Water Resources

A new USGS study reports that shale-oil and -gas production from a major production area in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota has not caused widespread hydrocarbon contamination to date in nearby aquifer zones used for drinking-water supply.

Despite the tremendous effort invested in reducing the use of nitrogen, widespread decreases in nitrate loads in US rivers and streams remain elusive—what gives? A new study from the USGS provides more evidence that the culprit is the slow release to streams of nitrogen that has accumulated in groundwater and other...

The U.S. Geological Survey has chosen the Illinois River Basin as the next watershed to be studied by its scientists as part of a large-scale effort to better understand the nation’s water systems.

The U.S. Geological Survey announced Friday the completion of a new mobile tool that provides real-time information on water levels, weather and flood forecasts all in one place on a computer, smartphone or other mobile device. 

The insecticide fipronil and some of the compounds it degrades to are more toxic to aquatic insects, such as mayflies and stoneflies, than previously estimated, reports a new study from the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment.

Editor’s note: This story updates and replaces a story published October 8, reflecting a new forecast that reduces the extent of Hurricane Delta’s impacts on central Gulf Coast sandy shorelines. 

To learn more about USGS’s role in providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Delta, visit www.usgs.gov/delta   

To learn more about USGS’s role in providing science to decision-makers before, during and after Hurricane Delta, visit the USGS Hurricane Delta page at www.usgs.gov/delta.  

What happens when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Puerto Rico and the public needs critical information? How does a mostly English-speaking science agency reach a mostly Spanish-speaking public?

SPARROW mappers are interactive tools that allow users to evaluate streamflow and nutrient and sediment conditions as well as the importance of different sources of contaminants in a selected river basin. Data can be visualized at different scales using maps and interactive graphs and tables.

The scarcity or overabundance of water presents some of the most dangerous, damaging and costly threats to human life, ecosystems and property in the form of drought, floods and debris flows. 

U.S. Geological Survey and partners will inject a harmless, bright red fluorescent dye into the Kansas River on September 29, weather permitting. The study is being done by the USGS in cooperation with the Kansas Water Office, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, The Nature Conservancy, City of Manhattan, City of Topeka, City of Olathe and WaterOne.