Search USGS⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “WIREs Water”

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

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

656 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2025

Disparate groundwater responses to wildfire

Post-wildfire investigations of groundwater response reveal a range of outcomes, varying from substantial increases to notable decreases in recharge and baseflow, with some studies indicating negligible or short-lived effects. This review assesses these varied responses within five critical categories: climate, vegetation, hydrogeology, fire characteristics, and the cryosphere, examining both short-term (within 2 years) and intermediate (2–10 years post-fire) effects. Despite considerable variability, some consistent patterns emerge. For instance, in hydroclimatic settings where water input and evaporative demand cycles are out of sync, post-wildfire groundwater responses tend to be positive (i.e., increased flux or storage), whereas under low fire severity conditions or in vegetation types that quickly recover, groundwater responses tend to be negative (i.e., decreased flux or storage). We synthesize relevant findings into a compendium of testable hypotheses aimed at explaining the spatiotemporal variability in observed post-wildfire groundwater responses. A recurring theme is the critical influence of the pre-wildfire groundwater regime on expected response and recovery. We identify opportunities for specific improvements in post-wildfire monitoring and modeling that would further advance capabilities to predict groundwater response. A key area for further research is understanding how wildfire effects on snow dynamics and other cryospheric processes translate to changes in groundwater.

WIREs Water↗
USGS2026

Characterizing precariously balanced rocks (PBRs) in the eastern United States for estimating maximum past earthquake ground motions

Fragile geologic features (FGFs) can be used to estimate an upper bound to the strength of earthquake ground shaking in the past thousands to tens of thousands of years. FGFs could be especially useful in the eastern United States, where few active faults are available for paleoseismic studies and where low seismic attenuation means that an earthquake could damage FGFs at large distances. This article describes a pilot study of one form of FGF, precariously balanced rocks (PBRs), in the Blue Ridge of Virginia, ∼160 km from the central Virginia seismic zone (CVSZ) and ∼100 km from Virginia’s Giles County seismic zone (GCSZ). The main goal is to develop and refine methods for studying PBRs in the eastern United States. Photogrammetric 3D models of the rocks were used to locate their centers of mass and delineate their basal contacts, with the latter corroborated by wrapping a wire around the bases to verify the circumferences. Relations between hill geometry and amplification were used to estimate topographic amplification. Seismometers on the PBRs provided the frequencies, amplitudes, and directions of rocking after giving the rocks gentle pushes. The levels of ground shaking likely to topple the rocks were compared with the median hazard curves from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Seismic Hazard Model and were used to map magnitudes of earthquakes in the nearby region likely to topple the rocks. Results indicate that an M w ≥ 7.5 earthquake is needed in the CVSZ or near the 2020 Sparta, North Carolina, earthquake to topple the two most fragile PBRs and that an earthquake of ~ M w 7–7.5 in the GCSZ is needed. The fragilities and estimated ages of the PBRs (20–40 ka) are thus consistent with the absence of such events in the historical record in the nearby region.

eastern United States↗
USGS1997

Water-quality assessment of south-central Texas: Occurrence and distribution of volatile organic compounds in surface water and ground water, 1983-94, and implications for future monitoring

The study area of the South-Central Texas study unit of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program comprises the Edwards aquifer in the San Antonio region and its catchment area. The first phase of the assessment includes evaluation of existing water-quality data for surface water and ground water, including volatile organic compounds, to determine the scope of planned monitoring. Most analyses of volatile organic compounds in surface water are from the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System sites in San Antonio, Texas. Nine volatile organic compounds were detected at the six sites. The three compounds with the most detections at National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System sites are 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, toluene, and xylene. Analysis of volatile organic compounds in ground water was limited to Edwards aquifer wells. Twenty-eight volatile organic compounds were detected in samples from 89 wells. The five most commonly detected compounds in samples from wells, in descending order, are tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, bromoform, chloroform, and dibromochloromethane. Detections of volatile organic compounds in surface water and ground water within the South-Central Texas study area are limited to site-specific sources associated with development; therefore, planned monitoring for possible detections of volatile organic compounds as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program will emphasize areas of expanding population and development. Monitoring of volatile organic compounds is planned at National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System sites, at basic fixed surface-water sites, and in the ground-water study-unit surveys.

Texas↗
USGS2024

State of science, gap analysis, and prioritization for southeastern United States water-quality impacts from coastal storms—Fiscal year 2023 program report to the Water Resources Mission Area from the Water Availability Impacts of Extreme Events Program—Hurricanes

Tropical cyclones (coastal storm events that include tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes) cause landscape-scale disturbances that can lead to impaired water quality and thus reduce water availability for use. Stakeholders and scientists at local and national scales have illustrated a need for understanding these risks to water quality. A regional and comprehensive understanding of the impacts of tropical storms and hurricanes on surface-water and groundwater quality—and thus water availability—is lacking for potentially impacted coastal and inland areas. As the U.S. Geological Survey considers development of tools to predict the extent to which water-quality impacts of hurricanes affect water availability, an assessment of the state of the science of hurricane impacts is needed, including a gap analysis and prioritization of data and science needs. This assessment focuses on the southeastern coastal States.

southeastern United States↗
USGS2025

Estimating agricultural irrigation water consumption for the High Plains aquifer region with integrated energy- and water-balance evapotranspiration modeling approaches

Estimation of irrigation water use provides essential information for the management and conservation of agricultural water resources. Conventionally, water use data are created based on reports and surveys from water users, whereas manual records may not be complete due to lacking flow meters, measurement gaps, inconsistent methods across regions, and time- and cost-consuming data processing. Alternatively, spatially explicit estimation of irrigation water use can be conducted efficiently using remote sensing evapotranspiration (ET) modeling approaches. In this study, we created a gridded blue water evapotranspiration (BWET) dataset to estimate historical irrigation water consumption (1986 – 2020) in the croplands across the United States High Plains aquifer region. The BWET data were generated by integrating an energy-balance ET model [Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance model (SSEBop)] and a water-balance ET model [Vegetation ET model (VegET)]. BWET in croplands indicates crop consumptive use of irrigation water extracted from surface water and groundwater resources. The BWET estimates were compared with reported irrigation water use data for all counties within the aquifer region. The results revealed high agreement between growing season (May – September) BWET and annual water withdrawal at county level. Specifically, correlation coefficients of volumetric BWET and water withdrawal were 0.90 and 0.96, respectively, for the entire aquifer region and western Kansas. The timeseries of BWET and water withdrawal showed similar temporal trends and high covariations. The BWET estimates were systematically lower than the water withdrawal measurements, which was primarily attributed to blue water losses in the irrigation system. The irrigation efficiency, calculated as the ratio of BWET to water withdrawal depth, was 0.57 and 0.74 for the entire aquifer region and western Kansas, respectively. This study demonstrates the capability of using satellite-based ET models (e.g., SSEBop and VegET) to efficiently estimate crop water consumption and evaluate irrigation efficiency at landscape, county, and regional scales.

Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, ↗
USGS2024

Potential climate and human water-use effects on water-quality trends in a semiarid, western U.S. watershed: Fountain Creek, Colorado, USA

Nutrients, total dissolved solids (TDS), and trace elements affect the suitability of water for human and natural needs. Here, trends in such water-quality constituents are analyzed for 1999–2022 for eight nested monitoring sites in the 24,000 km 2 Fountain Creek watershed in Colorado, USA, by using the weighted regressions on time, discharge, and season (WRTDS) methodology. Fountain Creek shares characteristics with other western U.S. watersheds: (1) an expanding but more water-efficient population, (2) a heavy reliance on imported water, (3) a semiarid climate trending towards warmer and drier conditions, and (4) shifts of water from agricultural to municipal uses. The WRTDS analysis found both upward and downward trends in the concentrations of nutrients that reflected possible shifts in effluent management, instream uptake, and water conservation by a watershed population that grew by about 40%. Selenium, other trace elements, and TDS can pose water-quality challenges downstream and their concentrations were found to have a downwards trend. Those trends could be driven by either a warming and drying of the local climate or decreased agricultural irrigation, as both would reduce recharge and subsequent mobilization from natural geologic sources via groundwater discharge. The patterns illustrate how changes in climate and water use may have affected water quality in Fountain Creek and demonstrate the patterns to look for in other western watersheds.

Colorado↗
USGS2025

Water-resources inventory and assessment at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, prepared a water-resources inventory and assessment for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (KAWW). This compilation includes published and publicly accessible hydrologic data and resource assessments of streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, wetlands, vernal pools, and groundwater in and near KAWW. It also includes reports and datasets summarizing attributes of KAWW’s hydrologic infrastructure, such as stream crossings, dams, wastewater discharge plants, groundwater monitoring wells, and U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations. Descriptions of data and details of current limitations in available datasets are included. Wetland, groundwater, streamflow, and water-quality information are all limited. Hydrography data are available; however, there are limited ground-truth data. Accurate streamlines within KAWW were developed from light detection and ranging (lidar) as a part of this work. Hydrologic infrastructure information is available from multiple sources; however, differences exist among the datasets. Datasets are summarized in appendix 1.

Maine↗
USGS1999

Water-quality assessment of the New England coastal basins in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island: Environmental settings and implications for water quality and aquatic biota

The New England Coastal Basins in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island constitute one of 59 study units selected for water-quality assessment as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. England Coastal Basins study unit encompasses the fresh surface waters and ground waters in a 23,000 square-mile area that drains to the Atlantic Ocean. Major basins include those of the Kennebec, Androscoggin, Saco, Merrimack, Charles, Blackstone, Taunton, and Pawcatuck Rivers. Defining the environmental setting of the study unit is the first step in designing and conducting a multi-disciplinary regional water-quality assessment. The report describes the natural and human factors that affect water quality in the basins and includes descriptions of the physiography, climate, geology, soils, surface- and ground-water hydrology, land use, and the aquatic ecosystem. Although surface-water quality has greatly improved over the past 30 years as a result of improved wastewater treatment at municipal and industrial wastewater facilities, a number of water-quality problems remain. Industrial and municipal wastewater discharges, combined sewer overflows, hydrologic modifications from dams and water diversions, and runoff from urban land use are the major causes of water-quality degradation in 1998. The most frequently detected contaminants in ground water in the study area are volatile organic compounds, petroleum-related products, nitrates, and chloride and sodium. Sources of these contaminants include leaking storage tanks, accidental spills, landfills, road salting, and septic systems and lagoons. Elevated concentrations of mercury are found in fish tissue from streams and lakes throughout the study area.

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island↗
USGS1992

Public water-supply systems and water use in Tennessee, 1988

This report summarizes the results of a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), Division of Water Supply in 1988. Data gathered during an inventory by the TDEC were collated to determine water use, supply sources, population served, and design and storage capacities of the systems. The inventory was limited to systems that were active on June 30, 1988. Results of a survey of the systems conducted by the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment during 1988 were a primary source of data for this report. Data from computer and manual files maintained by the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment and the U.S. Geological Survey also were used. The Division of Water Supply, TDEC, surveyed 541 public water-supply systems. These systems served 81 percent of the population of the State, or 3.95 million people. The gross per capita use statewide for public-supplied water was 179 gallons per day. Total water withdrawals for public supply increased about 39 percent from 510 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) in 1980, to 708 Mgalld in 1988. During the same period, the population increased about 7 percent. Surface-water withdrawals accounted for 63 percent (446 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn in the State. All of these withdrawals occurred in the Tennessee (56 percent or 249 Mgal/d) and the Ohio (44 percent or 197 Mgalld) hydrologic regions. Ground water supplied 262 Mgal/d or 37 percent of the total water withdrawn by public-supply systems statewide. Of that amount, 79 percent, or 208 Mgalld, was used in western Tennessee.

Tennessee↗
USGS2026

Water use permits as of July 2024 and reported water use near the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, 1980–2023

Starting in the early 2000s, increasing oil and gas development in western North Dakota created a need for additional water resources from surface-water and groundwater sources near the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. To summarize the use of water in that area, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, developed a map of surface-water and groundwater resources, aquifers, and water-use diversions, and plotted water-use trends from 1980 to 2023. Reported water used from permits in the map area has more than doubled since 2020, increasing from about 750 acre-feet in 2020 to about 2,300 acre-feet in 2022 and 2,000 acre-feet in 2023. Surface water provided the primary source of reported water used for the study period with an average of about 410 acre-feet per year from 1980 through 2017 and about 1,330 acre-feet per year from 2018 through 2023. After 2011, groundwater sourced from the Little Missouri River, Tobacco Garden Creek, Fox Hills, Fort Union, and Dakota aquifers became a larger portion of total annual reported water use from permits in the map area. From 1980 through 2015, water use for irrigation averaged 86 percent of the total annual reported surface-water and groundwater use in the map area. Starting in 2011, however, industrial uses became a proportionally larger total use of water, and in 2015, became the highest reported volume of water use in the map area. From 2011 to 2023, industrial use designated for water depots increased from 50 acre-feet to about 1,370 acre-feet, accounting for about 70 percent of total reported water use in the map area in 2023.

North Dakota↗
USGS2025

U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Availability Assessment—2010–20

This professional paper is a multichapter report that assesses water availability in the United States for water years 2010–20. This work was conducted as part of the fulfillment of the mandates of Subtitle F of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11), also known as the SECURE Water Act. As such, this work examines the spatial and temporal distribution of water quantity and quality in surface water and groundwater, as related to human and ecosystem needs and as affected by human and natural influences. Chapter A introduces the National Integrated Water Availability Assessment and provides important background and definitions for how the report characterizes water availability and its components. Chapter A also presents the key findings of Chapters B–F and thus acts as a summary of the entire report. Chapter B is a national assessment of water supply, which is the quantity of water supplied through climatic inputs. Chapter C is a national assessment of water quality, which is the chemical and physical characteristics of water. Chapter D assesses water use including withdrawals and consumptive use in the conterminous United States. Chapter E presents an analysis of factors affecting future water availability under changing climate conditions. The National Integrated Water Availability Assessment culminates with Chapter F, which is an integrated assessment of water availability that considers the amount and quality of water coupled with the suitability of that water for specific uses. Together, these six chapters constitute the National Integrated Water Availability Assessment for water years 2010–20.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2025

Water use across the conterminous United States, water years 2010–20

Withdrawals of water for human use are fundamental to the evaluation of the Nation’s water availability. This chapter provides an analysis of public supply, crop irrigation, and thermoelectric power water use for the conterminous United States (CONUS) during water years 2010–20. These three categories account for about 90 percent of water withdrawals in the Nation. The values presented here are based on modeling approaches that estimate water use at temporal (monthly) and spatial scales (12-digit hydrologic unit code—small watersheds sized 50–100 square kilometers) compatible for integration into a broader national assessment of water availability. Models also provide an understanding of factors that influence water use. An estimated 244,817 million gallons per day (Mgal/d; 28,677 million cubic meters per month [Mm 3 /mo]) were withdrawn on average within the CONUS during water years 2010–20 from fresh water and saline water for crop irrigation, public supply, and thermoelectric power, with shares of 43, 14.5, and 42.5 percent for each of these categories, respectively. In the same period, estimated withdrawals and consumptive use (1) for public supply were 35,400 and 4,219 Mgal/d (4,081 and 486 Mm 3 /mo), respectively; (2) for crop irrigation were 105,497 and 75,698 Mgal/d (12,147 and 8,716 Mm 3 /mo), respectively; and (3) for thermoelectric power from fresh water were 82,656 and 2,904 Mgal/d (9,952 and 345 Mm 3 /mo), respectively. Withdrawals for these categories of water use are highly spatially variable, with western States dominated by crop irrigation and eastern States dominated by thermoelectric-power water use. Public supply accounts for the largest percentage of water use in several heavily populated northeastern States. Reliance on groundwater compared to surface water depends on the availability of water sources and the type of water use. For public supply, withdrawals from groundwater are greater than withdrawals from surface water in the Western aggregated hydrologic regions, whereas the balance shifts to more surface water for the rest of the CONUS. In all aggregated hydrologic regions, the predominant source of water for crop irrigation is groundwater. Most thermoelectric power facilities in the eastern half of the CONUS use surface water from freshwater and saline sources; most thermoelectric power facilities in the western half of the CONUS use groundwater.

conterminous United States↗
USGS2024

Characterization of the water resources of the Pamunkey River watershed in Virginia—A review of water science, management, and traditional ecological knowledge

In central Virginia, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Reservation are facing increasingly complex water resource issues related to quantity and quality. Documentation of surface-water, groundwater, water quality, land subsidence, sea-level rise, and river ecology issues in the Pamunkey River watershed and incorporation of traditional ecological knowledge into these research topics may improve understanding of the water resources broadly. This report summarizes the relevant traditional ecological knowledge and scientific literature to elucidate gaps in the total combined knowledge of a suite of water science topics concerning the Pamunkey River watershed. This suite of water science topics includes some of the issues that the Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Reservation are facing within the watershed: fragmentation of streams and management of streamflow, flooding, degrading water quality, groundwater extraction, relative sea-level rise, rapid changes in ecosystems, loss of ecological and biological diversity, and climate change. Gaps in total combined knowledge are pervasive throughout each of these water resource topics. Identifying these knowledge gaps can help inform future research and management strategies.

Virginia↗
USGS2000

Method for estimating water use and interbasin transfers of freshwater and wastewater in an urbanized basin

Techniques for management of drainage basins that use water budgets to balance available water resources with actual or anticipated water use require accurate and precise estimates of basin withdrawals, interbasin transfers of freshwater, unaccounted-for use, water use, consumptive use, inflow and infiltration, basin return flow, and interbasin transfers of wastewater. Frequently, interbasin transfers of freshwater and wastewater are not included in basin water budgets because they occur within public water-delivery and wastewater-collection systems. A new 10-step method was developed to improve estimates of inflow and infiltration and interbasin transfers using readily available statewide data. The accuracy and precision of water-use estimates determined by this method are improved through careful application of coefficients for small users and the use of metered values for large users. The method was developed and tested with data for the Ten Mile River Basin in southeastern Massachusetts. This report uses examples from the basin to illustrate each step of the method.

Massachusetts↗