National Park Service Water Quality Partnership
Visit the USGS-NPS Partnership Home Page
Learn about water-quality projects in national parks across the Nation
Since 1998, USGS has worked in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct studies aimed at providing data and information that will assist the NPS in addressing high-priority water-quality issues of concern.
Working together to resolve water-quality issues in our national parks
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Park Service (NPS) work together to support a broad range of policy and management needs related to high-priority water-quality issues in national parks.
New projects are proposed each year by USGS scientists working in collaboration with NPS staff in specific parks. Project selection is highly competitive, with an average of only 8 new projects funded each year out of about 50 proposals submitted.
Stakeholder Quotes
“Today, collaboration between NPS and USGS involves hundreds of science and resource management projects in the parks. Collectively, this collaboration helps to inform managers and the public about the condition of park resources and the science needed to support informed decision-making. The interagency cooperation and sharing of new and state-of-the-art technologies have enabled evaluation and study of parks and their resources that could never be contemplated when NPS was founded in 1916.”
Vince Santucci, NPS, during a recent special issue of the George Wright Forum on USGS science contributions to the NPS
