New in GWRP

• Regional Groundwater Studies
  • Groundwater Availability in the United States
• Water Availability Pilot
  • Consumptive water use coefficients for Great Lakes Basin
• Groundwater & the Environment
  • Groundwater Recharge in Southwestern US
• Methods & Modeling
  • SEAWAT v4--Simulation of 3D variable-density ground--water flow and transport
• Data & Information
  • Water-Level changes in aquifers of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, predevelopment to 2000

USGS in Your State

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

Regional Ground-Water Studies

The depletion of groundwater at a variety of scales and the compounding effects of recent droughts have emphasized the need for an updated status on the availability of the Nation's groundwater resources. Assessing the current state of the groundwater flow systems in the highest stressed systems would be invaluable tools for assessing groundwater availability now and in the future.

The Groundwater Resources Program (GWRP) is taking advantage of the quantitative work previously conducted by the Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) Program to provide updated quantitative assessments of groundwater availability in areas of critical importance. These assessments will

• document the effects of human activities on water levels, groundwater storage, and discharge to streams and other surface-water bodies,
• explore climate variability impacts on the regional water budget, and
• evaluate the adequacy of data networks to assess impacts at a regional scale.

There is growing recognition by water managers and municipalities that groundwater resources could be managed on an aquifer-wide scale. They are now looking for ways to better manage known groundwater resources while also identifying supplemental sources of water. Upon completion, these multidisciplinary studies of regional groundwater availability across the US will provide resource managers and policy makers with essential information needed for management of a limited resource in areas experiencing chronic water-supply issues and concerns.

Learn more about the regional groundwater studies support by GWRP:

• Map of study locations
• Regional groundwater availability studies
• Water availability & use studies

Map of Study Locations

Figure 1: Map of U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program regional scale groundwater study areas. Explanation indicates the fiscal years during which the studies are planned to occur.