Science for Stewardship of California’s Water Resources

• Conducting long-term monitoring of streamflow and water quality.
• Developing new sampling, analytical, and interpretive methods to assess groundwater quality.
• Studying the geology of groundwater systems to help managers protect and optimize supplies.
• Devising new computer models that can play a key role in everything from managing surface- and groundwater supplies to assessing the impact of climate change on individual watersheds.
• Conducting multi-disciplinary ecosystem and watershed research, including large-scale studies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and San Francisco Bay. Read more...

New groundwater research Central Valley Hydrologic Model The USGS has released results from a study on the largest water reservoir in the State of California, the Central Valley groundwater system. The findings show continued loss of stored groundwater in the southern part of the valley. In order to complete the study, the USGS developed an extensive, detailed three-dimensional (3D) computer model of the hydrologic system of the Central Valley. The model can be used by water managers to understand how water moves through the aquifer system and predict water-supply scenarios. Read the report Download model files Input Output CAWSC News New hydrologic model provides insights into water supplies A new, three-dimensional water-modeling tool provides a detailed picture of how water flows below ground and how it relates to surface water in rivers and canals in California’s Central Valley. Press release New Director Picked for USGS California Water Science Center Eric Reichard, a scientist with a long history in California water issues, has been selected as the new director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s California Water Science Center. Press release New report : Availability of Groundwater Data for California, Water Year 2008 This Fact Sheet serves as an index to groundwater data for water year 2008. Water Question of the Week How can I obtain real-time streamflow information? Real-time streamflow data is available from the U.S. Geological Survey for over 4,200 stations throughout the United States at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt. Streamflow data for California can be accessed at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ca/nwis/rt. American Whitewater provides a compilation of web pages and telephone numbers where real-time streamflow and reservoir information can be obtained across the United States. That information is available at http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_view_. More water questions? Have a question about USGS water science, or California water in general? Ask Tom Haltom, public information officer for the USGS California Water Science Center, at 916/ 278-3100 or tchaltom@usgs.gov.

Streamflow Conditions in California Update August 6, 2009. Continued funding for streamgages has been assured through Oct. 31, 2010. Read more... Photo of the Week USGS researcher Robin Miller, left, talks to a reporter on Twitchell Island, site of the USGS "carbon-farming" test plot. The tules and cattails take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and also rebuild the peat soils. Photo by Jim Nickles USGS