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Water Science for Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia

 


Welcome to our homepage! This site is your source for water-resources information collected and interpreted by the U.S. Geological Survey representing Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.

The water resources of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia consist of numerous streams, springs, lakes, and aquifer systems. Streamflow, groundwater levels, and water-quality data are collected at numerous locations, and water-use data are collected throughout the area. These hydrologic data and other data are used in research and hydrologic studies to describe the quantity, quality, and distribution of the area's water resources. The collection, analysis, and interpretation of these data are done in partnership with other federal, state and local agencies, universities, and research centers.

We also maintain and monitor a network of real-time data-collection sites throughout the region. Read our >>Science Strategy<< to learn more about our goals and operations.

*NEW* Groundwater Impacted by Pearce Creek Dredge Material Containment Facility in Cecil County *NEW*
January 2013 USGS Project Report Release: Click Here

 

Team Based Projects

The USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center is organized into work teams to bring together projects that investigate similar water-resources issues, encourage sharing of individual expertise, data-collection methods, and personnel.

See what we're doing...

>> Fate & Bioremediation
>> Groundwater Quality Studies
>> National & Regional Assessments
>> Surface Water Monitoring & Sediment Studies
>> Water Quality Monitoring & Modeling
>> Water Supply & Groundwater Monitoring


Featured Project Website

Comprehensive Assessment of Water Supply in Maryland

All about water for Maryland's future. A collaborative effort with Maryland Geological Survey, Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Department of Natural Resources and USGS.

>> Access Website Here

Monthly Water Conditions

>> January 2013: USGS MD-DE-DC Monthly Water Conditions Summary

>> Groundwater Levels
>> Streamflow Statistics

 
 

New Publications Available Online
SIR 2012-5263 Cover Page >> SIR 2012-5263
Hydrogeologic Framework, Hydrology, and Water Quality in the Pearce Creek Dredge Material Containment Area and Vicinity, Cecil County, Maryland, 2010–11 by Cheryl Dieter, Michael Koterba, Otto Zapecza, Charles Walker, and Donald Rice
 SIR 2012-5235 Cover Page >> SIR 2012-5265
Summary and Interpretation of Discrete and Continuous Water-Quality Monitoring Data, Mattawoman Creek, Charles County, Maryland, 2000–11 by Jeffrey Chanat, Cherie Miller, Joseph Bell, Brenda Feit Majedi, and David Brower

SIR 2012-5235 Cover Page

>> SIR 2012–5235
Residence Time, Chemical and Isotopic Analysis of Nitrate in the Groundwater and Surface Water of a Small Agricultural Watershed in the Coastal Plain, Bucks Branch, Sussex County, Delaware by John Clune and Judith Denver

 SIR 2012-5160 Cover Page

>> SIR 2012-5160
A Science Plan for a Comprehensive Assessment of Water Supply in the Region Underlain by Fractured Rock in Maryland by Brandon Fleming, Patrick Hammond, Scott Stranko, Mark Duigon, and Saeid Kasraei


Featured Projects

Image for Comprehensive Assessment of Water Supply in MD

 NAWQA Chesapeake Bay
Maryland's water supply comes from streams and rivers, groundwater, and reservoirs. In the Baltimore region and other metropolitan areas, the primary source of water is surface water (streams or reservoirs). Water regulators, planners, and policy makers need to know how much water can be withdrawn from wells and streams without causing adverse impacts.
The National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) is a national program of the U.S. Geological Survey designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the quality of streams, groundwater, and aquatic ecology in the United States. Primary goals of the NAWQA program include determining the status of streams and groundwater, identifying changes over time, and understanding interacting natural and human influences on observed status and trends.
The Chesapeake Bay, the Nation's largest estuary, has been degraded due to the impact of human-population increase, which has doubled since 1950, resulting in degraded water quality, loss of habitat, and declines in populations of biological communities. Since the mid-1980s, the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP), a multi-agency partnership which includes the Department of Interior (DOI), has worked to restore the Bay ecosystem.


CURRENT CONDITIONS

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Page Last Modified: Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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