ABOUT THE TEXAS WSC

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  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Contacts for Management and Specialists
  • USGS Directory
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USGS IN YOUR STATE

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Each day the Texas Water Science Center receives numerous inquiries by telephone, mail, or e-mail, from citizens attempting to obtain scientific information on a wide variety of subjects. We try to answer every request related to our mission or expertise and try to identify the agency or person responsible or knowledgeable for subjects not within our mission or expertise. Listed below are some of the most frequently asked questions that we cannot properly answer and the person or agency who can.

Table of Contents

1. How can I find out if my property will be FLOODED with all the rain and high water lately?
   
2. Where can I get FLOOD PLAIN MAPS or determine if property is in the 100-year flood plain?
   
3. What kind of flow rates can we expect this weekend for canoeing/tubing/fishing the GUADALUPE BELOW CANYON DAM or FLOATABILITY of other streams/rivers?
   
4. Where can I find information about getting MAPS, AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, SATELLITE IMAGES, landuse data and other USGS products?
   
5. Who can I contact about ordering PUBLICATIONS such as water supply papers, WRI's, posters or factsheets?
   
6. Where can I find a list of Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQs)?
   
7. How can I obtain SOIL SURVEY MAPS?
   
8. How can I get information about USGS BENCHMARKS?
   
9. How can I get information on EARTHQUAKES, FAULTS, VOLCANOES, MOUNTAINS, OR ROCKS?
   
10. Where can I find OTHER FLOW DATA not available from the USGS current hydrologic conditions database?
    
11. Who can I contact about WATER TESTING and/or FILTRATION?
    
12. What is the NORMAL WATER SURFACE or HIGHEST ELEVATION FOR CONSERVATION PURPOSES of Texas reservoirs?
    
13. How is streamflow or discharge MEASURED by the USGS?
    
14. Where can I find GEOLOGIC MAPS for Texas or parts of Texas?
    
15. Where can I find the current WATER TEMPERATURE FOR LAKE TRAVIS?
    
16. Where can I find INFORMATION ON WETLANDS?
    

How can I find out if my property will be FLOODED with all the rain and high water lately?

The National Weather Service (NWS) is the sole official agency responsible for issuing flood warnings and forecasting flood conditions. If you have property in a low-lying area or near a stream or river, we recommend you access the following NWS's Web sites regularly for current information:
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/tx/warnings.html
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/wgrfc/
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/tx/hydro.html

For more information about how river/flood forecasting is done, we suggest you read the non-technical material posted at:
http://water.usgs.gov/wid/FS_209-95/mason-weiger.html
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/wgrfc/

The Floodplain Management Web site has a wealth of basic information about flooding/flood protection.

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Where can I get FLOOD PLAIN MAPS or determine if property is in the 100-year flood plain?

You may telephone the Federal Emergency Management Agency at 1(800) 358-9616 or 1 (800) 480-9616. You may consult the following Internet site maintained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Flood Insurance Program (FEMA-NFIP). Online access, ordering and pricing information for FEMA flood maps are provided at:
FEMA Map Service Center

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What kind of flow rates can we expect this weekend for canoeing/tubing/fishing the GUADALUPE BELOW CANYON DAM?

Texas River Recreation Advisories (including flow estimates and floatability levels), are provided by the NWS at the following URL:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/productview.php?pil=FWRRVSFWR

Releases from Canyon Dam into the Guadalupe are controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USCOE). They have a recording of release information at (210) 964-3342. Also the COE maintains a lake level information page at:
http://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/reports2.htm

The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority manages Canyon Lake along with the USCOE and a statement on GBRA's web page informs the public of planned releases. For further details please visit their Internet site at URL:
http://www.gbra.org/

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Where can I find information about getting MAPS, AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, SATELLITE IMAGES, landuse data and other USGS products?

Online information about how to find/order USGS products may be accessed at URL:
http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/

You may locate and download (free of charge) PDFs of USGS topographic maps from the USGS online store at URL:http://store.usgs.gov/

Also try the new Map Locator and Downloader

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Who can I contact about ordering PUBLICATIONS such as water supply papers, WRI's, posters or factsheets?

Telephone assistance in ordering products from the USGS may be obtained by dialing 1(888) 275-8747 or 1(888) ASK-USGS.

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Where can I find a list of Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQs)?

Information on DIGITAL ORTHOPHOTO DATA (search/order/prices) may be found online at URL:http://eros.usgs.gov/products/aerial/doq.html

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How can I obtain SOIL SURVEY MAPS?

The USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service) has an Internet site listing soil surveys available by state, see:
http://soils.usda.gov/
or telephone 254-742-9860 for assistance

Information on soils for Texas may be found at URL:
http://pssat.org/TexasSoils.htm

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How can I get information about USGS BENCHMARKS?

Visit the web page at URL: http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/datasheet.prl or telephone the Geodetic Section of the National Mapping Division in Denver at 303-202-4400.

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How can I get information on EARTHQUAKES, FAULTS, VOLCANOES, MOUNTAINS, OR ROCKS?

For earthquake information call the National Earthquake Information Center in Denver at (303) 273-8582.

For information on volcanic activity visit the web page at URL: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/

For information on faults in Texas refer to publications online at URLs:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/mf-maps/mf1136/mf1136/
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2005/2874/
http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2004/5226/

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Where can I find OTHER FLOW DATA not available from the USGS current hydrologic conditions database?

For a listing of agencies that provide other flow data and links to those agencies, see our sources of non-USGS flow data page.

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Who can I contact about WATER TESTING and/or FILTRATION?

See the EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water FAQ

For information about water testing and/or filtration, the EPA maintains a Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426-4791.     Also, the Water Quality Association can answer questions at 1 (800) 749-0234

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What is the NORMAL WATER SURFACE or HIGHEST ELEVATION FOR CONSERVATION PURPOSES of Texas reservoirs?

Many Texas reservoirs are owned and operated by either the local river authority or the US Army Corps of Engineers. For details specific to the reservoir of interest, first try looking at the agency's web site.
Please click on yearly reservoir changes.
Please click on monthly reservoir changes.

If you are interested in normal pool levels and daily changes you may consult the  National Weather Service River and Reservoir Summaries at the following web page:
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/tx/hydro.html

Look for the geographic area of interest to you and follow the screens to the bottom where normal pool, today's pool and rain data are displayed.  The Texas Water Development Board maintains a Texas reservoir summary page displaying percentage full, conservation pool elevation ('normal' level) and most recent USGS elevations.

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How is streamflow or discharge MEASURED by the USGS?

Please click on http://nh.water.usgs.gov/gauge_station/3_howusgs.htm

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Where can I find GEOLOGIC MAPS for Texas or parts of Texas?

UT's Bureau of Economic Geology has published geologic atlases by geographic sheet for all of Texas. To peruse their complete bestseller list and select options for ordering please see the following web site:
http://www.beg.utexas.edu/mainweb/publications/pubs-bstsell.htm
Information about digital formats of the Geologic Atlas may be found online at URL: http://www.tnris.state.tx.us/Datanotes.aspx?id=432#Title

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Where can I find current water temperatures for Lake Travis?

The University of Texas Applied Research Labs monitor weather conditions (including water temperatures) and post these data at at URL:
http://wwwext.arlut.utexas.edu/omg/weather.html

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Where can I find information on wetlands?

See the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service webpage for the National Wetlands
Inventory at URL:
http://www.nwi.fws.gov/

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