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Results for “Water Resources Impact”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
USGS1992

Pesticides in Iowa precipitation

Rainfall was sampled for pesticides to assess their occurrence in precipitation and potential impacts on water resources. Three areas in Iowa were sampled; two localities were in rural settings, and a third in an urban area. Fourteen pesticides, including ten herbicides and four insecticides, were detected from October 1987 through September 1990. Atrazine, alachlor, cyanazine, and metolachlor were the most commonly detected, with one or more of these four herbicides found in almost every rainfall sample during the growing season. Concentrations of individual pesticides ranged from 0.1 µg L −1 to 40.0 µg L −1 , with most detections under 1.0 µg L −1 . Pesticide detections in rainfall began in April and ended in July or August, probably related to the timing of chemical application and greater volatilization rates during warmer weather. Samples from the urban site had detections of the same agricultural chemicals found at the rural sites, but in lesser quantities. In addition to the commonly detected herbicides, three of the four insecticides detected in rainfall were only found in urban samples. Two of these have urban as well as agricultural uses. Some variation of pesticide detections were seen at the three sampling localities, related to regional and local use patterns. Concentrations were greater at sampling sites near fields where pesticides are applied, suggesting that local volatilization and distance of transport affect the concentrations in rainfall. Pesticide concentrations were highest at the beginning of a rainfall event with concentrations becoming lower in samples taken later in the event.

Journal of Environmental Quality↗
USGS2008

Post-Wildfire Hydrologic Hazards in the Wildland Urban Interface of Colorado and the Western United States

Following a wildfire, such as the 2002 Missionary Ridge fire, a number of hydrologic hazards may develop that can have an important impact on water resources, businesses, homes, reservoirs, roads, and utilities in the wildland urban interface (areas where homes and commercial developments are interspersed with wildlands) in mountainous areas of the Western United States. This fact sheet describes these hazards and identifies approaches to quantify them, thus enabling land and resource managers to plan for and mitigate the effects of these hazards. The fact sheet has been produced in association with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fire Science Thrust program and the Colorado Front Range Demonstration Project (CFRDP). The current (2007) focus of the CFRDP is on the Three Lakes watershed in Grand County, Colorado, which has applicability to many similar forested, mountain areas in the Western United States.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2020

NHDPlus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR)---A hydrography framework for the Nation

Reliable and accurate high-resolution mapping of the Nation’s waters are critical inputs to models and decision support systems used to predict risk and enable response to impacts on water resources. It is necessary to know where the water is and how it relates to features beyond the stream network like forests, cities, and infrastructure. An up-to-date, high-resolution national hydrography framework is required for modeling the occurrence of water and to provide the ability to connect detailed information from the surrounding landscape to the stream network. To support this, the U.S. Geological Survey is developing NHDPlus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR), the next generation of NHDPlus using updated, high-resolution datasets to create a modern, scalable, and openly accessible hydrography framework for the inland waters of the Nation.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2023

Potentiometric surface map of the Southern High Plains aquifer in the Cannon Air Force Base area, Curry County, New Mexico, 2020

Declining water levels and the potential impact on water resources on and around Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico, has necessitated an up-to-date review of the potentiometric surface to evaluate the availability of water resources for future use. Analysis of groundwater-flow directions and hydraulic gradients can provide an understanding of depletion by heavy groundwater pumping and recharge through playa lakes, as well as the relationship between the groundwater levels and underlying geology. The objectives of this study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center, are to assist Cannon AFB in understanding and interpreting current and local hydrologic conditions and to evaluate groundwater-level change from 2015 to 2020 using new and historical data. A groundwater potentiometric surface contour map was constructed to better understand the Southern High Plains aquifer around Cannon AFB and to show the altitude of the water-table surface and groundwater-flow patterns. Four hydrographs were created from periodic measurements of groundwater levels in wells on and around Cannon AFB to provide information about historical groundwater-level changes and visualize trends from the water-level records. The long-term trend present in all four hydrographs is a steady decline in groundwater levels, with some areas declining faster than others. The groundwater-level change map presented in this study provides a visual representation of the change in groundwater level from the winter 2015 to winter 2020 measuring events. Results show that among corresponding wells measured in 2015 and 2020, 50.7 percent indicated a decline in water levels, 29.9 percent indicated neutral water levels, and 19.4 percent indicated a rise in water levels. The region to the north of the groundwater trough on Cannon AFB contained most of the groundwater-level rises, whereas the regions located near the trough and just west of Clovis, N. Mex., contained most of the declines. These results suggest that continued monitoring of declining groundwater levels in the area would provide valuable decision-support information for assessing the sustainability of this water resource.

New Mexico↗
USGS2010

Panama Canal Watershed Experiment- Agua Salud Project

The Agua Salud Project utilizes the Panama Canal’s (Canal) central role in world commerce to focus global attention on the ecosystem services provided by tropical forests. The Canal was one of the great engineering projects in the world. Completed in 1914, after almost a decade of concerted effort, its 80 km length greatly shortened the voyage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. An entire class of ships, the Panamax, has been constructed to maximize the amount of cargo that can be carried in a Canal passage. In today’s parlance, the Canal is a “green” operation, powered largely by water (Table 1). The locks, three pairs on each end with a net lift of 27 meters, are gravity fed. For each ton of cargo that is transferred from ocean to ocean, about 13 tons of water (m3) are used. Lake Gatún forms much of the waterway in the Canal transect. Hydroelectricity is generated at the Gatún dam, whenever there is surplus water, and at Madden Dam (completed in 1936) when water is transferred from Lake Alhajuela to Lake Gatún. The Canal watershed is the source of drinking water for Panama City and Colon City, at either end of the Canal, and numerous towns in between.

Water Resources Impact↗
USGS2002

A national look at water quality

Most water - quality problems we face today result from diffuse "nonpoint" sources of pollution from agricultural land, urban development, forest harvesting and the atmosphere (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers et al., 1999). It is difficult to quantify nonpoint sources because the contaminants they deliver vary in composition and concentrations from hour to hour and season to season. Moreover, the nature of the contamination is complex and varied. When Congress enacted the Clean Water Act 30 years ago, attention was focused on water - quality issues related to the sanitation of rivers and streams - bacteria counts, oxygen in the water for fish, nutrients, temperature, and salinity. Now, attention is turning to the hundreds of synthetic organic compounds like pesticides used in agricultural and residential areas, volatile organics in solvents and gasoline, microbial and viral contamination, and pharmaceuticals and hormones.

Water Resources Impact↗
USGS2002

Water-Quality patterns in some of the nation's major river basins and aquifers

In 1991, the National Water - Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began evaluating the quality of streams, ground water , and aquatic ecosystems in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems (known as "study units") across the nation. The assessments characterize the ambient water resource - the source of about 60 percent of the nation's drinking water , as well as water for industrial, irrigation, and recreational uses - and thereby complement much of the compliance and regulatory monitoring conducted at the state level and by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

Water Resources Impact↗
USGS2002

Assessing five national priorities in water resources

In 2001, the National Water - Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began its second decade of studies. A total of 42 study units (major river basins and aquifers across the nation) will be reassessed in three groups of 14 on a rotating schedule. Each group of study units will be studied intensively for three years, followed by six years of low-intensity assessment. One of the primary goals in the second decade is to improve understanding of the key processes that control water - quality conditions in order to establish the links among the sources of contaminants, their transport through the hydrologic system, and the effects of contaminants and physical alterations on stream biota and ecosystems and on the quality of drinking water . An improved understanding of these links will provide the basis for predicting water - quality conditions in unmonitored areas and for predicting the likely effects of contemplated changes in land- and water -management practices.

Water Resources Impact↗
USGS2014

Progress in data collection and dissemination in water resources – 1974-2014

In the 50 years since the founding of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA), there has been tremendous and likely unforeseen progress in water-re- sources data collection and dissemination. Langford and Doyel (1974) (henceforth L&D) described progress during the decade following the founding of AWRA, and focused their description around seven topics. L&D described the changes as being “more philosophical than technical,” and noted the importance to the water-resources com- munity of the more than 30 Federal Acts or Amendments enacted in the decade. The purpose of this article is to provide an update to L&D by reviewing L&D’s predictions of anticipated changes in water resources data collection and dissemi-nation, providing an overview of some of the drivers of change in the water-resources community in the last 40 years, identifying some key advances in water-resources data collection and dissemination since 1974, and out-lining some important near-term challenges. The overview is necessarily incomplete, but represents one perspective based on years of collaboration throughout the water-resources community.

Water Resources Impact↗
USGS2017

Biota: Providing often-overlooked connections among freshwater systems

When we think about connections in and among aquatic systems, we typically envision clear headwater streams flowing into downstream rivers, river floodwaters spilling out onto adjacent floodplains, or groundwater connecting wetlands to lakes and streams. However, there is another layer of connectivity moving materials among freshwater systems, one with connections that are not always tied to downgradient flows of surface waters and groundwater. These movements are those of organisms, key components of virtually every freshwater system on the planet. In their movements across the landscape, biota connect aquatic systems in often-overlooked ways.

Water Resources Impact↗
USGS2009

Integrated watershed scale response to climate change for selected basins across the United States

As the questions of climate change has moved from “if” it is happening to “how” it is changing our environment, it has become important to have regional assessment designs to allow us to better understand how changes are occurring now and in the future. The authors are using the Precipitatation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) to assess the potential effects of long-term climate change on 15 basins representing different hydroclimatic regions in the United States.

Water Resources Impact↗
USGS2015

The Open Water Data Initiative: Water information for a thirsty nation

Initial efforts of the Open Water Data Initiative have focused on three use cases covering flooding, drought, and contaminant spill response, with a goal of identifying critical water data resources and making them more accessible. Significant progress has been made in the past year, although much remains to be done.

Water Resources Impact↗
USGS2018

Contaminants of emerging concern in the environment: Where we have been and what does the future hold?

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring alerted the nation to the dangers of manmade chemicals and indiscriminate use of pesticides. DDT was the culprit and its use threatened a variety of wildlife, including the national bird, bald eagles. In 1969, pressured by scientists and the public, the United States banned almost all uses of DDT; however, DDT was just the tip of the chemical iceberg. In 1996, Theo Colborn’s book, Our Stolen Future, again alerted the public to the dangers of chemical exposure. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals were identified as concerns because exposure to extremely small concentrations can have adverse effects on people and wildlife by interfering with chemical messaging systems, affecting things like sexual development and reproduction.

Water Resources Impact↗