Regional Water Research

USGS scientists partnered with the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership (LCEP) to assess toxic contaminant levels at 10 sites within the Lower Columbia River. Our strategy is to compare current toxic contaminant levels to the results collected previously at these sites to identify temporal changes.

In response to the catastrophic fires of 2020 in Oregon, the ORWSC teamed up with the Water Mission Area’s Water Availability - Impacts of Extreme Events study to see the water quality effects in severely burned watersheds. In Oregon, four basins were selected to monitor the quality of the water in streams with continuous sensors and discrete water quality sampling.

Learn about the groundwater flow system within the Columbia River Basalt Group in the Umatilla River Basin.

USGS scientists have partnered with local groups to learn about the processes affecting turbidity in Malheur Lake. Located in southeastern Oregon, Malheur Lake and the surrounding refuge provide critical habitat to birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway.

The USGS is monitoring water-quality above, within, and below Middle Fork Willamette and the South Santiam River dams to understand how reservoir drawdowns influence downstream water-quality conditions.

What could happen to nutrient loads in the Klamath River if water from the Klamath Straits Drain is recirculated into the Ady Canal? USGS scientists investigate.

In this study, USGS scientists from multiple centers used advanced hyperspectral imaging techniques to advance monitoring of attached benthic algae (periphyton) in Cascade Range rivers used for municipal water supply. Periphyton are naturally occurring, but excess growth can harm ecosystems and degrade raw and treated drinking water quality. In these rivers, periphyton contain cyanobacteria that...

Scientists Stephen Gingerich and Adel Haj, Jr. are leading efforts to estimate groundwater budgets across the state. Water hidden beneath the earth’s surface is a vital resource and quantifying its availability is crucial for long-term management. USGS scientists are collaborating with scientists at the Oregon Water Resources Department to gain a better understanding of this valuable resource.

Because of the extreme climate gradients in Hawai‘i, relatively small shifts in atmospheric circulation can cause major changes in rainfall, cloud cover, and humidity. Because it has been shown that cloud water forms an important input at specific sites, we need to understand how these inputs vary across the landscape, or how interactions with plant communities alter direct inputs. Such changes...