USGS releases a comprehensive look at water resources in the United States
New National Water Availability Assessment offers critical insights into water supply, demand, and quality across the Nation.
New National Water Availability Assessment offers critical insights into water supply, demand, and quality across the Nation.
Water Resources Mission Area
Water information is fundamental to national and local economic well-being, protection of life and property, and effective management of the Nation’s water resources. The USGS works with partners to monitor, assess, conduct targeted research, and deliver information on a wide range of water resources and conditions including streamflow, groundwater, water quality, and water use and availability.
Message from the Associate Director
Message from the Associate Director
Learn more about the Mission Area from the Associate Director for Water Resources.
Water Data for the Nation
Water Data for the Nation
Water data collected at approximately 1.9 million sites across all 50 states.
News
USGS Hydrology Technicians measure peak flows after a recent storm in West Virginia
USGS Hydrology Technicians measure peak flows after a recent storm in West Virginia
Low-Level Flights to Image Geology Over Parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Illinois
Low-Level Flights to Image Geology Over Parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Illinois
Saline Lake Ecosystems IWAA February 2025 Seminar
Saline Lake Ecosystems IWAA February 2025 Seminar
Publications
Gaps in water quality modeling of hydrologic systems
This review assesses gaps in water quality modeling, emphasizing opportunities to improve next-generation models that are essential for managing water quality and are integral to meeting goals of scientific and management agencies. In particular, this paper identifies gaps in water quality modeling capabilities that, if addressed, could support assessments, projections, and evaluations...
RIce-Net: Integrating ground-based cameras and machine learning for automated river ice detection
River ice plays a critical role in controlling streamflow in cold regions. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) qualifies affected water-level measurements and inferred streamflow by ice conditions at a date later than the day of the actual measurements. This study introduces a novel computer vision-based framework, River Ice-Network (RIce-Net), that uses the USGS nationwide network of...
Identifying preferential flow from soil moisture time series: Review of methodologies
Identifying and quantifying preferential flow (PF) through soil—the rapid movement of water through spatially-distinct pathways in the subsurface—is vital to understanding how the hydrologic cycle responds to climate, land cover, and anthropogenic changes. In recent decades, methods have been developed that use measured soil moisture time series to identify PF. Because they allow for...
Science
Increasing Efficiency During the Life Cycle of Energy Development: Key Strategies for Improving the Utilization of Our Nation's Energy Resources
Energy development is critical to American energy independence and provides economic benefits to local communities. Scientific information is needed to aid in the sustainable development of energy resources. Sustainable energy development can include strategies for protecting environmental health and ecological services that benefit local communities. The USGS Environmental Health Program, Energy...
Federal Priority Streamgages (FPS)
Federal Priority Streamgages (FPS) are automated stations that monitor water conditions in streams and rivers throughout the country. Originally established in 1999, these are important for meeting specific long-term needs of the Nation. The FPS Network was recently re-prioritized which resulted in size of the network increasing to nearly 12,400 locations.
Climate Response Network
The USGS groundwater Climate Response Network is a national network of wells selected to monitor natural groundwater-level conditions in unconfined or near-surface confined aquifers that are minimally affected by pumping or other human-induced stresses.