Publications

Data from 30 stream sites in nontidal portions of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed were analyzed to document annual nutrient and sediment loads and trends for the period 1985 through 1998 as part of an annual water-quality update for the Chesapeake Bay Program. Annual loads were estimated by use of the U.S. Geological Survey ESTIMATOR model and are available upon request. Trends were estimated by use

In small streams, flow and water-quality concentrations often change quickly in response to meteorological events. Hydrologists, field technicians, or locally hired stream ob- servers involved in water-data collection are often unable to reach streams quickly enough to observe or measure these rapid changes. Therefore, in hydrologic studies designed to describe changes in water quality, a combinat

Over the last 25 years, industry and government have made large financial investments aimed at improving water quality across the Nation. Significant progress has been made; however, many water-quality concerns remain. In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began implementing a full-scale National Water-Quality Assessment Program to provide consistent and scientifically sound information for m

This report describes the environmental characteristics and water-quality characteristics of 12 hydrologic benchmark network streams in the Western United States. This information was compiled to aide in the interpretation and application of water-quality data collected as part of the Hydrologic Benchmark Network Program.

This report describes the environmental characteristics and water-quality characteristics of 14 benchmark basins in the west-central United States. The information was compiled to aide in the interpretation and application of historical water-quality data collected through the Hydrologic Benchmark Network Program.

The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act require, for the first time, that each state prepare a source water assessment for all PWS. Previously, Federal regulations focused on sampling and enforcement with emphasis on the quality of delivered water. These Amendments emphasize the importance of protecting the source water. States are required to determine the drinking-water source, the or

The Devils Lake Basin is a 3,810-square-mile subbasin in the Red River of the North Basin.  At an elevation of about 1,447 feet above sea level, Devils Lake begins to spill into Stump Lake; and at an elevation of about 1,459 feet above sea level, the combined lakes begin to spill through Tolna Coulee into the Sheyenne River. Since the end of glaciation about 10,000 years ago, Devils Lake has fluct

The Trout Lake Watershed is in the Northern Highlands Lake District in north-central Wisconsin. The study area includes four subbasins with five lakes and two bog lakes. The objectives of the Trout Lake WEBB project are to (1) describe processes controlling water and solute fluxes in the Trout Lake watershed, (2) examine interactions among those processes and (3) improve the capability to predict

The Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) is a 41-hectare forested watershed in the southern Piedmont physiographic province near Atlanta, Georgia. The watershed contains a naturally regenerated second-growth forest on abandoned agricultural land, typical of the Piedmont. Research at PMRW has focused on how streamflow is generated, and in particular, on how water and solutes move from hillslop

This fact sheet describes a simple device for measuring the vertical hydraulic gradient (VHG) of shallow ground water beneath a stream bed. The VHG can be used to determine whether a stream is receiving or losing water at the point of measurement. Used as part of a spatial or temporal survey, such measurements can yield valuable information about the local hydrology of a stream/ground-water system

no abstract available.

Biogeochemical mass balance assessments of calcium status in southeastern forests indicate that losses through harvesting and soil leaching often exceed inputs from atmospheric deposition and weathering. Many forest soils of the southeastern United States are particularly sensitive because these soils and the underlying saprolite from which these soils are derived are largely depleted of weatherab