Characterizing Streamflow

StreamStats is a Web application that provides access to an assortment of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analytical tools that are useful for water-resources planning and management, and for engineering and design purposes.

The Smith River watershed is an important recreational and agricultural area in Meagher and Cascade counties in west-central Montana. Thousands of visitors travel to the area annually to float and fish the Smith River. Additionally, most of the water used to irrigate 36,000 acres of the upper Smith River watershed is withdrawn from the Smith River or its tributaries. During a recent drought...

Organisms that live in the semi-arid prairies in the Northern Great Plains are able to live through conditions of extreme heat, cold, floods, and drought. The fish that inhabit the warm, turbid waters of northern Great Plains streams are indicators of change in these delicate ecosystems, where water quantity and water quality are often precariously close to ecological tolerance limits. In fact...

The Yellowstone River Basin (YELL) study-unit in Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota, is part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of this program are to describe the status and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources, and to provide a sound, scientific understanding of...

Coal-bed methane development is in the initial stages of exploration and production in the Tongue River watershed. Long-term monitoring is needed to provide information to evaluate any changes or trends in surface-water quality and support informed decisions about resource use and management. The goals of this monitoring program are to collect water-quality data and disseminate these data to all...

The Powder River Structural Basin (PRB) in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana is an important source of energy resources for the United States. Resources developed from the basin include coal, oil, uranium, conventional natural gas, and within the last decade coal-bed natural gas (CBNG) which often is referred to as coal-bed methane. As of 2008, about 20,000 CBNG wells had been drilled...

The Watershed Program in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Wyoming Water Science Center developed regional curves that relate bankfull channel dimensions and discharge to drainage area for hydrophysiographic regions in Wyoming where data are currently lacking. Regional curves are useful aids for estimating bankfull discharge and related channel dimensions at ungaged sites...

A synoptic study was conducted June 27-July 1, 2010 in the Muddy Creek drainage basin. The Muddy Creek drainage basin is in an area of energy develoment in south-central Wyoming. The synoptic study was integrated in nature and included the collection of water-quality, basin-sediment, and macroinvertebrate samples. Sampling sites were located on Muddy Creek from the headwaters area to near Baggs...

In cooperation with the Wyoming State Engineer, the USGS conducted a study of the water resources of Carbon County, Wyoming. This study followed the general plan of previous " County Studies ". Surface water and ground water resources were evaluated through a combined approach that analyzed and summarized existing data and, as a consequence of the data analysis, identified key data gaps and...

In cooperation with the Wyoming State Engineer, the USGS conducted a study of the water resources of Sweetwater County, Wyoming. This study followed the general plan of previous " County Studies ". Surface water and ground water resources were evaluated through a combined approach that analyzed and summarized existing data and, as a consequence of the data analysis, identified key data gaps and...

Major floods in 1996-1997 on the Yellowstone River intensified public debate over the effects of human activities on the Yellowstone River. The Yellowstone River Conservation District Council partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a cumulative-effects study on the Yellowstone. For that study, the USGS calculated streamflow statistics for unregulated (no development) and...

The purpose of the crest-stage gage network is to inventory and monitor peak discharges throughout the state of Montana, with special emphasis on streams that may damage transportation infrastructure. Recorded data documenting peak streamflow at various sites within the state will be used by the Montana Department of Transportation to support assessments of culvert size, bridge construction, and...