Agriculture and the Quality of the Nation's Waters
Intensive studies by the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project in agricultural areas provide insight into how agricultural activities have altered the natural flow of water and the way that agricultural chemicals enter streams and aquifers, and in particular how nutrients affect algal and invertebrate communities in agricultural streams.
We all have a connection to agriculture, which supplies a major part of the Nation’s food, feed, and fiber needs. Agricultural chemicals move into and through every component of the hydrologic system, including air, soil, soil water, streams, wetlands, and groundwater.
![Tractor pulling fertilizer on a new crop](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/fertilizer_application_0.png?itok=W6yyv0od)
The results of these NAWQA agricultural-area studies are described in two USGS publications: Agriculture—A River Runs Through It—The Connections Between Agriculture and Water Quality (Circular 1433) and Understanding the Influences of Nutrients on Stream Ecosystems in Agricultural Landscapes (Circular 1437). Find additional publications under the Publications tab and presentations under the Multimedia tab.
![Map of River basin Circular 1433,1437](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/Circular1433-1437-map.png?itok=Gd59VwM1)
Follow the links below to web pages on topics related to agriculture and water quality.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Agriculture — A river runs through it — The connections between agriculture and water quality
Water-quality, water-level, and discharge data associated with the Mississippi embayment agricultural chemical-transport study, 2006-2008
Predicting unsaturated zone nitrogen mass balances in agricultural settings of the United States
Riparian Land Use/Land Cover Data for Three Study Units in Group II of the Nutrient Enrichment Effects Topical Study of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Identifying Hydrologic Processes in Agricultural Watersheds Using Precipitation-Runoff Models
A Whole-System Approach to Understanding Agricultural Chemicals in the Environment
Biological-Community Composition in Small Streams and its Relations to Habitat, Nutrients, and Land Use in Agriculturally Dominated Landscapes in Indiana and Ohio, 2004, and Implications for Assessing Nutrient Conditions in Midwest Streams
Using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to Simulate Runoff in Mustang Creek Basin, California
Effect of agricultural practices on hydrology and water chemistry in a small irrigated catchment, Yakima River Basin, Washington
Identifying pathways and processes affecting nitrate and orthophosphate inputs to streams in agricultural watersheds
Riparian and Associated Habitat Characteristics Related to Nutrient Concentrations and Biological Responses of Small Streams in Selected Agricultural Areas, United States, 2003-04
Use of heat to estimate streambed fluxes during extreme hydrologic events
Hydrologic and biogeochemical controls of river subsurface solutes under agriculturally enhanced ground water flow
Intensive studies by the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project in agricultural areas provide insight into how agricultural activities have altered the natural flow of water and the way that agricultural chemicals enter streams and aquifers, and in particular how nutrients affect algal and invertebrate communities in agricultural streams.
We all have a connection to agriculture, which supplies a major part of the Nation’s food, feed, and fiber needs. Agricultural chemicals move into and through every component of the hydrologic system, including air, soil, soil water, streams, wetlands, and groundwater.
![Tractor pulling fertilizer on a new crop](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/fertilizer_application_0.png?itok=W6yyv0od)
The results of these NAWQA agricultural-area studies are described in two USGS publications: Agriculture—A River Runs Through It—The Connections Between Agriculture and Water Quality (Circular 1433) and Understanding the Influences of Nutrients on Stream Ecosystems in Agricultural Landscapes (Circular 1437). Find additional publications under the Publications tab and presentations under the Multimedia tab.
![Map of River basin Circular 1433,1437](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/Circular1433-1437-map.png?itok=Gd59VwM1)
Follow the links below to web pages on topics related to agriculture and water quality.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.