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USGS1987

Effects of agricultural best-management practices on total phosphorus yields in the Johnson Brook and Lovejoy Pond watersheds, Kennebec County, Maine, 1980-84

Analysis of daily phosphorus yield and streamflow data collected before and after implementation of agricultural best management practices in the Johnson Brook watershed in south-central Maine indicated statistically significant reductions in phosphorus loading in all flow categories. Reduction of median loadings for five flow categories ranged from 26% to 90%. The annual total phosphorus yield was reduced 17% after implementation of the best management practices. The observed phosphorus yield reduction is considerable because of two streamflow factors. First, the period after implementation of the best management practices had eight more storms. Periods of storm runoff in the post-implementation period had 31 days with greater than average streamflow, and a maximum daily streamflow more than three times greater than those observed in the pre-implementation period. Second, the annual streamflow was 128% greater in the year after the management practices were implemented. Because the potential for phosphorous transport increases with runoff, and greater yields are possible when the volume of water increases, a higher phosphorus yield would be expected in the post-implementation period than during the pre-implementation period, if other factors had remained unchanged. The reductions in phosphorous yield in the study area are not expected to have a significant effect on the eutrophic conditions observed in Lovejoy Pond. Phosphorous concentrations in the pond will continue to be capable of supporting algal blooms. However, the intensity and duration of blooms are expected to be less than those observed before best management practice implementation. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS1995

Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1995

This is the thirty-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 Department of Natural Resources, 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 significant areas of ground-water development in the State for calendar year 1994. Much of the reported data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Divisions of Water Rights and Water Resources.

Utah↗

USGS2018

Near-field receiving-water monitoring of trace metals and a benthic community near the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant in south San Francisco Bay, California—2017

Trace-metal concentrations in sediment and in the clam Macoma petalum (formerly reported as Macoma balthica ), clam reproductive activity, and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure were investigated in a mudflat 1 kilometer south of the discharge of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) in south San Francisco Bay, Calif. This report includes the data collected by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists for the period January 2017 to December 2017. These append to long-term datasets extending back to 1974. A major focus of the report is an integrated description of the 2017 data within the context of the longer, multi-decadal dataset. This dataset supports the City of Palo Alto’s Near-Field Receiving Water Monitoring Program, initiated in 1994. Significant reductions in silver and copper concentrations in sediment and M. petalum occurred at the site in the 1980s following the implementation by PARWQCP of advanced wastewater treatment and source control measures. Since the 1990s, concentrations of these elements appear to have stabilized at concentrations somewhat above silver (Ag) or near copper (Cu) regional background concentrations. Data for other metals, including chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn), have been collected since 1994. Over this period, concentrations of these elements have remained relatively constant, aside from seasonal variation that is common to all elements. In 2017, concentrations of silver and copper in M. petalum varied seasonally in response to a combination of site-specific metal exposures and annual growth and reproduction, as reported previously. Seasonal patterns for other elements, including Cr, Ni, Zn, Hg, and Se, were generally similar in timing and magnitude as those for Ag and Cu. This record suggests that legacy contamination and regional-scale factors now largely control sedimentary and bioavailable concentrations of silver and copper, as well as other elements of regulatory interest, at the Palo Alto site. Analyses of the benthic community structure of a mudflat in south San Francisco Bay over a 40-year period show that changes in the community have occurred concurrent with reduced concentrations of metals in the sediment and in the tissues of the biosentinel clam, M. petalum , from the same area. Analysis of M. petalum shows increases in reproductive activity concurrent with the decline in metal concentrations in the tissues of this organism. Reproductive activity is presently stable (2017), with almost all animals initiating reproduction in the fall and spawning the following spring. The entire infaunal community has shifted from being dominated by several opportunistic species to a community where the species are more similar in abundance, a pattern that indicates a more stable community that is subjected to fewer stressors. In addition, two of the opportunistic species ( Ampelisca abdita and Streblospio benedicti ) that brood their young and live on the surface of the sediment in tubes have shown a continual decline in dominance coincident with the decline in metals; both species had short-lived rebounds in abundance in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and showed signs of increasing abundance in 2017. Heteromastus filiformis (a subsurface polychaete worm that lives in the sediment, consumes sediment and organic particles residing in the sediment, and reproduces by laying its eggs on or in the sediment) showed a concurrent increase in dominance and, in the last several years before 2008, showed a stable population. H. filiformis abundance increased slightly in 2011–2012 and returned to pre-2011 numbers in 2017. An unidentified disturbance occurred on the mudflat in early 2008 that resulted in the loss of the benthic animals, except for deep-dwelling animals like M. petalum . However, within two months of this event animals returned to the mudflat. The resilience of the community suggested that the disturbance was not due to a persistent toxin or anoxia. The reproductive mode of most species that were present in 2017 is reflective of species that were available either as pelagic larvae or as mobile adults. Although oviparous species were lower in number in this group, the authors hypothesize that these species will return slowly as more species move back into the area. The use of functional ecology was highlighted in the 2017 benthic community data, which showed that the animals that have now returned to the mudflat are those that can respond successfully to a physical, nontoxic disturbance. Today, community data show a mix of species that consume the sediment, or filter feed, have pelagic larvae that must survive landing on the sediment, and those that brood their young. USGS scientists view the 2008 disturbance event as a response by the infaunal community to an episodic natural stressor (possibly sediment accretion or a pulse of freshwater), in contrast to the long-term recovery from metal contamination. We will compare this recovery to the long-term recovery observed after the 1970s when the decline in sediment pollutants was the dominating factor.

California↗

USGS2008

Flood plain delineation for the Fremont River and Bull Creek, Hanksville, Utah

Predicted inundation maps for the Fremont River and Bull Creek in Hanksville, Utah, were developed using one-dimensional hydraulic models. Estimates of the 1-percent chance (100-year) peak streamflows were determined for the Fremont River and Bull Creek study reaches by using annual peak series data from streamflow-gaging stations and regional peak-flow regression equations. Surveyed topographic data for the study reaches were processed for use in the one-dimensional hydraulic models. The 1-percent chance (100-year) peak streamflows were simulated with hydraulic models to obtain predicted water-surface elevations. Water-surface elevations were then used to map the predicted inundation on a recent aerial photograph. The 1-percent chance (100-year) flood plain for the Fremont River in Hanksville, Utah, included some agricultural lands and did not encroach upon the town. The 1-percent chance (100-year) flood plain on the west side of Bull Creek was found to include a large portion of the town of Hanksville, Utah.

Utah↗

USGS2012

Nutrient and suspended-sediment trends, loads, and yields and development of an indicator of streamwater quality at nontidal sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 1985-2010

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) updates information on loads of, and trends in, nutrients and sediment annually to help the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) investigators assess progress toward improving water-quality conditions in the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. CBP scientists and managers have worked since 1983 to improve water quality in the bay. In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) established a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Chesapeake Bay. The TMDL specifies nutrient and sediment load allocations that need to be achieved in the watershed to improve dissolved oxygen, water-clarity, and chlorophyll conditions in the bay. The USEPA, USGS, and state and local jurisdictions in the watershed operate a CBP nontidal water-quality monitoring network and associated database that are used to update load and trend information to help assess progress toward reducing nutrient and sediment inputs to the bay. Data collected from the CBP nontidal network were used to estimate loads and trends for two time periods: a long-term period (1985-2010) at 31 "primary" sites (with storm sampling) and a 10-year period (2001-10) at 33 primary sites and 16 "secondary" sites (without storm sampling). In addition, loads at 64 primary sites were estimated for the period 2006 to 2010. Results indicate improving flow-adjusted trends for nitrogen and phosphorus for 1985 to 2010 at most of the sites in the network. For nitrogen, 21 of the 31 sites showed downward (improving) trends, whereas 2 sites showed upward (degrading) trends, and 8 sites showed no trends. The results for phosphorus were similar: 22 sites showed improving trends, 4 sites showed degrading trends, and 5 sites indicated no trends. For sediment, no trend was found at 40 percent of the sites, with 10 sites showing improving trends and 8 sites showing degrading trends. The USGS, working with CBP partners, developed a new water-quality indicator that combines the results of the 10-year trend analysis with results from a greater number of sites (64 primary sites) where loads and yields of total nitrogen and phosphorus and sediment could be calculated. The new indicator shows fewer significant trends for the 10-year time period than for the long-term time period (1985-2010). For 2001-10, total nitrogen trends were downward (improving) at 14 sites and upward (degrading) at 2 sites; no trend was found at 17 sites. For total phosphorus, 12 sites showed improving trends, 4 sites showed degrading trends, and 17 sites showed no trend. For total sediment, most sites (21) did not exhibit a significant trend; 3 sites showed improving trends, and 10 sites showed degrading trends. Few significant trends were seen at the 16 secondary sites: improving trends for total nitrogen at 4 sites, improving trends for total phosphorus at 2 sites, and a degrading trend for sediment at 1 site. Total streamflow to the Chesapeake Bay was 20 percent higher in 2010 than in 2009 and is considered to be within the normal range of flow, whereas annual streamflow at 28 sites was greater in 2010 than in 2009. No trends in daily streamflow were detected at the 31 long-term sites. Combined loads for the farthest downstream nontidal monitoring sites (called "River Input Monitoring sites") increased 33 percent for total nitrogen, 120 percent for total phosphorus, and 330 percent for total sediment from 2009 to 2010. The large increase in phosphorus and sediment loads in 2010 was caused in large part by two large storm events that occurred during the spring in the Potomac River Basin. Yields (load per watershed area) of total nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed decreased from north to south (New York to Virginia). No spatial patterns were discernible for total phosphorus or sediment.

Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virgin↗

USGS2017

Detection of microcystin and other cyanotoxins in lakes at Isle Royale National Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, northern Michigan, 2012–13

Although cyanotoxins released during algal blooms have become an increasing concern in surface waters across the United States, the presence of cyanotoxins in northern Michigan lakes had not been evaluated in detail. The U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service (NPS) led a 2-year study (2012 and 2013) to determine the presence of microcystin and other algal toxins in several inland lakes at Isle Royale National Park (hereafter referred to as ISRO, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (hereafter referred to as PIRO), and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (hereafter referred to as SLBE). Samples also were collected at four sites in Lake Michigan within the SLBE. The two analytical techniques used in the study were enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for microcystin, cylindrospermopsin, and saxitoxin; and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) for a larger suite of algal toxins. Neither cylindrospermopsin nor saxitoxin were detected in the 211 samples. Microcystin was detected in 31 percent of samples (65 of 211 samples) analyzed by the ELISA method, but no sample results exceeded the World Health Organization recreational health advisory standard for microcystin (10 micrograms per liter [µg/L]). However, about 10 percent of the samples (21 of 211 samples) that were collected from PIRO and SLBE and were analyzed by ELISA for microcystin had concentrations greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water 10-day health advisory of 0.3 µg/L for children preschool age and younger (less than 6-years old). One sample collected in 2012 from SLBE exceeded the EPA drinking water 10-day health advisory of 1.6 µg/L for school-age children through adults (6-years old and older). In 2012, the highest concentration of 2.7 µg/L was detected in Florence Lake within SLBE. Many visitors enjoy recreation in or on the water and camp in the backcountry at these national parks where the most common source of drinking water is filtered surface water. Approximately 18 percent of the samples (39 of 211 samples) were analyzed by LC/MS/MS to confirm the ELISA results and to evaluate the samples for a larger suite of algal toxins. In general, the microcystin results between the ELISA and LC/MS/MS methods were similar; although, the ELISA results tended to be slightly higher than the summation of LC/MS/MS microcystin congeners. The slightly higher ELISA results might be because the ELISA microcystin method is reactive with the ADDA functional group common to all microcystins, and because not all microcystin congeners are included in the LC/MS/MS method. The LC/MS/MS method indicated that the congener microcystin-LR was the most frequently detected, followed by microcystin-WR and microcystin-YR. Sixteen of the lakes included in this study also were monitored by the NPS for nutrients. Total phosphorus (TP) concentrations were, on average, highest at the ISRO lakes, whereas total nitrogen (TN) concentrations were highest at SLBE. The average annual TN:TP ratios for the 16 lakes within the national park and national lakeshores ranged from ratios of 20 to 89. Overall, results indicated a slight increase in percentage of microcystin detections with an increase in the TN:TP ratio (R-squared 0.269 and 0.340, respectively [2012 and 2013 combined dataset] derived from linear regression). This study also indicated that even in the absence of visible algal blooms, microcystin may be present. Most microcystin concentrations did not exceed the EPA’s 10-day health advisory drinking-water benchmark. In general, these results provide a useful baseline with which to evaluate potential future changes in algal toxin concentrations.

Michigan↗

USGS2001

Water budget for Sebago Lake, Maine, 1996-99

Annual water budgets were developed for Sebago Lake in southwestern Maine. The inflow components of the water budget are direct precipitation to the surface of the lake and surface-water inflow. Mean annual inflow to Sebago Lake during water years 1996-99 was 35,100 million cubic feet. The outflow components of the water budget are evaporation from the surface of the lake, municipal water-supply withdrawals by the Portland Water District, and surface-water outflow. Mean annual outflow during water years 1996-99 was 28,200 million cubic feet. The two largest components of the water budgets are the surface-water components - surface-water inflow was 84.0 percent of the mean annual inflow budget and surface-water outflow was 87.3 percent of the mean annual outflow budget. Changes in lake storage also were included in the water budgets. The sum of inflow minus outflow volumes, adjusted for changes in lake storage, do not balance for each water year. This remainder volume is the residual in the water budget calculation. The mean annual residual for the 4 years is 5,860 million cubic feet and is relatively consistent in magnitude and sign (positive) each water year, indicating either a systematic overestimation of inflows to or underestimation of outflows from Sebago Lake. The residual also could be partially composed of ground-water flow, a budget component not accounted for in this study. Errors associated with budgeting precipitation, evaporation, and net changes in storage are relatively small. The largest potential errors in calculating the water budget for Sebago Lake are those associated with surface-water inflow and outflow, because they are the two largest elements of the budget, and ground-water flow (net in or out) because it was not computed.

Maine↗

USGS2021

Supporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 2020 Report)

A primary focus of the Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program (CPNPP) is to identify and develop appropriate native plant materials (NPMs) for current and future restoration projects. Multiple efforts have characterized the myriad challenges inherent in providing appropriate seed resources to enable effective, widespread restoration and have identified a broad suite of research activities to provide the information necessary to overcome those challenges (e.g., Plant Conservation Alliance 2015; Breed et al. 2018; Winkler et al. 2018). Many of the most complex information needs relate to identifying the appropriate sources of plant species that can successfully establish in dryland environments, like the Colorado Plateau, where precipitation is generally low and highly variable. Providing this information requires synergistic research efforts that build upon insight gained from earlier investigations. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Southwest Biological Science Center’s (SBSC’s) research activities that supported CPNPP in FY20 followed the FY20 Statement of Work to support a research framework that is continually adapting based on the needs of the restoration community and results from previous investigations; the long-term research framework is outlined in the 2019-2023 5-Year Research Strategy (hereafter referred to as the 5-year plan). This research framework provides support for the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration (Plant Conservation Alliance, 2015), Department of Interior Secretarial Order #3347 ( Conservation Stewardship and Outdoor Recreation ), and Bureau of Land Management Leadership Priority #1 ( Create a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt ). Research activities in FY20 centered on landscape genomics, implementing a common garden experiment near Vernal, UT, conducting experimental treatments using the GRID (Germination for Restoration Information and Decision-making) framework, and collecting seeds and leaf tissues in the field in preparation for future experiments. These activities were supported by five biological science technicians. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic delayed some aspects of the FY20 workplan, especially for contract laboratory services and the construction of the GRID garden in Flagstaff, AZ. However, goals were largely met, and the overall progress of research remains on track with respect to the 5-year plan. While Dr. Rob Massatti was the only scientist supported by the SBSC-CPNPP agreement in FY20, other scientists, including Drs. John Bradford, Seth Munson, Mike Duniway, Sasha Reed, Matt Jones, and Daniel Winkler, spent a considerable amount of time providing expertise and support for individual projects. Work activities performed in support of each goal are discussed in turn.

Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah↗

USGS1988

Evaluation of the flood hydrology in the Colorado Front Range using precipitation, streamflow, and paleoflood data for the Big Thompson River basin

A multidisciplinary study of precipitation and streamflow data and paleohydrologic studies of channel features was made to analyze the flood hydrology of foothill and mountain streams in the Front Range of Colorado, with emphasis on the Big Thompson River basin, because conventional hydrologic analyses do not adequately characterize the flood hydrology. In the foothills of Colorado, annual floodflows are derived from snowmelt at high elevations in the mountain regions, from rainfall at low elevation in the plains or plateau regions, or from a combination of rain falling on snow or mixed population hydrology. Above approximately 7,500 ft, snowmelt dominates; rain does not contribute to the flood potential. Regional flood-frequency relations were developed and compared with conventional flood-estimating technique results, including an evaluation of the magnitude and frequency of the probable maximum flood. Evaluation of streamflow data and paleoflood investigations provide an alternative for evaluating flood hydrology and the safety of dams. The study indicates the need for additional data collection and research to understand the complexities of the flood hydrology in mountainous regions, especially its effects on flood-plain management and the design of structures in the flood plain. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS1996

Ground-water conditions in Utah, spring of 1996

This is the thirty-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 Department of Natural Resources, 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 significant areas of ground-water development in the State for calendar year 1995. Most of the reported data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Divisions of Water Rights and Water Resources.

Utah↗

USGS2001

Diapause in copepods (Crustacea) from ephemeral habitats with different hydroperiods in Everglades National Park (Florida, U.S.A.)

Water management practices in the Everglades have severely stressed the natural system, particularly by reducing the hydroperiods of much of the region. During the dry season of 1999, we investigated the influence of hydroperiod on the species composition and dormancy patterns of freshwater copepod communities in seasonal wetlands of Everglades National Park, Florida, U.S.A. The habitats were characterized by an annual dry season, from December through June. We sampled at two locations: the Long Pine Key area of the Rocky Glades region (short hydroperiod, ca. 4-5 months), and western Taylor Slough (intermediate hydroperiod, ca. 8-10 months). Both areas have experienced a reduction in natural hydroperiods and an increase in the frequency of dry-down. We collected weekly plankton samples from Rocky Glades solution holes to assess the potential species pool of copepods. To document the taxa capable of surviving dry-down by resting, we performed three immersion trials in which we rehydrated, in laboratory aquaria, sediment patches from solution holes and surface soils from all stations. Only a subset of the planktonic species collected emerged from the dried sediments. The cyclopoids Microcyclops rubellus and Paracyclops poppei were dominant. This is the first record of diapause for P. poppei. Species distributions from the different hydroperiod soil patches indicated that more diapausing species occurred at the sites that dried for shorter periods. Emerging individuals of M. rubellus and P. poppei were mainly ovigerous females, demonstrating a resting strategy seldom before recorded. The cyclopoid Diacyclops nearcticus had not been previously reported to diapause, but they emerged from the dried sediments in our trials. Our collections included six new records for Florida: Diacyclops nearcticus, Megacyclops latipes, Orthocyclops modestus, Elaphoidella marjoryae, Bryocamptus sp. and Bryocamptus cf. newyorkensis. Paracyclops poppei, Macrocyclops fuscus and Arctodiaptomus floridanus are new records for Everglades National Park. Clearly, diapause is an important strategy for the persistence of copepods in short-hydroperiod wetlands. The duration of the dry period appears to be inversely related to the number of species that emerge from diapause.

Conference Paper↗

USGS1994

Land use in, and water quality of, the Pea Hill Arm of Lake Gaston, Virginia and North Carolina, 1988-90

The City of Virginia Beach currently (1994) supplies water to about 400,000 people in southeastern Virginia. The city plans to withdraw water from the Pea Hill Arm of Lake Gaston to meet projected water needs of the population to the year 2030. The purpose of this report is to (1) describe the temporal and spatial distribution of selected water-quality constituents, (2) document current (1989) land use and land cover in the Pea Hill Arm drainage basin, and (3) discuss relations, if any, between the quality of water in the inlets within the Pea Hill Arm and land uses. The report focuses on water-quality problems in the basin, including changes in concentrations of major ions, nutrients, and algae associated with urban development adjacent to water bodies. The Pea Hill Arm was classified as mesotrophic on the basis of the range of concentrations of total phosphorus (0.001 to 0.61 milligrams per liter); the range of concentrations of total organic-plus-ammonia nitrogen (0.2 to 1.4 milligrams per liter); and the range of concentrations of chlorophyll a (1.4 to 56 micrograms per liter). These water-quality data were collected at 3 feet below the water surface during water years 1989-90. Thermal stratification in Pea Hill Arm generally began in April and ended in September. Water below a depth of about 25 feet generally became anoxic by June. Destratification generally began in late September and was completed by November. Lake Gaston followed the same general stratification and destratification pattern as Pea Hill Arm, except Lake Gaston was partially destratified during the summer when large amounts of water were released from John H. Kerr Reservoir and Lake Gaston Dams. During water year 1988, streamflows were 33 percent below the long-term mean-annual streamflows at one of the major streams to Lake Gaston. Low streamflows contributed to elevated specific conductances and concentrations of sodium, calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity from October 1988 to February 1989 at sampling stations in the Pea Hill Arm and Lake Gaston. About 75 percent of the land use in the Pea Hill Arm is forest land. The remaining 25 percent of the Pea Hill Arm drainage basin is 8 percent pasture/open land, 8 percent open water, 6 percent residential land, and 3 percent cropland. No statistical relations are present between water-quality constituents measured and developed land uses within 11 basins in the Pea Hill Arm Basin, except during periods of stormwater runoff. During a stormwater-runoff event, there was a relation between total nitrite plus nitrate and land use (Kendall's tau correlation coefficient of 0.69). The relation between the developed land use and total nitrite plus nitrate can also be related to the increased ground-water inputs during high base-flow periods. Spatial differences in water-quality constituents as determined by Wilcoxon (matched-pairs) signed-rank tests and cluster analyses were longitudinal and primarily grouped into riverine, transition, and lacustrine zones. These zones were grouped on the basis of flow characteristics and nutrient concentrations.

North Carolina, Virginia↗

USGS1979

Hydrologic evaluation of the Alton reclamation-study site, Alton coal field, Utah

This investigation was conducted from July 1974 to September 1977 to define general hydrologic conditions at a reclamation-study site in the Alton coal field near Kanab, Utah. The average annual streamflow through the area was less than 600 acre-feet (0.7 cubic hectometer), and the water carried little sediment except during floods which result from intense local storms. Most of the surface water seeps into the ground or is diverted for irrigation downstream from the study area. Ground-water data were insufficient to define the potentiometric surface in most of the area. The water level in each of the three observation wells in the study area is above the coal layer in the immediate area of the well. A larger network of wells is needed to define the potentiometric surface throughout the area and to show its relation to surface water and the location of the coal layers. The short period of this investigation coincided with a drought in southern Utah. Hydrologic data should be collected continuously to establish a hydrologic base before mining begins, and data collection should be continued through the periods of mining and reclamation.

Utah↗

USGS2000

U.S. Geological Survey Activities Related to American Indians and Alaska Natives Fiscal Year 2000

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is an impartial scientific organization that strives to produce scientific results that are relevant to the people of the United States and their land and resource managers. USGS does not improve the quality of its customers' lives; it provides the informational tools for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other customers to understand and improve their own lives. In cooperation with American Indian and Alaska Native governments, the USGS conducts research on water and mineral resources, animals and plants of environmental, economic, or subsistence importance, natural hazards, and geologic resources. Digital data on cartography, mineral resources, stream flows, biota, and other data sets are available to American Indian and Alaska Native institutions. The USGS recognizes the need to learn from and share knowledge with Native peoples. This report describes most of the activities that the USGS conducted with American Indian and Alaska Native governments, educational institutions, and individuals during Federal Fiscal Year 2000. Some of these USGS activities were conducted in concert with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Others were conducted by Tribes and the USGS. In the year 2000, the USGS began examining its activities related to American Indians and Native Alaskans to determine how it can better serve these customers within its mandates. More Tribal governments, educational institutions, and other Tribal organizations are using geographic information systems and other digital technologies in recent years. As Tribes become more interested and more adept at managing digital information, they are seeking such data from the USGS with greater frequency. The increasing use of such technologies allows Tribal governments additional means of managing lands and resources for the benefit of current and future generations. The USGS recognizes the need to make its information available to Tribal governments, and to work with those governments and other institutions to advance data management capabilities. The USGS is responding to this need by increasing the transfer of scientific information to American Indian and Alaska Native governments and by training employees of these governments to conduct and improve scientific studies. The USGS is also encouraging American Indians and Alaska Natives to pursue careers in science, and seeking ways to hire Indian and Native students. By identifying, improving, and disseminating information about available hiring mechanisms, the USGS is working to make hiring such students easier, and therefore more likely, for USGS managers. The U.S. Geological Survey is the Federal science bureau within the Department of the Interior (DoI). The USGS is non-regulatory and is not a significant manager of Federal or Trust lands or assets. However, there are two types of USGS activities that do involve American Indians, Alaska Natives, and their lands. The first type of activity is the course of formal studies, conducted through existing USGS programs, that involve collection of specific types of data as well as investigative and research projects. These projects have a duration of two or three years, although a few are parts of longer-term activities. Some are funded through cooperative agreements or reimbursable accounts, from monies provided to the USGS by individual Tribal governments or by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The USGS provides matching funds for cooperative projects. These formal projects may also receive funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Indian Health Service (part of the Department of Health and Human Services), or other Federal agencies. The USGS routinely works with its sister bureaus in the Department of the Interior to provide the scientific information and expertise needed to meet the Department's science priorities. Within this context, the USGS and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are cooperating to use USGS knowledge for the benefit of American Indian and Native peoples and their lands. The second type of USGS activity is less formal, based on initiatives designed and conducted by USGS employees. Frequently involving educational activities, these endeavors are prompted by employee interests, often as collateral issues, that result from an individual or group of USGS employees identifying and responding to an observed need. In these activities, USGS employees help us fulfill a mission of the USGS, to make science relevant, while helping their fellow citizens. USGS employees have also taken the initiative to assist American Indians and Alaska Natives through participation in several organizations that were created to foster knowledge of science among Native peoples and to help build support and communication networks. One such group is the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). This group sponsors an annual national meeting in which USGS employees participate. USGS employees join this organization on a voluntary basis, paying the costs themselves, yet bringing the benefits of this expanded network to the USGS, as many employees do with other professional organizations. Each part of the USGS has identified an American Indian/Alaska Native liaison. As USGS moves to a more regional organizational structure, it will establish contacts in the Western, Central, and Eastern Regions. Within the USGS, this report will help in developing outreach, educational, and program documents for use in future years. It is hoped that USGS employees, American Indians, and Alaska Natives will adapt these activities in new areas and will use the USGS contacts to expand the relevance of the USGS to more Americans.

Report↗

USGS2013

Application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin in the southeastern United States

A hydrologic model of the Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin (ACFB) has been developed as part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center effort to provide integrated science that helps resource managers understand the effect of climate change on a range of ecosystem responses. The hydrologic model was developed as part of the Southeast Regional Assessment Project using the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS), a deterministic, distributed-parameter, process-based system that simulates the effects of precipitation, temperature, and land use on basin hydrology. The ACFB PRMS model simulates streamflow throughout the approximately 50,700 square-kilometer basin on a daily time step for the period 1950–99 using gridded climate forcings of air temperature and precipitation, and parameters derived from spatial data layers of altitude, land cover, soils, surficial geology, depression storage (small water bodies), and data from 56 USGS streamgages. Measured streamflow data from 35 of the 56 USGS streamgages were used to calibrate and evaluate simulated basin streamflow; the remaining gage locations were used for model delineation only. The model matched measured daily streamflow at 31 of the 35 calibration gages with Nash-Sutcliffe Model Efficiency Index (NS) greater than 0.6. Streamflow data for some calibration gages were augmented for regulation and water use effects to represent more natural flow volumes. Time-static parameters describing land cover limited the ability of the simulation to match historical runoff in the more developed subbasins. Overall, the PRMS simulation of the ACFB provides a good representation of basin hydrology on annual and monthly time steps. Calibration subbasins were analyzed by separating the 35 subbasins into five classes based on physiography, land use, and stream type (tributary or mainstem). The lowest NS values were rarely below 0.6, whereas the median NS for all five classes was within 0.74 to 0.96 for annual mean streamflow, 0.89 to 0.98 for mean monthly streamflow, and 0.82 to 0.98 for monthly mean streamflow. The median bias for all five classes was within –4.3 to 0.8 percent for annual mean streamflow, –6.3 to 0.5 percent for mean monthly streamflow, and –9.3 to 1.3 percent for monthly mean streamflow. The NS results combined with the percent bias results indicated a good to very good streamflow volume simulation for all subbasins. This simulation of the ACFB provides a foundation for future modeling and interpretive studies. Streamflow and other components of the hydrologic cycle simulated by PRMS can be used to inform other types of simulations; water-temperature, hydrodynamic, and ecosystem-dynamics simulations are three examples. In addition, possible future hydrologic conditions could be studied using this model in combination with land cover projections and downscaled general circulation model results.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia↗

USGS2023

Development of an integrated hydrologic flow model of the Rio San Jose Basin and surrounding areas, New Mexico

The Rio San Jose Integrated Hydrologic Model (RSJIHM) was developed to provide a tool for analyzing the hydrologic system response to historical water use and potential changes in water supplies and demands in the Rio San Jose Basin. The study area encompasses about 6,300 square miles in west-central New Mexico and includes the communities of Grants, Bluewater, and San Rafael and three Native American Tribal lands: the Acoma and Laguna Pueblos and the Navajo Nation. Perennial surface water features are sparse in the study area and most water resources consist of groundwater pumped from sedimentary and basalt aquifers. Calibration of the RSJIHM was performed using PEST++ (version 4.3.20) and BeoPEST (version 13.6). Model parameter values were adjusted during calibration to fit model simulated values to the measured or estimated values for several observation groups: (1) solar radiation, (2) potential evapotranspiration, (3) actual evapotranspiration, (4) precipitation and minimum and maximum air temperature, (5) snow water equivalent, (6) snow-covered area, (7) streamflow, (8) hydraulic head, (9) springflow at Ojo del Gallo, (10) springflow at Horace Springs, (11) surface-water releases from Bluewater Lake, and (12) surface-water diversions for irrigation within the Bluewater-Toltec Irrigation District. The simulated average annual hydrologic budget from 1950 through 2018 indicated that the majority (greater than 98 percent) of precipitation within the basin was consumed by evapotranspiration, leaving 1.2 percent to recharge the groundwater system, 0.47 percent to direct runoff to streams, and 0.20 percent to infiltrate the soil zone and interflow to streams. The average annual recharge to the groundwater system and runoff to streams simulated by the RSJIHM was about 28,000 and 11,000 acre-feet, respectively. The RSJIHM simulated about 590,000 acre-feet of cumulative aquifer storage depletion from 1950 through 2018. Additional work that could improve the simulation capability of the RSJIHM includes (1) further data collection (streamflow, head, springflow) in the southwestern subbasin that includes the El Malpais National Monument, (2) incorporating temporally variable vegetation parameters, (3) spatial downscaling of the hydrometeorological input datasets, (4) incorporating additional spatial variability to hydraulic property parameters on the basis of new data collection, and (5) using environmental tracers to verify and calibrate model parameters.

New Mexico↗

USGS1976

Water resources of Lincoln County coastal area, Oregon

The Lincoln County coastal area is underlain by Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rocks of low permeability that store only a small volume of the annual precipitation which averages 68 inches (1,730 millimeters). Consequently, the Tertiary units yield small quantities of water to wells and furnish little ground-water discharge to maintain the base flow of streams. Although streamflow is normally abundant during the wet season, flow decreases greatly during summer when needed most. Quaternary marine terrace deposits of semiconsolidated sand border the western part of the area and are the most productive aquifers. Several wells drilled into the Quaternary deposits are among the highest producing wells of the area, with yields of 25 to 60 gallons per minute (1.6 to 3.8 liters per second). The Siletz River Volcanics is one of the better aquifers in the area and generally yields water in volumes sufficient for domestic use. The average well drilled into these rocks yields 5 to 10 gallons per minute (0.3 to 0.6 liters per second). Locally, this formation is quite permeable and has a producing well in the study area, with a yield of 120 gallons per minute (7.6 liters per second). Other volcanic rocks of small areal extent and largely untested, are the basalts near Depoe Bay, Cape Foulweather, Yachats, and Cape Perpetua. Wells drilled in January 1976 near Depoe Bay indicate that as much as 125 gal/min (10 L/s) of water can be obtained from wells drilled into the basalt. Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks of siltstone and sandstone are widespread throughout the area. Yields of wells drilled in these rocks are generally low (less than 5 gallons per minute, or 0.3 liters per second), and many wells in these formations produce no usable quantities of ground water. Approximately 5,000,000 acre-feet (6,000 cubic hectometers) of water discharges annually into the Pacific Ocean from all streams along the Lincoln County coast. About 85 percent of the annual streamflow occurs from November through April. Minimum streamflaws occur from August through October when, at times, as little as 450 acre-feet (55 hectometers) per day flows from all streams. Most of the ground water, with the exception of water from some wells drilled in the marine siltstone and sandstone, contains relatively small concentrations of dissolved minerals. Wells that tap the marine deposits at low altitudes have high concentrations of dissolved minerals, particularly sodium and chloride. In general, analyses of water from the 14 streams sampled in Lincoln County show very good chemical quality. The iron content of Depoe and Thiel Creeks is above the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended limit of 0.3 milligrams per liter for drinking water. Annual water use totals 6.7 billion gallons, which is less than 0.5 percent of runoff. About 70 percent of the use is for industrial purposes at one lumber products mill, about 25 percent is for public supplies, and less than 5 percent for irrigation. Water supplies for all municipalities in Lincoln County currently (1975) are obtained from surface-water sources. Because of rapid economic development of the coastal area, it is expected that additional water will be needed in the future. Additional water can be supplied (1) by reservoirs on major streams; (2) by the expansion, in some locations, of present surface-water facilities on small streams; and (3) locally, by an additional small volume of supplemental water from ground-water sources.

Oregon↗

USGS1987

Estimates of streamflow characteristics for selected small streams, Baker River basin, Washington

Regression equations were used to estimate streamflow characteristics at eight ungaged sites on small streams in the Baker River basin in the North Cascade Mountains, Washington, that could be suitable for run-of-the-river hydropower development. The regression equations were obtained by relating known streamflow characteristics at 25 gaging stations in nearby basins to several physical and climatic variables that could be easily measured in gaged or ungaged basins. The known streamflow characteristics were mean annual flows, 1-, 3-, and 7-day low flows and high flows, mean monthly flows, and flow duration. Drainage area and mean annual precipitation were not the most significant variables in all the regression equations. Variance in the low flows and the summer mean monthly flows was reduced by including an index of glacierized area within the basin as a third variable. Standard errors of estimate of the regression equations ranged from 25 to 88%, and the largest errors were associated with the low flow characteristics. Discharge measurements made at the eight sites near midmonth each month during 1981 were used to estimate monthly mean flows at the sites for that period. These measurements also were correlated with concurrent daily mean flows from eight operating gaging stations. The correlations provided estimates of mean monthly flows that compared reasonably well with those estimated by the regression analyses. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗