Publications
Below is a list of available Colorado Water Science Center publications and published products.
Filter Total Items: 762
Investigation of potential factors controlling benthic algae in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 2018–21
Nuisance levels of benthic filamentous green algae are becoming increasingly common in surface waters of Colorado and the western United States. In 2018 the U.S. Geological Survey began a study in cooperation with the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, and the Colorado River Water Conservation District to collect and analyze physical,
Authors
Natalie K. Day, Mark F. Henneberg
Potential factors controlling benthic algae in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 2018–21
Nuisance levels of benthic algae are becoming increasingly common in surface waters of the western United States and can compromise aesthetic quality, limit recreational activities, block water infrastructure, and negatively affect aquatic life. In cooperation with the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, and the Colorado River Wate
Authors
Rachel G. Gidley, Natalie K. Day
Characterization of streamflow and nutrient occurrence in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 1980–2020
In 2016, Colorado Parks and Wildlife identified filamentous algae collected from the main stem White River as Cladophora glomerata, a pervasive nuisance aquatic alga. Excessive levels of filamentous algae can compromise aesthetic quality, limit recreational activities, and have negative effects on aquatic life including strong fluctuations in dissolved oxygen levels and a reduction in overall biod
Authors
Natalie K. Day
A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies
Wildfires pose a risk to water supplies in the western U.S. and many other parts of the world, due to the potential for degradation of water quality. However, a lack of adequate data hinders prediction and assessment of post-wildfire impacts and recovery. The dearth of such data is related to lack of funding for monitoring extreme events and the challenge of measuring the outsized hydrologic and e
Authors
Sheila F. Murphy, Charles N. Alpers, Chauncey W. Anderson, John R. Banta, Johanna Blake, Kurt D. Carpenter, Gregory D. Clark, David W. Clow, Laura A. Hempel, Deborah A. Martin, Michael Meador, Gregory Mendez, Anke Mueller-Solger, Marc A. Stewart, Sean E. Payne, Cara L. Peterman-Phipps, Brian A. Ebel
The water cycle
An illustrated diagram of the water cycle. This is a modern, updated version of the widely used diagram featured on the USGS Water Science School. Notably, this new water cycle diagram depicts humans and major categories of human water use as key components of the water cycle, in addition to the key pools and fluxes of the hydrologic cycle. This product targets an 8th grade audience and is designe
Authors
Hayley Corson-Dosch, Cee Nell, Rachel E. Volentine, Althea A. Archer, Ellen Bechtel, Jennifer L. Bruce, Nicole Felts, Tara A. Gross, Dianne Lopez-Trujillo, Charlotte E. Riggs, Emily K. Read
Hydrologic compartmentalization and analytic-element groundwater-flow simulations for a draining mine tunnel
Draining mine tunnels contribute contaminants to groundwater and surface water, but remediation strategies may be hindered as hydrogeologic characterization and modeling of these heterogeneous features generally relies on sparse data sets. The Captain Jack mine site in Colorado, USA, presents a unique data set allowing for temporal evaluation of groundwater connectivity in the vicinity of an aband
Authors
Connor P. Newman
Water Science School [Bookmark]
Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey’s online Water Science School is a one-stop shop for water education resources. In addition to sharing images, data, and diagrams, the Water Science School provides lesson plans for teachers as well as multiple interactive activities for students, such as questionnaires, calculators, and quizzes. This bookmark introduces Drippy, the Water Science School masc
Authors
Tara A. Gross
High resolution SnowModel simulations reveal future elevation-dependent snow loss and earlier, flashier surface water input for the Upper Colorado River Basin
Continued climate warming is reducing seasonal snowpacks in the western United States, where >50% of historical water supplies were snowmelt-derived. In the Upper Colorado River Basin, declining snow water equivalent (SWE) and altered surface water input (SWI, rainfall and snowmelt available to enter the soil) timing and magnitude affect streamflow generation and water availability. To adapt effec
Authors
John C. Hammond, Graham A. Sexstone, Annie L. Putman, Theodore B. Barnhart, David Rey, Jessica M. Driscoll, Glen Liston, Kristen L. Rasmussen, Daniel McGrath, Steven R. Fassnacht, Stephanie K. Kampf
Contaminant exposure and transport from three potential reuse waters within a single watershed
Global demand for safe and sustainable water supplies necessitates a better understanding of contaminant exposures in potential reuse waters. In this study, we compared exposures and load contributions to surface water from the discharge of three reuse waters (wastewater effluent, urban stormwater, and agricultural runoff). Results document substantial and varying organic-chemical contribution to
Authors
Jason R. Masoner, Dana W. Kolpin, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Paul M. Bradley, Brian Arnall, Kenneth J. Forshay, James L. Gray, Justin F. Groves, Michelle Hladik, Laura E. Hubbard, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Jeanne B. Jaeschke, Rachael F. Lane, R. Blaine McCleskey, Bridgette F. Polite, David A. Roth, Michael Pettijohn, Michaelah C. Wilson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, California Water Science Center, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Kansas Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Reston Biogeochemical Processes in Groundwater Laboratory
Opportunities to improve water quality during abandoned mine-tunnel reclamation
In the western United States, bulkheads are constructed to limit drainage from abandoned, draining mine adits and to protect downstream resources from uncontrolled releases of degraded adit water. Although bulkheads improve safety and water-quality conditions at the mouth of the adit, elevated hydraulic pressure behind the bulkhead often causes continuing water-quality problems in new locations. S
Authors
Katherine Walton-Day, James J. Gusek, Connor P. Newman
Quality of groundwater used for public supply in the continental United States: A comprehensive assessment
The presence of contaminants in a source water can constrain its suitability for drinking. The quality of groundwater used for public supply was assessed in 25 principal aquifers (PAs) that account for 84% of groundwater pumped for public supply in the U.S. (89.6 million people on a proportional basis). Each PA was sampled across its lateral extent using an equal-area grid, typically with 60 wells
Authors
Kenneth Belitz, Miranda S. Fram, Bruce D. Lindsey, Paul Stackelberg, Laura M. Bexfield, Tyler D. Johnson, Bryant Jurgens, James A. Kingsbury, Peter B. McMahon, Neil M. Dubrovsky
Identifying nutrient sources and sinks to the South Platte River and Cherry Creek, Denver, CO, during low-flow conditions in 2019–2020
Elevated concentrations and loads of nutrients in the South Platte River and Cherry Creek in Denver, Colorado, may have adverse effects on those streams and downstream water bodies, including increased production of algae, eutrophication, and decreased recreational opportunities. This article describes streamflow and concentrations and loads of nutrients for the South Platte River and Cherry Creek
Authors
William A. Battaglin, Tanner William Chapin