across the globe reflects improvements in laboratory analytical methods (Sedlak et al. 2000) and the associated increases in field surveys. The detection of pharmaceutical compounds in large rivers in Europe and in the North Sea (Buser et al. 1998; Ternes 1998; Stumpf et al. 1999) highlighted the fact that highly soluble, trace organic compounds, such as pharmaceuticals, may escape removal in wastewater treatment, and the mixing and concentration of wastewaters through conventional wastewater treatment processes could provide a means of delivering these chemicals to environmental waters in a manner that would contaminate water resources on a large scale at trace levels (Richardson and Bowron 1985). In the United States, some of the first detections of a limited number of pharmaceutically active compounds or their transformation products were found in waters associated with landfill leachates or sewage effluent (Tabak and Bunch 1970; Garrison et al. 1976; Hignite and Azarnoff 1977; Bouwer et al. 1982; Eckel et al. 1991) decades ago. At the time of these studies, other industrial contaminants were the focus of regulatory and scientific interest; therefore, further studies on the environmental occurrence and transport of pharmaceutical compounds were rare.

Book chapter↗
USGS2016

Developing integrated methods to address complex resource and environmental issues

Introduction This circular provides an overview of selected activities that were conducted within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Integrated Methods Development Project, an interdisciplinary project designed to develop new tools and conduct innovative research requiring integration of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and remote-sensing expertise. The project was supported by the USGS Mineral Resources Program, and its products and acquired capabilities have broad applications to missions throughout the USGS and beyond. In addressing challenges associated with understanding the location, quantity, and quality of mineral resources, and in investigating the potential environmental consequences of resource development, a number of field and laboratory capabilities and interpretative methodologies evolved from the project that have applications to traditional resource studies as well as to studies related to ecosystem health, human health, disaster and hazard assessment, and planetary science. New or improved tools and research findings developed within the project have been applied to other projects and activities. Specifically, geophysical equipment and techniques have been applied to a variety of traditional and nontraditional mineral- and energy-resource studies, military applications, environmental investigations, and applied research activities that involve climate change, mapping techniques, and monitoring capabilities. Diverse applied geochemistry activities provide a process-level understanding of the mobility, chemical speciation, and bioavailability of elements, particularly metals and metalloids, in a variety of environmental settings. Imaging spectroscopy capabilities maintained and developed within the project have been applied to traditional resource studies as well as to studies related to ecosystem health, human health, disaster assessment, and planetary science. Brief descriptions of capabilities and laboratory facilities and summaries of some applications of project products and research findings are included in this circular. The work helped support the USGS mission to “provide reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.” Activities within the project include the following: Spanned scales from microscopic to planetary; Demonstrated broad applications across disciplines; Included life-cycle studies of mineral resources; Incorporated specialized areas of expertise in applied geochemistry including mineralogy, hydrogeology, analytical chemistry, aqueous geochemistry, biogeochemistry, microbiology, aquatic toxicology, and public health; and Incorporated specialized areas of expertise in geophysics including magnetics, gravity, radiometrics, electromagnetics, seismic, ground-penetrating radar, borehole radar, and imaging spectroscopy. This circular consists of eight sections that contain summaries of various activities under the project. The eight sections are listed below: Laboratory Facilities and Capabilities, which includes brief descriptions of the various types of laboratories and capabilities used for the project; Method and Software Development, which includes summaries of remote-sensing, geophysical, and mineralogical methods developed or enhanced by the project; Instrument Development, which includes descriptions of geophysical instruments developed under the project; Minerals, Energy, and Climate, which includes summaries of research that applies to mineral or energy resources, environmental processes and monitoring, and carbon sequestration by earth materials; Element Cycling, Toxicity, and Health, which includes summaries of several process-oriented geochemical and biogeochemical studies and health-related research activities; Hydrogeology and Water Quality, which includes descriptions of innovative geophysical, remote-sensing, and geochemical research pertaining to hydrogeology and water-quality applications; Hazards and Disaster Assessment, which includes summaries of research and method development that were applied to natural hazards, human-caused hazards, and disaster assessments; and Databases and Framework Studies, which includes descriptions of fundamental applications of geophysical studies and of the importance of archived data.

Circular↗
USGS2010

Summary and statistical analysis of precipitation and groundwater data for Brunswick County, North Carolina, Water Year 2008

Groundwater conditions in Brunswick County, North Carolina, have been monitored continuously since 2000 through the operation and maintenance of groundwater-level observation wells in the surficial, Castle Hayne, and Peedee aquifers of the North Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system. Groundwater-resource conditions for the Brunswick County area were evaluated by relating the normal range (25th to 75th percentile) monthly mean groundwater-level and precipitation data for water years 2001 to 2008 to median monthly mean groundwater levels and monthly sum of daily precipitation for water year 2008. Summaries of precipitation and groundwater conditions for the Brunswick County area and hydrographs and statistics of continuous groundwater levels collected during the 2008 water year are presented in this report. Groundwater levels varied by aquifer and geographic location within Brunswick County, but were influenced by drought conditions and groundwater withdrawals. Water levels were normal in two of the eight observation wells and below normal in the remaining six wells. Seasonal Kendall trend analysis performed on more than 9 years of monthly mean groundwater-level data collected in an observation well located within the Brunswick County well field indicated there is a strong downward trend, with water levels declining at a rate of about 2.2 feet per year.

North Carolina↗
USGS2005

Summary of significant results from studies of triazine herbicides and their degradation products in surface water, ground water, and precipitation in the midwestern United States during the 1990s

Nonpoint-source contamination of water resources from triazine herbicides has been a major water-quality issue during the 1990s in the United States. To address this issue, studies of surface water, ground water, and precipitation have been carried out by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Midwestern United States. Reconnaissance studies of 147 streams were conducted to determine the geographic and seasonal distribution of atrazine, cyanazine, propazine, and simazine. These studies showed that high concentrations of herbicides were flushed from cropland and transported through the stream system as pulses in response to spring and summer rainfall. The studies also revealed the persistence of herbicides and their degradation products in streams. An investigation of 76 reservoirs showed that the occurrence and temporal distribution of herbicides and their degradation products in reservoir outflow could be related to reservoir and drainage-basin characteristics, water and land use, herbicide use, and climate. Significant findings showed that concentrations of atrazine and its degradation products remained elevated all summer and into the fall and that recently applied atrazine mixed with atrazine applied the previous year as water moved through a reservoir. Reconnaissance studies of 303 ground-water wells were completed to determine hydrogeological and seasonal occurrence, concentration, and distribution of herbicides and their degradation products. Samples collected from across the Midwestern United States consistently revealed that triazine herbicide degradation products commonly were found more frequently than their parent herbicide and that ground-water age could be an important factor in explaining variations in herbicide contamination. A final study investigated precipitation in the Midwestern United States, northeast to the Atlantic Ocean, and northward to the Canadian border. It found that the highest herbicide concentrations in precipitation occurred following herbicide application to cropland. Atrazine was detected most often, followed by deethylatrazine, cyanazine, and deisoproplyatrazine. Mass deposition of herbicides by precipitation was greatest in areas where herbicide use was intense and decreased with distance from the Midwest. Findings of the 1990s studies include an improved understanding of the occurrence, persistence, chemistry, and transport of triazine herbicides and their degradation products in the hydrologic environment. A significant increase in knowledge of triazine herbicides and development and improvement of analytical methods were accomplished in the past decade. The results produced are not only significant for the present (2005) but provide an important data set for future use.

Midwest region↗
USGS1986

Water resources activities in Illinois, 1985

This report gives an overview of U.S. Geological Survey, Illinois District, Water Resources Division activities related to the water resources of the State of Illinois. The report includes sections describing District organization, programs, water conditions, data collection activities, and project summaries. Also included is a complete listing of District and Illinois-related USGS publications.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1987

Water-resources activities in Illinois, 1986

This report gives an overview of U.S. Geological Survey, Illinois District, Water Resources Division activities related to the water resources of the State of Illinois. The report includes sections describing District organization, programs, water conditions, data collection activities, and project summaries. Also included is a complete listing of District and Illinois-related USGS publications.

Open-File Report↗