Virginia Water Science Center
Data Center
Information Center
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Water Resources of VirginiaWelcome to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Web page for the water resources of Virginia; this is your direct link to all kinds of water-resource information. Here you'll find information on Virginia's rivers and streams. You'll also find information about ground water, water quality, and many other topics. Droughtwatch: Statewide precipitation for the period from Oct. 1, 2006 through Oct. 23, 2008 was below normal (79% of normal). Statewide precipitation for the period from Jan. 1, 2008 through Oct. 23, 2008 below normal (79% of normal). Precipitation greater than 85% of normal is considered to be in the normal range. Statewide precipitation for the current water year (from October 1 through October 23) was well below normal (25%), and precipitation was below normal in all drought evaluation areas. Welcomed precipitation was received in much of the state during the month of September (statewide precipitation of 117%), however the Big Sandy (47%), New River (71%) and Upper James (62%) drought evaluation regions received below normal precipitation during this period. New Publication: Private Domestic-Well Characteristics and the Distribution of Domestic Withdrawals among Aquifers in the Virginia Coastal Plain A comprehensive analysis of private domestic wells and self-supplied domestic ground-water withdrawals in the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province of Virginia indicates that the magnitudes of these withdrawals and their effects on local and regional ground-water flow are larger and more important than previous reports have stated. Self-supplied ground-water withdrawals for domestic use in the Virginia Coastal Plain are estimated to be approximately 40 million gallons per day, or about 28 percent of all ground-water withdrawals in the area. Contrary to widely held assumptions, only 22 percent of domestic wells in the Virginia Coastal Plain are completed in the shallow, unconfined surficial aquifer to which the water is returned directly by home septic systems. Fifty-three percent of the wells are completed in six deeper confined aquifers, and the remaining 25 percent are completed in the Potomac aquifer and confining zone, the deepest units in the confined system. Assuming an equal rate of withdrawal per well, 78 percent of domestic ground-water withdrawal, or about 30 million gallons per day, is removed from the regional confined ground-water system.
Current Streamflow Conditions in VirginiaCurrent Streamflow ConditionsOn the map to the left, point to one of the stream- monitoring locations to see a summary of current streamflow conditions, click on the symbol to open the site's web page.
On the map to the left, you will see a summary of current streamflow duration gages.
Streamflow Duration plots for Virginia, data analysis by day
Streamflow duration map from USGS WaterWatch.
USGS StreaMail is system for accessing real-time river stage and streamflow from hand-held wireless devices, such as cell phones and Blackberries. All you have to do is send an email or text message to "streamail@usgs.gov" and use a USGS station number in the "Subject" line. In a few minutes you'll get back an email with the most recent stage and streamflow.
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