Advanced Monitoring

The Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS) supports water availability assessments, management, and prediction by enhancing water observations in basins that represent major U.S. hydrologic regions. The Delaware River Basin was the first Integrated Water Science basin selected, providing an opportunity to implement the NGWOS program in a nationally important, complex interstate river...

The USGS Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) supports the water-resource monitoring efforts of USGS scientists and other Federal scientists by providing quality-assured hydrologic equipment and instrumentation support.

The USGS monitors stream water quality in Wyoming and Montana in cooperation with State, County, local, and other Federal agencies. Water-quality data for these sites are available from the USGS National Water Information System Web Mapper application in the form of an interactive map that can be accessed from the Data and Tools tab.

As the USGS Water Resources Mission Area looks to the future, we are updating our water programs to meet 21st century water-resource challenges. As part of these updates, we are integrating the National Water Quality Assessment Project's water-resource monitoring, assessment, trends, modeling, and forecasting activities into new WMA programs.

New projects from coast to coast will advance the research on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The vivid emerald-colored algal blooms are caused by cyanobacteria, which can produce cyanotoxins that threaten human health and aquatic ecosystems and can cause major economic damage.

Rapid Deployment Gages (RDGs) are fully-functional streamgages designed to be deployed quickly and temporarily to measure and transmit stream stage data in emergency situations.

The USGS is evaluating the integration of small unoccupied aircraft systems – sUAS or "drones" – into USGS hydrogeophysical studies.

Our surface water, groundwater, and aquatic ecosystems are priceless resources, used by people across the Nation for drinking, irrigation, industry, and recreation. The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project is a leading source of scientific data and knowledge for development of science-based policies and management strategies to improve and protect our water resources.

Federal Priority Streamgages (FPS) are monitoring stations that track the amount of water in streams and rivers across the Nation and that meet one or more strategic, long-term Federal information needs. FPS are strategically positioned across the Nation to serve, in part, as a “backbone” of 4,756 eligible sites for the larger USGS streamgaging network of 11,885 sites (2023) that is operated by...

Since the early 1980s the USGS has worked cooperatively with manufacturers to develop and enhance the use of acoustic Doppler instruments for streamflow and other hydraulic measurements. This site provides information on hydroacoustic technology, instruments, and their use.

The USGS is evaluating the integration of small unoccupied aircraft systems – sUAS or "drones" – into USGS hydrogeophysical studies. The following projects are part of a Water Resources Mission Area demonstration and evaluation effort in collaboration with USGS Water Science Centers (WSCs) starting in June 2018.

During large coastal storms, the storm surge and waves are the main cause of destruction and landscape change, transporting saline water, sediment, and debris inland. The USGS, in collaboration with stakeholders, has constructed a national Surge, Wave, and Tide Hydrodynamics (SWaTH) Network for the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Central Pacific. SWaTH monitors and documents the height, extent, and...