U.S. Department of the Interior a U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. Geological Survey

Programs in Iowa

Cedar Rapids

Sioux City

Dubuque

Davenport Des Moines

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

has served as the Nation's principal collector, repository, and interpreter of earth 

science data for more than a century. The 

USGS has been assessing, mapping, and 

reporting on Iowa's earth resources since 

the early 1900’s. Ongoing USGS programs include activities in water availability and quality, natural hazards, 

biological, geographic and cartographic 

information, contaminated environments, land and water use, and mineral 

resources. Examples of these programs, 

many of which are conducted in partnership with State and local agencies, follow.

Ground-Water Resources

Ground water is the primary source of 

drinking water for Iowa's population. 

Information is needed by State and local 

governments to understand trends in 

water levels and water quality in the principal aquifers and to develop policy and 

management decisions related to their 

use. The USGS, in cooperation with the 

Iowa Department of Natural Resources 

(DNR), collects and compiles water-level 

data from a statewide network of about 

150 observation wells (fig. 1). Information from this network also is used by 

local governments and individuals that 

require information on the depth to and 

availability of ground water at specific 

locations throughout Iowa. 

A statewide program of ground-water 

sample collection and analysis from the 

principal aquifers is operated by the 

USGS in cooperation with the DNR and 

the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory. The data from this program are 

used by State agencies to track trends in 

water quality at various depths and locations throughout Iowa and to respond to 

undesirable concentrations of specific 

chemicals, such as pesticides, through 

policy and management decisions.

Drinking-Water Supplies

As urban populations grow in Iowa, 

communities need to obtain additional 

water supplies to meet their needs. The 

USGS, in cooperation with several Iowa 

municipalities, is studying the availability 

and quality of ground-water resources.

The USGS is evaluating the riverdeposited sand and gravel aquifer along 

the Cedar River near Cedar Rapids. The 

evaluation is focused on determining the 

natural relation of the River to the aquifer and how the aquifer is affected by 

pumping of alluvial wells. The availability and quality of ground water in undeveloped areas of the aquifer also is being 

determined.

In Johnson County, the USGS is collecting ground-water level information 

from the Silurian bedrock aquifer for the 

cities of Iowa City and Coralville. The 

bedrock aquifer is used by several communities in the area, as well as by 

numerous rural residents with private 

wells. Because of the density of withdrawals within the greater Iowa City 

area, there has been a history of alleged 

withdrawal interference problems in the 

bedrock aquifer. As population growth 

results in continued development of the 

aquifer, the potential for interference 

problems will likely increase. The USGS 

is collecting background water-level 

information that can be used by municipal and private well owners to manage 

their well withdrawals and to document 

water levels in the aquifer.

Index of Subjects

Ground-Water Resources

Drinking-Water Supplies

Studies of Biological Resources

Oil and Gas Resources

Effects of Land Use on Water Resources

National Water-Quality Assessment Program

Missouri Basin Study

Collection of Streamflow Data

Topographic Maps

Mapping Partnerships

Sharing Spatial Data

Geologic Mapping

Earth Science Information

Figure 1. Locations of wells in the ground-water level network in Iowa.

Earth Science in the Public Service
Eastern

 Iowa

Basins

Studies of Biological 

Resources

The USGS provides information to 

Federal and State agencies on the rivers 

and agricultural lands in Iowa. The 

USGS's Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Iowa State University 

is helping evaluate the benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to ringnecked pheasants, which is a popular 

game bird in Iowa. The CRP, which is 

administered by the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), has taken millions of 

acres of marginal farmland out of production throughout the United States and converted them to improve habitat for 

wildlife. Impacts on population dynamics 

are being examined. The Unit investigates 

impacts of habitat fragmentation on other, 

game and non-game bird and mammal 

species. Agricultural chemical use also has 

been studied as it affects other organisms. 

The fishery resources of the State and, 

especially the Mississippi River, are a 

focus for aquatic ecosystem research.

The USGS participates in the upper 

Mississippi and the lower Missouri River 

initiatives that were developed in the wake 

of the catastrophic Mississippi River flood 

of 1993. The programs were established to 

provide government agencies in Iowa and 

adjacent States information to help restore 

and manage the natural functions and economic values of the upper Mississippi, the 

Illinois, and the lower Missouri Rivers. 

Other EMTC activities include the administration of the Upper Mississippi River 

System Long Term Resource Monitoring 

Program (LTRMP), in cooperation with 

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

(USACE) and the states of Illinois, Iowa, 

Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The 

State-operated LTRMP field stations collect inventory and monitoring data on vegetation, water quality, fishes, and 

invertebrates to support development of 

integrated resource-management options.

Oil and Gas Resources

In an effort to assess properly the future 

energy resource potential of the Nation, 

the USGS is conducting a National Petroleum Assessment of undiscovered conventional and unconventional natural gas and 

oil resources. With these estimates, energy 

planners can plan for the future.

Iowa is situated along a geologic feature known as the midcontinent rift system. This feature could have produced 

structures capable of trapping natural gas 

and oil resources. As part of the USGS's 

ongoing National Petroleum Assessment, 

this area is being evaluated for its potential 

to contain and produce commercial quantities of petroleum. Scientists from the 

USGS are working with DNR personnel 

to determine the potential for hydrocarbon 

in this region.

Effects of Land Use on Water 

Resources

The USGS is participating with the 

DNR and various State and Federal agricultural agencies in efforts to determine 

the effects of changes in land use and 

management on streamflow and water 

quality in several small watersheds in 

Iowa. The primary purpose of these interagency efforts is to implement bestmanagement plans in a watershed and to 

observe the changes in flow and waterquality that result from these changes. The 

observed changes are often compared with 

data collected from a similar nearby 

stream for which management practices 

have not been changed. Watersheds that 

are selected for this type of comparison 

are used to demonstrate the effectiveness 

of changes in land management to local 

land owners and to provide public education on the effects of land use on water 

resources.

In northeastern Iowa, two studies of the 

effects of land use are in progress. 

Streamflow is being measured in the Big 

Spring ground-water basin, and streamflow and sediment data are being collected 

from the Sny Magil and the Bloody Run 

watersheds. Data collected from the Big 

Spring watershed, which is a groundwater basin that discharges primarily 

through Big Spring near Elkader, are used 

by DNR and other agency managers to 

evaluate the long-term effectiveness of 

intensive management changes and public 

education efforts that were implemented 

during the 1980’s. Sny Magil, which is a 

small tributary stream to the Mississippi 

River, was selected for implementation of 

improved land-management practices to 

reduce sediment and nutrient inputs. 

Bloody Run is an adjacent watershed 

being measured for comparison.

The USGS, in cooperation with the 

DNR, is collecting streamflow and sediment data in the Walnut Creek watershed 

in Jasper County. Much of the Walnut 

Creek watershed is included in a recently 

established National Wildlife Refuge. 

Refuge managers will eventually convert 

much of the formerly intensively farmed 

land in the watershed to a restored prairie. This conversion of land use offers a 

unique opportunity to determine its effect 

on streamflow and suspended-sediment 

concentrations at a scale not often available for study.

National Water-Quality 

Assessment Program

The goals of the USGS’s National 

Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) 

Program are to describe the status and 

trends in the water quality of selected 

watersheds throughout the Nation and to 

identify the factors that affect their water 

quality. The Eastern Iowa Basins study 

that is being conducted as part of the 

NAWQA Program is focused on the 

Cedar, the Iowa, the Skunk and the Wapsipinincon River Basins (fig. 2). The 

study currently is in the intensive datacollection phase of implementation. 

Progress and information collected from 

this Program are being communicated 

and provided to water-management and 

other water-resource agencies in the 

State.

Missouri Basin Study

The USGS and the State Geological 

Surveys of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and 

Nebraska have formed a partnership to 

study geologic aspects of land-use issues 

in the Middle Missouri Basin. These studies are conducted in a corridor that 

Figure 2. National Water-Quality 

Assessment Program study area in Iowa.
encompasses Omaha and Lincoln, 

Nebraska; Council Bluffs, Iowa, Kansas 

City, Missouri and Kansas; and Topeka, 

Kansas. Most of the areas between the cities are a mix of smaller urban centers and 

intervening rural areas that support intensive agricultural activities. A variety of 

geologic factors affect land use in the corridor. Geologic constraints, such as collapsing or expanding soils, landslides, 

subsidence, and flooding, pose problems, 

especially in urban areas. Disposal of 

municipal and industrial wastes, which 

include hazardous wastes, is of concern in 

terms of past practices and future needs. 

Erosion, sedimentation, and pollution 

from nonpoint discharges are major issues 

in the Basin. The identification, protection, and extraction of construction materials present a continuing problem, as 

does reclamation of mining areas. Geologic information obtained in these studies is essential to understanding the 

carrying capacity of the land, identifying 

potential consequences of land uses on the 

natural system, and determining methods 

to reduce or mitigate those conflicts and 

consequences.

Collection of Streamflow Data 

One of the most-used aspects of USGS 

programs in Iowa is streamflow-data 

collection and reporting. The USGS operates a statewide network of about 120 

gaging stations (fig. 3) and surface-water 

stage recorders for a variety of Federal, 

State, and local agencies. Streamflow 

information is used by the National 

Weather Service during storms to issue 

flood warnings and forecasts and by the 

USACE in operating the four Federal reservoirs in Iowa and in support of commercial navigation on the Mississippi and 

the Missouri Rivers. The DNR and the 

Iowa Department of Transportation use 

streamflow data to monitor the hydrologic conditions of the State, to provide a 

historical data base that is used to 

develop water-related policy and management decisions, and to design construction projects. Local government agencies 

use streamflow data for a wide variety of 

activities that range from local floodwarning systems that help protect lives 

and property to providing discharge 

volumes used in complying with wastewater-discharge permit requirements. Private citizens and businesses have access 

to USGS streamflow data.

In addition to the gaging-station network, the USGS maintains a statewide 

network of peak-stage recording gages on 

small drainage basins for the Iowa 

Department of Transportation. Data from 

this program are used to determine flood 

frequency and discharge for the numerous small, ungaged drainage basins. 

Flood-frequency and discharge data are 

used by State and county transportation 

engineers in the design of bridges and 

other structures.

The most readily apparent material that 

flows with the water in Iowa's streams is 

suspended sediment. Suspended sediment 

can have serious negative effects for some 

users of the resource and is an indication 

of the amount of erosion that occurs in a 

watershed. The USGS collects samples 

and determines the concentration of suspended sediment in water from a variety 

of sites in Iowa. The USACE uses the data 

to provide information on the amount of 

sediment that enters and potentially is 

deposited in Federal reservoirs in Iowa 

and the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers because of problems to navigation 

caused by sediment deposition. The DNR 

is using sediment data as part of land-use 

and land-management studies to monitor 

water quality in several watersheds 

throughout Iowa.

In addition to measurements of water 

in streams, the USGS is collecting data on 

ground-water levels in the Missouri River 

alluvial aquifer in western Iowa for the 

USACE. The USACE is developing a 

revised management plan for the Missouri 

River. The stage of the Missouri River 

and ground-water levels in the adjacent 

alluvial aquifer are being studied at two 

locations in Iowa and three locations in 

Missouri to determine the effect of higher 

levels of flow on the adjacent flood plain. 

Data that are collected by the USGS are 

used by the USACE to verify predictions 

of the effects of changes in river flow on 

the aquifer.

Topographic Maps

Among the most popular and versatile 

products of the USGS are its 1:24,000-

scale topographic maps (1 inch on the 

map represents 2,000 feet on the ground). 

These maps depict basic natural and cultural features of the landscape, such as 

lakes and streams, highways and railroads, boundaries, and geographic 

names; contour lines are used to depict 

the elevation and shape of terrain. Iowa is 

covered by 1,129 maps at this scale. 

These maps are useful for civil engineering, land-use planning, natural-resource 

monitoring, and other technical applications, and have long been favorites with 

the public for outdoor uses, including 

hiking, camping, exploring, and backFigure 3. Locations of active streamflow-gaging stations in Iowa. country fishing expeditions.
For More

Information

Mapping Partnerships

The USGS has participated in jointly 

funded map production and revision 

projects in Iowa for many years and, more 

recently, has prepared digital cartographic 

data in cooperation with Federal and State 

agencies in Iowa. In 1993, the USGS completed contour digital line graph (DLG) 

data statewide for the 1:100,000-scale 

topographic map series under a joint funding agreement with the DNR. Other DLG 

data layers and digital raster graphics (digitized images of topographic maps) are 

now being produced under similar agreements with the DNR.

The USGS also is preparing digital 

orthophotoquads (DOQ's) and digital elevation models (DEM's) for parts of Iowa 

under cost-share agreements with the 

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation 

Service. A DOQ is a digital image of an 

aerial photograph in which displacements 

caused by the camera and the terrain have 

been removed. A DEM is a sampled array 

of regularly spaced elevation values registered to a map base.

Mapping partnerships do not always 

involve the exchange of funds. In some 

cases, production tasks are shared among 

cooperating agencies. The benefits of work/

share arrangements include the leveraging 

of limited resources (equipment, personnel, 

space, and funds), avoiding duplication of 

effort, producing standardized products, 

and accelerating data availability.

Sharing Spatial Data

The Competitive Cooperative Agreements Program (CCAP) of the National 

Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) was 

established by the Federal Geographic Data 

Committee through the USGS to help form 

partnerships with the non-Federal sector that 

will assist in the evolution of the NSDI. The 

CCAP provides funding to State and local 

government agencies, academia, and the private sector to encourage resource-sharing 

projects through the use of technology, networking, and interagency coordination. The 

DNR and the Iowa Department of Education 

have been funded by CCAP to establish a 

prototype NSDI clearinghouse node. The 

node is being developed and maintained by 

the State Library of Iowa and the Iowa 

DNR; it will initially offer a directory of 

geospatial data information sources that are 

being created and maintained on an Internet 

server at the State Library and access will be 

provided to the DNR's Natural Resource 

Geographic Information System library.

Geologic Mapping

Geologic mapping in Iowa is being conducted through a USGS program called 

STATEMAP. STATEMAP is one of the external 

funding opportunities offered by the 

USGS’s National Cooperative Geologic 

Mapping Program (NCGMP). Agreements 

are open to all 50 State Geological Surveys. 

Funding announcements for STATEMAP are 

issued each year, and a competitive proposal process is used to distribute funds. 

Federal funding is matched equally by the 

recipients of the cooperative agreements. 

Typically, proposals focus on issues of 

importance to the environment and society, 

such as ground-water quality, geologic hazards, and landfill siting and management. 

Proposals also address a range of resource 

issues, such as oil and gas assessments, coal 

quantity, sand and gravel resources, and 

economic mineral development. The geologic map data generated are archived at the 

State Survey level and within the National 

Geologic Map Data Base of the NCGMP.

STATEMAP funds important geologic 

mapping projects in Iowa. These projects 

provide local agencies and private individuals with the geologic information required 

to evaluate the suitability of land tracts for 

development, housing density, construction 

practices, septic-system density and design, 

agricultural practices, waste disposal, 

ground-water and well-head protection, and 

emergency responses to accidental release 

of hazardous materials in these areas.

Earth Science Information

The Earth Science Information Centers 

(ESIC's) provide information about USGS 

programs, products, and technological 

developments to the public. The ESIC in 

Iowa City was established under a cooperative agreement between the USGS and 

the DNR. As part of the national ESIC network, this office provides information on 

such earth-science topics as cartography, 

geography, digital data, remote sensing, 

geology, geophysics, geochemistry, 

hydrology, geohydrology, aerial photography, and land use. It is supported by the 

USGS with reference materials, technical 

assistance, training and outreach activities, 

and access to USGS data bases.

USGS State representative

400 South Clinton Street

P.O. Box 1230

Iowa City, IA 52244

Telephone: (319) 337-4191

Fax:(319) 358-3606

Email: dc_ia@usgs.gov

Additional earth science

information can be found by

accessing the USGS Home Page

on the World Wide Web at

http://www.usgs.gov/

For more information on

all USGS reports and products

(including maps, images,

and computerized data), call

1-800-USA-MAPS

The USGS provides maps,

reports, and information to help

others meet their needs to manage,

 develop, and protect America’s water,

energy, mineral, biological, and land

resources. We help find the natural

resources needed to build tomorrow,

and supply the scientific understanding needed to help minimize or mitigate the effects of natural hazards

and environmental damage caused

by natural and human activities. The

results of our efforts touch the daily

 life of almost every American.

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet FS-015-96