Publications

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates many streamgages throughout the country that provide historical and real-time daily streamflow information. Accurate estimates of daily streamflow and the percentage of time that a certain volume of streamflow occurs or is exceeded in a stream is crucial information for structure design and other activities conducted by federal, state, and local officials

The Okaloosa darter (Etheostoma okaloosae) is a diminutive, perch-like, benthic fish that inhabits only six small, clear, and shallow creek systems that flow almost entirely within Eglin Air Force Base in the panhandle of northwest Florida. Listed as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1973, improvements in erosion control and habitat restoration led to the Okaloosa darter

BackgroundPrenatal exposure to drinking water with arsenic concentrations >50 μg/L is associated with adverse birth outcomes, with inconclusive evidence for concentrations ≤50 μg/L. In a collaborative effort by public health experts, hydrologists, and geologists, we used published machine learning model estimates to characterize arsenic concentrations in private wells—federally unregulated for dri

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is widely used in engineered particles including engineered nanomaterial (ENM) and pigments, yet its occurrence, concentrations, temporal variability, and fate in natural environmental systems are poorly understood. For three years, we monitored TiO2 concentrations in a rural river basin (Edisto River, < 1% urban land cover) in South Carolina, United States. The total conce

The U.S. Geological Survey National Water Dashboard supplies critical information to decision makers, emergency managers, and the public during extreme hydrologic events (such as droughts and floods) and during normal hydrologic conditions. It informs decision making that can help protect lives and property before and during extreme hydrologic events. The National Water Dashboard draws upon the ex

The U.S. Geological Survey National Water Dashboard supplies critical information to decision makers, emergency managers, and the public during extreme hydrologic events (such as droughts and floods) and during normal hydrologic conditions. It informs decision making that can help protect lives and property before and during extreme hydrologic events. The National Water Dashboard draws upon the ex

Urban development is a well-known stressor for stream ecosystems, presenting a challenge to managers tasked with mitigating its effects. For the past 20 y, streamflow, water quality, geomorphology, and benthic communities were monitored in 5 watersheds in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. This study presents a synthesis of multiple studies of monitoring efforts in the study area and new analysis o

Floods are the leading cause of natural disaster damages in the United States, with billions of dollars incurred every year in the form of government payouts, property damages, and agricultural losses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency oversees the delineation of floodplains to mitigate damages, but disparities exist between locations designated as high risk and where flood damages occur due

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural areas have degraded the water quality of downstream rivers, lakes, and oceans. As a result, investment in the adoption of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) has grown, but assessments of their effectiveness at large spatial scales have lagged. This study applies regional Spatially Referenced Regression On Watershed-attributes (SPA

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management, established a long-term water-quantity and water-quality monitoring program in 2012 to monitor and analyze the hydrologic and water-quality conditions of 15 watersheds in DeKalb County, Georgia—an urban and suburban area located in north-central Georgia that includes the easternmost part of the City o

Urban stormwater is an ongoing contributor to the degradation of the health of many watersheds and water bodies. In the United States, federal regulations (e.g., Clean Water Act) require monitoring and reporting of relevant water quality metrics in regulated waterbodies to ensure standards are being met, but decisions about how to manage urban stormwater are left up to state or other local agencie

Process wastewaters from food, beverage, and feedstock facilities, although regulated, are an under-investigated environmental contaminant source. Food process wastewaters (FPWWs) from 23 facilities in 17 U.S. states were sampled and documented for a plethora of chemical and microbial contaminants. Of the 576 analyzed organics, 184 (32%) were detected at least once, with concentrations as large as