Publications
This list of Water Resources Mission Area publications includes both official USGS publications and journal articles authored by our scientists. A searchable database of all USGS publications can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 18454
Assessment of water levels, nitrate, and arsenic in the Carson Valley Alluvial Aquifer and the development of a data visualization tool for the Carson River Basin, Nevada
Residents of Carson Valley, Douglas County, Nevada, rely on the basin-fill alluvial aquifer underlying the valley for drinking water. Since the 1980s, groundwater levels and water-quality data have been collected to monitor the status of the aquifer system and to assist in planning efforts to address current (2024) and future demand. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Douglas C
Authors
Ramon C. Naranjo, Anjela Bubiy
Declining reservoir reliability and increasing reservoir vulnerability: Long-term observations reveal longer and more severe periods of low reservoir storage for major United States reservoirs
Hydrological drought is a pervasive and reoccurring challenge in managing water resources. Reservoirs are critical for lessening the impacts of drought on water available for many uses. We use a novel and generalized approach to identify periods of unusually low reservoir storage—via comparisons to operational rule curves and historical patterns—to investigate how droughts affect storage in 250 re
Authors
Caelan Simeone, John C. Hammond, Stacey A. Archfield, Dan Broman, Laura Condon, Hisham Eldardiry, Carolyn G. Olson, Jen Steyaert
Numerical model of the groundwater-flow system near the southeastern part of Puget Sound, Washington
Groundwater flow in the active model area (AMA) was simulated using a groundwater-flow model. A steady-state model version of the model simulates equilibrium conditions, and a transient model version simulates monthly variability. The model corresponds to the physical and temporal dimensions of the conceptual model and groundwater budget. The steady-state model version represents average condition
Authors
Andrew J. Long, Elise E. Wright, Leland T. Fuhrig, Valerie A.L. Bright
Conceptual hydrogeologic framework and groundwater budget near the southeastern part of Puget Sound, Washington
More than 1 million people live within the active model area (AMA) in the southeastern part of the lowlands surrounding Puget Sound, or Puget Lowland, Washington, and groundwater is the source for approximately one-half of their public, domestic, and irrigation water demands. The 887-square-mile AMA, located in King and Pierce Counties, represents the area of analysis for the conceptual hydrogeolo
Authors
Wendy B. Welch, Valerie A.L. Bright, Andrew S. Gendaszek, Sarah B. Dunn, Alexander O. Headman, Elizabeth T. Fasser
Characterization of groundwater resources near the southeastern part of Puget Sound, Washington
More than 1 million people live within the active model area (AMA) in the southeastern part of the lowlands surrounding Puget Sound, or Puget Lowland, Washington, and groundwater is the source for approximately one-half of their public, domestic, and irrigation water demands. The 887-square-mile AMA, located in King and Pierce Counties, represents the area of analysis for the conceptual hydrogeolo
Simulation of groundwater flow in the Long Island, New York regional aquifer system for pumping and recharge conditions from 1900 to 2019
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a transient, groundwater-flow model that simulates hydrologic conditions in the Long Island aquifer system as part of an ongoing (since 2016) multiyear, cooperative investigation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The goals of this investigation are to assist stakeholders and resource managers to evaluate the response of the h
Authors
Donald A. Walter, Kalle L. Jahn, John P. Masterson, Sarken E. Dressler, Jason S. Finkelstein, Jack Monti, Jr.
Hydrogeologic framework and extent of saltwater intrusion in Kings, Queens, and Nassau Counties, Long Island, New York
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey began a multiyear cooperative study with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to evaluate the sustainability of Long Island’s sole-source aquifer system through hydrogeologic mapping, compilation of groundwater chloride concentrations, and groundwater flow modeling. In the initial phase of the islandwide study, the hydrogeologic framework
Authors
Frederick Stumm, Jason S. Finkelstein, John H. Williams, Andrew D. Lange
Hydrogeologic conceptual model of groundwater occurrence and brine discharge to the Dolores River in the Paradox Valley, Montrose County, Colorado
Salinity, or total dissolved solids (TDS), of the Colorado River is a major concern in the southwestern United States where the river provides water to about 40 million people for municipal and industrial use and is used to irrigate about 5.5 million acres of land. Much of the salinity in the Colorado River Basin is derived from natural interactions of surface water and groundwater with various ge
Authors
Suzanne S. Paschke, M. Alisa Mast, Philip M. Gardner, Connor P. Newman, Kenneth R. Watts
Simulation of groundwater flow and brine discharge to the Dolores River in the Paradox Valley, Montrose County, Colorado
Salinity, or total dissolved solids (TDS), of the Colorado River affects agricultural, municipal, and industrial water users and is an important concern in the Western United States. In the Paradox Valley of southwestern Colorado, natural discharge of sodium-chloride brine to the Dolores River from the underlying core of a salt-valley anticline accounts for about 6 percent of the salinity load to
Authors
Charles E. Heywood, Suzanne S. Paschke, M. Alisa Mast, Kenneth R Watts
In situ allelopathic expression by the invasive amphibious plant, Ludwigia hexapetala (water primrose) across habitat types, seasons, and salinities
Broad infestations of invasive, non-native vegetation have transformed wetlands around the world. Ludwigia hexapetala is a widespread, amphibious invasive plant with a creeping growth habit in open water and an erect growth habit in terrestrial habitats. In the upper San Francisco Estuary of California, L. hexapetala is increasingly terrestrializing into marshes and this expansion may be facilitat
Authors
Judith Z. Drexler, Michael Gross, Michelle Hladik, Bailey Morrison, Erin Hestir
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2016–November 30, 2017
Executive SummaryA Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954 (New Jersey v. New York, 347 U.S. 995), established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes the diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs owned by New York City be made under t
Authors
Kendra L. Russell, William J. Andrews, Vincent J. DiFrenna, J. Michael Norris, Robert R. Mason,
Spatial variability of water temperature within the White River basin, Mount Rainier National Park Washington
Water temperature is a primary control on the occurrence and distribution of cold-water species. Rivers draining Mount Rainier in western Washington, including the White River along its northern flank, support several cold-water fish populations, but the spatial distribution of water temperatures, particularly during late-summer base flow between August and September, and the climatic, hydrologic,
Authors
Andrew Gendaszek, Anya Clare Leach, Kristin Jaeger