The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides scientific information to help manage the Nation’s water resources. This guide offers suggestions for obtaining USGS data from the World-Wide Web and from local USGS offices to help your community manage and protect its ground-water supply.

Home page for USGS Water Information

List of names, addresses, and phone numbers for local USGS water-resources contacts in every State.  For example, contact these offices to determine whether a USGS ground-water flow model already exists for your aquifer.

Links to web pages for USGS water programs in every State

National Water Information System—The main repository for USGS water data. Includes site information, ground-water levels, and ground-water quality data. Millions of historical records, and hundreds of real-time records of water level and water quality

Ground-Water Atlas of the United States—On-line atlas covering descriptions, maps, and other information for the major aquifers, organized in 13 regional chapters

Watershed Information Network—Catalog of information for each of over 2,000 specific watersheds in the U.S., supported jointly by EPA, USDA, and USGS. Includes a link to EPA’s Surf Your Watershed program

National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program—Data, reports, and project descriptions for the primary national water-quality monitoring and assessment program of the USGS. Includes data on nutrients, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and trace elements in ground and surface water. Geographic coverage includes each of 49 multi-State study units, plus national synthesis projects for each parameter group. Data are available on-line in the NAWQA Data Warehouse

Reconnaissance of emerging contaminants 

Land use-land cover maps by State

USGS resources for water-system security

Powerpoint slide show: USGS Data to Protect Your Drinking Water. Presentation at the Groundwater Foundation Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, November 15, 2001

Return to:     Drinking Water Home Page            Office of Water Quality

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, USA
URL water.usgs.gov/owq/dwi/gw_protection
Contact: gpatter@usgs.gov
Last modification: 19-Nov-2001@15:05 (ggp)