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
Occurrence of Agricultural Chemicals in Shallow Ground Water and the Unsaturated Zone, Northeast Nebraska Glacial Till, 2002-04
Factors influencing ground-water recharge in the eastern United States
Environmental Setting of the Sugar Creek and Leary Weber Ditch Basins, Indiana, 2002-04
Agricultural Chemicals in Leary Weber Ditch Basin, Hancock County, Indiana, 2003-04
Environmental Setting of the Lower Merced River Basin, California
Environmental setting of Maple Creek watershed, Nebraska
Occurrence and transport of agricultural chemicals in Leary Weber Ditch Basin, Hancock County, Indiana, 2003-04
Environmental Setting of the Morgan Creek Basin, Maryland, 2002-04
Preferential flow estimates to an agricultural tile drain with implications for glyphosate transport
Protocols for mapping and characterizing land use/land cover in riparian zones
Evaluation of unsaturated-zone solute-transport models for studies of agricultural chemicals
South Fork Iowa River watershed selected for a national water-quality study
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.