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USGS2023

Restoration of Gavia immer (common loon) in Minnesota—2022 annual report

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling platform on April 20, 2010, caused a massive oil spill and injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico. Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project “Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota” to restore common loons lost to the spill. Here, we report on activities conducted for this project in an eight-county region in Minnesota in calendar year 2022. We identified a subset of territories that were monitored in 2021 as focal territories ( n =99) from which multiyear study inferences can ultimately be made. We monitored nonfocal territories on all study lakes as well. We conducted surveys from May 9 to August 12, 2022. At least 1 nest attempt was observed in 68 of 99 focal territories, and a second nest attempt after a failed initial attempt was observed in 17 focal territories. Chicks or other evidence of hatching was observed in 33 of 99 territories. Data collected in 2021 and 2022 for this project are presented in a U.S. Geological Survey data release ( https://doi.org/10.5066/P9LA536E ). We present no formal data analysis in this report.

Minnesota↗
USGS1985

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1985

This is the twenty-second in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawals from wells, water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing ground-water level contours are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water development in the State for the calendar year 1984. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described from the spring of 1984 to the spring of 1985. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1987

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1987

This is the twenty-fourth in a Series of annual reports that describe ground-water Conditions in Utah. Reports in the series, prepared cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well Construction, ground-water withdrawals from wells, Water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of Water and maps showing water-level contours are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. The report includes individual discussions of Selected major areas of ground-water development in the State for the calendar year 1986. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described for spring 1986 to spring 1987. Much of the data used in the report were collected by the Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1980

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1980

This is the seventeenth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, prepared cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawals, water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing water-table configuration are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water withdrawal in the State for the calendar year 1979. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described for the period spring 1979 to spring 1980. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS2022

A structured decision-making framework for managing cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms in New York State parks

Cyanobacteria are increasingly a global water-quality concern because of the potential for these organisms to develop into potentially harmful blooms that affect ecological, economic, and public health. Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) can lead to a decrease in water quality and affect many of the recreational and ecological benefits of parks that include lakes. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) is a State agency within the New York State Executive Department charged with the operation of State parks and historic sites. Many New York State parks include lakes or other freshwater bodies, which can be susceptible to CyanoHABs. The OPRHP faces difficult decisions regarding prevention of and response to CyanoHABs. The U.S. Geological Survey partnered with the OPRHP and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to develop a structured decision-making template for managing CyanoHABs in OPRHP parks. Two parks, Moreau Lake State Park and Rockland Lake State Park, served as case studies to motivate and test the template. This report describes how the principles of structured decision making can be used to navigate the challenges associated with managing CyanoHABs in OPRHP parks. Management objectives and strategies for CyanoHABs in parks are described, strategies to evaluate consequences and manage tradeoffs are discussed, and potential challenges to the implementation of preferred alternatives are considered. General guidance is provided so the OPRHP can undertake the structured decision-making process for CyanoHABs in any of its parks. In addition, this report represents the first effort to create a strategy for applying decision analysis tools to the complex natural resource challenge of CyanoHAB mitigation and management. The case studies and template are intended to serve as an example that natural resource managers faced with CyanoHABs challenges can use to inform their decision-making processes.

New York↗
USGS1979

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1979

This report is the sixteenth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, prepared cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawals, water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing water-table configuration are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water withdrawal in the State for the calendar year 1978. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described for the period spring 1978 to spring 1979. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1978

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1978

This report is the fifteenth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, prepared cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others (see References, p. 13), contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawals, water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing water-table configuration are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water withdrawal in the State for the calendar year 1977. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described for the period spring 1977 to spring 1978. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1979

Ground-water quality in Bannock, Bear Lake, Caribou, and part of Power counties, southeastern Idaho

This report provides information about the current quality of ground waters in southeastern Idaho and discusses the natural and manmade environmental controls on that quality. This information will be useful in planning and monitoring the development and use of the ground-water resources of southeastern Idaho. The southeastern corner of Idaho, as described in this report, encompasses an area of about 4,000 mil in Bannock, Bear Lake, Caribou, and part of Power Counties. The popu- lation of the area in 1975, based on best estimates by the Idaho Division of Budget, Policy Planning, and Coordination (1976) was 75,200. About 80 percent of the population is in and near the city of Pocatello, which is the second largest population center in the State. Pocatello's economy depends largely on manufacturing and industrial processing, which includes chemicalfertilizer plants. The econ- omy in the rural areas depends largely on agriculture--both dry and irrigated farming are practiced. Mining is important and expected to dominate the economy in the eastcentral part of the area in the future. Natural resources include phosphate ore, which makes up about 35 percent of the U.S. reserves (U.S. Department of Interior and U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1977); ground water, which mostly underlies the several intermontane valleys that dissect the area; and hot springs, which indicate that geothermal energy sources may underlie part of the area. Also, current (1978) speculation is that petroleum reserves may be present in the vicinity of Bear Lake. Development of more sprink- ler-irrigated lands, increases in population, and growth of phosphate mining are expected to place stress on the ground-water resources, both in quality and quantity. The purpose of this report is to present the results of a study whose primary objectives were (1) to provide current waterquality data representative of the water in several different aquifers (water- bearing formations) in the study area, and (2) to relate these data to natural and manmade environmental controls. The wells sampled during this study establish a quasi-network, which could be resampled in the future to document and analyze changes (if any) in ground-water quality. Based on this information, planners and water managers could better understand the causeand-effect relations controlling water quality and could better manage land and water-resource development. The report is designed for ease of reading and presentation. It uses maps, tables, and abbreviated text to describe geology, hydrology, and ground-water quality and how they are interrelated. Some practical ways for improving water quality are discussed for the benefit of individual water users. The field data collected in making the study are contained in the Data Section of this report. The authors gratefully acknowledge the many individual well owners, municipal officials, and private industries that provided well information and allowed access to their properties and collection of water samples. Without their help, this work could not have been done. Water samples were collected at 103 well sites. Waterlevel measurements were made at 98 of these sites during July, August, and September of 1976. This study was made by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources. A similar study is being made (1978) in north Idaho. Other studies are planned, specifically to obtain ground-water-quality data in areas where land and water-resource development is expected or accelerating.

Idaho↗
USGS1988

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1988

This is the twenty-fifth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawals from wells, water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing water-level contours are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water development in the State for the calendar year 1987. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described from the spring of 1987 to the spring of 1988. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1981

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1981

This is the eighteenth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, prepared cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawals from wells, water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing water-table configuration are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water development in the State for the calendar year 1980. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described for the period spring 1980 to spring 1981. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1991

Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1991

This is the twenty-eighth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawal from wells, water-level changes, related changes in precipitation and streamflow, and chemical quality of water. Supplementary data, such as maps showing water-level contours, are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water development in the State for the calendar year 1990. Water-level fluctuations and selected related data, however, are described from the spring of 1986 to the spring of 1991. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1984

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1984

This is the twenty-first in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawals from wells, water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing ground-water level contours are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water development in the State for the calendar year 1983. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described from the spring of 1983 to the spring of 1984. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1956

Reservoirs in the United States

Reservoir storage facilities in the United States play an important part in the national economy. Storage facilities have enabled the country to utilize to a much fuller extent one of the most valuable natural resources: water. During recent years the construction of reservoirs has continued at a high rate. This report shows the status of these facilities on January 1, 1954, and describes briefly some of the reasons for growth of reservoir facilities in the United States. Descriptive data are given for reservoirs having a capacity of 5, 000 acre-feet or more and for natural lakes having a usable capacity of 5,000 acre-feet or more. Included are reservoirs and lakes completed as of January 1, 1954, and reservoirs under construction on that date. The total number of such reservoirs and lakes is 1, 300. A descriptive list of reservoirs in the United States was first published by the United States Geological Survey in March 1948. That report, Geological Survey Circular 23, entitled Reservoirs in the United States, included reservoirs completed as of January 1, 1947. Since January 1, 1947, reservoirs representing a total usable capacity of 115,000,000 acre-feet, or an increase of 71 percent, have been constructed or are under construction. Data about these new reservoirs are presented herein, and the data shown for reservoirs constructed before 1947 have been corrected on the basis of the latest available survey to determine reservoir capacity. The total usable capacity of reservoirs and lakes included in this compilation amounts to 278, 120, 000 acre-feet, and the corresponding surface area totals 11, 046, 000 acres.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS2015

Geologic map of the southern White Ledge Peak and Matilija quadrangles, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, California

This report presents a digital geologic strip map of the southern parts of the contiguous White Ledge Peak and Matilija 7.5’ quadrangles in coastal southern California. With a compilation scale of 1:24,000 (one inch on the map to 2,000 feet on the ground), the map depicts the distribution of bedrock units, surficial deposits, and associated deformation adjacent to and south of the Arroyo Parida fault and in the southern Ojai Valley east of the Ventura River. This new compilation, combined with a recently published geologic map of the Santa Barbara coastal plain (U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3001), completes a 69-km-long east-west mapping transect from Goleta to Ojai by the U.S. Geological Survey. These two contiguous geologic maps provide new insights and constraints on Neogene-through-Quaternary tectonic deformation and consequent landscape change, including geohazards in the urbanized southern flank of the Santa Ynez Mountains. A principal aim of the new mapping and associated fault-kinematic measurements is to document and constrain the nature of transpressional strain transfer between various regional, potentially seismogenic faults. In the accompanying pamphlet, surficial and bedrock map units are described in detail as well as a summary of the structural and fault-kinematic framework of the map area. New biostratigraphic and biochronologic data based on microfossil identifications are presented in expanded unit descriptions of the marine Neogene Monterey and Sisquoc Formations. Site-specific fault kinematic observations are embedded in the digital map database. This compilation provides a uniform geologic digital geodatabase and map plot files that can be used for visualization, analysis, and interpretation of the area’s geology, geologic hazards, and natural resources.

California↗
USGS1983

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1983

This is the twentieth in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawals from wells, water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing ground-water level contours are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water development in the State for the calendar year 1982. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described for spring 1982 to spring 1983 and spring 1963 to spring 1983. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1986

Developing a state water plan: Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1986

This is the twenty-third in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawals from wells, water-level changes, and related changes in precipitation and streamflow. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing water-level contours are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water development in the State for the calendar year 1985. Water-level fluctuations, however, are described from the spring of 1985 to the spring of 1986. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗
USGS1992

Applying the DRASTIC model: A review of county-scale maps

The potential for contamination of ground water has become an issue of great concern to citizens and government alike, especially in the last decade. Numerous methods for assessing ground water vulnerability to contamination have been proposed and used. These methods include field-scale deterministic models that predict the rate of migration and fate of specific chemicals, and regional models that attempt to show general trends of ground-water vulnerability to contamination. To address regional ground-water vulnerability, a model may focus on characteristics of the soil, the geologic materials at and above the unconfined water table, or on the larger part of the geologic framework containing aquifers. A model's focus significantly affects the characteristics and, therefore, the utility of maps produced by the model. For example, a model focusing on the soil or vadose zone cannot adequately characterize the contamination potential of confined aquifers. The most commonly-used method for regional assessment of ground-water vulnerability is called "DRASTIC," an acronym for the seven factors that comprise the model. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded the development of the DRASTIC model, and used it as an assessment tool in their National Pesticide Survey (USEPA, 1992). In that Survey and in other assessments of contamination potential from application of agricultural chemicals, the pesticide version of DRASTIC is used; it differs from the standard DRASTIC model only in the degree of weighting applied to the seven factors. The DRASTIC model was developed by a committee of technical advisors who used the consensus approach to specify the relative significance of each factor. DRASTIC was designed primarily as a regional tool for prioritization, or screening, to indicate those areas (of at least 100 acres in size) which are generally more sensitive to contamination and, therefore, in need of more detailed mapping and evaluation or monitoring. The committee also intended DRASTIC to support decisions on allocation of scarce monitoring or remediation resources, and to serve as an educational tool. A detailed user's manual for the DRASTIC model (Aller and others, 1987) provides descriptions of common hydrogeologic settings across the United States and expected values for the seven factors; with this information and a specified "weight" or multiplier applied to each factor, DRASTIC scores can be calculated for each setting, and a map of these DRASTIC scores generated. The authors of this model intended it to be sufficiently objective and straightforward that it could be effectively used by persons with but a rudimentary knowledge of hydrogeologic principles. By adjusting the factor values for actual or interpreted local conditions a more knowledgeable person should be able to produce a somewhat more realistic and, therefore, reliable map of ground water vulnerability than by using the expected values for a given hydrogeologic setting. Other models for evaluating regional ground-water vulnerability have been developed; of importance to this report are models developed by the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), and a joint effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the ISGS. All of these models, as well as DRASTIC, can only estimate the relative potential for contamination, either with a numerical scheme or a hierarchy of contamination potential map units. The model developed by WDNR (Schmidt, 1987) is based on a numerical scheme. It was used to generate a statewide contamination susceptibility map of Wisconsin (Schmidt and Kessler, 1987); Schmidt (1987) defines ground water contamination susceptibility as the "ease with which water (and, presumably, accompanying contaminants) at the surface can reach the water table." The model is not limited to aquifers, but rather considers all unconfined ground water whether in sandy surface aquifers or low-permeability glacial till. Ground water in confined aquifers is not addressed. Contamination susceptibility is estimated by a factor-weighting scheme similar in concept to DRASTIC. The factors (soil texture, surficial deposits, depth to the water table, bedrock type, and glacial drift thickness) are assigned an arbitrary value based on perceived importance. These numbers are then weighted and summed to produce the contamination susceptibility score. This model is compared and contrasted with other models elsewhere in this report. In contrast, the ISGS method avoids the use of a numerical system to rate the relative potential for contamination, and instead orders the map units in a hierarchy from relatively low to relatively high contamination potential. Also in contrast to the two models described above, the ISGS model relies solely on the textural character of the geologic framework to a specified depth. For example, a statewide map (Berg and others, 1984, scale 1:500,000) addresses land burial of wastes, and shows the contamination potential of aquifers within geologic units in the upper 50 feet. Another ISGS map (Keefer and Berg, 1990) addresses the contamination of major, economically important aquifers, and therefore evaluates contamination potential to greater depths (to greater than 300 feet). In general, the ISGS contamination potential maps evaluate aquifers, and do not evaluate potential for contamination of ground water at the unconfined water table in geologic units that are not aquifers (for example, in glacial till or finegrained lake sediments). With the cooperation of the ISGS, I have developed a model (Seller and Berg, in press) for the regional assessment of aquifer contamination potential that is based on ISGS techniques, adapted to a broader map area where detailed information may be unavailable. This model was used to generate a map of aquifer contamination potential for an area encompassing parts of five states near southern Lake Michigan and Lake Erie; the model and map are currently being refined and evaluated.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1990

Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1990

This is the twenty-seventh in a series of annual reports that describe ground-water conditions in Utah. Reports in this series, published cooperatively by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Water Resources, provide data to enable interested parties to keep abreast of changing ground-water conditions. This report, like the others in the series, contains information on well construction, ground-water withdrawal from wells, water-level changes, related changes in precipitation and streamflow, and chemical quality of water. Supplementary data such as graphs showing chemical quality of water and maps showing water-level contours are included in reports of this series only for those years or areas for which applicable data are available and are important to a discussion of changing ground-water conditions. This report includes individual discussions of selected major areas of ground-water development in the State for the calendar year 1989. Water-level fluctuations and selected related data, however, are described from the spring of 1989 to the spring of 1990. Much of the data used in this report were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Water Rights, Utah Department of Natural Resources.

Utah↗