Web Tools

Almost one-half of the U.S. population rely on groundwater for their water supply, and demand for groundwater for public supply, irrigation, and agriculture continues to increase. This mapper shows how concentrations of pesticides, nutrients, metals, and organic contaminants in groundwater are changing during decadal periods across the Nation.

The USGS GeoLog Locator is a web-based tool that allows allows users to access more than 7,000 digital borehole geophysical logs and related data files at over 1,700 locations.

The Geo Data Portal (GDP) provides access to numerous datasets, including gridded data for climate and land use. Datasets can be subsetted or summarized before download using several algorithms, and these algorithms can also be applied to other datasets hosted elsewhere.

Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, bringing with it a mix of high winds and extreme rainfall. This data visualization animates Hurricane Maria's Water Footprint, the cumulative precipitation the storm dropped on the island, and the impact of rainfall on river gage height. 

Hurricane Irma, the most intense hurricane observed in the Atlantic in the last decade, approached the west coast of Florida on September 10th, 2017. This Hurricane Irma Water Footprint data visualization animates the hurricane's path, cumulative precipitation, and its impact on river gage height.

Hurricane Harvey approached the U.S. Gulf coast on August 25, 2017. The Hurricane Harvey Water Footprint data visualization shows the hurricane's impact on precipitation and streamflow.

Hurricane Matthew approached the southeastern U.S. coast on October 7, 2016. This is a data visualization that shows the hurricane's impact on precipitation and streamflow.

Microplastics, plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in diameter, are a contaminant of emerging concern in aquatic environments. This interactive visualization explores classifications and potential sources of microplastics in the Great Lakes.

Since 2000, the Colorado River Basin has been experiencing a historic, extended drought that has impacted regional water supply and other resources, such as hydropower, recreation, and ecologic services. This visualization is part of a multi-agency effort to showcase the usefulness of open data by exploring the current 16-year drought and its effects on the Colorado River Basin.

In 2017, the State of California was experiencing one of the most severe droughts on record, which has implications for citizens of California and beyond. This website graphically visualizes these data to help understand the effect of drought on rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs.

The U.S. Geological Survey compiles water-use estimates every five years for each State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Archived datasets underlying the published "Estimated Use of Water in the United States" reports are available from the above link. County data incorporating any revisions can be found on NWISWeb.

Depth-to-water is measured periodically to evaluate hydrologic conditions at important aquifers throughout Puerto Rico. The water-level measurements from observation wells can be computed to understand the hydrologic stresses acting on aquifers and how these stresses affect groundwater conditions.