Due to a lapse in appropriations, the majority of USGS websites may not be up to date and may not reflect current conditions. Websites displaying real-time data, such as Earthquake and Water and information needed for public health and safety will be updated with limited support. Additionally, USGS will not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. For more information, please see www.doi.gov/shutdown
The USGS next-generation water observing system will provide high-fidelity, real-time data on water quantity and quality necessary to support modern water prediction and decision support systems for water emergencies and daily water operations. The Delaware River Basin pilot provides an opportunity to develop the NextGen observing system in a nationally important, complex interstate river...
Introduction Sealcoat is the black, viscous liquid sprayed or painted on many asphalt parking lots, driveways, and playgrounds to protect and enhance the appearance of the underlying asphalt. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), academic institutions, and State and local agencies have identified coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat as a major...
Mahler, Barbara J.; Woodside, Michael D.; Van Metre, Peter C.
This report summarizes a national assessment of the ecological health of streams done by the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). Healthy functioning stream ecosystems provide society with many benefits, including water purification, flood control, nutrient recycling, waste decomposition, fisheries,...
Carlisle, Daren M.; Meador, Michael R.; Short, Terry M.; Tate, Cathy M.; Gurtz, Martin E.; Bryant, Wade L.; Falcone, James A.; Woodside, Michael D.
Aquatic biological communities, which are collections of organisms, are a direct measure of stream health because they indicate the ability of a stream to support life. This fact sheet highlights selected findings of a national assessment of stream health by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS...
Carlisle, Daren M.; Woodside, Michael D.
Urban development is an important agent of environmental change in the United States. The urban footprint on the American landscape has expanded during a century and a half of almost continuous development. Eighty percent of Americans now live in metropolitan areas, and the advantages and challenges of living in these developed areas—...
Coles, James F.; McMahon, Gerard; Bell, Amanda H.; Brown, Larry R.; Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Scudder Eikenberry, Barbara C.; Woodside, Michael D.; Cuffney, Thomas F.; Bryant, Wade L.; Cappiella, Karen; Fraley-McNeal, Lisa; Stack, William P.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed assessments of stream nutrients in six major regions extending over much of the conterminous United States. SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes) models were developed for each region to explain spatial patterns in monitored stream nutrient loads in relation to human...
Preston, Stephen D.; Alexander, Richard B.; Woodside, Michael D.
This report contains the major findings of a 1999?2001 assessment of water quality in the Lower Tennessee River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program that present major findings in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is...
Woodside, Michael D.; Hoos, Anne B.; Kingsbury, James A.; Powell, Jeffrey R.; Knight, Rodney R.; Garrett, Jerry W.; Mitchell, Reavis L.; Robinson, John A.
From 1992 to 1994, 147 water samples were collected at 5 sites in the Tar-Pamlico drainage basin in North Carolina and analyzed for 46 herbicides, insecticides, and pesticide metabolites as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Based on a common adjusted detection limit of 0.01 microgram per liter, the...
Woodside, Michael D.; Ruhl, Kelly E.
The goals of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program are to describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's water resources, identify water-quality changes over time, and identify the primary natural and human factors that affect water quality. The lower Tennessee River Basin is one of 59 river basins selected for...
Kingsbury, James A.; Hoos, Anne B.; Woodside, M.D.
The NAWQA Program is assessing the water-quality conditions of more than 50 of the Nation's largest river basins and aquifers, known as Study Units. Collectively, these Study Units cover about one-half of the United States and include sources of drinking water used by about 70 percent of the U.S. population. Comprehensive assessments of about one-...
Spruill, Timothy B.; Harned, Douglas A.; Ruhl, Peter M.; Eimers, Jo Leslie; McMahon, Gerard; Smith, Kelly E.; Galeone, David R.; Woodside, Michael D.
Ground-water discharge is a significant source of nitrate load to tidal creeks, coastal estuaries, and Chesapeake Bay. Different studies have found that forest buffers greater than 200 feet wide remove most of the nitrate from passing ground water. These buffers are commonly included in regional nutrient-management strategies. Results of a U.S....
Speiran, Gary K.; Hamilton, Pixie A.; Woodside, Michael D.
A new partnership will provide a clearer picture of the benefits of farmers' conservation practices on the quality of our Nation's water. Working together, USDA's NRCS and DOI's USGS will quantify the benefits of voluntary agricultural practices at a watershed scale.