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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 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
USGS1987

Some aspects of U.S. Geological Survey activities related to the effects of contaminants on water resources

The U.S. Geological Survey 's water resources programs are supported by direct annual appropriations from Congress, the Federal-State Cooperative Program (50:50 matching of funds), and by funds provided by other Federal agencies. For fiscal year 1987, total obligations exceeded $250 million for activities in every State, Puerto Rico, and several territories in cooperation with nearly 1,000 local, State, regional, and other Federal agencies. The quality of the ground and surface waters has been of concern to the Geological Survey from the time it was established. During the past few years, water resources contamination has received highest priority consideration and a variety of investigations and research are ongoing to obtain an improved understanding of the Nation 's water quality and the factors affecting it. This report presents information on program priorities and discusses the coordinated activities focusing on the effects of contaminants on water resources. The report also describes a number of investigations and research activities in progress during fiscal years of 1986 and 1987, and provides guidance on how to obtain additional details. (Author 's abstract)

Open-File Report↗
USGS2014

Estimates of groundwater recharge rates and sources in the East Mountain area, Eastern Bernalillo County, New Mexico, 2005-12

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bernalillo County Public Works Division, has conducted a monitoring program in the East Mountain area of eastern Bernalillo County, New Mexico, since 2000 to better define the hydrogeologic characteristics of the East Mountain area and to provide scientific information that will assist in the sustainable management of water resources. This report presents estimates of groundwater recharge to the aquifers that supply water to a network of springs that discharged within the East Mountain area of eastern Bernalillo County during 2005–12. Chloride concentration, the mass ratio of chloride to bromide, and the stable isotope ratios of hydrogen and oxygen were used to estimate annual groundwater recharge rates and to identify the sources and timing of recharge to the aquifers in the East Mountain area. Groundwater recharge rates were estimated by using a chloride mass-balance (CMB) method applied to data from selected springs located in the study area. Eleven springs and four downgradient monitoring wells were sampled for this study. On the basis of chloride concentrations and the mass ratio of chloride to bromide, eight of the eleven sampled springs are considered representative of dilute groundwater recharged by meteoric water in the Sandia Mountains. Eight of the eleven springs sampled as part of this investigation are considered representative of dilute groundwater not influenced by nonmeteoric chloride sources on the basis of analysis of chloride concentrations and the mass ratio of chloride to bromide. Chloride concentrations at three of the sampled springs were likely affected by nonmeteoric chloride sources. Results of CMB calculations for the eight springs with Cl:Br ratios and chloride concentrations within the range of dilute groundwater (not influenced by nonmeteoric chloride sources) indicated that between about 5.5 and 23 percent of annual precipitation recharges the groundwater system. The variation in estimated recharge rates indicated that the mechanisms for recharge and groundwater movement in the East Mountain area are complex and that factors such as climate variability, the extent and interconnection of structural features such as faults and fractures, and potential solution enhancement of the aquifers all play important roles in the rates and timing of recharge. Stable isotope data from springs and snowpacks sampled in the East Mountain area were compared with local, regional, and global meteoric water lines and were analyzed along with values representing the stable isotope composition of winter precipitation and summer monsoonal rains. Results of the stable isotope analysis from springs in this study suggested that winter precipitation is the primary source of groundwater recharge to the aquifers supplying the springs, but there is a component of more isotopically enriched precipitation being recharged as well, likely from summer monsoonal rains. Specific conductance, groundwater-level hydrographs, snowpack chemistry, and snow-water equivalent data were used to inform the analyses and corroborate the findings of the CMB and stable isotope results.

New Mexico↗
USGS1994

Water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in New Mexico, fiscal year 1992

Awareness of our environment in general, and water resources in particular, has brought increased interest in and support of hydrologic data collection and research. The quantity, quality, and distribution of water are extremely important to the future well-being of New Mexico. The State's surface-water resources are minimal and highly variable due to climate and to regulation and diversion; ground-water resources are subject to development that exceeds natural recharge and to potential contamination by land use. Issues related to global climate change, disposal of hazardous wastes, toxic substances in water, water rights, and ground-water contamination are evolving areas of greater public concern. At the same time there is a continuing need for a better understanding of various hydrologic systems and processes in order to manage these limited water resources for maximum benefit to present and future generations. The U.S. Geological Survey has collected and disseminated information on the water resources of New Mexico for more than a century. The Survey began to collect records of streamflow in New Mexico in December 1888 when the first discharge measurements were made on the Rio Grande near the present gaging station at Embudo. This site, called the "birthplace of systematic stream gaging," was chosen to be the training center for the first hydrographers of the Irrigation Survey, a bureau within the original Geological Survey. Since that time, in cooperation with Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies, we have monitored streams at hundreds of sites throughout the State and have a current network of more than 200 streamflow-gaging stations. Through the Cooperative Program, we also have established sites where ground-water levels are monitored to document changes in ground-water storage or where surface-water and groundwater samples are collected to determine water chemistry, and we have undertaken investigative studies to define the availability, quality, and distribution of water resources. Information from the data program and results of investigative studies are made available to water-resources managers, regulators, and the public to be used for the effective management of the State's water resources. This report provides a brief summary of the activities of the New Mexico District for FY (fiscal year) 1992, including our mission, organization, sources of funding, and descriptions of current projects. This report serves to document not only the content of the program, but also the diversity and complexity of that program. Cooperation among water-resources agencies will be essential in effectively dealing with water-related issues facing New Mexico. We look forward to the challenge of addressing these issues by continuing to provide factual hydrologic data and technically sound areal appraisals and interpretive studies.

New Mexico↗
USGS1905

Preliminary report on the geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains

The area to which this report relates is shown in Pl. II. It comprises the greater portions of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, and the eastern portions of Colorado and of Wyoming, an area of about one-half million square miles. It is the result of my investigations during the past eight years, but includes also all available data from many sources. I have been aided by various field assistants, those deserving special mention being Messrs. C. A. Fisher, C. C. O'Harra, J.E. Todd, the late C. M. Hall, G. B. Eichardson, W. S. Tangier Smith, E. H. Barbour, and the late J. E. Macfarland. On account of its size, the region presents relatively diverse geologic conditions, but comprises comparatively few formations, most of which are widespread. The question of water supply, both overground and underground, is one of great interest to the people in this district, and although considerable progress has been made in some sections in developing well waters, there are vast areas in which the present supplies are inadequate, even for local domestic use. In order to understand the relations of the underground waters it has been necessary to investigate the geology, especially the structure and stratigraphy of the water-bearing and associated formations. This part of the work has required a very large amount of special field study, and the present results show that extended investigation will be required before many important questions of geology can be fully understood.

Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming↗
USGS2006

Guidelines and standard procedures for continuous water-quality monitors: Station operation, record computation, and data reporting

The U.S. Geological Survey uses continuous water-quality monitors to assess the quality of the Nation's surface water. A common monitoring-system configuration for water-quality data collection is the four-parameter monitoring system, which collects temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, and pH data. Such systems also can be configured to measure other properties, such as turbidity or fluorescence. Data from sensors can be used in conjunction with chemical analyses of samples to estimate chemical loads. The sensors that are used to measure water-quality field parameters require careful field observation, cleaning, and calibration procedures, as well as thorough procedures for the computation and publication of final records. This report provides guidelines for site- and monitor-selection considerations; sensor inspection and calibration methods; field procedures; data evaluation, correction, and computation; and record-review and data-reporting processes, which supersede the guidelines presented previously in U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report WRIR 00-4252. These procedures have evolved over the past three decades, and the process continues to evolve with newer technologies.

Techniques and Methods↗
USGS1996

Selected reports of the U.S. Geological Survey on Water Resources in Mississippi, 1990-96

Results of water-resources data-collection programs and interpretive hydrologic studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are published in reports and are made available to universities, State and local agencies, other Federal agencies, and the public. The following is a list of selected USGS reports on water resources in Mississippi published since 1990 and categorized according to the major emphasis of the report; these reports are available for inspection at the Mississippi District Office in Pearl, Mississippi.

Mississippi↗
USGS1996

Selected hydrogeologic data from the Cedar Rapids Area, Benton and Linn counties, Iowa, October 1992 through March 1996

The city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, obtains its water supply from shallow wells screened in the alluvial aquifer along the Cedar River. A cooperative study between the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the U.S. Geological Survey was started in March 1992 to assess the water quality and water quantity of the ground-water resource. This report summarizes selected hydrogeologic data collected from October 1992 through March 1996. Information collected includes water quality (major ions, nutrients, and pesticides), ground-water levels, multiprobe-instrument data (water levels, specific conductance, pH, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen monitored at 15-, 30-, or 60-minute intervals), well information (location, casing type, screen interval, and depth), and geophysical seismic-refraction and seismic-reflection data (estimated depth to bedrock and alluvial thickness along the Cedar River). Geologic, hydrologic, and water-quality data were collected from domestic, municipal, observation, and industrial wells and the Cedar River. Well-construction data for more than 300 wells in the Cedar Rapids area in Benton and Linn Counties, Iowa, were compiled primarily from records on file with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Geologic Survey Bureau (Iowa City).

Iowa↗
USGS2012

Strategic directions for U.S. Geological Survey water science, 2012-2022 - Observing, understanding, predicting, and delivering water science to the Nation

Executive Summary This report expands the Water Science Strategy that was begun in the USGS Science Strategy, “Facing Tomorrow’s Challenges—U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007–2017” (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). The report looks at the relevant issues facing society and develops a strategy built around observing, understanding, predicting, and delivering water science for the next 5 to 10 years by building new capabilities, tools, and delivery systems to meet the Nation’s water-resource needs. This report begins by presenting the vision of water science for the USGS and the societal issues that are influenced by, and in turn influence, the water resources of our Nation. The essence of the Water Strategic Science Plan is built on the concept of “water availability,” defined as spatial and temporal distribution of water quantity and quality, as related to human and ecosystem needs, as affected by human and natural influences . The report also describes the core capabilities of the USGS in water science—the strengths, partnerships, and science integrity that the USGS has built over its 130-year history. Nine priority actions are presented in the report, which combine and elevate the numerous specific strategic actions listed throughout the report. Priority actions were developed as a means of providing the audience of this report with a list for focused attention, even if resources and time limit the ability of managers to address all of the strategic actions in the report. Priority actions focus on the following: Improve integrated science planning for water. Expand and enhance water-resource monitoring networks. Characterize the water cycle through development of state-of-the-art 3-D/4-D hydrogeologic framework models at multiple scales. Clarify the linkage between human water use (engineered hydrology) and the water cycle (natural hydrology). Advance ecological flow science. Provide flood-inundation science and information. Develop rapid deployment teams for water-related emergencies. Conduct integrated watershed assessment, research, and modeling. Deliver water data and analyses to the Nation. The body of the report is presented as a hierarchal set of 5 goals, 14 objectives, and 27 strategic actions that the USGS should undertake to advance water science through year 2022. The goals deal with: Providing society the information it needs regarding the amount and quality of water in all components of the water cycle at high temporal and spatial resolution, nationwide; Advancing our understanding of processes that determine water availability; Predicting changes in the quantity and quality of water resources in response to changing climate, population, land use, and management scenarios; Anticipating and responding to water-related emergencies and conflicts; and Delivering timely hydrologic data, analyses, and decision-support tools seamlessly across the Nation to support water-resource decisions. Scientific information produced on water resources would be without value if it were not communicated to society in a fashion that can inform decisions and actions. Therefore, the chapter following the goals describes how the USGS should inform, involve, and educate society about the science it produces. This includes discussions on local outreach and the use of social media for effective communication. This report concludes with a chapter devoted to the crosscutting science issues of the Water Mission Area with the other USGS Mission Areas: Climate and Land Use Change, Core Science Systems, Ecosystems, Energy and Minerals, Environmental Health Science, and Natural Hazards. Not one of these Mission Areas stands alone—all must work together and integrate their actions to fulfill the USGS science mission for the future. This final chapter identifies the important linkages that must be realized and maintained for this integration to occur.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1972

Summary of water resources of Salt Lake County, Utah

This report is a summary of a comprehensive report on the present water resources of Salt Lake County, Utah, and the potential for additional development The average total annual withdrawals from surface and underground sources during 1964-68 were about 580,000 acre-feet for all uses that deplete the supply, except that used for maintenance of waterfowl-management areas. The withdrawals projected for the year 2020 are 1,200,000 acre-feet. The maximum annual firm supply that can be derived from the sources now available is about 700,000 acre-feet, of which about 200,000 acre-feet would be derived from subsurface sources. Achievement of this annual yield would require nearly complete regulation of streamflow that now is practically unregulated, larger drawdowns of ground-water levels than have been experienced, and overall management of surface and subsurface sources as parts of a single resource.

Utah↗
USGS2003

Hydrogeologic Provinces for California based upon established groundwater basins and watershed polygons

Ten hydrogeologic provinces of California are represented by a region- class feature called 'provinces' within this digital data set. These provinces were identified and defined in the USGS Water Resource Investigation Report (WRIR) 03-4166 (Belitz and others, 2003) titled, 'Framework for a Ground-water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Plan for California'. Hydrogeologic provinces are generalized areas where hydrology and/or geology have similar characteristics. The Southern Cal Islands group was not previously defined as a province in WRIR 03-4166, and is therefore identified as a group in this dataset. These provinces were created by grouping polygons from two formally created digital data sets into respective provinces. New polygons were created where necessary. The two digital data set sources consisted of watershed polygons (calwater) and groundwater basin polygons (gw_basins) compiled to create an original publication of hydrogeologic province boundaries in the form of a region-class within the data set. By symbolizing on the region- class, the user can view the ten hydrogeologic provinces and one grouped province in their simplest representation, without watershed and ground- water basin boundaries obscuring the province areas. Original polygons for both the watershed data set and the ground-water basin data set were retained as much as possible.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1979

Bibliographic supplement to USGS Bulletin 1426; 1975 to June 1979

This bibliography is a supplement to U.S. Geological Survey Bulletins 1426 (Bergquist, 1976) and 1263 (Heath and Tabacchi, 1968). The titles listed result from work undertaken in cooperation with national agencies partly through technical assistance projects under the auspices of the Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of State; partly under reimbursable assistance projects with other governments on behalf of the Department of State; partly under assistance projects sponsored by international organizations; and partly under scientific exchange projects supported by U.S. agencies such as the National Science Foundation. This report includes titles published during the period 1975 through June 1979, but is not necessarily complete, as an exhaustive search was not made; however, it is being released in open file in order to make the data available to the public on an interim basis. Seven geographic regions and 71 countries are represented. A few titles published prior to 1975 have been found that are not included in Bulletins 1263 or 1426. Only reports authored solely or in part by USGS members, or jointly by USGS and counterpart staff members, are listed. The reports are listed alphabetically by author, under the appropriate country; reports of wider scope are given under the continent or geographic region, for example, Africa, Central and South America, or CENTO region. Reports not classifiable by geographic location are listed separately under the heading "General." All references to reports on water resources and hydrology were provided by J. R. Jones or R. M. Beall, USGS. The reports and maps are available only through the listed source. Copies of articles published in scientific journals or by other governments or agencies cannot be ordered from the USGS. Instructions for ordering publications of the USGS follow.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1966

Ground water in the Cimarron River basin: New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma

This report on ground water in the Cimarron River basin was prepared by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey at the request of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, for inclusion in the Corps' overall report on the water resources of the basin. The report is an updating of the Cimarron Basin part of the report on the Arkansas, White, and Red River basins (Lohman and Burtis, 1953a) and includes more recently published data, as well as unpublished data in the files of the Geological Survey. These data are compiled by district offices of the Geological Survey in each State in cooperation with State and local agencies and with other Federal agencies. No new data were collected as a part of this investigation. The report is primarily a map presentation, and the text is intended mainly to clarify and supplement the maps and to make them more understandable and usable. The report also presents some of the ground-water problems--both present and potential--and suggests some partial solutions. As the maps and text are of necessity highly generalized, the reader is referred to the more detailed reports for more precise information.

Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma↗