Publications

In 1997, Wisconsin farmers applied 8.7 million pounds of herbicides on corn. The five most commonly applied herbicides (in lb (pounds) of active ingredient per acre) on corn in 1997 were atrazine, metolachlor, acetochlor, alachlor and cyanazine. A 1996 study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) found that the most h

An urban stormwater treatment unit was tested as part of an ongoing program of urban nonpoint- pollution research in Madison, Wis. Flow measurements were made and water samples were collected at the inlet to, outlet from, and bypass around the treatment chamber of the device that was installed to collect the runoff from a city maintenance yard. About 90 percent of the runoff water from the 4.3-acr

Eutrophication is a common problem for lakes in agricultural and urban areas, such as Lakes Wingra and Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin. This report describes a study to estimate the sources of phosphorus, a major contributor to eutrophication, to Lakes Wingra and Mendota from two small urban residential drainage basins. The Monroe Basin empties into Lake Wingra, and the Harper Basin into Lake Mendot

Water-resources information has been compiled from 82 studies in which data were collected from the Oneida Reservation and vicinity. Forty-seven studies addressed surface-water issues, 33 studies addressed ground-water issues, and 23 studies addressed aquatic-biology issues. Some multidisciplinary studies are included in more than one category. Most of the surface-water studies summarized in this

Numerous earthen basins have been constructed in Minnesota for storage of livestock waste. Typically, these basins are excavated pits with partially above-grade, earth-walled embankments and compacted clay liners. Some have drain tile installed around them to prevent shallow ground and soil water to discharge into the basins. Environmental concerns associated with the waste include contamination o

A model that simulates lake stage was developed to test the current understanding of the hydrology of Shell Lake, Wisconsin and to provide a tool for predicting the effects of withdrawing lake water on future lake stages. The model code is written in Fortran and simulates daily lake stage by summing estimates of hydrologic-budget components - precipitation falling on the lake surface, water evapor

Test well BN-483, near the Better Brite Superfund Site, was drilled to a total depth of 169 feet below land surface. The Ordovician-age Sinnipee Group, which includes the Galena Dolomite, and the Decorah and Platteville Formations, was encountered from about 25 feet below land surface to a depth of about 160 feet. Analysis of core samples and single-well aquifer tests of the dolomites indicate low

From 1995 through 1998, water-quality and aquatic-biological samples were collected, processed, and analyzed for the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program in the Upper Mississippi River Basin in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Sites were selected and samples collected for integrated studies designed to provide a comprehensive description of water-quality conditions, to identi

Fish communities in the Upper Mississippi River Basin have been affected by changing environmental and land-use factors. Fish communities in small streams in agricultural and urban basins were compared to the fish community in a relatively undisturbed forested basin. In small streams, nutrient inputs from fertilizer, habitat modification from channelization, hydrologic modification from dams and t

In 1994 and 1995, nesting success of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) was measured at Cat Island, in southern Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, USA. Sample eggs at pipping and unhatched eggs were collected and analyzed for organochlorines (including total polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] and DDE), hepatic microsomal ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (EROD) activity in embryos, and e

The Grand Portage Reservation is located in northeastern Cook County, Minnesota (fig. 1). In 1997 and 1998 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study, in cooperation with the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, to determine the quality of water in selected inland lakes and streams in the Reservation. The USGS collected and analyzed water from two streams, two wetlands, and four lakes (fig 1).

Fecal coliform and Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations were determined in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway to assess whether pathogenic organisms pose a potential problem for recreational use. Samples were collected from May through September 1999 at 22 locations on the St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers. No concentrations exceeded water-quality criteria or standards set by the U.S. Enviro