Texas Water Science Center
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GIS, Remote Sensing, and Spatial Analysis Activities in Texas
Geodatabase and 3D Conceptual Model for the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant
The Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant (LHAAP) relies on historical and current environmental information for environmental management, clean-up, and protection. Currently (2007), various entities conducting work for LHAAP have compiled spatial and non-spatial digital information, including hydrologic, geologic, and water-quality data that can be useful for identifying data gaps and developing a site-wide conceptual model for LHAAP. The USGS, in cooperation with the EPA, is organizing the large amounts of available data to help effectively manage the data for decision-making, sampling locations, and progress at LHAAP. The spatial and tabular data will be compiled into a single geodatabase with metadata, and a three-dimensional site-wide conceptual model will be created to attain a geologic and hydrogeologic perspective of the plant.
return to top Border Environmental Health Initiative (BEHI): Year 3 & 4
Currently (2007) a multidisciplinary USGS team, in conjunction with the Pan American Health Organization, has begun a 2-year research project to define linkages between environmental and human health. The objective is to use BEHI datasets and analyses of water quality, fish health, geochemistry and land use to assess if regional human health issues correlate with environmental health. A GIS-based quantitative weight-of-evidence and logistic regression model to associate areas of poor environmental quality with areas of impaired human health will be used. Additionally, binational datasets are undergoing thorough review and a large number of the datasets will be published and available for download. A download page with links, metadata, and the data in multiple formats is currently (2007) under construction.
return to top Watershed Boundary Dataset
USGS is collaborating in a multi-agency effort to complete the national Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). In Texas the USGS, in cooperation with National Resources Conservation Service Texas, is using federally established standards to delineate high-resolution watershed boundaries for fifty 8–digit hydrologic units in Eastern and Coastal Texas.
return to top Global Map and National Atlas 1:1M Hydrography: Production Phase
In cooperation with the National Atlas of the United States®, this project aims to produce a 1:1,000,000-scale (1:1M) networked hydrography dataset from the existing 1:100,000-scale (1:100k) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) for the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. To accomplish this objective, we developed specialized geoprocessing tools and algorithms using ESRI ArcObjects, which help to automate generalization and simplification of the NHD network. The final datasets will be available through the National Atlas of the United States® in both shapefile and geodatabase formats and through the Global Mapping Project.
return to top Geologic Atlas of Texas (GAT) – Geodatabase Maintenance
Continuing a cooperative effort which began in FY 2004 with the Texas Water Development Board, the primary goal of this project is to provide updates and revisions to the geologic data where needed. Using ArcGIS, in concert with ESRI’s Production Line Toolset, the UGGS will document and verify all changes to the Digital GAT for archival purposes. The USGS will also prototype the incorporation of high-resolution (1:24,000) geologic data into the current structure by using digital data recovery methods for the University of Texas, Bureau of Economic Geology, Geologic Quadrangle Map Series. In addition, the USGS will produce educational materials that will enlighten end-users of the functionality of the Digital GAT geodatabases.
return to top Source Water Assessment Program Toxic Algae Study
In cooperation with the TCEQ Source Water Assessment program, the USGS aims to investigate the presence of blue-green algal toxins and taste and odor compounds associated with harmful algal blooms (HABs) in drinking water sources. Field data and lab results were loaded into the USGS National Water Information System and published in the Annual Data Report. Spatial analysis is focusing on linkages between drainage area characteristics, environmental data, nutrient loads, and presence of HAB compounds of concern (algal toxins and taste and odor compounds). The water-quality data were pulled from NWIS and spatially enabled using the NWIS geodatabase snapshot schema. The schema effectively translates NWIS codes, establishes relationships, and formats data to allow for complex spatial queries.
return to top Geodatabase of Geologic and Hydrogeologic Information for the Brazos River Alluvium, Bosque to Fort Bend County, Texas.
The USGS, in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), developed a comprehensive geodatabase of temporal and spatial information associated with the geology and hydrogeology of the Brazos River alluvium within 13 counties in the Brazos River watershed. This compilation documents and provides a single consolidated geodatabase of the Brazos River alluvium geologic and hydrogeologic data that follows the TWDB Groundwater Availability Model (GAM) Source Data Geodatabase format (Texas Water Development Board, 2006). This includes but is not limited to, top and base elevation point locations of alluvium data and historical hydrogeologic data such as hydraulic conductivity, specific capacity, and transmissivity.
return to top Extreme Bed-Material Mobility, Edwards Plateau: Year 4
The USGS, in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), is generating and analyzing fluvial geomorphic data to understand frequency of bed-material entrainment in reaches in the Edwards Plateau, associated with extensive maintenance issues for the TxDOT at bridges and low-water crossings. Digital elevation models (DEMs) and digital orthophoto quarter-quadrangles (DOQQs) are analyzed in GIS to produce a variety of geomorphic metrics including drainage area, channel slopes, and channel widths. Trend analysis investigates linkages between road crossings with considerable problems and geomorphic metrics.
return to top Watershed and Land-Use/Land-Cover Geodatabase for NAWQA Lake/Reservoir Coring Project
The USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program coordinates a study that examines sediment cores from selected lakes and reservoirs across the United States. Laboratory analysis of sediment cores provides information to determine relative constituent loadings and concentrations to the water body since the 1950s. GIS has been used for this project to determine drainage areas and land-use/land-cover change in watersheds over time. return to top Water-Level Altitudes 2007 and Water-Level Changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper Aquifers and Compaction 1973–2006 in the Chicot and Evangeline Aquifers, Houston-Galveston Region, Texas
The USGS in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, the City of Houston, the Fort Bend Subsidence District, and the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, prepares an annual series of maps that depicts water-level altitudes and water-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers, and compaction in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers in the Houston-Galveston region. Beginning in 2007 a multi-user geodatabase was designed that allows the USGS to effectively input, generate, and manage data from both the Houston and Austin offices. The use of map templates streamlines the annual map series production. return to top Colonia Health Infrastructure Platting Status Tool (CHIPS)
In cooperation with the Office of the Texas Secretary of State (SOS) and the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, the USGS created CHIPS to monitor the progress of projects oriented towards the improvement of colonia infrastructure. CHIPS is a relational database housed in Microsoft Access that includes a customizable report generator. Although CHIPS was developed for the SOS in response to Senate Bill 827 (SB827), this project is part of a larger project involving the USGS, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática. return to top 
Border Environmental Health Initiative (BEHI): Years 1 & 2
This multidisciplinary USGS project focused on developing an integrated, Web-based, environmental resource database for display and further analysis within a geographic information system (GIS) framework. This information system provides the needed data and tools for furthering our understanding of the occurrence and distribution of disease- causing agents in the environment and their specific exposure pathways in water, air, biota, and soil. Efforts concentrated on establishing methodologies for binationally integrating base data layers, developing a project Web site with supporting documentation and project information, and creating the border-wide Internet Mapping Service. return to top National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2001) – Zone 32
This project was developed in cooperation with EROS Data Center to produce land cover data for mapping zone 32, which covers parts of northern Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The NLCD 2001 was created by partitioning the United States into mapping zones. A total of 66 mapping zones were delineated within the conterminous United States based on ecoregion and geographical characteristics, edge-matching features and the size requirement of Landsat mosaics. Methodology developed at EROS Data Center was utilized for this effort. return to top Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District Geodatabase Development
This project was developed in cooperation with the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District (PGCD) to develop a geodatabase that would allow PGCD to effectively input and manage data to distribute information to their stake holders and the general public. Both spatial and tabular data were presented in one geodatabase for data input and output. A data dictionary containing definitions of coded values also was developed for data input. return to top USIBWC Internet Map Service
The USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Section, International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), developed and implemented an interface between the USIBWC GIS and the Water Accounting Division’s streamgaging information and the Texas Clean Rivers Program water-quality monitoring program. An interactive map displays the location of streamgages and water-quality monitoring sites, providing public access to data collected by both the Texas Clean Rivers Program and the Water Accounting Division. The interactive map provides an open-access link to the data and the ability to query the data. return to top Binational Networked Hydrography System for the U.S.-Mexico Border, Phase 1
In cooperation with the U.S. Section, International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), the USGS began work on a routable ArcHydro™ stream network for the U.S.-Mexico border region from the West Coast across to the eastern boundary of southern New Mexico and northern Chihuahua. The stream network consists of the 1:24,000 National Hydrography Dataset stream data and the 1:50,000 Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI) stream data. Phase 1 of the project covered southwestern New Mexico-northwestern Chihuahua and southeastern Arizona-northeastern Sonora, and is now complete. The ArcHydro™ data model allows data associated with a stream to be related to the entire network of streams within a geodatabase. For instance, water-quality events and data might be related to a stream and then traced upstream and downstream, allowing potential water-quality effects to be traced to a geographic extent. return to topGeologic Map of the Edwards Aquifer in Northern Medina and Northeastern Uvalde Counties, South-Central Texas
The southern segment of the Edwards aquifer in south-central Texas is one of the most productive subsurface reservoirs of groundwater in the world, providing water to more than a million people in the San Antonio region. Dissolution, karst development, and faulting/fracturing the aquifer directly controls aquifer geometry by compartmentalizing the aquifer and creating unique groundwater flowpaths. The surface geology and fractures were mapped using GIS. return to top 
Geodatabase and 3D Conceptual Model for Air Force Plant 4 and Naval Air Station Carswell Field, Fort Worth, Texas
The USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, developed a geodatabase and three-dimensional model to improve understanding of the geology, hydrology, and contaminant occurrence at Air Force Plant 4 (AFP4) and adjacent Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Carswell Field (NAS–JRB). Contaminants from the 3,600-acre facility, primarily volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and metals, have entered the groundwater-flow system through leakage from waste-disposal sites and from manufacturing processes. Environmental data collected at AFP4 and NAS–JRB during 1993–2002 from several sources in distinct formats created the need for consolidation of the data into a comprehensive temporal and spatial geodatabase that supports a range of hydrologic, geologic and water quality data. A three-dimensional conceptual model of the hydrogeologic units integrally linked to the geodatabase was designed concurrently. return to top Geodatabase of Water Quality for Major Springs in Texas
This project was developed in cooperation with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to aggregate and organize water-quality information for major springs in Texas using selected digital and hardcopy data sources. Spatial and tabular data were organized into a geodatabase. Further, water-quality data were spatially assessed for level III ecoregions in Texas. return to top Digital Geologic Atlas of Texas – Statewide Compilation
This project was developed in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board to produce the Statewide Digital Geologic Atlas of Texas, which would combine the 38 personal geodatabases from Phase I (FY 2003-04) of this project into one ESRI ArcSDE geodatabase containing more than 145,000 geologic features. return to top Geologic Map of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, South-Central Texas
Efforts by a National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program project to compile the geology of the Edwards aquifer recharge zone in south-central Texas have helped to refine the hydrostratigraphy of one of the most permeable and productive carbonate aquifers in the United States. These data illustrate the detailed geographic extent of the stratigraphic units and faulting for the Edwards aquifer recharge zone in south-central Texas. return to top 
Geodatabase of Water-Level Declines in Springs Associated with Eurycea Salamander Habitats
This project was developed in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to associate projected water-level declines in the middle zone of the Trinity aquifer with Eurycea salamander habitats in springs and caves. Digital elevation models (DEMs) were used to assign elevations to individual spring locations and a unique querying method was developed to determine the aquifer responsible for each spring, using aquifer geodatasets of the Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP). Projected water-level declines were available from a groundwater availability model (GAM) released by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). Spatial and tabular data were organized into a geodatabase. return to top Land-Cover and Imperviousness Data for NAWQA Effects of Urbanization on Stream Ecosystems (EUSE) Project
As part of the USGS NAWQA EUSE project, land cover and imperviousness data were produced primarily from Landsat-7 ETM+ satellite imagery from the period 1999-2002, using methodology developed by the USGS National Landcover Database 2001 Program. These data are available online, and provided as 30-meter-resolution raster datasets. In addition to the land-cover and imperviousness surface derivation, statistics for several hundred GIS-derived datasets were calculated to characterize population, socioeconomic, and infrastructure variables for 29 basins in the Dallas-Fort Worth study area. return to top Geologic Map Compilation of the Upper Seco Creek Area, Medina and Uvalde Counties, South-Central Texas
This digital geologic map compilation presents new polygon (map unit contacts) and line (faults) vector data for the Seco Creek area in south-central Texas. The map database, which is at 1:50,000-scale resolution, shows the geology for an area in Medina County about 25km northwest of San Antonio. The impetus for compiling the geology of the four 7.5-minute-quadrangle (Comanche Waterhole, Flatrock Crossing, Sabinal NE, and Texas Mountain) area was to provide a digital geologic map database for a helicopter electromagnetic (HEM) survey flown in 2002 and for ongoing 3-D EarthVision modeling of the boundary between the Edwards aquifer and Trinity aquifer. return to top 
Geodatabase of Texas Springs
This project was developed in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to aggregate and organize site and flow information for springs in Texas using selected digital and hard-copy data sources. Spatial and tabular data were organized into a geodatabase and represent more than 2,000 springs and 7,000 spring-flow measurements. return to top Digital Geologic Atlas of Texas
This project was developed in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board to produce a library of 38 ESRI personal geodatabases representing the original 38 BEG map sheets. The digital conversion of the original hardcopy map sheets began October 2002. Project planning among the USGS team established the need to use the personal geodatabase format for this procedure. This data format would allow for all the original map data (for example, geologic time, formation descriptions) to be stored in a single database location with the geographic features. return to top 
Texas Source Water Assessment Project
This project was developed in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to address the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act which mandated that each state prepare a source water assessment (SWAP) for all public water supplies (PWS). States were required to determine the drinking-water source, the origin of contaminants monitored and (or) the potential contaminants to be monitored, and the intrinsic susceptibility of the source water. Under the amendments to the act, states created SWAP Programs to provide an individual source water assessment for each PWS regulated by the State and determine whether an individual drinking water source is susceptible to contamination. The USGS designed and developed database structures, assessment software, and technical documentation specifically designed to support staff in the performance of source water assessments on TCEQ computers. return to top |
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://tx.usgs.gov/GIS/index.html
Page Contact Information: gs-w-txpublicinfo@usgs.gov
Page Last Modified: Wednesday, 15-Apr-2009 08:31:19 EDT
