Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Browse the map above to filter and view publications by location. All of our publications are available through the USGS Publications Warehouse. USGS publications and journal articles by scientists of the Washington Water Science Center are listed below.

Filter Total Items: 771

Data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey during a study of urban runoff in Bellevue, Washington, 1979-82

From October 1979 through January 1982 the U.S. Geological Survey conducted an urban-runoff study in Bellevue, Washington. The study, done in cooperation with the City of Bellevue, was part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 's National Urban Runoff program. The objectives of the study were to (1) establish a consistent and accessible data base for typical urban watersheds; (2) determine
Authors
J. C. Ebbert, J.E. Poole, K. L. Payne

Water-surface elevations for the high tide of December 15, 1977, in the Puget Sound region, Washington

An unusually high oceanic tide on December 15, 1977, caused flooding of lowlying, nearshore parts of western Washington, including several areas in the Puget Sound region. At Seattle, the December 15 high tide of 14.8 feet above MLLW (mean lower low water datum; 8.55 feet above the National Geodetic Vertical Daltum of 1929, or NGVD) was 0.1 foot higher than the 100-year high tide. At Neah Bay, nea
Authors
L. M. Nelson

Test wells in central Washington, 1977 to 1979: Description and results

During the period October 1977-March 1979, four wells were added to a network of wells in central Washington State to provide information on potential sources of ground-water supplies from aquifers in the Columbia River Basalt Group and supplemental ground-water data for water-management purposes where they cannot be obtained by other means. Two were drilled in the Yakima River canyon between Elle
Authors
W. E. Lum, D. R. Cline

A preliminary evaluation of hydrology and water quality near the Tacoma landfill, Pierce County, Washington

The Tacoma landfill, located in western Pierce County, Washington, has been used for the disposal of waste since about 1960. Disposal operations are planned to continue at this site until at least 1990. Data were compiled and interpreted to help understand the possible effects of the landfill on water quality in the surrounding area. Data were collected from published and unpublished reports of th
Authors
W. E. Lum, G. L. Turney

The quality of water in the principal aquifers of southwestern Washington

The quality of water in major aquifers in southwestern Washington was addressed in terms of inorganic-constituent, trace-metal, and fecal-coliform concentrations. Results of this assessment indicate that the groundwater in southwestern Washington can be characterized as soft to moderately hard with a low concentration of dissolved solids. Nitrate was the only constituent found at concentrations ab
Authors
J. C. Ebbert, K. L. Payne

Geochemical controls on dissolved sodium in basalt aquifers of the Columbia Plateau, Washington

Miocene basaltic aquifers of the Columbia Plateau are the principal source of water for agricultural, domestic, and municipal use in Washington State. Irrigation with groundwaters with relatively high sodium concentrations has been cause for concern in recent years, because of the tendency of such waters to reduce soil permeability. Chemical reactions involving groundwater and the basalts are the
Authors
P.P. Hearn, W.C. Steinkampf, Gilbert C. Bortleson, B. W. Drost

Phase I summary and phase II plan for comparing regulated with unregulated streamflow in the Yakima River at Union Gap, Washington

A preliminary investigation of the effects of reservoir storage and canal diversion on the flow of the Yakima River at Union Gap , Washington indicates that those effects are measurable and substantial--on the average causing a reduction of roughly one-quarter from the unregulated flow. Preliminary computations of the unregulated flow of the Yakima River at Parker (near Union Gap) for the 1978 wat
Authors
C.H. Swift

Impact on the Columbia River of an outburst of Spirit Lake

A one-dimensional sediment-transport computer model was used to study the effects of an outburst of Spirit Lake on the Columbia River. According to the model, flood sediment discharge to the Columbia from the Cowlitz would form a blockage to a height of 44 feet above the current streambed of the Columbia River, corresponding to a new streambed elevation of -3 feet, that would impound the waters of
Authors
W. G. Sikonia

Post-Eruption Changes in Channel Geometry of Streams in the Toutle River Drainage Basin, 1980-82, Mount St. Helens, Washington

The May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, generated a debris avalanche, lateral blast, lahars, and tephra deposits that altered mainstem and tributary channels within the Toutle River drainage basin. Channel cross sections were monumented and surveyed on North Fork Toutle River and its tributaries, on South Fork Toutle River, on Green River, and on Toutle River in 1980 and 1981.
Authors
D. F. Meyer, K. Michael Nolan, J.E. Dodge

Some chemical effects of the Mount St. Helens eruption on selected streams in the State of Washington

During several periods of volcanic-ash eruption at Mount St. Helens, Wash., (March 30, May 25-26, May 30-June 2, and June 12-13, 1980) strong winds from the north occurred at high altitudes. As a result, the volcanic ash fell some 50 miles to the south in the Bull Run watershed, the principal water-supply source for the metropolitan area of Portland, Oreg. Water samples collected from three stream
Authors
John M. Klein

Availability of ground water from the alluvial aquifer on the Nisqually Indian Reservation, Washington

A digital model using finite-difference techniques was constructed to simulate ground-water flow in an alluvial aquifer on the Nisqually Indian Reservation. The maximum long-term rate of pumping from individual wells, based on available data, is about 0.75 cubic feet per second (340 gallons per minute). Data on the extent, hydraulic conductivity, saturated thickness of the alluvial aquifer, and qu
Authors
W. E. Lum