New & Noteworthy

Press Release: New USGS Report Updates Decline of High Plains Aquifer Groundwater Levels

Journal Article: Review: Groundwater in Alaska

Technical Announcement: Groundwater's Greater Role in Waterways Demonstrated in Virginia

Technical Announcement: How Does Groundwater Pumping Affect Streamflow?

Media Advisory: Briefing on Groundwater

Past listings...

USGS Groundwater Watch

USGS maintains a network of active wells to provide basic statistics about groundwater levels.

Other Water Topics

 Water Resources

 Groundwater

 Surface Water

 Water Quality

 Water Use

USGS in Your State

USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.

Water Availability & Use Studies

Water managers and municipalities are looking for ways to better manage known water resources while also identifying supplemental sources of water. Multidisciplinary studies of regional water availability and use across the United States provide resource managers and policy makers with essential information needed for management of our Nation's water resources. While GWRP also supports regional groundwater availability studies, the water availability and use studies listed below are comprensive studies of regional water resources, including groundwater and surface-water use and availability:

• Great Lakes Basin Pilot Study -- Lake Michigan Basin
• Southwest Alluvial Basins Project -- Groundwater Methods Development

Great Lakes Basin Pilot Study -- Lake Michigan Basin

In 2005, USGS embarked on a pilot study of water availability in the Great Lakes Basin. The pilot study focused on understanding the dynamics of the water resources in the basin in terms of the flows and yields of both groundwater and surface water and demonstrated the importance of water-use data in quantifying water availability.

Learn more about the outcomes of this study:

• Read the study summary report: Water Availability and Use Pilot: A Multiscale Assessment in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin (Professional Paper 1778)
• Listen to a podcast about water availability in the Great Lakes Basin.
• Visit the study web site for a complete bibliography and to learn more.

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Southwest Alluvial Basins Project -- Groundwater Methods Development

As groundwater is increasingly developed in the Lower Colorado River Basin, information on effects are needed for assessment of water availability. From 2006 to 2009, this project made assessments of groundwater availability and conditions in the Lower Colorado River Basin. A special emphasis was placed on development of methods of assessment and display of groundwater conditions that might be extended to other regions of the country.

Learn more about the outcomes of this study:

• Read the study summary report: Water availability and use pilot: methods development for a regional assessment of groundwater availability, southwest alluvial basins, Arizona (Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5071)
• Browse the Arizona groundwater conditions interactive map.
• Visit the study web site for a complete bibliography and to learn more.

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