WATER RESOURCES ACTIVITIES

OF THE USGS

1992

Ethan T. Smith, Compiler

U.S. Geological Survey 

Open-File Report 92-117

Reston, Virginia 

1993
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

MANUEL LUJAN, JR., Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

DALLAS L. PECK, Director

Any use of trade, product, or firm name in this report is for identification 

purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. 

Geological Survey.

For additional information write to:

Chief Hydrologist 

U.S. Geological Survey 

409 National Center 

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive 

Reston, Virginia 22092

Copies of this report can be purchased from:

U.S. Geological Survey 

Earth Science Information Center 

Open-File Reports Section 

Box25286, MS 517 

Denver Federal Center 

Denver, Colorado 80225
CONTENTS

Abstract 1

Introduction 1

Mission of the Water Resources Division 2

Organization 3

U.S. Geological Survey 3 

Water Resources Division 3 

Field offices 6

Region 6

Area 6

District 6

Research 6 

Support functions 6

Budget and sources of funds 9

Programs 10

Long-term programs 11

Federal-State Cooperative Program 11

Water Information Coordination Program (WICP) 13

Other Federal Agency Program 16

National Research Program 17

National Water Information System 19

National Water-Use Information Program 20

Hydrologic Data-Collection Program 22

National Stream-Quality Accounting Network 24 

National Hydrologic Bench-Mark Network 25 

Hydrologic Data for Court Decrees and Compacts 26 

National Water Information Clearinghouse 27

State Water Resources Research Institutes and National 

Water Resources Research Grants Program 28

Ground-water quantity 29

Ground-water quality 30

Ground-water protection U.S. Geological Survey and 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency coordination 31

International Water Resources Program 32 

Topical programs 34

Nuclear waste hydrology 34

High-level radioactive wastes 34 

Low-level radioactive wastes 36

Toxic Substances Hydrology Program 38

National Water-Quality Assessment Program 41

Regional Aquifer-System Analysis Program 43

Acid Rain Program 45

Volcano Hazards Program 47

HI
National Water Summary Program 49

Wetlands 50

Flood hazards 52

Urban hydrology 54

Nonpoint sources of pollution 56

Erosion and sedimentation 57

Estuaries 59

Ice and snow 62

Irrigation drainage program 63

Indian water rights 64

Global change hydrology 65

Lake hydrology 67

Support Functions 69

Instrumentation Program 68 

National Water-Quality Laboratory 71 

National Training Center 73

Dissemination of information 74 

Index of keywords 77

IV
Water Resources Activities

of the USGS

1992

Compiled by Ethan T. Smith

Abstract

The Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey has the principal responsibility within the Federal 

Government for providing hydrologic information and appraising the Nation's water resources. The U.S. Geological 

Survey is unique among government organizations because it has neither regulatory nor developmental authority. 

Information that is made available to all interested parties is the primary product of the Water Resources Division.

The mission, organization, source of funds, and major programs of the Water Resources Division are discussed 

in this report. The following types of programs are described: (1) long-term programs that include the Federal-State 

Cooperative Program, the coordination of Federal water-data acquisition, the other Federal agency program, the 

national research program, the National Water Information System, the National Water-Use Information Program, the 

Hydrologic Data-Collection Program, the State Water Resources Research Institutes and National Water Resources 

Research Grants Programs, the ground-water investigations program, and international water-resources activities; 

(2) topical programs that include Nuclear-Waste Hydrology, Toxic Substances Hydrology, National Water-Quality 

Assessment, Regional Aquifer-System Analysis, Acid Rain, Volcano Hazards, the National Water Summary Program, 

wetlands, flood hazards, urban hydrology, nonpoint sources of pollution, erosion and sedimentation, estuaries, ice and 

snow, irrigation drainage, Indian water rights, global change hydrology, and lake hydrology; and (3) support programs 

that include the instrumentation program, the National Water-Quality Laboratory, and the National Training Center. 

Emphasis is on programs that will contribute to identifying, mitigating, or solving nationwide water-resources problems 

in the remaining years of the 20th century. Completing the report are discussions of how the hydrologic data and 

information are disseminated and an index.

INTRODUCTION

Effective management of water resources requires an understanding of hydrologic systems and factors that 

determine the distribution, availability, and quality of water. Within the Federal Government, the mission of the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS), Water Resources Division (WRD), is to provide hydrologic information and appraise the 

Nation's water resources. WRD activities are diverse and range from research investigations of specific aspects of the 

hydrologic cycle to large programs of regional water-resources investigations, such as the National Water-Quality 

Assessment Program.

In many cases, considerable overlap occurs in the topical descriptions of programs. Through the WRD waterresources research program, for example, investigations are conducted that are applicable to virtually all of the 

activities listed in this report. Similarly, projects in the Federal-State Cooperative Program cover multiple aspects of 

water resources. For these reasons, the sums associated with funding for each of the activities listed cannot be added 

to derive an accurate figure. The total WRD budget exceeds the WRD budget for water-resources activities.

This report describes the water-resources mission of the WRD and discusses the organization and principal 

sources of funds that support the activities conducted to meet this mission. Descriptions are given of the most 

significant water-resources activities, with a discussion of how the hydrologic data and information are disseminated.
Each description of a significant water-resources activity has the following parts:

 Introduction Problem or issue addressed by the activity and a statement of purpose.

 Activities Examples of ongoing or recently completed investigations.

 Recent accomplishments Examples of findings or achievements.

 Funding The size of the program in terms of funding; where possible, the funding of activities is given by 

source for fiscal years 1988 to 1992.

MISSION OF THE WATER RESOURCES DIVISION

The mission of the USGS, WRD, is to provide the hydrologic information needed by others to help manage the 

Nation's water resources. To accomplish this mission, the WRD, in cooperation with State and local governments, 

and other Federal agencies:

 Collects, on a systematic basis, data to determine the quantity, quality, and use of surface water and ground 

water, and the quality of precipitation.

 Conducts water-resources investigations and assessments at national, State, and local levels; characterizes 

water-resources conditions; and provides the capability to predict the effect of managerial actions, proposed 

development plans, and natural phenomena on the resource.

 Conducts basic and problem-oriented hydrologic and water-related research that could produce knowledge 

useful for the resolution of water-resources problems facing the States, regions, and Nation.

 Acquires information useful in predicting and delineating water-related natural hazards from flooding, 

volcanoes, mudflows, and land subsidence.

 Coordinates the activities of all Federal agencies in the acquisition of water data and operates waterinformation centers.

 Disseminates data and the results of investigations through reports, maps, and other forms of public release 

of information.

 Provides scientific and technical assistance in hydrology to other Federal agencies, to State and local agencies 

and governments, to licensees of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and, on behalf of the U.S. 

Department of State, to international agencies.

 Administers the provisions of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (as amended), which includes the 

State Water Resources Research Institutes Program (Section 104) and the National Water Resources 

Research Grants Program (Section 105).

Authority for carrying out the USGS mission derives from legislation of 1879, which established the U.S. 

Geological Survey, and from legislation of 1888 and 1894, which authorized the survey of irrigable lands in arid 

regions and provided funds for gaging streams and determining the water supply of the Nation. Congressional 

appropriations have been made annually since 1894 for gaging streams and performing other functions that relate to 

water resources. In 1964, the mission was broadened to include the role of lead agency in the coordination of the 

activities of all Federal agencies in the acquisition of certain water data. This responsibility that was assigned to the 

U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) by authorization of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was delegated 

to the USGS, WRD, by the DOI. In 1991, OMB Memorandum M-92-01 replaced earlier authority for water data 

coordination, and designated the USGS, WRD, as the lead agency for the Water Information Coordination Program. 

The DOI also designated the USGS as the administering agency for Title I of the Water Resources Research Act of 

1984.
ORGANIZATION

U.S. Geological Survey

The USGS consists of three program Divisions and two support Divisions.

Organization of the U.S. Geological Survey

DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

ASSISTANT DIRECTORS

Administration 

Programs 

Research

Information Systems 

Intergovernmental Affairs

Geologic 

Division

STAFF OFFICES

Washington Liaison 

Equal Opportunity 

Congressional Liaison 

Public Affairs

National Mapping 

Division

Water Resources 

Division

Administrative 

Division

Information 

Systems 

Division

Water Resources Division

The WRD is one of the three USGS program Divisions. WRD headquarters is located at the USGS National 

Center in Reston, Virginia, and consists of the Office of the Chief Hydrologist and the Associate Chief Hydrologist 

and the Offices of the Assistant Chief Hydrologists for Operations, Program Coordination and Technical Support, 

Research and External Coordination, Scientific Information Management, and Water Assessment and Data 

Coordination.
The Chief Hydrologist, who is assisted by the Associate Chief Hydrologist, has overall responsibility for 

planning and managing the water-resources programs of the WRD. A Program Officer, who reports directly to the 

Chief Hydrologist, is responsible for annual budget preparation and program planning.

Management of the programs of the WRD are divided among the five Assistant Chief Hydrologists as follows: 

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Operations 

 Advises on the establishment of policy in budgetary, accounting, personnel, program status, and technical 

matters;

 Provides administrative and technical services to operational offices in support of their programs;

 Manages the Federal-State Cooperative Program and Technical Support Program budgets; and

 Directs the Federal Data Collection Program and instrumentation development efforts, including satellite 

data-relay activities.

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Program Coordination and Technical Support 

 Advises on the planning and development of integrated national programs of hydrologic investigations;

 Provides technical advice and support to the WRD, including direction of quality-assurance efforts for 

scientific and data-collection activities, and the acquisition of information on the use of water in the Nation;

 Oversees the development of new approaches and methodologies;

 Provides oversight for hydrologic training programs; and

 Provides policy direction and guidance to the Offices of Atmospheric Deposition Analysis, Ground Water, 

Surface Water, and Water Quality.

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Research and External Coordination 

 Advises on the planning and development of national research programs, both in-house and those required by 

the provisions of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (Public Law 98-242);

 Directs the international aspects of research and investigative programs; and

 Provides direction and guidance to the Offices of External Research and Hydrologic Research. 

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Scientific Information Management 

 Advises on the development of policy and programs related to the production and dissemination of scientific 

and general-interest publications;

 Advises on development of methods and procedures for processing, storing, retrieving, and disseminating 

water data collected by the WRD field organization in managing the computerized Distributed Information 

System and the National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System (WATSTORE);

 Directs the management and operation of the National Water Information System (NWIS) that documents the 

availability of water data and related information from the Federal Government;

 Oversees the programs that assist in information and technology transfer; and

 Provides policy direction and guidance to programs that are related to compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act and Superfund surveys.

Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Water Assessment and Data Coordination 

 Advises on the development and planning of activities to characterize water-resources conditions, trends, and 

variability at the national level and to provide overviews of specific water issues;

 Advises on policies and programs to promote interagency information-coordination activities as authorized 

byOMB;

 Facilitates the development of long-range plans and the review of proposed legislation; and

 Provides policy direction and guidance to the Office of Water Data Coordination and the National Water 

Summary program.
ORGANIZATION OF THE WATER RESOURCES DIVI

CHIEF HYDROLOGIST

ASSISTANT 

CHIEF HYDROLOGIST

FOR PROGRAM 

COORDINATION AND 

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

CHIEF HYDR

CHIEF HYDROLOGIST

DEPUTY ASSISTANT CHIEF 

HYDROLOGIST FOR NAWQA

OFFICE OF

ATMOSPHERIC

DEPOSITION

ANALYSIS

OFFICE OF 

GROUND 

WATER

OFFICE OF 

SURFACE 

WATER

OFFICE OF 

WATER 

QUALITY

BRANCH OF

ANALYTICAL 

SERVICES

BRANCH OF

QUALITY 

ASSURANCE

BRANCH OF

TOXIC

SUBSTANCES 

HYDROLOGY

BRANCH OF 

SYSTEMS 

ANALYSIS

BRANCH OF

WATER USE

INFORMATION HUMAN RESOURCES

MANAGEMENT SUPPORT YUCCA

MOUNTAIN

PROJECT

BRANCH

INSTRUMENTATION

OPERATIONAL SUPPORT

PLANNING SUPPORT

OFFICE OF REGIONAL OFFICE OF REGIONAL OFFICE 

OFFICE OF REGIONAL

INSTRUMENTATION

CONNECTICUT

ILLINOIS

INDIANA

KENTUCKY

MAINE

MARYLANDDELAWARE-D.C

MASSACHUSETTSRHODE ISLAND

MICHIGAN

NEW HAMPSHIREVERMONT

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

OHIO

PENNSYLVANIA

VIRGINIA

WEST VIRGINIA

WISCONSIN

* National facility administered by the office shown 
Field Offices

Region

The WRD field program is conducted through four Regional Hydrologists, each of whom is located at a regional 

center Reston, Virginia (Northeastern Region); Norcross (Atlanta), Georgia (Southeastern Region); Lakewood 

(Denver), Colorado (Central Region); and Menlo Park, California (Western Region). Each region consists of several 

States. Each Regional Hydrologist, with authority from the Chief Hydrologist, is responsible for the water-resources 

programs and projects conducted by the District Offices within that region. The Regional Hydrologist represents the 

Chief Hydrologist in negotiations and dealings with other organizations and committees on matters of concern to the 

WRD.

Area

Area Hydrologists report to each Regional Hydrologist, and have delegated authority over groups of States 

within each Region. There are 15 area Hydrologists nationwide.

District

Field operations are conducted by 48 District Offices, each headed by a District Chief. These offices generally 

are located in State capitals, and their jurisdictional boundaries correspond to Stale boundaries. Each District typically 

has one or more subdistrict and field offices that report to the District Chief. Three multi-State Districts have offices 

that coordinate programs within each State and report to the District Office. Each District Chief is responsible for the 

planning, programming, and implementation of water-resources investigations within the District.

Research

Projects within the National Research Program (NRP) involve the study of physical, chemical, and biological 

processes that affect the movement of water and its constituents through the hydrologic system. NRP projects are 

located at centers in Reston, Virginia; Lakewood, Colorado; and Menlo Park, California; and at a few project offices 

in other sections of the country. A Chief, Branch of Regional Research in these locations, operating under the Office 

of Hydrologic Research, administers the NRP projects within their regions.

Support Functions

Support functions, such as data processing, processing of publications, instrumentation, and employee training 

programs, are provided at the USGS Headquarters (Reston, Virginia) and the regional centers. Analytical services for 

water-quality determinations are provided by a National Water-Quality Laboratory System that consists of a large, 

highly automated laboratory in Arvada (Denver area), Colorado, and by cooperator and contract laboratories at various 

locations, all working through the Branch of Analytical Services at Arvada.

The Branch of Instrumentation at Headquarters is responsible for all aspects of the application, testing, and use 

of equipment in support of WRD programs. The Satellite Data Relay Project is located at USGS Headquarters. All 

other instrumentation services (procurement, testing, supply, and maintenance) are provided by the Hydrologic 

Instrumentation Facility located at the John C. Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.

A training program in all aspects of WRD activities is carried out at the USGS National Training Center in 

Lakewood, Colorado. This center, administered by the WRD, also serves the needs of the other USGS Divisions.
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER RESOURCES DIVISION OFFICE

AND STATE WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTES

Eastern

Time Zone

NORTHEASTER

REGION

Sacramento

LA

Central 

Time Zone

A O

AL'-. REG ON

X A

Lemoyne

A»

Iowa City* x

Urbana^

LAKEWOOD 

A (DENVER)

O *>& Raleigh

A 

X Cojum

X^RORCROSS 

Atlanta

SOUTHEASTERN 

REGION

St. John

U.S. Virgin 

Islands

Kauai 

/ <& Oahu

Honolulu *53^ 

Hawaii ,

Hawaii

Maui

0

WESTERN REGION

Alaska-Hawaii Time Zone Atlantic Time Zone

 
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER RESOURCES DIVISION OFFICES 

SHOWING REGIONS AND AREAS

NORTHEASTERN 

REGION

SOUTHEASTERN 

REGION

EXPLANATION

REGIONAL OFFICE/ 

AREA PROGRAM OFFICE

(Area Program Office/ 

\District Office 

FC Area Program

Abbreviation 

WMWM WRD Regional 

Boundary

 WRD Program 

Area Boundary

San Juan FC

Puerto Rico

St. Thomas

**> caSt. John

U.S. Virgin 

Islands

"£=-

St. Croix

CHIEF 

HYDROLOGIST

ASSOCIATE 

CHIEF HYDROLOGIST

1

1 1

REGIONAL 

HYDROLOGIST 

NORTHEASTERN 

REGION

AREA HYDROLOGISTS

District Chiefs

REGIONAL 

HYDROLOGIST 

SOUTHEASTERN 

REGION

AREA HYDROLOG/STS

District Chiefs

REGIONAL 

HYDROLOGIST 

CENTRAL 

REGION

AREA HYDROLOGISTS

District Chiefs

1

REGIONAL 

HYDROLOGIST 

WESTERN 

REGION

AREA HYDROLOGISTS

District Chiefs

MID-ATLANTIC (MA) 

PROGRAM

MarylandDelaware-D.C.

Virginia

West Virginia 

MID-EAST (ME) PROGRAM

New Jersey

Pennsylvania 

NEW ENGLAND (NE) 

PROGRAM

MassachusettsRhode Island

Connecticut

Maine

New HampshireVermont 

New York

OHIO VALLEY (OV) 

PROGRAM

Indiana

Kentucky

Ohio

WESTERN GREAT LAKES 

(WGL) PROGRAM

Wisconsin

Illinois

Michigan

FLORIDA-CARIBBEAN (FC) 

PROGRAM

Florida

Caribbean

LOWER MISSISSIPPI (LM) 

PROGRAM

Arkansas

Louisiana

Missouri

Mississippi 

SOUTHEAST (SE) PROGRAM

Georgia

Alabama

North Carolina

South Carolina

Tennessee

MIDWEST (MW) PROGRAM

Kansas

Iowa

Nebraska

NORTH CENTRAL (NC) 

PROGRAM

Minnesota

North Dakota

South Dakota

ROCKY MOUNTAIN (RM) 

PROGRAM

Colorado

Montana

Wyoming 

SOUTHWEST (SW) 

PROGRAM

Texas

New Mexico

Oklahoma

CALIFORNIA-PACIFIC (CP) 

PROGRAM

California

Hawaii

GREAT BASIN (GB) 

PROGRAM

Nevada

Arizona

Utah

PACIFIC NORTHWEST (PN) 

PROGRAM

Washington

Alaska

Idaho

Oregon
BUDGET AND SOURCES OF FUNDS

The total WRD budget for fiscal year 1992 was $342.9 million with funding coming from four principal sources:

 Federal Program Funds are appropriated by the Congress and are specifically identified in the annual USGS 

budget. These funds are used to support research; data collection; high priority topical programs, including 

water-quality programs; the coordination of all Federal programs related to collection of water data; and 

internal support services.

 State Water Resources Research Institutes and National Water Resources Research Grants Programs Funds 

are appropriated to the USGS to carry out extramural research activities, by employing grant mechanisms and 

to administer these programs as authorized by the Water Resources Research (WRR) Act of 1984.

 Federal-State Cooperative Program Federal funds are appropriated by the Congress and are used to match 

funds furnished by State and other tax-supported agencies on a 50-50 basis. These funds are used for a variety 

of hydrologic data-collection activities and water-resources investigations in which the WRD represents the 

national responsibilities and the cooperating agencies represent State and local interests.

 Reimbursable Other Federal Agency Program Funds are transferred to the USGS as reimbursement for 

work performed at the request of another Federal agency.

Another source of the WRD funding is unmatched, reimbursable funds from State and local government 

agencies, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensees, and other non-Federal sources. In the following diagram, 

FTE stands for full-time equivalent positions.

FISCAL YEAR 1992 FUNDING FOR USGS WATER PROGRAMS

FEDERAL SHARE, 

WRR ACT $8.0 million 

(9 FTE)

OTHER FEDERAL 

AGENCIES $77.2 million 

(1,617 FTE)

FEDERAL PROGRAM 

$111.1 million 

(1,593 FTE)

FEDERAL SHARE 

COOPERATIVE FUNDS 

$63.2 million

OTHER

FEDERAL

AGENCIES

FEDERAL-STATE 

50-50 COOPERATIVE PROGRAM

MISCELLANEOUS NONFEDERAL SOURCES* 

$20.2 million 

( Includes $17.0 million in 

unmatched cooperative 

funds.)

STATE SHARE 

COOPERATIVE FUNDS 

$63.2 million

DIRECT APPROPRIATIONS TO 

USGS $182.3 million

ESTIMATED REIMBURSABLE 

FROM OTHERS $160.6 million

FY 1992 TOTAL $342.9 MILLION
PROGRAMS

Program development in the WRD is an evolving activity. Existing programs are reviewed regularly, and fiiture 

National needs for water data and hydrologic investigations are projected. Water-related problems and data needs frequently are brought to the attention of the WRD by State and local agencies, Other Federal Agencies (OFA), and the 

public; thus, program development also is a grassroots effort. As data needs and water-related problems change, the 

programs are modified accordingly.

The programs of the WRD are of three major types (1) data collection and dissemination, (2) problem-oriented 

water-resources investigations, and (3) research. Budgetary documents classify each WRD activity according to the 

source of funds: direct congressional appropriations (Federal Program); joint or shared funds (Federal-State 

Cooperative Program); and reimbursable funds from OFA.

Although this classification is helpful for budgetary and general discussion purposes, many of the programs are 

so interrelated that to explain each exclusively by sources of funds or type of activity would be difficult. For example, 

theories arising from research are the foundation of data collection and problem-oriented water-resources investigations; data collection is a major component of all water-resources investigations and most of the research studies.

In this report, WRD activities are discussed under three headings "long-term programs," "topical programs," 

and "support functions." In reading the program descriptions, the reader should keep in mind that most WRD programs 

cross scientific and budgetary boundaries. 

Long-term programs include:

 The Federal-State Cooperative Program,

 Coordination of Federal water-data acquisition,

 The OFA Program,

 The National Research Program,

 The National Water Information System,

 The National Water-Use Information Program,

 The Hydrologic Data-Collection Program including the National Stream-Quality Accounting Network and 

the National Hydrologic Bench-Mark Program,

 The State Water Resources Research Institutes and National Water Resources Research Grants Programs,

 Ground-water investigations, and

 International water-resources activities.

These programs provide the data and research needed for the topical programs. 

Topical programs include:

 Nuclear-waste hydrology (high- and low-level radioactive wastes),

 Toxic substances hydrology,

 National water-quality assessment,

 Regional aquifer-system analysis,

 Acid rain,

 Volcano hazards,

 The National Water Summary Program,

 Wetlands,

 Flood hazards,

 Urban hydrology,

 Nonpoint sources of pollution,

 Erosion and sedimentation,

 Estuaries,

 Ice and snow,

 Irrigation drainage,

10
 Indian water rights,

 Global change hydrology, and

 Lake hydrology.

Topical programs are designed to provide critically needed information on issues of major and immediate 

concern to the Nation.

Support functions include:

 The instrumentation program,

 The National Water-Quality Laboratory, and

 The National Training Center.

These functions, which are mostly internal to the WRD (in contrast to the other programs discussed in this report that 

deal with other agencies and the public), contribute significantly to the success of the mission of the WRD.

Long-Term Programs

Federal-State Cooperative Program

The Federal-State Cooperative Program is a unique partnership for conducting water-resources investigations. 

The first cooperative program began in 1895 in Kansas. The Federal appropriations bill for fiscal year 1929 

established the 50-50 cost-sharing principle that continues today.

State and local agencies contribute at least half the cost of WRD data collection and investigations of regional 

and local water-related problems and conditions. From these and other investigations, the WRD acquires much of the 

hydrologic information needed for planning, developing, and managing the Nation's water resources. More than 1,000 

State and local agencies work together with the WRD in selecting investigations to produce a balanced program that 

recognizes the needs, priorities, and resources of all parties. Among the wide range of cooperating entities are State, 

county, and municipal governments; water-supply districts; drainage districts; flood-control districts; and interstate 

compact organizations. The Federal-State Cooperative Program comprises more than 40 percent of the waterresources activities of the WRD. 

Activities

 Collects hydrologic data in every State, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and several U.S. 

Territories to provide information essential to water-resources investigations, research, planning, 

development, and management. About two-thirds of the total number of data-collection sites operated by the 

WRD are supported by the Federal-State Cooperative Program.

 Conducts interpretive water-resources investigations at the request of cooperators.

 Conducts investigations of current water issues, such as ground-water contamination, effects of agricultural 

activities on water resources, droughts and floods, waste disposal, mineral and energy development, urban 

hydrology, river quality, and acid precipitation.

Recent Accomplishments

 Provided the background data and scientific research that serves as an early-warning system for the detection 

of emerging water problems.

 Demonstrated that sediment oxygen demand and oxidation of ammonia may be major factors in dissolved 

oxygen depletion in some Illinois streams.

 Collected information in the Iowa River basin, Iowa, on the distribution of selected pesticides in the soil and 

the movement of pesticides from the land surface to shallow ground water.

 Developed a three-dimensional flow model to simulate possible changes of ground-water levels in Salt Lake 

Valley, Utah, as the result of various scenarios of increased pumpage.

 Developed a geographic information system to store, manipulate, and analyze geohydrologic data for the 

Sacramento Valley area, California.

11
 Stimulated interest in legislation to protect aquifers that are the sole source of public water supplies through 

an investigation of the Edwards Limestone aquifer in Texas.

 Evaluated water quality in numerous streams and aquifers and assessed existing and potential effects of 

contamination from toxic wastes.

 Collected data (as part of the Cooperative Program in 1991) at about 9,000 stream, lake, and reservoir sites 

and about 29,000 wells and springs, and conducted about 550 interpretive and research investigations to help 

define, characterize, and evaluate the areal extent, quality, and availability of the Nation's surface- and 

ground-water resources.

Recent Reports:

Vecchioli, John, Tibbals, C.H., Duerr, A.D., and Huthinson, C.B., 1990, Ground-water recharge in Florida a pilot 

study in Okaloosa, Pasco, and Volusia Counties: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations 

Report 90-4195,16 p., 3 pis. in pocket.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollqr$ in millions)

Source of funds _________________ 1988 ____ 1989 ____ 1990 ____ 1991 ____ 1992

Federal-State 

Cooperative Program1 125.5 126.0 125.4 148.2 147.6

shown represent Federal and State shares. 

Keywords

Cooperative activities, States, Cost-sharing, Special water districts

12
Water Information Coordination Program (WICP)

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources 

Division (WRD), is responsible for the Water-Information Coordination Program (WICP) of the Federal Government. 

Originally, this responsibility was delegated to the DOI in Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-67, 

"Coordination of Federal activities in the acquisition of certain water data." In December 1991, the circular was 

updated and replaced by OMB Memorandum No. 92-01 (M-92-01). In 1964, when the original authorization was 

signed, the DOI established the Office of Water Data Coordination (OWDC), in the WRD, to implement the program. 

At the same time, the Secretary created two advisory committees: (1) the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water 

Data (I ACWD), which is composed of 30 major Federal organizations, and (2) the Advisory Committee on Water Data 

for Public Use (ACWDPU), which is composed of major private section organizations representing States, Indian 

tribes, technical societies, universities, public interest groups, and industry. More than 200 individuals participate on 

more than 2 dozen committees, subcommittees, and working groups to meet the requirements of M-92-01. In 1992, 

the secretary established a subcabinet-level steering committee to oversee and guide the implementation of the WICP.

The WRD responsibilities for the WICP include national, regional, and State level activities. Primary responsibilities of the OWDC include providing management, administrative, and technical support to carry out the WICP at 

the national level. The OWDC provides support for water-data standards development. These and other 

responsibilities extend throughout the Federal Government and the non-Federal sector. Regional and district offices 

of the WRD are responsible for water-data coordination activities within their geographic areas. These offices have 

primary responsibility for operating the national water-information networks. 

Activities

The WICP conducts activities to meet objectives defined by OMB, as follows:

 Evaluates the effectiveness of existing water-information programs and recommend improvements.

 Plans, designs, and operates a cost-effective national network for water-data collection and analysis.

 Coordinates funding, staffing, and the provision of other resources needed to support interagency waterinformation activities.

 Develops uniform standards, guidelines, and procedures for the collection, analysis, management, and 

dissemination of water-information.

 Establishes a National Water Information Clearinghouse to index and disseminate information.

 Coordinates new or expanding water-information program initiatives of Federal agencies. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Established the Intergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring Water Quality to review water-quality monitoring nationwide and recommend improvements. It will continue through calendar year 1994.

 Prepared and distributed the Hydrologic Unit Map for the United States and Hydrologic Unit Maps for each 

State.

 Coordinated the relocation of the Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project to the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers' Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

 Sponsored and organized numerous conferences, symposia, and workshops on a variety of topics in 

cooperation with the IACWD and other major national organizations.

 Aided implementation of the National Water-Use Information Program, the National Stream-Quality 

Accounting Network, the National Water-Data Exchange, and the National Water Quality Assessment 

Program.

 Sponsored the Fifth Interagency Sedimentation Conference at which over 200 technical papers were 

presented. Over 400 individuals from the United States and 6 foreign countries participated in the conference.

 Accelerated the development of standards for ground-water monitoring and investigations in cooperation 

with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Navy, and the American Society of 

Testing and Materials.

Recent Reports:

Beverage, J.P., and Williams, D.T., 1989, Comparison: US P-61 and Delft sediment samplers: American Society of 

Civil Engineers, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, v. 115, no. 12, p. 1702-1706.

13
Darling, M.E., and Parks, Bruce, 1990, The development of a geographic and user-oriented system for accessing

information in the National Water Data Exchange data base, in Balthrop, B.H., and Baker, E.G., compilers, U.S.

Geological Survey National Computer Technology Meeting: Program and Abstracts, May 7-11, 1990: U.S.

Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-161, p. 10. 

Glysson, G.D., 1989a, One hundred years of sedimentation study by the U.S. Geological Survey, in Proceedings of the

International Symposium on Sediment Transport Modeling: American Society of Civil Engineers Hydraulics

Division, Aug. 14-18,1989,6 p. 

____1989b, Criteria for a sediment data set, in Proceedings of International Symposium on Sediment Transport

Modeling: American Society of Civil Engineers Hydraulics Division, Aug. 14-18,1989,6 p. 

___1993, U.S. Geological Survey bedload sampling policy, in Proceedings of the 1993 Annual Hydraulic Division

Conference: American Society of Civil Engineers Hydraulics Division, July 26-30,1993,6 p. 

Glysson, G.D., and Skinner, J.V., 1990, Relation between National Handbook of Recommended Methods for Water

Data Acquisition and ASTM Standards, Committee D-19 on Water American Society for Testing and Materials

Symposium, Denver, Colo., June 11-14,1990,10 p. 

Lopez, N.C., 1988, Overview of U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Information Programs, in Lopez, N.C.,

Proceeding of the Conference of Agrichemicals and Ground Water Protection: Resources and Strategies for

State and Local Management, Freshwater Foundation, St. Paul, Minnesota, October 1988. 

Office of Water Data Coordination, 1988a, Water resources aspect of climate change: Proceedings of the twenty-first

meeting, New Orleans, La., April 11-13,1988: Advisory Committee on Water Data for Public Use, 67 p.

 1988b, Nonpoint source pollution: Information needs and coordination concerns: Summary of the twentysecond meeting, St. Michaels, Md., November 28-30,1988: Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, 

48 p.

___1988c, Twelve selected computer stream sedimentation models developed in the United States: Interagency 

Ad Hoc Sedimentation Work Group, Subcommittee on Sedimentation, Interagency Advisory Committee on 

Water Data, December 1988,552 p.

 1989a, Federal glossary of selected terms Subsurface-water flow and solute transport: prepared by the 

Subsurface-Water Glossary Working Group, Subcommittee on Ground Water, Interagency Advisory 

Committee on Water Data, 38 p.

___1989b, Interstate Conference on Water Policy/U.S. Geological Survey Ground Water Information 

Management Workshops, Executive Report, 1989,36 p.

 1989c, Notes on sedimentation activities calendar year 1988: Subcommittee on Sedimentation, Interagency

Advisory Committee on Water Data, 179 p. 

___1989d, Proceedings of the Bridge Scour Symposium, McLean, Va., October 17-19,1989: Subcommittee on

Sedimentation, Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, 380 p. 

____1989e, Progress report: Error correcting techniques for the Model-B sediment concentration gage, 1989:

Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project, Subcommittee on Sedimentation, Interagency Advisory Committee

on Water Data, Report No. JJ. 

___1989f, Partnerships for water-information coordination: Summary of the twenty-second meeting, Orlando,

Fla., May 23-25,1989, Advisory Committee on Water Data for Public Use, 25 p. 

___1990a, Information exchange on models and data needs relating to the impact of agricultural practices on water

quality: Reston, Va., February 5-8,1990, Ertell, Madge, compiler, Workshop Proceedings, 217 p. 

____1990b, Notes on sedimentation activities, calendar year 1989: Subcommittee on Sedimentation, Interagency

Advisory Committee on Water Data, 194 p. 

____1990c, Water-resources information for confronting natural hazards: Summary of the twenty-third meeting,

Portland, Ore., May 30-June 1,1990, Advisory Committee on Water Data for Public Use, 30 p. 

___1991a, Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference, 5th, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 18-21,1991, Proceedings: Subcommittee on Sedimentation, Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, v. 1, 641 p.; v. 2,

634 p. 

___1991b, Notes on sedimentation activities, calendar year 1990: Subcommittee on Sedimentation, Interagency

Advisory Committee on Water Data, 153 p. 

___1992a, Intergovernmental task force on monitoring water quality, ambient water-quality monitoring in the

United States, First year review, evaluation and recommendations: U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Water

Data Coordination, 52 p.

14
__1992b, Notes on sedimentation activities, calendar year 1991: Subcommittee on Sedimentation, Interagency 

Advisory Committee on Water Data, 208 p.

__1992c, Sediment deposition in U.S. Reservoirs, Summary of data reported 1981-85: Subcommittee on 

Sedimentation, Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, 62 p. 

_1993, Proceedings of the Federal Interagency Workshop on Hydrologic Modeling Demands for the 90's,

June 6-9, 1993, Fort Collins, Colorado, sponsored by the Subcommittees on Hydrology and Water Data and 

Information Exchange, Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data: U.S. Geological Survey Water 

Resources Investigations Report 93-4018,466 p.

Parks, Bruce, 1988a, Processing data from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Data Exchange by use of a 

geographical information system, in Annual ESRI User Conference, 8th, Palm Springs, Calif., March 21-25, 

1988, Proceedings: [Redlands, California] Environmental Systems Research Institute, 7 p.

 1988b, Integrating water resources data in the U.S. Geological Survey, in Allison, L.J., and Olson, R.J., eds., 

Piecing the puzzle together: A Conference on Integrating Data for Decisionmaking, Washington, D.C., 

May 27-29,1987, Proceedings: National Governors' Association, p. 186-189.

____1989, Climatological data in the U.S. Geological Survey for hydrological studies jabs.], in International 

Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems for Meteorology, Oceanography, and 

Hydrology, 5th, Anaheim, Calif., January 29 to February 3, 1989, Proceedings: Boston, American 

Meteorological Society, 1 p.

 1990, Integrating the Federal Water Data Coordination program in the new National Water Information System 

program, in Balthrop, B.H., and Baker, E.G., compilers, U.S. Geological Survey National Computer 

Technology Meeting: Program and abstracts, May 7-11, 1990: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 

90-161, p. 28.

____1991, Displaying data from the National Water Data Exchange by use of a geographical information system,

in Balthrop, B.H., and Terry, J.E., eds., U.S. Geological Survey National Computer Technology Meeting:

Proceedings, Phoenix, Ariz., November 14-18,1988: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations

Report 90-4162, p. 23-29. 

Skinner, J.V., ed., 1988, Standard guide for core-sampling submerged, unconsolidated sediments, in Annual book of

ASTM standards: American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard D-4823, v. 11.02. 

___1989, History of the Federal interagency sedimentation project: International Symposium on Sediment

Transport Modeling, August 14-18, 1989, Proceedings: American Society of Civil Engineers Hydraulics

Division, 6 p. 

Skinner, J.V., and Szalona, J.J., 1991, Gages for measuring fluvial-sediment concentration, in Federal Interagency

Sedimentation Conference, 5th, Las Vegas, Nev., March 18-21, 1991, Proceedings: Subcommittee on

Sedimentation, Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, v. 1, p. 2-1 to 2-8.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Federal Program 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0

Keywords

Coordination, Organizations, Local governments, Interagency coordination, Data collection, Data coordination, 

Information transfer, Information retrieval, Hydrologic unit codes, Water-resources information, Water use, Indexing.

15
Other Federal Agency Program

The WRD frequently is requested to assist other Federal agencies by supplying hydrologic information or 

expertise pertinent to specific needs of those agencies. The agency requesting the work reimburses the WRD for 

services provided. In fiscal year 1992, about 50 agencies requested assistance as part of the WRD Other Federal 

Agency (OFA) Program.

Activities

The WRD provides hydrologic assistance to other Federal agencies in the following ways:

 U.S. Department of the Interior For most of the Bureaus, collects hydrologic data, conducts various types 

of investigations of the availability and characteristics of ground water and surface water, and evaluates the 

current and potential effects of water-resources development and hazardous materials on water quality.

 U.S. Department of Agriculture Investigates hydrology of small watersheds by studying sediment deposits, 

stream discharge, and quality of water.

 U.S. Department of Defense For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collects hydrologic data and investigates tidal flows in estuaries, subsidence, streamflow, ground water, sedimentation, and water quality; for 

military bases, conducts studies related to toxic waste, ground-water contamination, and water supply.

 U.S. Department of Energy Studies hydrologic conditions and effects on the hydrologic environment of 

underground nuclear-explosion test sites and of existing and potential nuclear-waste storage sites, conducts 

research on the interaction between radioactive materials and various geohydrologic environments, and 

characterizes the hydrology and geology of the Nation's proposed high-level radioactive-waste repository at 

Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Conducts environmentally related research and studies 

related to municipal waste-disposal sites, relation to ground-water hydrology; collects water-quality information; and provides hydrologic assistance for toxic-waste cleanup actions.

Recent Accomplishments

 Implemented Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with the USEPA regarding related programs of the 

WRD, including coordination of information on hydrologic plans and technology transfer of data and 

information. Collaborated with the USEPA in developing the national ground-water-protection strategy.

 Participated in Superfund activities with the USEPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, States, and some local 

agencies concerning cleanup of hazardous-waste-disposal sites.

 Provided the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with technical evaluations of the effects of public works, such 

as the Cross Florida Barge Canal, on aquifer hydrology and water quality.

 Conducted hydrologic investigations in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and USEPA to 

evaluate the effects of agricultural chemicals on ground water.

 Conducted studies of sediment, water quality, and hydraulics of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon for 

the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to help determine the consequences of river management at Glen Canyon 

Dam on the hydrology, channel form, and ecology of the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon.

 Conducted studies related to environmental contamination at more than 50 military installations. Studies are 

designed to aid in cleaning up of hazardous wastes on military installations as well as to address other aspects 

of environmental contamination.

 Conducted experiments on enhanced bioremediation of organic contaminants. 

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Other Federal agencies_____________63.1____74.4____72.1____90.9____97.4

Keywords

Federal agencies, Technical assistance, Ground water, Hazardous waste, Aquifer hydrology, Agricultural 

chemicals, Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

16
National Research Program

Hydrologic research increases knowledge and develops methodologies that are used to solve or mitigate 

critical water-related problems. The purpose of the National Research Program (NRP) is to improve the capability of 

WRD scientists to predict stress-induced changes in hydrologic systems and to understand more fully the movement 

of water, sediment, and chemical constituents through such systems. The NRP is one component of USGS-sponsored 

water-research activities. Other research is conducted in the District Offices and the State Water Resources Research 

Institutes and National Water Resources Research Grants Programs.

Activities

 Conducts research involving about 180 researchers working on an average of 110 projects in a year. The 

general areas of research are surface-water hydrology, ground-water hydrology, surface-water chemistry, 

ground-water chemistry, sediment transport and geomorphology, and ecology.

 The topics of 1992 research include hydrology of lakes and estuaries, sediment transport in streams, effects 

of acid precipitation on watershed chemistry, glacier and sea-ice dynamics, and movement of hazardous 

substances in surface and ground water.

Recent Accomplishments

Published more than 200 reports and abstracts covering a broad scientific spectrum in fiscal year 1992. 

Examples of recent research accomplishments include:

 Developed new methodology for field sampling and preserving ground water containing parts per trillion 

concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) and demonstrated the usefulness of using CFC's (freon) to 

identify waters that have been recharged in the last few decades and accurately determine the time when the 

recharge occurred. The concept of using dissolved freon in ground-water dating has been known; however, 

the method was developed so that it can be applied to real problems. The approach has many scientific and 

practical aspects including the identification of young ground water, which has implications regarding the 

potential for contamination (Basenberg and Plummer, 1992).

 Demonstrated through tracer-studies of intragranular porosity in sand-size material from an aquifer on Cape 

Cod, Massachusetts, that more reaction sites and greater porosity were present than were indicated by shortterm laboratory tests and measurement techniques (Wood and others, 1989).

 Demonstrated that photoreduction of ferric iron results in a well-defined increase in dissolved ferrous iron 

during the day in a small mountain stream in Colorado that receives acidic mine drainage (McKnight and 

others, 1988).

 Determined a continuous record of oxygen-18 variations in the continental hydrosphere during the middleto-late Pleistocene from a uranium-series-dated calcite vein in the southern Great Basin and showed that 

discrepancies and other differences in the timing of key climatic events between this record and the indirectly 

dated marine oxygen-18 chronology might mean that orbital forcing was not the principal cause of the 

Pleistocene ice ages (Winograd and others, 1988).

 Demonstrated the first example of an organism of any type that can oxidize an aromatic hydrocarbon 

anaerobically (Lovley and others, 1989).

Recent Reports:

Basenberg, E., and Plummer, L.N., 1992, Use of chlorofluorocarbons (CC13F and CC12F2) as hydrologic tracers and

age-dating tools: The alluvium and terrace system of central Oklahoma: Water Resources Research, v. 28,

p. 2257-3283. 

Lovley, D.R., Baedecker, M.J., Lonergan, D.J., Cozzarelli, I.M., Phillips, E.J.P., and Siegel, D.I., 1989, Oxidation of

aromatic contaminants coupled to microbial iron reduction: Nature, v. 339, p. 297-300. 

McKnight, D.M, Kimball, B.A., and Bencala, K.E., 1988, Iron photoreduction and oxidation in an acidic mountain

stream: Science, v. 240, p. 637-640. 

Winograd, I.J., Szabo, B.J., Coplen, T.B., and Riggs, A.C., 1988, A 250,000-year climatic record from Great Basin

vein calcite Implications for Milankovitch Theory: Science, v. 242, p. 1275-1280. 

Wood, W.W., Kraemer, T.F., and Hearn, P., 1989, Intragranular diffusion An important mechanism influencing

solute transport in clastic aquifers: Science, v. 247, p. 1569-1572.

17
Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Federal Program 23.3 24.4 25.4 29.9 30.4

Other Federal Agencies 1.4 0.7 0.4 1.4 1.4

Total_____________________24.7____25.1____25.8____31.3____31.8

Keywords

National Research Program, Surface water, Ground water, Chemistry, Geomorphology, Ecology, Lakes, 

Estuaries, Acid precipitation, Glaciers, Sea ice, Hazardous substances.

18
National Water Information System

The processing, storage, and retrieval of hydrologic data collected by the WRD is evolving from a system on a 

mainframe computer to a decentralized system composed of a network of microcomputers at many locations 

throughout the country. The National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System (WATSTORE) was established in 

1971 as a single processing system for hydrologic data collected at thousands of sites in each State. This system is 

operated today as a national archive of hydrologic data; WATSTORE is supplemented by the National Water 

Information System I (NWIS I). NWIS I is a processing, storage, and retrieval system based on a network of 57 

minicomputers located in the Districts and at other key sites. Data are processed and stored on each minicomputer and 

the data are uploaded periodically to WATSTORE.

The hydrologic data-management system currently (1991) is being re-evaluated to meet the needs of WRD in 

the 1990's. The new system, National Water Information System II (NWIS II), is designed as a decentralized system 

based on a network of microcomputers with UNIX operating systems. NWIS II will combine the data bases of 

WATSTORE and NWIS I into a single distributed-information processing and management system. The requirements 

of the new system were defined by eight user groups that represent a broad cross section of all current and potential 

users of the system.

Activities

 Maintains a nationwide network of minicomputers for processing and managing hydrologic information 

collected at hydrologic stations throughout the Nation.

 Maintains computer files on surface-water levels and flows, ground-water levels, water-quality 

characteristics, and water-use information.

 Provides water data to scientists, engineers, planners, and managers at all levels of government and in the 

private sector.

Recent Accomplishments

 Prepared a solicitation for bids to upgrade the WRD distributed information system from a network of 57 

minicomputers to 2,000-4,000 UNIX-based microcomputers.

 Defined the functional requirements of the new NWIS II.

 Maintained hydrologic data bases containing more than 250 million values of streamflow, ground-water 

levels, chemical analyses of surface water and ground water, water use, and other hydrologic information.

 Continued to transfer data monthly to the Storage and Retrieval System (STORET) of the USEPA.

 Completed the requirements analysis of a new hydrologic data base management system and the design of 

the integrated data base that will allow entry and access to all types of hydrologic data in a single system.

Recent Reports:

Mathey, S.B., ed., 1991, System requirements specification for the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water

Information System II: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 91-525,622 p. 

Yorke, T.H., and Williams, O.O., 1991, Design of a National Water Information System by the U.S. Geological

Survey, in International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems for Meteorology,

Hydrology, and Oceanography, 7th, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 14-18, 1991, Proceedings: American

Meteorological Society, p. 284-288.

Funding

Fiscal vear (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988____1989____1990____1991____1992 

Federal Program__________________2.9_____2.6_____1.8_____3.1_____3.3

Keywords

Information retrieval, Computer systems, Data systems, WATSTORE, NWIS, Water-resources information, 

Distributed information system.

19
National Water-Use Information Program

The quantity and quality of water used in the Nation is of importance to a broad range of public and private 

interests including water policymakers, planners, managers, and water users. The WRD has compiled estimates of 

water use every 5 years since 1950. These estimates, derived from many sources, were based on different methods of 

collection and had a wide range of accuracy. In 1978, upon recommendation of the ACWDPU, the WRD established 

the National Water-Use Information Program to develop a comprehensive estimate of water use, complementing the 

data on the availability and quality of the Nation's water resources.

The program is part of the WRD Federal-State Cooperative Program and is designed to determine how much 

water is withdrawn for use, how much water is consumptively used, the purpose for which the water is used, and how 

much water is returned to the environment.

Activities

 Serves as the focal point for collecting and compiling water-use information at local, State, and Federal levels.

 Maintains and enhances a computerized data-storage and retrieval system at State and national levels.

 Devises new methods and techniques to improve and standardize the collection and analysis of water-use 

information.

 Prepares reports on trends in the use of water.

 Incorporates water-use data in water-resource assessments, investigations, and research.

 Conducts cooperative water-use investigations, such as the following:

 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been an active cooperator in the National 

Water-Use Information Program since it began in 1978.

The Connecticut DEP is concerned with assessing demands placed on all surface- and ground-water 

resources in Connecticut. Due to an early and heavy reliance upon automated data systems to manage and 

analyze water-use data, the Connecticut Water-Use Program supports projects that promote efficient and 

cost-effective means to evaluate past, present, and future needs for water. Major cooperative activities 

over the past few years include the following:

(1) Water Supply Shared Data Base A computerized data base that was conceived and developed by the 

Connecticut DEP to be used by State agencies to maintain and share water-use information. The 

system is integrated with the Connecticut Geographic Information System (GIS) and contains sitespecific data. Standard methodologies are used to aggregate the data to meet national needs.

(2) Geographic Information System Data Base The Connecticut Water-Use Program is responsible for 

developing and maintaining the following digitized coverages at a scale of 1:24,000 on the 

Connecticut DEP GIS:

 Public supply wells, reservoirs, and watersheds.

 Public supply existing service areas.

 Public supply exclusive (future) service areas.

 Wastewater-treatment plants and sewer areas.

 Water diversions regulated by Connecticut DEP.

As a result of this active program, many water-use publications, maps, brochures, and posters 

have been produced to better inform water planners, managers, and the general public on the use of water 

in Connecticut.

 The Eastern Arkansas Comprehensive Study (EARCS) involves digital simulation of the Mississippi River 

Valley alluvial aquifer in a 26-county area. Conventional flow models provide data on boundary 

conditions, aquifer properties, recharge, and so forth that are used in constructing optimization, 

conjunctive use, and sustained yield models. Computer programs are used for optimization modeling. 

Using water-use projections through the year 2030, with the constraint of maintaining at least 20 feet of 

saturated aquifer thickness, these models optimize the amount of ground water and surface water that can 

be withdrawn to help meet the total water demand. The EARCS is an example of a progressive 

multiagency cooperative study in the area of applied hydrology and water management. Several 

cooperating State and Federal agencies are contributing data and expertise to the effort.

20
Recent Accomplishments

 Established water-use programs in 48 States and Puerto Rico.

 Developed the computerized Aggregate Water-Use Data System at the Federal level. Water-use estimates 

for 1985 for 12 categories of use have been compiled for each State by county and hydrologic subregion.

 Developed the computerized State Water-Use Data System for States to store and retrieve site-specific wateruse information.

 Held a national water-use workshop to acquaint State and Federal personnel with the scope and objectives of 

the 1990 national water-use compilation.

 Held national training courses to acquaint State and Federal personnel with water-use concepts and 

procedures for entering data and maintaining the national and State water-use data systems.

 Prepared a national summary of water use, supply, and demand (Carr and others, 1990).

 Coordinated a National effort to compile 1990 water-use estimates for the United States, Puerto Rico, and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands, and documented estimation methods and results.

Recent Reports:

Carr, I.E., Chase, E.F., Paulson, R.W., and Moody, D.W., compilers, 1990, National water summary 1987 

Hydrologic events and water supply and use: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2350,553 p. 

Holland, T.W., 1992, Water-use data collection techniques in the southeastern United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.

Virgin Islands: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 92-4028,72 p. 

Solley, W.B., and others, 1988, Estimated use of water in the United States in 1985: U.S. Geological Survey Circular

1004,82 p. 

Solley, W.B., Pierce, R.R., and Perlman, H.A., 1992, Estimated use of water in the United States in 1990: U.S.

Geological Survey Circular 1081,76 p.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Federal-State 

Cooperative Program1_____________7/7_____7.8_____7.8_____8.0_____8.0

1 Includes Federal and State shares of program funds. 

Keywords

Water use, Supply, Demand, Consumption, Cooperative activities, Trends, Data systems.

21
Hydrologic Data-Collection Program

The Hydrologic Data-Collection Program is the basic program of the WRD for collecting and analyzing data for 

the Nation's surface water and ground water. These data are used to support the needs of Federal, State, and local 

governments. Data-collection stations are maintained at selected locations. Standardized records are collected on 

stream discharge (flow) and stage (height), reservoir and lake storage, ground-water levels, well and spring discharge, 

and the quality of surface water and ground water. Purposes of the program are to provide hydrologic data needed to 

support the mission of the WRD, and to respond to the mutual needs and concerns of Federal, State, and local agencies 

regarding management, development, regulation, conservation, and environmental protection of the Nation's water.

Activities

 Collects data required by court decree, treaty, or compact.

 Provides data to support activities of other Federal agencies.

 Provides data to support national programs.

 Operates stations to collect data on the quantity and quality of surface water and ground water at State and 

local levels with emphasis on collecting data in water-deficient areas, urban complexes, small watersheds, 

and areas of energy-resources development.

 Monitors streamflow and quality of water to detect trends in stream quality. (See section National StreamQuality Accounting Network.)

 Monitors hydrologic characteristics at sites relatively unaffected by human activities. (See section National 

Hydrologic Bench-Mark Program.)

Recent Accomplishments

 Provided the basic data for water-resources appraisals, environmental impact statements, and energy-related 

studies. In establishing the baseline conditions of the Nation's water, this program became the foundation for 

solving emerging water issues.

 Provided data through two computerized systems the National Water-Data Storage and Retrieval System 

and the National Water-Data Exchange.

 Published hydrologic data (annually) for each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories; and special 

appendixes (as needed), such as data for coal-producing areas.

Recent Reports:

Condes de la Torre, Alberto, 1992, Operation of hydrologic data-collection stations by the U.S. Geological Survey in 

1991: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 92-172, 52 p.

Funding

In fiscal year 1992, about $100 million was directed to data collection and analysis. The WRD Federal-State 

Cooperative Program provided 63 percent of the funding; other Federal agency reimbursements, 26 percent; and 

USGS Federal Program, 11 percent.

Keywords

Data collection, Streamflow, Stations, Discharge, Stage, Wells.

22
Summary of data-collection stations

Number of stations 

Types of water datacollection stations

Stations (surface water):

Discharge:

Continuous record

Partial record

Stage only Streams:

Continuous record

Partial record

Stage only Lakes/reservoirs:

Continuous record

Partial record

Quality:

Continuous record

Scheduled, long-term

Short-term or project

Wells (ground water):

Water levels:

Continuous record

Scheduled, long-term

Short-term or project

Quality:

Scheduled, long-term

Short-term or project

Federal 

Program

517

47

12

10

15

9

28

486

125

137

1,334

1,102

261

647

Federal-State 

Cooperative 

Program

4,057

2,670

251

241

398

225

378

1,462

544

2,005

22,085

5,292

3,608

2,273

 Fiscal vear 1991

Other 

Federal 

agencies

1,866

324

277

47

372

85

174

238

196

131

1,035

1,910

380

933

Combined 

support

906

86

46

112

23

3

73

136

78

103

296

332

167

346

Total

7,346

3,127

586

410

808

322

653

2,322

943

2,376

24,750

8,636

4,416

4,199

23
National Stream-Quality Accounting Network

The National Stream-Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) was implemented in 1973 to provide a 

consistent description of the quality of the Nation's surface water. Currently (1992), NASQAN consists of 411 sites 

within the United States and its Territories, and provides data for two objectives: to determine whether water quality 

was deteriorating, remaining unchanged, or improving; and to account for mass transport of constituents from major 

river basins and to the oceans. The consistency of data-collection procedures used in this program has created one of 

the most complete data bases of this type in the world.

Activities

 Collects streamflow and water-quality data at 411 sites to provide a nationally consistent data base for waterquality assessment and research.

 Conducts a program to relate time trends in NASQAN data to human activities in the basins.

 Evaluates the addition of new data-collection techniques, such as suspended-sediment chemistry, to expand 

the application of NASQAN data to emerging areas of water-quality concern.

Recent Accomplishments

 Published several reports examining water-quality conditions at NASQAN sites and comparing NASQAN 

water-quality data to data from other upstream sites in the NASQAN basin. For example, one report on the 

Umpqua River basin, Oregon, indicated water quality at the NASQAN site can be quite different from waterquality conditions in other areas of the basin (Schesty, 1990).

 Reviewed the NASQAN network to develop a narrative description for each site and a hypothesis for station 

operation. As a result of the review, 31 sites were added to the network, 26 placed in inactive status, and 91 

discontinued.

 Published an article on the results of an investigation that examined long-term water-quality trends at more 

than 300 locations on major U.S. rivers. The results indicate influences on water-quality trends from 

terrestrial and atmospheric sources (Smith and others, 1987).

Recent Reports:

Schesty, T.L., 1990, Trends in water-quality data in Texas: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations

Report 89-4178,177 p. 

Smith, R.A., Alexander, R.B., and Wolman, M.G., 1987, Water-quality trends in the Nation's rivers: Science, v. 235,

p. 1607-1615.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Federal Program_________________4.5_____4.6_____4.6_____4J_____4.7

Keywords

NASQAN, Water-quality trends, Mass transport, Streamflow.

24
National Hydrologic Bench-Mark Network

The National Hydrologic Bench-Mark Network (Bench-Mark Network) was started in 1958 to define the 

ambient water quality of streams in basins where the land surface has not been altered by humans. The Bench-Mark 

Network includes 58 stations located in 37 States. Selection of Bench-Mark Network basins was guided by several 

criteria: no artificial storage, regulation, or diversion of streams existed or was probable for many years; pumping from 

wells within the basin was minimal and should not materially affect ground water; conditions were favorable for 

accurate measurement of streamflow, and the chemical and physical quality of water; and the probability was small 

that human activity within the basin would alter streamflow or water quality.

Activities

 Collects, stores, and analyzes water-quantity data from 58 sites and water-quality data from 55 sites.

 Analyzes trends in water-quality data from the Bench-Mark Network.

 Evaluates data from Bench-Mark Network sites to determine processes that control water-quality trends at 

these sites, trace-element concentrations in snowmelt, and variability of stream acidity in the Northeastern 

United States.

Recent Accomplishments

 Determined trends in surface-water quality in natural environments of the United States by using data from 

the Bench-Mark Network (Smith and Alexander, 1983a).

 Observed small declines in sulfate concentrations in streams in the northeastern quarter of the Nation. Small 

increases in sulfate were seen at most southeastern and western sites where streams were measured. Regional 

sulfur dioxide emissions showed similar trends (Smith and Alexander, 1983b).

Recent Reports:

Smith, R.A., and Alexander, R.B., 1983a, A statistical summary of data from the U.S. Geological Survey's national

water quality networks: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-533,20 p. 

 1983b, Evidence for acid-precipitation-induced trends in stream chemistry at hydrologic bench-mark stations:

U.S. Geological Survey Circular 910,12 p.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Federal Program__________________OJ_____0.8_____0.8_____0.9_____0.9

Keywords

Bench-Mark Network, Ambient water quality, Water-quality trends, Snowmelt, Stream acidity.

25
Hydrologic Data for Court Decrees and Compacts

Although water is often considered a common resource by neighboring States, it frequently is not available in 

sufficient quantity to satisfy the needs of all competing interests. Compacts, and sometimes adjudications (when a 

compact agreement cannot be reached), provide an accepted settlement with respect to a common water resource. 

Hydrologic data are sometimes required to apportion water resources. The courts often assign to the WRD the 

responsibility to provide impartial and scientifically reliable hydrologic information.

Activities

 Collects, analyzes, and publishes hydrologic information in support of adjudications and compacts. Surfacewater data frequently required include maximum and minimum flows, frequency of such flows, and daily, 

monthly, and annual totals. Ground-water data frequently required include water use, water yields, and water 

levels.

 Monitors changes in the quality of water for selected characteristics, mainly the common ions. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Provided hydrologic information on the Lower Colorado River program, which was conducted in cooperation 

with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, as required by a 1964 Supreme Court Decree.

 Furnished hydrologic data from over 500 streamflow stations, in accordance with adjudications and compacts 

throughout the Nation, to allow for the equitable apportionment of waters. The compacts concern parts of the 

Colorado, Arkansas, Bear, Big Blue, Yellowstone, Sabine, Belle Fourche, Republican, Pecos, Delaware, and 

Columbia Rivers; Costilla Creek; and the Rio Grande. The adjudications relate to streams across the country.

Funding

Fiscal vear (dollars in millions)

Source of funds 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Federal Program 

State and local agencies

2.0 

.9

2.0 

.9

2.0 

.9

2.0 

.9

2.0 

.9

Total______________________2.9_____2.9_____2.9_____2.9_____2.9

Keywords

Court decrees, Compacts, Adjudications, Colorado River, Yellowstone River, Columbia River, Rio Grande.

26
National Water Information Clearinghouse

The National Water Information Clearinghouse is being designed to improve and expand the availability of 

water-resources information to traditional users and to the rapidly growing community of new users. The user 

community includes Federal, State, and local governmental agencies, academia, industry, and the general public. The 

clearinghouse is intended to upgrade and modernize the information systems that are used to service the growing user 

community; and to strengthen coordination and collaboration and improve access to existing sources of public and 

private information and clearinghouse services.

Activities

 Conducts outreach and training.

 Disseminates data and information about water resources, including water-data indexing and literature 

abstracting.

 Carries out educational programs.

 Establishes data exchange programs with other Federal and State agencies. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Established a nationwide toll-free number, 1-800-426-9000, to promote easy access to the clearinghouse.

 Conducted workshops to further define clearinghouse user needs.

 Compiled a prototype directory of currently available water information and data for each State.

 The National Water Data Exchange (NAWDEX) responded to about 80,000 requests for data and information 

in 1992, and approximately 14,000 abstracts were added to the WRD water-resources scientific literature data 

base.

Funding

_______Fiscal year (dollars in millions)________

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Federal Program__________________2X)_____1.9_____3A_____3J_____3.3

Keywords

Clearinghouse, Information system, Access, Dissemination, NAWDEX.

27
State Water Resources Research Institutes and National Water Resources Research Grants Programs

The Secretary of DOI has designated the USGS as the administering agency for Title I of the Water Resources 

Research Act of 1984 (the Act) (Public Law 98-242, as amended). Title I authorizes establishment of up to 57 State 

Water Resources Research Institutes (Section 104), and matching grants to non-Federal entities for research in water 

resources through the National Water Resources Research Grants Programs (Section 105).

Activities

 Provides matching grants to partially support operation of the State Water Resources Research Institutes.

 Evaluates the State Water Resources Research Institutes periodically, as required by the Act.

 Defines priority areas of research.

 Solicits, evaluates, and ranks water-resources research proposals.

 Monitors progress of research. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Fifty-four State Water Resources Research Institutes in aggregate have been granted funds in 1 or more fiscal 

years since 1985 (see the following table).

The number of grants issued annually since 1987 (Section 105) is as follows:

Fiscal year

______________1987_____1988_____1989_____1990_____1991 1992 

Grants awarded______34______38______36______40______36_____17

 All State Water Resources Research Institutes were evaluated during the period fiscal years 1985 to 1987. 

Results of the evaluations were published by Ertel (1988).

 Published reports that provide information on the grant proposals.

 Annually published abstracts of the research conducted under each of the grants. 

Recent Reports:

Ertel, M.O., 1988, Evaluation of State water-resources research instititutes: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 

88-85,28 p.

Funding

Fiscal vear (dollars in

Source of funds

Federal Program 

Water Institutes 1 

Research grants2

Total

1988

0 

5.7 

4.4

10.1

1989

0

5.7 

4.4

10.1

1990

0

5.7 

4.4

10.1

millions)

1991

0 

5.6

4.4

10.0

1992

0 

5.6 

1.8

7.4

1 State Water Resources Research Institutes provided matching funds in non-Federal to Federal ratios of 1.5:1 in 

1987 and 1988, and 2:1 in 1989 and 1990. 

2Grants must be matched on a 1:1 basis.

Keywords

State Water Resources Research Institutes, Research grants, Water Resources Research Act, Cooperative 

activities.

28
Ground-water quantity

Population growth and expansion of agricultural and energy production have increased the competition for 

available water. Ground water constitutes a rising percentage of the total water used because a large part of existing 

surface water is already appropriated and feasible sites for the construction of large surface-water reservoirs are scarce. 

Ground-water quantity is an issue that is addressed by a number of WRD programs. Generally, the purposes of these 

programs include the determination of the extent and water-bearing characteristics of aquifers in the area of 

consideration and the effects of withdrawals on the ground-water systems.

Activities

 Conducts interpretive investigations of ground water throughout the United States ranging from 

reconnaissance studies to computer simulation of ground-water flow in complex, multiaquifer systems. 

About 900 studies were conducted in fiscal year 1992.

 Measures water levels periodically in about 36,000 observation wells.

 Develops and maintains a national ground-water data base.

 Conducts research, development, and documentation of ground-water-flow models. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Conducted multidisciplinary hydrologic studies involving ground-water quantity in nearly every State, as part 

of the Federal-State Cooperative Program.

 Continued studies of the Nation's 26 most important aquifer systems under the Regional Aquifer-System 

Analysis (RASA) Program.

 Completed the following RASA studies: Great Basin of Nevada and Utah, Central Midwest, Central Valley 

(California), Floridan aquifer system, High Plains, Snake River Plain, Northern Great Plains, Northern 

Midwest, Southwest Alluvial Basins, Southeastern Coastal Plain, Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, Upper 

Colorado River Basin, Columbia Plateau, Oahu, Northeast Glacial aquifers, Caribbean Islands, San Juan 

Basin, and Gulf Coastal Plain.

 Maintained a Ground-Water Site Inventory data base that contains hydrologic and geologic information on 

more than 1 million sites and more than 2 million water-level measurements.

 Developed sophisticated ground-water-flow models to better understand the ground-water systems and to 

provide insight into the effects of the application of various ground-water management schemes.

 Published 2 of 13 segments of the Ground Water Atlas of the United States. 

Funding

Funding for WRD ground-water activities is derived from several sources. In fiscal year 1992, expenditures on 

ground-water studies approached $200 million (or about half of the total funds available from all sources), of which 

about one-half of this amount was directed towards water-quantity studies.

Keywords

Ground-water quantity, Observation wells, Ground-water data base, Ground-Water Site Inventory, FederalState Cooperative Program.

29
Ground-water quality

The quality of the Nation's ground water is not well documented. Much is known about the distribution of 

common inorganic constituents in the Nation's ground water from data collection and interpretive studies under the 

WRD Federal-State Cooperative Program, the RASA Program, and other programs; however, much less is known 

about the distribution of trace elements and organic compounds. The situation is complicated further by problems 

involved in obtaining representative samples of contaminated ground water (for example, how to best sample for 

volatile organic substances without part of the material escaping) and in analytical techniques in the laboratory. The 

purpose of WRD ground-water-quality programs is to improve understanding of the factors controlling ground-water 

quality, to define the relation of water quality to ground-water-flow patterns, and to define the ambient or background 

water quality of aquifers.

Activities

 Collects and interprets ground-water-quality data as part of the Federal-State Cooperative Program and the 

RASA Program.

 Conducts studies ranging from analysis of contaminant movement to regional assessments of ground-water 

quality.

 Develops techniques for sampling organic compounds in ground water.

 Conducts research on the geochemical controls of ground-water quality and the fate and movement of 

ground-water contaminants at research sites in California, Colorado, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New 

Jersey, Georgia, Arizona, and Minnesota.

Recent Accomplishments

 Conducted about 450 projects nationwide involving some aspect of ground-water quality during fiscal year 

1992.

 Analyzed more than 73,000 water samples for organic and inorganic constituents and made more than 

800,000 individual determinations during fiscal year 1992.

Funding

Funding for WRD ground-water activities is derived from several sources. In fiscal year 1992, about $200 

million was spent on ground-water studies, of which about one-half of this amount involved some aspect of water 

quality.

Keywords

Ground-water quality, RASA, Federal-State Cooperative Program, Geochemistry, Water quality.

30
Ground-water protection U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency coordination

Contamination of ground water is one of the most significant environmental issues facing the Nation. Within 

the next decade, large sums of money will be spent by the Federal, State, and private sectors to clean up existing 

hazardous-waste dumps and to prevent additional point- and nonpoint-source pollution of ground water. The design 

and implementation of programs to address ground-water contamination is hampered by limited scientific information 

on which to base policy decisions. The USGS makes available the skills and capabilities of WRD personnel to assist 

the USEPA and the States in understanding and resolving these problems.

Activities

 Provides the ground-water information needed for the design and implementation of ground-water-protection 

programs.

 Advises the USEPA on technical aspects of ground-water-protection issues.

 Defines specific areas in which the USEPA and the DOI will have active roles in responding to emergency 

contamination situations.

 Provides technical assistance to the States for designing and implementing local programs to protect aquifers 

and ground-water resources, such as designation of wellhead protection areas, using numerical modeling 

techniques.

Recent Accomplishments

 Entered into a number of interagency agreements with the USEPA for technical assistance in support of the 

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCL A) (Superfund), 

and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976.

 Developed an interagency agreement with the USEPA Office of the Inspector General to provide assistance 

in the gathering of information and technical review of USEPA and USEPA-funded activities at selected 

Superfund sites in support of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA).

 Developed a MOU with the USEPA for technical assistance related to environmental protection of Indian 

lands in USEPA Region V.

Funding

In fiscal year 1992, the USEPA provided about $5 million in reimbursements to the WRD for a range of tasks, 

including support of activities related to CERCLA and RCRA. In addition, through the USGS Federal-State 

Cooperative Program, about $2.6 million (in Federal and State funds) were provided for work related to Superfund.

Keywords

Environmental Protection Agency, Memorandum of Understanding, Interagency agreement, Contamination, 

RCRA, CERCLA, SARA, Superfund.

31
International Water Resources Program

The Office of the Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Research and External Coordination is responsible for 

directing the WRD program of international cooperation in the field of water resources. This office oversees 

international water-resources activities of the WRD, arranges visits and training for foreign nationals in various fields 

of hydrology, provides technical assistance to foreign governments through short-term assignments of WRD 

personnel, and facilitates the visiting scientists program. These activities are conducted through the following 

agreements: (1) with international governmental organizations, such as the United Nations, (2) with international 

nongovernmental organizations, such as the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, (3) between the U.S. 

Government and foreign governments or between the USGS and counterpart agencies of foreign governments, 

(4) between USGS scientists and foreign scientists and their parent organizations, and (5) with U.S. Government 

agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development. The purpose of these agreements includes support 

of U.S. foreign policy and missions, promotion of international cooperation in earth sciences, collaborative research, 

and information transfer.

Activities

 Facilitates the transfer of foreign water-resources research results and methodology for potential application 

to domestic water programs.

 Oversees international water-resources investigations conducted by the WRD.

 Arranges for the provision of technical assistance to foreign and international water-resources activities 

requested by cooperating organizations.

 Responds to foreign requests for information or publications.

 Arranges itineraries and host visits of foreign nationals to the WRD.

 Represents or arranges for representation of the United States in the water programs of international 

intergovernmental and nongovernmental bodies.

Recent Accomplishments

 Arranged 159 missions in 1988,153 missions in 1989,203 missions in 1990,161 missions in 1991, and 144 

missions in 1992 for U.S. scientists to foreign countries.

 Arranged for 4 short-term technical assistance visits by WRD hydrologists in 1988,17 in 1989,14 in 1990, 

13 in 1991, and 41 in 1992 to support water-resources programs in the Middle East, the Far East, Central and 

South America, and Africa.

 Directed an exchange program of hydrologic research information between the United States and the People's 

Republic of China.

 Directed a collaborative hydrologic-research program between the United States and the U.S.S.R.

 Arranged training programs for 14 foreign scientists and technicians in 1988, for 29 in 1989, for 20 in 1990, 

for 38 in 1991, and for 41 in 1992.

 Arranged missions to the United States for 37 scientists and administrators from foreign countries in 1988, 

for 52 in 1989, for 64 in 1990, for 51 in 1991, and for 46 in 1992.

 Directed a 5-year project to assess the ground-water resources of two major areas in Abu Dhabi where 

significant fresh ground water is known to occur.

 Completed, in 1992, a participating agency service agreement with the U.S. Agency for International 

Development to provide training, technical assistance, and research assistance to the Central Ground Water 

Board of India.

 Facilitated responses to requests from the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the U.S. Agency for 

International Development for assistance relative to hydrologic hazards.

 Developed, in 1992, an MOU with the Public Works Research Institute, Ministry of Construction, Tsuhuba, 

Japan, for cooperation in the Field of Hydrology, Water Resources, and Global Climate.

 Developed, in 1992, an MOU with the University of Bergen, Kingdom of Norway, for Scientific and 

Technical Cooperation in the Earth Sciences. A Project Annex was initiated for joint research on the remote 

sensing and modeling of sea ice, oceans, and snow.

32
 Provided technical advice to the Department of State in support of the Water Working Group (WWG), 

President's Middle East Peace Initiative. USGS representative served as one of U.S. delegation to both the 

spring WWG meeting in Vienna, Austria, and the fall WWG meeting in Washington, D.C.

Funding (approximate)

Fiscal vear (dollars in millions)

Source of funds

Federal Program 

Other Federal agencies, 

international organizations, 

and foreign governments

Total

1988

0.1 

1.1

1.2

1989

0.1 

1.8

1.9

1990

0.1 

2.0

2.1

1991

0.1 

2.0

2.1

1992

0.1 

2.1

2.2

Keywords

International activities, Visiting scientists, Training, People's Republic of China, U.S.S.R., Abu Dhabi, Middle 

East, Far East, Central America, South America, Africa, India, Japan, Norway, Ground water.

33
Topical Programs

Nuclear Waste Hydrology

High-level radioactive wastes

The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-203) redirected the Nation's High-Level 

Nuclear Waste Program. This act mandates: (1) the termination of candidate-site screening at all potential sites for a 

deep geologic repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) other than Yucca Mountain, 

Nevada, and (2) the timely site characterization of the Yucca Mountain site to determine its suitability as a geologic 

repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste.

The congressionally funded USGS program in HLRW disposal began in the 1970's. The purpose of the program 

has been to study environments suitable for the disposal of HLRW, and processes, techniques, and methods to 

characterize sites. Studies have been conducted in support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the USEPA in their roles in the management of the Nation's high-level 

radioactive waste.

Currently, the USGS, WRD program in HLRW is focused on the characterization of Yucca Mountain in 

cooperation with the DOE. The WRD conducts most of the hydrologic and geologic research. Detailed planning and 

strict quality-assurance practices are necessary for all phases of the work.

Activities

 Oversees ongoing activities at the Yucca Mountain site, including monitoring of water levels, collection of 

weather data, and monitoring of seismic events.

 Oversees 50 detailed study plans for site-characterization activities at Yucca Mountain, which are either 

completed or in various stages of preparation.

 Conducts detailed studies of the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone, including hydrochemistry for the 

Yucca Mountain site.

 Assesses future geohydrologic conditions in the southern Great Basin that could result from potential climatic 

changes over the next 10,000 years.

 Studies geohydrologic and geochemical processes related to waste form, rock, and ground-water interaction.

 Conducts research on ground-water flow and solute transport in fractured rock.

 Develops instrumentation and techniques for characterization and monitoring of both saturated and 

unsaturated zones.

 Participates in the development of rules, regulations, and guidelines.

 Reviews significant reports of other agencies related to the disposal of nuclear waste. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Developed a ground-water model of the Yucca Mountain site that is based on the assumption of doubling of 

rainfall. The model indicated that the resulting raised water table would be well below the repository horizon.

 Completed intense studies on calcite-silica vein deposits near the Yucca Mountain site. Study findings 

indicate that these deposits are not spring deposits caused by fluctuations in the water table, but are formed 

by the weathering effects of infiltrating precipitation.

 Completed a study of variations in the isotopic content of ground water and mineral species that provided a 

250,000-year climatic record from Great Basin vein calcite (Winograd, and others, 1988). These study 

findings are a major contribution to the assessment of future climates and future hydrologic conditions of 

Yucca Mountain.

 Published report on the physical and chemical characteristics of topographically affected airflow in an open 

borehole at Yucca Mountain (Thorstenson and others, 1990) that describes the volume, composition, and 

isotopic signature of carbon dioxide of gas exhaled through a borehole on the crest of Yucca Mountain.

 Contributed to the DOE Site Characterization Plan and the Exploratory Shaft Test Plan for the 

characterization of the Yucca Mountain site.

34
 Conducted research in techniques of drilling, hydraulic testing, and geophysical methods for site 

characterization.

 Initiated research for improving the understanding of water and vapor flow in the unsaturated zone.

 Drilled an extensive series of shallow (20-90 meter) boreholes at the Yucca Mountain site and determined the 

soil moisture profiles in them. Comparison of these data with precipitation and water budget data indicates 

that a net water loss from Yucca Mountain occurs under the current arid conditions.

Recent Reports:

Dudley, W.W., Jr., 1990, Multidisciplinary hydrologic investigations at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in Proceedings of 

the International Topical Meeting, High-Level Radioactive Waste Management: American Nuclear Society, 

LaGrange Park, Illinois, American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, N.Y., v. 1, p. 1-9.

Evernden, J.F., 1992, Safety of proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Repository as regards geological and geophysical 

factors; Evaluation of minority report by Archambeau and Price: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 

92-516, 98 p.

Flint, A.L., 1989, Characterization of unsaturated zone infiltration in Mattson, S.R., Broxton, D.E., Buono, A., Crowe, 

B.M., and Orkild, P.P., eds., Geology and hydrology of the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca 

Mountain, Nevada and the surrounding area, 1989, Field Trip Guide, Annual Meeting: Denver, Colorado, 

Geological Society of America.

Hoxie, D.T., 1990, Alternative conceptual model for the unsaturated-zone hydrogeologics system, Yucca Mountain, 

Nevada: Radioactive Waste Management and the Nuclear Cycle, v. 13, nos. 1-4, p. 73-75.

Stuckless, J.L., 1991, An evaluation of evidence pertaining to the origin of vein deposits exposed in Trench 14, Nevada 

Test Site, Nevada, in Proceedings of the Second International Conference on High-Level Radioactive Waste 

Management: American Nuclear Society, Lagrange Park, Illinois; New York, American Society of Civil 

Engineers, v. 2, p. 1429.

Thorstenson, D.C., Weeks, E.P., Haas, Herbert, and Woodward, J.C., 1990, Physical and chemical characteristics of 

topographically affected airflow in an open borehole at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in Focus '89, Nuclear Waste 

Isolation in the Unsaturated Zone, Topical Meeting, September 17-21,1989, Las Vegas, Nevada, Proceedings: 

LaGrange Park, Illinois, American Nuclear Society, Inc., p. 256-270.

Winograd, I.J., Szabo, B.J., Coplen, T.B., and Riggs, A.C., 1988, A 250,000-year climatic record from Great Basin 

vein calcite Implications for the Milankovitch Theory: Science, v. 242, p. 1275-1280.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Federal Program

Other Federal agencies

DOE1

1.7

.6

22.7

1.8

.2

24.6

1.8

0

24.2

1.7

0

23.7

1.4

0

25.4

Total_____________________25.0 26.6 26.0 25.4____26.8

Includes funding for activities of the Geologic Division, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and contractors. 

Keywords

Nuclear waste disposal, Yucca Mountain, Nevada test site, Radioactive waste, Ground water, Climate, 

Department of Energy.

35
Low-level radioactive wastes

The WRD program in low-level radioactive-waste (LLRW) disposal consists of studies at commercial and 

Federal waste-disposal sites and related study areas and topical research to address special technical problems. The 

objective of the program is to develop geologic and hydrologic information to assist Federal agencies, States, and 

compacts of States in the development of effective disposal sites for LLRW. Under an interagency agreement with 

the DOE, the USGS will provide geologic and hydrologic support to the National Low-Level Radioactive Waste 

Management Program by assisting States and Regional Compacts in the siting and characterization of new LLRW 

disposal facilities.

The WRD has conducted hydrogeologic studies at most of the principal commercial and Federal LLRW disposal 

sites. Many of the principal hydrogeologic problems encountered in shallow land burial were identified. Summary 

reports and numerous topical reports on the findings have been published.

Activities

 Conducts research in the laboratory and in the field on processes controlling the performance of existing 

LLRW disposal sites such as Beatty, Nevada; West Valley, New York; and Sheffield, Illinois.

 Develops techniques and guidelines for the selection, characterization, and design of future LLRW disposal 

sites.

 Assists other Federal and State agencies in developing effective waste-management programs.

 Conducts topical research to address special technical problems.

 Studies the average annual rates of recharge from precipitation at various sites on the Hanford Reservation.

 Studies contamination of ground and surface waters by chemicals and radionuclides in the vicinity of the 

Weldon Spring, Missouri, Feed Materials Plant, raffinate pits, and quarry, in cooperation with DOE.

Recent Accomplishments

 Studied existing LLRW disposal sites (Bedinger, 1989). Lessons learned in that study could be applied to the 

siting and design, construction and maintenance, monitoring and modeling, and engineered barrier systems 

of future LLRW disposal sites.

 Investigated geologic and hydrologic factors that control migration of tritium from a closed LLRW disposal 

site in glacial drift and the underlying horizontally fractured dolomite (Nicholas and Healy, 1988).

 Summarized 10 years of hydrogeologic research at the Sheffield LLRW site and the implications of the 

topical studies concerning future LLRW disposal sites (Ryan, 1989).

 Provided technical assistance to State agencies and compacts in the selection and characterizations of new 

sites in accordance with the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (Public Law 

99-240).

 Discovery that respiratory iron-reducing micro-organisms can reduce U(VI), the oxidized form of uranium, 

to U(IV). The reduced form is only slightly soluble suggesting that microbial reduction of uranium could be 

an effective method for removing uranium from contaminated waters.

Recent Reports:

Andraski, B J., 1990, Water movement and trench stability at a simulated arid burial site for low-level radioactive 

waste near Beatty, Nevada, in Focus '89, Nuclear Waste Isolation in the Unsaturated Zone, Topical Meeting, 

September 17-21,1989, Las Vegas, Nevada, Proceedings: LaGrange Park, Illinois, American Nuclear Society, 

Inc., p. 166-171.

Bedinger, M.S., 1989, Geohydrologic aspects for siting and design of low-level radioactive-waste disposal: U.S. 

Geological Survey Circular 1034, 36 p.

Carey, W.P., Lyverse, M.A., and Hupp, C.R., 1990, Hillslope erosion at the Maxey Flats radioactive waste disposal 

site, northeastern Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 89-4199, 37 p.

Fischer, J.M., 1992, Sediment properties and water movement through shallow unsaturated alluvium at an arid site for 

disposal of low-level readioactive waste near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigations Report 92-4032.

Lovley, D.R., Phillips, E.J.P., Gorby, Y.A., and Landa, E.R., 1991, Microbial reduction of uranium; Nature, v. 1250, 

p. 413-416.

36
Nicholas, J.R., and Healy, R.W., 1988, Tritium migration from a low-level radioactive-waste disposal site near

Chicago, Illinois: U.S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 2333,46 p. 

Ryan, B.J., ed., 1989, Results of hydrologic research at a low-level radioactive-waste disposal site near Sheffield,

Illinois: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-318,144 p. 

Webster, D.A., and Bradley, M.W., 1988, Hydrology of the Melton Valley radioactive-waste burial grounds at Oak

Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 87-686, 103 p.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funding 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992

Federal Program 

Other Federal agencies

2.1 

1.3

2.2 

1.5

2.1 

2.0

2.2 

2.0

2.1 

1.8

Total_____________________3.4_____3.7_____4J_____4.2_____3.9

Keywords

Radioactive waste, Cooperative activities, Department of Energy, Nuclear waste disposal, Ground water.

37
Toxic Substances Hydrology Program

Contamination of surface water and ground water by toxic substances is considered by many to be one of today's 

most significant environmental issues. Billions of gallons of contaminated liquids and tons of industrial and 

agricultural chemicals are discharged into the environment each year. Virtually every State has water-quality 

problems resulting from point and nonpoint sources of contamination, which can cause extensive social and economic 

disruption. The purpose of the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program is to provide the Nation with earth sciences 

information to help identify, remediate, and prevent water-quality degradation by toxic chemicals.

Activities

 Conducts interdisciplinary research into the physical, chemical, and biological processes and factors that 

affect the transport, storage, and fate of toxic chemicals in surface- and ground-water systems.

 Conducts interdisciplinary field studies of the effect of contamination by crude oil, gasoline, sewage, wastes 

from metal mining, agricultural chemicals, and industrial solvents in rivers, estuaries, sand and gravel 

aquifers, and fractured rock aquifers.

 Develops methods to appraise the regional occurrence of toxic substances, such as pesticides and organic 

solvents in water, sediment, and biota, and to relate this occurrence to land use and environmental factors, 

such as soil characteristics.

 Develops study approaches, sampling techniques, field and laboratory measurement methods, and models of 

the fate and transport of chemicals for use in site investigations and remediation of contamination.

 Supports other Federal and State agencies in managing the quality of the Nation's water resources. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Published more than 200 reports and technical papers that describe the fate and transport of toxic substances 

in streams, estuaries, unconsolidated aquifers, and bedrock aquifers.

 Began studies of the flow and transport of contaminants in a fractured-rock aquifer in New Hampshire, the 

movement of agricultural chemicals in a river-estuary system in California, the fate of spilled gasoline in sand 

and gravel in New Jersey, and the regional occurrence of agricultural pesticides in the midcontinent.

 Determined that thin zones of elevated chemical concentrations and microbiological activity are 

characteristic of ground-water-contaminant plumes because vertical mixing is limited. Delineation of these 

zones requires sampling at closely spaced intervals.

 Determined that bacteria can degrade organic contaminants in ground water and significantly retard pollutant 

migration. For example, anaerobic bacteria were found to degrade creosote and pentachlorophenol, and 

microbes were found to degrade volatile organic compounds associated with crude oil.

 Demonstrated that bacteria found in contaminated aquifers can move readily with the flowing ground water. 

Field evidence suggests that bacteria at a highly contaminated source area can "seed" downgradient areas of 

plumes.

 Discovered that photochemical reactions can affect concentrations of dissolved metals in streams. This may 

account for reports of widely fluctuating concentrations of metals in lakes and streams in mining areas.

 Demonstrated that the regional occurrence of manmade chemicals, such as industrial solvents and agricultural 

pesticides in shallow ground water, can be correlated with land use.

 Tested methods to collect ground-water samples for analysis of organic contaminants. Tests showed that the 

sampling device, pumping rate, and duration of pumping can significantly affect observed concentrations, 

thus, complicating interpretation of ground-water-quality data.

 Detected one or more herbicides in each of 146 water samples collected from eight sites on the Mississippi 

River and its major tributaries in April, May, and June 1991.

 Collected weekly rainfall samples at sites in 23 Midwestern and Northeastern States. Herbicides were 

detected in all 23 States, with the highest concentrations occurring in the Midwest.

Recent Reports:

Baehr, A.L., Hoag, G.E., and Marley, M.C., 1989, Removing volatile contaminants from the unsaturated zone by 

inducing advective air-phase transport: Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, v. 4, no. 1, p. 1-26.

38
Barber, L.B., Thurman, E.M., Schroeder, M.P., and LeBlanc, D.R., 1988, Long-term fate of organic micropollutants

in sewage-contaminated groundwater: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 22, no. 2, p. 205-211. 

Barringer, T.H., Dunn, D.L., Battaglin, W.A., and Vowinkel, E.F., 1990, Problems and methods involved in relating

land use to ground-water quality: Water Resources Bulletin, v. 26, no. 1, p. 1-9. 

Ceazan, M.L., Thurman, E.M., and Smith, R.L., 1989, Retardation of ammonium and potassium transport through a

contaminated sand and gravel aquifer The role of cation exchange: Environmental Science and Technology,

v.23,no. 11, p. 1402-1408. 

Eckhardt, D.A., Flipse, WJ., and Oaksford, E.T., 1989, Relation between land use and ground-water quality in the

upper glacial aquifer in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Long Island, New York: U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigations Report 86-4142,35 p. 

Franks, B.J., ed., 1987, U.S. Geological Survey program on toxic waste Ground-water contamination: Technical

meeting, 3rd, Pensacola, Florida, March 23-27, 1987, Proceedings: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report

87-109, p. 213. 

Fuller, C.C., and Davis, J. A., 1989, Influence of coupling of sorption and photosynthetic processes on trace element

cycles in natural waters: Nature, v. 340, no. 6228, p. 52-54. 

Garabedian, S.P., and LeBlanc, D.R., 1991, Large-scale natural gradient tracer test in sand and gravel, Cape Cod,

Massachusetts: 2. Analysis of spatial moments for a nonreactive tracer: Water Resources Research, v. 27, no. 5,

p. 911-924. 

Gibs, Jacob, and Imbrigiotta, T.E., 1990, Well-purging criteria for sampling purgeable organic compounds: Ground

Water, v. 28, no. 1, p. 68-78. 

Goolsby, D.A., Coupe, R.C., and Markovchick, D.J., 1991, Distribution of selected herbicides and nitrate in the

Mississippi River and its major tributaries, April through June 1991: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources

Investigations Report 91-4163,35 p. 

Grady, S.J., and Weaver, M.F., 1989, Evaluation of groundwater quality in relation to land use for stratified-drift

aquifers in Connecticut, in Ragone, S.E., ed., Regional characterization of water quality Proceedings of the

Baltimore Symposium, May 1989: International Association of Hydrological Sciences, Publication No. 182,

p. 19-29. 

Harvey, R.W., and Barber, L.B., II, 1992, Associations of free-living bacteria and dissolved organic compounds in a

plume of contaminated groundwater: Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, v. 9, p. 91-103. 

Harvey, R.W., George, L.H., Smith, R.L., and LeBlanc, D.R., 1989, Transport of microspheres and indigenous

bacteria in a sand aquifer Results of natural- and forced-gradient tracer experiments: Environmental Science

and Technology, v. 48, no. 6, p. 1197-1202. 

Hess, K.M., Wolf, S.H., and Celia, M. A., 1992, Large-scale natural gradient tracer test in sand and gravel, Cape Cod,

Massachusetts: 3. Hydraulic conductivity variability and calculated macrodispersivities: Water Resources

Research, v. 28, no. 8, p. 2011-2027. 

Hicks, D.W., McConnell, J.B., and Asmussen, L.E., 1989, The effects of infiltration and transport mechanisms on

nitrate and chloride concentrations beneath a small watershed near Plains, Georgia in Mallard, G.E., ed., U.S.

Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program Proceedings of the technical meeting, Phoenix,

Arizona, September 26-30, 1988: U. S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 88-4220,

p. 638. 

Imbrigiotta, T.E., Gibs, Jacob, Fusillo, T.V., Kish, G.R., and Hochreiter, J.J., 1988, Field evaluation of seven sampling

devices for purgeable organic compounds in ground water, in Collins, A.G., and Johnson, A.I., eds., GroundWater Contamination Field Methods: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, American Society for Testing and

Materials Special Technical Publication 963, p. 258-273. 

Kent, D.B., Davis, J.A., Maest, A.S., and Rea, B.A., 1989, Field and laboratory studies of transport of reactive solutes

in groundwater, in Miles, D.L., ed., Water-Rock Interaction: International Symposium on Water-Rock

Interaction, Balkema, Rotterdam, August 3-12,1989, Proceedings, WRI-6, p. 381-383. 

Knopman, D.S., 1991, Sampling design for groundwater solute transport: Tests of methods and analysis of Cape Cod

tracer test data: Water Resources Research, v. 27, no. 5, p. 925-949. 

Kuwabara, J.S., Chang, C.C.Y., and Pasilis, S.P., 1990, Effects of benthic flora on arsenic transport: Journal of

Environmental Engineering, v. 116, p. 394-409. 

LeBlanc, D.R., Garabedian, S.P., Hess, K.M., Gelhar, L.W., Quadri, R.D., Stollenwerk, K.G., and Wood, W.W., 1991,

Large-scale natural gradient tracer test in sand and gravel, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: 1. Experimental design

and observed tracer movement: Water Resources Research, v. 27, no. 5, p. 895-910.

39
Luoma, S.N., 1989, Can we determine the biological availability of sediment-bound trace elements?: Hydrobiologia,

v. 176/177, p. 379-396. 

Mallard, G.E., ed., 1988, U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program Surface-Water

Contamination Proceedings of the technical meeting, Denver, Colorado, February 2-4,1987: U.S. Geological

Survey Open-File Report 87-764,161 p. 

Mallard, G.E., and Aronson, D.A., eds., 1991, U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program 

Proceedings of the technical meeting, Monterey, California, March 11-15, 1991: U.S. Geological Survey

Water-Resources Investigations Report 91-4034,730 p. 

Mallard, G.E., and Ragone, S.E., eds., 1989, U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program 

Proceedings of the technical meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, September 26-30, 1988: U.S. Geological Survey

Water-Resources Investigations Report 88-4220,651 p. 

McKnight, D.M., Kimball, B.A., and Bencala, K.E., 1988, Iron photoreduction and oxidation in an acidic mountain

stream: Science, v. 240, no. 4852, p. 637-640. 

Morin, R.H., LeBlanc, D.R., and Teasdale, W.E., 1988, A statistical evaluation of formation disturbance produced by

well-casing installation methods in unconsolidated deposit: Ground Water, v. 26, no. 2, p. 207-217. 

Pereira, W.E., Rostad, C.E., Chiou, C.T., Brinton, T.I., Barber, L.B., II, Demcheck, O.K., and Demas, C.R., 1988,

Contamination of estuarine water, biota, and sediment by halogenated organic compounds A field study:

Environmental Science and Technology, v. 22, no. 7, p. 772-778. 

Ragone, S.E., ed., 1988, U.S. Geological Survey Program on Toxic Waste Ground-water contamination:

Proceedings of the second technical meeting, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, October 21- 25,1985: U.S. Geological

Survey Open-File Report 86-481,110 p. 

Smith, J.A., Chiou, C.T., Kammer, J.A., and Kile, D.E., 1990, Effect of soil moisture on the sorption of trichloroethene

vapor to vadose-zone soil at Picattiny Arsenal, New Jersey: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 24,

p. 676-683. 

Smith, R.L., and Duff, J.H., 1988, Denitrification in a sand and gravel aquifer Applied and Environmental

Microbiology, v. 54, no. 5, p. 1071-1078. 

Smith, R.L., Harvey, R.W., and LeBlanc, D.R., 1991, Importance of closely spaced vertical sampling in delineating

chemical and microbiological gradients in groundwater studies: Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, v. 7,

p. 285-300. 

Squillace, PJ., and Engberg, R.A., 1988, Surface-water quality of the Cedar River basin, Iowa-Minnesota, with

emphasis on the occurrence and transport of herbicides, May 1984 through November 1985: U.S. Geological

Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 88-4060,81 p. 

Stollenwerk, K.G., and Kipp, K.L., 1990, Simulation of molybdate transport with different rate-controlled

mechanisms, in Melchior, D.C., and Bassett, R.L., eds., Chemical modeling of aqueous systems II: Washington,

D.C., American Chemical Society Symposium Series 416, p. 243-257. 

Thurman, E.M., Goolsby, D.A., Meyer, M.T., and Kolpin, D.W., 1991, Herbicides in surface waters of the midwestern

United States: The effect of the spring flush: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 25, no. 10, p. 1794-96. 

Wood, W.W., Kraemer, T.F., and Hearn, PP., Jr., 1990, Intragranular diffusion An important mechanism

influencing solute transport in clastic aquifers?: Science, v. 247, no. 4950, p. 1569-1572.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988____1989 1990____1991____1992 

Federal Program_________________12.7____12.6____14.0_____14.6_____14.9

Keywords

Toxic substances, Surface water. Ground water, Chemistry, Water quality, Pollution, Hazardous substances.

40
National Water-Quality Assessment Program

In 1991, the WRD began a transition from a pilot program to a fully implemented National Water-Quality 

Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of this program are to describe the status and the trends of 

water-quality conditions for a large, diverse, and geographically distributed part of the Nation's ground- and surfacewater resources; and to identify, describe, and explain the major natural and human factors that affect these observed 

conditions and trends.

Assessment activities will be conducted in 60 study units (major watersheds and aquifer systems) that represent 

a wide range of environmental settings nationwide and that account for a large percentage of the Nation's water use. 

The coordinated application of comparative hydrologic studies at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales will 

provide a basis for resources decisionmaking within the study units and a foundation for aggregation and comparison 

of findings to address water-quality issues of regional and national interest.

Activities

 Analyzes existing information and field studies ongoing in the first set of 20 study unit investigations started 

in 1991.

 Aggregates existing information and planning studies focused on national syntheses of pesticides and 

nutrients in surface and ground water.

 Plans national synthesis efforts focused on volatile organic compounds in ground water and the factors 

influencing invertebrates, algae, and fish in streams and rivers.

 Coordinates with Federal, State, and local agencies at study-unit and national levels to ensure that the 

assessment information meets the needs of other agencies to the maximum extent possible.

Recent Accomplishments

 Completed seven pilot projects to test and refine the concepts for the full-scale program.

 Completed evaluation of the NAWQA pilot program by the National Academy of Sciences in 1990. The 

Academy concluded that a national water-quality assessment program is needed and that the USGS is well 

qualified to implement such a program.

 Published more than 100 reports that described the design of the program, protocols to be used, and findings 

from the seven pilot studies.

 Published two non-technical publications and one video summarizing key findings and their implications for 

the general public.

 Completed assessment findings from the lower Kansas River pilot study that were later used by the Kansas 

State Board of Agriculture as the basis for establishing the Delaware River basin in northeast Kansas as the 

first inland Pesticide Management Area in the Nation that targets reducing the amount of atrazine in runoff 

that enters inland surface waters.

 Completed study showing elevated levels of pesticide DDT in fish in the Yakima River that has prompted the 

Washington Department of Public Health to begin additional studies to determine whether a public health 

advisory is warranted.

 Identified second set of 20 study-unit investigations to start in 1994 with the assistance of other agencies 

participating on the NAWQA Advisory Council.

Recent Reports:

Choquette, A.F., and Katz, B.G., 1989, Grid-based ground-water sampling Lessons from an extensive regional

network for 1,2-dibromoethane (EDB) in Florida: International Association for the Hydrologic Sciences,

Conference Proceedings, Publication 182, May 1989,79-86 p. 

Cohen, Philip, Alley, W.M., and Wilber, W.G., 1988, National water-quality assessment Future directions of the

U.S. Geological Survey: Water Resources Bulletin, v. 24, no. 26,1147-1151 p. 

Elder, J.F., 1989, Applicability of ambient toxicity testing to national or regional water-quality assessment: U.S.

Geological Survey Open-File Report 89-55,102 p. 

Evaldi, R.D., and Kipp, J.A., 1991, Effects of oil production on water resources in the Kentucky River basin,

Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 90-4191, 58 p.

41
Hamilton, P.A., and Shedlock, R.J., 1992, Are fertilizers and pesticides in the ground water? A case study of the

Delmarva Peninsula, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1080,16 p. 

Hamilton, P. A., Shedlock, R.J., and Phillips, PJ., 1989, Ground-water-quality assessment of the Delmarva Peninsula,

Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia Analysis of available water-quality data through 1987: U.S. Geological

Survey Open-File Report 89-34,71 p. 

Hirsch, R.M., Alley, W.M., and Wilber, W.G., 1988, Concepts for a national water-quality assessment program: U.S.

Geological Survey Circular 1021,42 p. 

Jordan, P.R., and Stamer, J.K., 1991, Surface water-quality assessment of the lower Kansas River basin, Kansas and

Nebraska: analysis of available data through 1986: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 91-75. 

Leahy, P.P., Rosenshein, J.S., and Knopman, D.S., 1990, Implementation plan for the national water-quality

assessment program: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-174,10 p. 

McKenzie, S.W., and Curtiss, D.A., 1989, Surface-water-quality assessment of the Yakima River basin,

Washington A pilot study: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 89-60, 2 sheets. 

National Research Council, 1990, A review of the USGS national water-quality assessment pilot program:

Washington, D.C., National Academy, 153 p. 

Parkhurst, D.L., Christenson, S.C., and Schlottman, J.L., 1989, Ground-water-quality assessment of the Central

Oklahoma aquifer, Oklahoma Analysis of available water-quality data through 1987: U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 88-728, 80 p. 

Rinella, J.F., McKenzie, S.W., and Fuhrer, G.J., 1992, Surface-water-quality assessment of the Yakima River basin,

Washington: Analysis of available water-quality data through 1985 water year: U.S. Geological Survey OpenFile Report 91-453, 244 p. 

Thomas, J.T., Welch, A.H., and Gunderson, L.S., 1990, Distribution and sources of uranium in ground water in the

Carson River basin, western Nevada and eastern California, U.S.A.: Eos, American Geophysical Union

Transactions, v. 71, no. 43, p. 1305. 

Welch, A.M., Plume, R.W., Frick, E.A., and Hughes, J.L., 1991, Ground-water-quality assessment of the Carson River

basin, Nevada and California Analysis of available water-quality data through 1987: U.S. Geological Survey

Open-File Report 89-382,115 p., 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000. 

Zogorski, J.S., Blanchard, S.F., Romack, R.D., and Fitzpatrick, F.A., 1990, Availability and suitability of municipal

wastewater information for use in a national water-quality assessment: A case study of the upper Illinois River

basin in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin: U.S. Geolgoical Survey Open-File Report 90-375,68 p.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Federal Program__________________7.2_____7J_____7.0____18.2____28.5

Keywords

Ground-water quality, Surface-water quality, Regional assessment, United States.

42
Regional Aquifer-System Analysis Program

The RASA Program is a systematic study of a number of regional ground-water systems that represent a 

significant part of the Nation's water supply. A regional aquifer system may be of two general types: aquifers that are 

of regional extent, such as those beneath the Northern Great Plains, or groups of aquifers that share so many 

characteristics that investigation of a few of these aquifers can establish principles and hydrologic factors that control 

the occurrence, movement, and quality of ground water throughout the other aquifer systems. The purpose of the 

program is to provide the basic information and criteria needed to develop and manage ground-water supplies from a 

regional perspective.

Activities

 Determines the availability and chemical quality of water stored in each aquifer system.

 Determines the discharge-recharge characteristics and water budgets of each aquifer system.

 Determines the hydrogeologic and chemical controls that govern the response of aquifer systems to stresses.

 Develops computer-simulation models to assist in understanding the ground-water-flow regime and the 

changes in this regime brought about by human activities, such as withdrawal of water from an aquifer or 

artificial recharge to an aquifer.

Recent Accomplishments

 Identified 25 aquifer systems for study. Eighteen RASA field studies were completed: Central Midwest, 

Central Valley (California), Floridan aquifer system, Great Basin of Nevada and Utah, High Plains, Northern 

Great Plains, Northern Midwest, Snake River Plain, Southwest Alluvial Basins, Southeastern Coastal Plain, 

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain, Upper Colorado River basin, Columbia Plateau, Oahu, Northeast Glacial 

aquifers, Caribbean Islands, San Juan basin, and Gulf Coastal Plain. Seven other studies are underway.

 Published more than 900 reports that describe the scientific findings of the RASA studies.

 Demonstrated the use of computer models to simulate the dynamic three-dimensional flow in the regional 

aquifers. During the investigations, simulation capabilities have evolved from the normal flow simulation to 

incorporating the effects of temperature in deep circulation zones, salt concentration on ground-water flow, 

and well penetration into many aquifer layers that "short circuit" flow systems of several individual aquifers; 

the interaction between streamflow and ground-water flow; and land subsidence due to withdrawals.

 Analyzed digitized satellite imagery to establish the distribution and intensity of agricultural irrigation and, 

with further interpretation, the magnitude of ground-water withdrawals.

 Developed geochemical concepts and models that evaluate interactions between solutes in water and minerals 

in aquifer material and the use of stable isotopes to infer the origin and age of ground water.

 Published the second segment of a "Ground Water Atlas of the United States" This segment identifies all the 

important aquifers that underlie the States of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin and presents maps 

and diagrams that locate and describe the properties of each aquifer (Olcott, 1992).

 Provided information to Federal, State, and local agencies. The New Jersey Department of Environmental 

Protection used a flow model developed by the Atlantic Coastal Plain RASA study team to manage the 

Coastal Plain aquifer in New Jersey in designated critical areas. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture used RASA information to evaluate the effects on water resources of agricultural practices in the 

San Joaquin Valley of California. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control used 

RASA information to determine the relationship between waste-disposal sites and well locations. The U.S. 

Internal Revenue Service used information from the High Plains RASA study to evaluate tax depletion 

allowance. The Federal Land Bank used depth-to-water information resulting from the High Plains RASA 

study to appraise farm lands on the High Plains. Idaho water agencies used information resulting from the 

Snake River Plain RASA study in negotiations of water rights between irrigators and hydropower companies. 

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare used Snake River Plain RASA information in the development 

of a Snake River aquifer management strategy and ground-water-quality management plan.

43
Recent Reports:

Anderson, T.W., Freethey, G.W., and Tucci, Patrick, 1992, Geohydrology and water resources of alluvial basins in

south-central Arizona and parts of adjacent states: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1406-B, 67 p. 

Freethey, G.W., and Cordy, G.E., 1991, Geohydrology of Mesozoic rocks in the Upper Colorado River basin in

Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, excluding the San Juan basin: U.S. Geological Survey

Professional Paper 1411-C, 118 p. 

Frenzel, P.F., and Kaehler, C.A., 1992, Geohydrology and simulation of ground-water flow in the Mesilla basin, Dona

Ana County, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas, with a section on Water quality and geochemistry, by

S.K. Anderholm: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1407-C, 105 p. 

Hosman, R.L., and Weiss, J.S., 1991, Geohydrologic units of the Mississippi embayment and Texas coastal uplands

aquifer systems, south-central United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1416-B, 19 p. 

Garabedian, S.P., Hydrology and digital simulation of the regional aquifer system, eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho:

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1408-F, 102 p. 

Mandle, R.J., and Kontis, A.L., 1992, Simulation of regional ground-water flow in the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer

system in the northern Midwest, United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1405-C, 97 p. 

Miller, J.A., 1992, Summary of the hydrology of the Southeastern Coastal Plain aquifer system in Mississippi,

Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1410-A, 38 p. 

Newton, G.D., 1991, Geohydrology of the regional aquifer system, western Snake River Plain, southwestern Idaho:

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1408-G, 52 p. 

Olcott, P.G., 1992, Ground water atlas of the United States Segment 9, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin:

U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Atlas 730-J, 31 p. 

Robertson, F.N., 1991, Geochemistry of ground water in alluvial basins of Arizona and adjacent parts of Nevada, New

Mexico, and California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1406-C, 90 p. 

Trapp, Henry, Jr., 1992, Hydrogeologic framework of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain in parts of North Carolina,

Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1404-G,

59 p. 

Trapp, Henry, Jr., and Meisler, Harold, 1992, The regional aquifer system underlying the Northern Atlantic Coastal

Plain in parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, pelaware, New Jersey, and New York Summary: U.S.

Geological Survey Professional Paper 1404-A, 33 p. 

Vorblesky, D.A., and Fleck, W.B., 1991, Hydrogeologic framework of the Coastal Plain of Maryland, Delaware, and

the District of Columbia: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1404-E, 45 p. 

Weiss, J.S., 1992, Geohydrologic units of the coastal lowlands aquifer system, south-central United States: U.S.

Geological Survey Professional Paper 1416-C, 32 p. 

Whitehead, R.L., 1992, Geohydrologic framework of the Snake River Plain regional aquifer system, Idaho and eastern

Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1408-B, 32 p. 

Young, H.L., 1992, Summary of ground-water hydrology of the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system in the northern

Midwest, United States: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1405-A, 55 p. 

___1992, Hydrogeology of the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system in the northern Midwest, United States: U.S.

Geological Survey Professional Paper 1405-B, 99 p.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988____1989____1990____1991____1992 

Federal Program_________________11.5_____11.1_____10.8_____10.7_____8.6

Keywords

RASA, Water supply, Aquifers, Ground-water management, Ground-water supplies, Ground-water quality, 

Computer models, Geochemistry of water, Regional ground-water studies.

44
Acid Rain Program

Since the late 1950's, the WRD has conducted numerous studies of the effects of precipitation chemistry on 

water quality, both in Federally funded research and in the Federal-State Cooperative Program. In 1982, because of 

increasing concern about the possible environmental effects of "acid rain," the WRD significantly increased the level 

of hydrologic research and broadened the program to include the effects of atmospheric deposition on limestone and 

marble building stones. In 1984, the WRD established an Office of Atmospheric Deposition Analysis to coordinate 

the acid-rain research.

The WRD Federal acid rain program has been carried out as part of the Federal interagency National Acid 

Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) that was established by the Acid Precipitation Act of 1980 (Title VII of 

Public Law 96-294). Although the NAPAP statutory "sunset" was to have been September 30,1990, the program was 

continued under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-54). Purposes of the WRD program are to 

monitor the chemical composition of precipitation (rain and snow) nationwide and describe its variability 

geographically and with time; to determine the susceptibility of lakes and streams to acidification and to monitor 

susceptible areas for long-term changes, that may result from acidic deposition; to define the geochemical and 

hydrologic processes by which acidic deposition affects the quality of surface and ground waters in the United States; 

and to define the geochemical and atmospheric processes by which acidic deposition damages carbonate building 

stones.

Activities

 Serves in NAPAP as lead agency for the Task Group on Deposition Monitoring and is a member of the 

Working Group on Effects on Materials and Cultural Resources and the Task Group on Aquatic Effects.

 Coordinates the 150-site National Trends Network for monitoring precipitation chemistry nationwide. The 

WRD operates about 60 sites in the network; other sites are operated by a variety of Federal, State, university, 

and private organizations.

 Monitors 13 sites for long-term changes in water quality in areas identified by the Aquatic Effects Task Group 

as being sensitive to the effects of acid rain.

 Conducts studies in seven watersheds to define geochemical and hydrologic processes by which acidic 

deposition affects the quality of streams, lakes, and ground water.

 Conducts studies at three test-sample exposure sites and in the laboratory to define geochemical and 

atmospheric processes by which acidic deposition damages carbonate building stones.

Recent Accomplishments

 Produced a videotape for use in training operators of precipitation monitoring sites in the National Trends 

Network.

 Contributed to preparation of several of the set of 28 State-of-Science/State-of-Technology (SOS/T) reports 

that constitute a large part of the NAPAP final Phase I report to the President and Congress on its research 

results. Reports involving WRD contributors include SOS/T Report 6; Deposition Monitoring Methods 

and Results, SOS/T Report 10: Watershed and Lake Processes Affecting Surface Water Acid-Base 

Chemistry, and SOS/T Report 19: Effects of Acidic Deposition on Materials. Also contributed to the Integrated Assessment report for Phase I.

Recent Reports:

Baedecker, P.A., Reddy, M.M., Reimann, K.J., and Sciammarella, C.A., 1992, Effects of acidic deposition on the

erosion of carbonate stone experimental results from the U.S. National Acid Precipitation Assessment

Program (NAPAP): Atmospheric Environment, v. 26B, no. 2, p. 147-158. 

Bricker, O.P., and Rice, K.C., 1989, Acidic deposition to streams: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 23,

no. 4, p. 379-385. 

Hooper, R.P., and Peters, N.E., 1989, Use of multivariate analysis for determining sources of solutes found in wet

atmospheric deposition in the United States: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 23, no. 10,

p. 1263-1268. 

Puckett, L.J., 1990, Estimates of ion sources in deciduous and coniferous throughfall: Atmospheric Environment,

v.24A,no. 3, p. 545-555.

45
Puckett, L.J., and Bricker, O.P., 1992, Factors controlling the major ion chemistry of streams in the Blue Ridge and 

Ridge and Valley physiographic provinces of Virginia and Maryland: Hydrological Processes, no. 6, p. 79-98.

Stoddard, J.L., and Murdoch, P.S., 1991, Catskill Mountains: an overview of chronic and episodic acidity in dilute 

mountain streams, in Charles, D.F., ed., Acid deposition and aquatic ecosystems: Regional case studies: New 

York, Springer Verlag, p. 237-271.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Federal Program_________________3.0_____2.9_____2.9_____3.1_____3.2

Keywords

Acid rain, Precipitation, Acidic, Water quality, Materials damage.

46
Volcano Hazards Program

The USGS, has the primary responsibility in the Federal Government for investigating volcano hazards. Waterrelated activities include describing the nature and rates of hydrologic processes involved in cataclysmic volcanorelated events, monitoring water resources in areas of potential volcanic eruption, defining mudflow and debris-flow 

hazards, and developing information for resource planning and management.

Activities

 Conducts studies and develops mathematical models to describe floods, sediment transport, and mudflows.

 Conducts geomorphic studies of the Mount St. Helens debris avalanche and mudflow deposits to assess and 

document the effects of continuing erosion and channel filling.

 Monitors and re-evaluates the stability of Mount St. Helens debris-dammed lakes.

 Monitors the Long Valley, California, hydrologic system for changes precursory to, or in response to, 

volcanic processes.

 Assesses volcanic hazards associated with lahars (debris flows from volcanoes) on a variety of volcanoes. 

Major activities include assessments at Mount St. Helens, Washington; Mount Hood, Oregon; and Mount 

Redoubt, Alaska.

 Provides consultation to other countries that have volcanic hazards. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Measured and documented floods resulting from eruptions of Mount Redoubt, Alaska.

 Identified debris-flow hazards from Mount Rainier, Washington.

 Identified debris-flow hazards from Mount Shasta, California.

 Identified downstream changes in the properties of mudflows generated during the initial phases of the 

May 14,1984, explosive event of Mount St. Helens by measuring velocity, discharge, and sediment concentrations along the Toutle River.

 Developed estimation techniques for determining ice volumes of glaciers on Cascade Range volcanoes to 

evaluate the magnitude of possible flooding during a volcanic eruption.

 Constructed and began initial operation of the 95-meter long concrete flume for debris-flow investigations at 

the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest near Eugene, Oregon, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service.

Recent Reports:

Costa, J.E., and Schuster, R.L., 1988, The formation and failure of natural dams: Geological Society of America

Bulletin, v. 100, no. 7, p. 1054-1068. 

Farrar, C.D., Sorey, M.L., Rojstaczer, S.A., Steinemann, A.C., and Clark, M.D., 1989, Hydrologic and geochemical

monitoring in Long Valley Caldera, Mono County, California, 1986: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources

Investigations Report 89-4033,69 p. 

Hupp, C.R., Osterkamp, W.R., and Thornton J.L., 1987, Dendrogeomorphic evidence and dating of recent debris flows

on Mount Shasta, northern California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1396-B, p. B1-B39. 

Iverson, R.M., and LaHusen, R.G., 1989, Dynamic pore-pressure fluctuations in rapidly shearing granular material:

Science, v. 246, no. 4931, p. 796-799. 

Iverson, R.M., and Reid, M.E., 1992, Gravity-driven groundwater flow and slope failure potential, parts 1 and 2:

Water Resources Research, v. 28, p. 925-950. 

Major, J.J., and Newhall, C.G., 1989, Snow and ice perturbation during historical volcanic eruptions and the formation

of lahars and floods A global review: Bulletin of Volcanology, v. 52, p. 1-27. 

Meyer, William, and Sabol, M.A., 1989, Hydrology of the Castle Lake blockage, Mount St. Helens, Washington: U.S.

Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 87-4272, 25 p. 

Pierson, T.C., 1989, Hazardous hydrologic consequences of volcanic eruptions and goals for mitigative action An

overview, in Hydrology and disasters, Geneva, Switzerland, November 2-3,1988: London, England, James and

James, 17 p. 

Scott, K.M., 1988, Origins, behavior, and sedimentology of lahars and lahar runout flows in the Toutle-Cowlitz River

system: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1447-A, p. A1-A74.

47
Scott, K.M., Pringle, P.T., and Vallance, J.W., 1992, Sedimentology, behavior, and hazards of debris flows at Mount 

Rainier, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report (prior to release as Professional Paper) 90-385, 

106 p.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Federal Program_________________3_4_____3.4_____33_____4.5_____4.2

Keywords

Volcanoes, Volcanic hazards, Lahars, Debris flows, Mudflows, Hazards.

48
National Water Summary Program

Periodic analysis of the condition of the Nation's water resources is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of water 

programs and to assist in the formulation of water policies. The National Water Summary Program assembles and 

synthesizes information about changes and trends in the availability, quality, and use of water resources. Objectives 

of the program are to describe the nature and extent of water issues, to develop and maintain maps and national 

summary statistics to describe water conditions, to improve methods of evaluating and characterizing effects of land 

and water uses on the distribution and availability of water resources, and to conduct research to improve techniques 

for summarizing water-resources conditions.

Activities

 Assembles and synthesizes existing information about water availability, quality, and use; trends in water 

conditions; and the nature of water issues.

 Publishes a biennial water summary, which describes hydrologic events and water conditions, and discusses 

major water issues of concern.

Recent Accomplishments

 Developed a data base from which national maps of pesticide application have been made and prepared for 

publication. The data base contains county-level data on application of 90 pesticides.

 Published five National Water Summary reports (U.S. Geological Survey, 1984; 1985; Moody and others, 

1986; 1988; Carr and others, 1990).

 Created the water-quality data base and PT2 software, which have been used successfully to analyze waterquality data by hydrologists in every District. This accomplishment provided for the preparation of the 1990- 

91 National Water Summary and spun off into a support system for the NAWQA program and highly visible 

cooperation with the USEPA.

Recent Reports:

Carr, J.E., Chase, E.B., Paulson, R.W., and Moody, D.W., compilers, 1990, National water summary 1987 

Hydrologic events and water supply and use: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2350, 553 p. 

Moody, D.W., Carr, Jerry, Chase, E.B., and Paulson, R.W., compilers, 1988, National water summary 1986 

Hydrologic events and ground-water quality: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2325,560 p. 

Moody, D.W., Chase, E.B., and Aronson, D.A., compilers, 1986, National water summary 1985 Hydrologic events

and surface-water resources: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2300,506 p. 

U.S. Geological Survey, 1984, National water summary 1983 Hydrologic events and issues: U.S. Geological Survey

Water-Supply Paper 2250,243 p.

 1985, National water summary 1984 Hydrologic events, selected water-quality trends, and ground-water 

resources: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2275,467 p.

 1990, National water summary 1987 Hydrologic events and water supply and use: U.S. Geological Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 2350,553 p.

 1991, National water summary 1988-89 Hydrologic events and floods and droughts: U.S. Geological Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 2375, 591 p.

Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions) ~

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Federal Program__________________L4_____L4_____L4_____1.6_____1.7

Keywords

Water-resources assessment, Policy, Trends, Issues, Statistical summary, Conditions, Land use, Water, Water 

quality, Supply and demand, Water use, Floods, Droughts.

49
Wetlands

Wetlands, one of the Nation's most important natural resources, serve a variety of hydrologic functions, 

including flood storage and flood abatement, nutrient cycling, and sediment retention and stabilization. The WRD 

wetland investigations are directed at increasing understanding of basic hydrologic, geologic, and biogeochemical 

processes in wetlands. The WRD collects, analyses, and disseminates information on wetlands for Federal and State 

agencies.

Activities

 Conducts studies throughout the United States on various aspects of wetland hydrology, including 

hydrogeology of selected wetlands, effects of ground-water pumpage on wetlands, and evapotranspiration 

from wetlands.

 Investigates the effects of wetlands on water quality, sediment deposition, and nutrient cycling in many 

States, including Massachusetts, Colorado, Arkansas, Oregon, North Dakota, and New York.

 Conducts studies of contaminants in wetlands including selenium in Utah and mercury in Wisconsin.

 Assesses the effectiveness of wetlands as wastewater-treatment sites.

 Assists agencies responsible for wetland management and regulation, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the USEPA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, and the Federal Highway Administration.

 Conducts long-term research on the submersed aquatic macrophyte populations (aquatic bed wetlands) in the 

tidal Potomac River. Emphasis is on the factors controlling the distribution and abundance of submerged 

aquatic vegetation populations and on the effects of tidally controlled fluxes of water from these wetlands on 

water chemistry in the river.

Recent Accomplishments

 Developed a conceptual framework for assessing cumulative effects on the hydrology of nontidal wetlands.

 Demonstrated that high selenium concentrations in wetlands in the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge and other 

wetlands in Utah were responsible for death and population declines in various waterfowl species.

 Determined that the water chemistry of prairie pothole wetlands is dependent upon their position in the 

ground-water-flow system, as well as the duration or permanence of water.

 Increased understanding of the relation of wetlands to ground- and surface-water-flow systems and groundwater recharge and discharge.

 Showed that submerged plant growth and survival in the tidal Potomac River and estuary is primarily related 

to the availability of light. Light penetration is affected by suspended sediment and phytoplankton. 

Reduction of nutrient loading in the tidal river decreased the probability of severe algal blooms, such as have 

occurred in past years, and resulted in the return of submersed aquatic plant beds after an absence of decades.

 Worked cooperatively with the USEPA's Chesapeake Bay Program, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 

the University of Maryland, and Harford Community College to synthesize water-quality and vegetation data 

from four different regions of the bay and to develop habitat requirements and restoration goals for submersed 

aquatic vegetation.

 Obtained data at the Cottonwood Lake area National Waterfowl Production area in North Dakota between 

1988 and 1992, which continued to show how wetlands respond to persistent dry conditions. These 

responses differ depending upon the position of the wetland with respect to the ground-water-flow system. 

Changes in the relation of a wetland to ground water can affect recharge-discharge relations, salinity within 

the wetland, and the vegetative composition of the wetland. Dry conditions at the site appeared to reflect local 

phenomenon as wetlands tens of miles to the west and east still contain water.

 Selected wetland resources as the topic of the 1992-93 National Water Summary by the USGS. Invited 

contributions to the report have been drawn from the Nation's leading wetland scientists. Emphasis of the 

report will be on hydrologic functions, but other aspects of wetlands to be discussed include current Federal, 

State, and local government activities. Much of the report is dedicated to individual articles on wetlands of 

each State. Prototypes of the State articles are nearing completion.

50
Recent Reports:

Carter, Virginia, and Rybicki, N.B., 1990, Light attenuation and submersed macrophyte distribution in the tidal

Potomac River and Estuary: Estuaries, v. 13, no. 4, p. 441-451. 

Carter, Virginia, Rybicki, N.B., and Hammerschlag, Richard, 1991, Effects of submersed macrophytes on dissolved

oxygen, pH, and temperature under different conditions of wind, tide and bed structure: Journal of Freshwater

Ecology, v. 6, no. 2, p. 121-133. 

LaBaugh, J.W., 1988, Relation of hydrogeologic setting to chemical characteristics of selected lakes and wetlands

within a climate gradient in the North-Central United States: Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung

Limnologie, v. 23, p. 131-137. 

___1989, Chemical characteristics of water in northern prairie wetlands, in van der Valk, A., ed., Northern prairie

wetlands: Ames, Iowa, Iowa State University Press, p. 56-90. 

___1991, Spatial and temporal variation in chemical characteristics of ground water adjacent to selected lakes and

wetlands in the North-Central United States: Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung Limnologie, v. 24,

p. 1588-1594. 

LaBaugh, J.W., and Swanson, G.A., 1992, Changes in chemical characteristics of water in selected wetlands in the

Cottonwood Lake area, North Dakota, U.S.A., 1967-89, in Robarts, R.D., and Bothwell, M.L., eds., Aquatic

Ecosystems in semi-arid regions, Implications for Resource Management: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada,

Environment Canada, The National Hydrology Research Institute Symposium Series no. 7, p. 149-162. 

LaBaugh, J.W., Winter, T.C., Adomaitis, V.A., and Swanson, G.A., 1987, Hydrology and chemistry of selected prairie

wetlands in the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, North Dakota, 1979-82: U.S. Geological Survey

Professional Paper 1431,26 p. 

Swanson, G.A., Winter, T.C., Adomaitis, V.A., and LaBaugh, J.W., 1988, Chemical characteristics of prairie lakes in

south-central North Dakota their potential for influencing use by fish and wildlife: U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service Technical Report 18,44 p.

Funding

Funding for this activity for fiscal year 1992 is derived from several sources and is approximately $5.5 million. 

Keywords

Wetlands, Nutrient cycling, Macrophytes, Waterfowl.

51
Flood Hazards

The WRD defines the magnitude and frequency of flood-peak discharges, the areas inundated, the changes in 

stream sediment transport, and the alterations to stream channels for use by flood-management agencies. The purposes 

of this activity are to provide flood information for use by managers and planners during and after floods; to improve 

the technology required by planners, designers, engineers, and decisionmakers to mitigate future flood losses of life, 

property, and income as a result of flooding; to contribute to better understanding of the hydrologic processes that 

control the occurrence and distribution of floods.

Activities

 Collects hydrologic data and information during extreme floods.

 Analyzes, interprets, and provides hydrologic data and information to the public and private sectors.

 Provides real-time streamflow data and other hydrologic information to support the flood forecasting and 

regulating activities of water-management agencies. For example, the National Weather Service (NWS) uses 

data from about 3,000 WRD-operated stations in forecasting river stages.

Recent Accomplishments

 Developed statistical techniques for estimating the frequency and magnitude of flooding in 16 States.

 Assessed flood hazards at bridges and other sites at more than 25 locations in more than 15 States.

 Applied limited hydraulic techniques to flood-insurance studies in 200 communities in 17 States. Study was 

conducted in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

 Developed and tested improved methods of flood-frequency analysis and generalized least-squares regression 

analysis that ensure more accurate estimates of flood magnitude and frequency at ungaged sites.

 Developed paleohydrologic, geomorphic, and botanical techniques for identifying, dating, and quantifying 

historic floods.

 Documented the November 1985 floods in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; the October 

1986 floods in Alaska; the March 1987 floods in New York; the December 1987 floods in Arkansas and 

Tennessee; the February 1989 floods in Kentucky; 1990 floods in Oregon, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, 

Arkansas, and Iowa, and about 15 other noteworthy floods.

 Documented the January 1982 floods in the San Francisco Bay area, California, and the March 1982 floods 

in Indiana and neighboring States in cooperation with the National Weather Service (NWS).

 Completed model studies of backwater and flow distribution at proposed highway crossings of the Sabine 

River, Texas (Gilbert and Myers, 1989), and the Congaree River, South Carolina, and at the New York State 

Thruway crossing of Schoharie Creek (Froehlich and Trent, 1989).

Recent Reports:

Burkham, D.E., 1988, Methods for delineating flood-prone areas in the Great Basin of Nevada and adjacent States:

U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2316,20 p. 

Cobb, E.D., Evaluation of limited-detail methods for flood-insurance studies, in Proceedings of the 1990 Flood Plain

Management Conference, Toronto, Canada, March 12-14,1990: 16 p. 

Cooley, M.E., 1990, Use of paleoflood investigations to improve flood-frequency analyses of plains streams in

Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 88-4209,75 p. 

Froehlich, D.C., and Trent, R.E., 1989, Hydraulic analysis of the Schoharie Creek bridge, in Ports, M.A., ed.,

Hydraulic engineering 1989 National Conference on Hydraulic Engineering, New Orleans, Louisiana, August

14-18,1989, Proceedings: American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 887-892. 

Gilbert, J.J., and Myers, D.R., 1989, Analysis of water surface and flow distribution for the design flood at a proposed

highway crossing of the Sabine River near Tatum, Texas: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources

Investigations Report 88-4231,36 p. 

Glatfelter, D.R., and Chin, E.H., 1988, Floods of March 1982 in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois: U.S. Geological

Survey Professional Paper 1467, 36 p. 

Hjalmarson, H.W., and Thomas, B.E., 1992, New look at regional flood-frequency relations for arid lands: American

Society of Civil Engineers, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, v. 118, no. 6, p. 868-886.

52
Inman, E J., 1987, Simulation of flood hydrographs for Georgia streams: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper

2317,26 p. 

 1988, Flood-frequency relations for urban streams in Georgia: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources

Investigations Report 88-4085, 36 p. 

Jennings, M.E., Atkins, J.B., and Inman, E J., 1989, Estimating urban flood-frequency characteristics, in Ports, M.A.,

ed., Hydraulic engineering 1989 National Conference on Hydraulic Engineering, New Orleans, Louisiana,

August 14-18,1989, Proceedings: American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 516-521. 

Koltun, G.F., and Roberts, J.W., 1990, Techniques for estimating flood-peak discharges of rural, unregulated streams

in Ohio: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 89-4126,68 p., 1 plate. 

Krug, W.R., Conger, D.H., and Gebert, W.A., 1992, Flood-frequency characteristics of Wisconsin streams: U.S.

Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 91-4128,185 p.

McClain, D.L., 1990, Flood of February 1989 in Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-158,13 p. 

Parrett, Charles, Hull, J. A., and Omang, R.J., 1987, Revised techniques for estimating peak discharges from channel

width in Montana: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 87-4121, 34 p. 

Sauer, V.B., 1989, Urban flood frequency and hydrograph analysis, in Ports, M.A., ed., Hydraulic engineering 1989

National Conference on Hydraulic Engineering, New Orleans, Louisiana, August 14-18, 1989, Proceedings:

American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 379-385. 

Sloto, R. A., 1988, Effects of urbanization on storm-runoff volume and peak discharge of Valley Creek, eastern Chester

County, Pennsylvania: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 87-4196,32 p. 

Thomas, W.O., Jr., and Landers, M.N., 1989, Regionalization of flood characteristics, in Ports, M.A., ed., Hydraulic

engineering 1989 National Conference on Hydraulic Engineering, New Orleans, Louisiana, August 14-18,

1989, Proceedings: American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 372-378. 

Webb, R.H., and Betancourt, J.L., 1992, Climatic variability and flood frequency of the Santa Cruz River, Pima

County,Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2379,40 p.

Funding

About $5 million was expended in fiscal year 1990 to conduct flood-related investigations in cooperation with 

States and other Federal agencies. The FEMA provided about $0.7 million to conduct flood-insurance studies. An 

additional $ 1 million was expended on research related to methods of flood measurement, computation, and statistical 

analysis. Finally, about $5 million of the cost of operating surface-water gaging stations can be attributed to the 

collection, analysis, and documentation of flood data. Information for fiscal year 1992 is not available.

Keywords

Hazards, Floods, Sediment transport, Stream channels, Streamflow, National Weather Service, Stage, Statistical 

summary, Insurance, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal-State Cooperative Program.

53
Urban Hydrology

The WRD has been studying urban runoff since the 1950's. Since 1971, the WRD has conducted 104 urban 

hydrology studies, some of which are continuing. These studies have investigated the effects of urbanization on runoff 

quantity (especially of peak flows), sediment transport, and runoff quality. From 1979 to 1983, the WRD conducted 

an intensive study of urban-runoff quality in cooperation with the USEPA.

Activities

 Acquires and analyzes urban-runoff and runoff-quality data from a number of communities throughout the 

United States.

 Assembles urban-runoff and runoff-quality data and documents the data for ready availability to users.

 Analyzes urban runoff data so that estimates of runoff characteristics can be made at ungaged sites and the 

effects of runoff control measures can be evaluated.

 Evaluates national methods for urban-runoff and runoff-quality prediction. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Continued operation of four highly instrumented urban stormwater-detention sites in Florida, Kansas, New 

York, and Wisconsin.

 Compiled and analyzed urban atmospheric deposition water-quality data for 31 gaging sites in 10 cities.

 Compiled a map report for 95 urban stormwater sites in 22 cities.

 Completed national statistical regionalization of urban stormwater quality for stormwater loads, event mean 

concentrations, and for long-term annual and seasonal characteristics. Three reports and two journal articles 

were published; one journal article won the 1989 American Water Resources Association award for best 

paper.

 Supported the work of Task Committees by the American Society of Civil Engineers on the USGS Urban 

Gaging Networks and Urban Stormwater Detention.

 Planned a study of nationwide urban flood-frequency prediction in cooperation with the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service.

 Completed documentation of a microcomputer program for National Flood Frequency (NFF) in association 

with the Federal Highway Administration and the FEMA. NFF makes urban flood-peak and hydrograph 

estimates.

 Began national activity related to the USEPA municipal permitting regulation passed November 16, 1990. 

WRD has ongoing programs in 25 cities in 12 States comprising state-of-the-art monitoring programs at 125 

sites. The urban stormwater-quality monitoring sites operated by USGS are located on small land use 

catchments and include monitoring of rainfall, runoff, and water chemistry for 140 chemical constituents. 

The largest WRD monitoring network is located in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, area and includes 30 sites 

with a sampling of 210 water-quality storm events. The national WRD stormwater-quality program under 

the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program aggregates to about $7 million (twothirds unmatched). The program is expected to continue for 5 years at most sites.

Recent Reports:

Driver, N.E., Mustard, M.H., Rhinesmith, R.B., and Middelburg, R.F., 1985, U.S. Geological Survey urbanstormwater database for 22 metropolitan areas throughout the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File

Report 85-337,219 p. 

Driver, N.E., and Tasker, G.D., 1988, Techniques for estimation of storm-runoff loads, volumes, and selected

constituent concentrations in urban watersheds in the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply

Paper 2363,44 p. 

Ebbert, J.C., and Wagner, J.R., 1987, Contributions of rainfall to constituent loads in storm runoff from urban

catchments: Water Resources Bulletin, v. 23, no. 5, p. 867-871. 

Jennings, M.E., ed., 1991, Urban hydrology symposium, Denver, Colorado, November 4-8, 1990, Proceedings:

American Water Resources Association, 339 p.

54
Jennings, M.E., and Cookmeyer, E.N., 1989, Plans for national flood frequency by microcomputer, in Ports, M.A., ed., 

Hydraulic engineering 1989 National Conference on Hydraulic Engineering, New Orleans, Louisiana, August 

14-18,1989, Proceedings: American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 386-391.

Jennings, M.E., and Tasker, G.D., 1988, Estimation of urban stormwater quality, in Abt, S.R., and Gessler, Johannes, 

eds., Hydraulic engineering 1988 National Conference on Hydraulic Engineering, Colorado Springs, 

Colorado, August 8-12,1988, Proceedings: American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 78-83.

Mustard, M.H., Driver, N.E., Chyr, John, and Hansen, E.G., 1988, U.S. Geological Survey urban-storm water data base 

of constituent storm loads; characteristics of rainfall, runoff, and antecedent conditions; and basin 

characteristics: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 87-4036, 328 p.

Pope, L.M., Jennings, M.E., and Thibodeaux, K.G., 1988, Instrumentation for a dry-pond detention study, in Abt, 

S.R., and Gessler, Johannes, eds., Hydraulic engineering 1988 National Conference on Hydraulic 

Engineering, Colorado Springs, Colorado, August 8-12, 1988, Proceedings: American Society of Civil 

Engineers, p. 84-89.

Tasker, G.D., and Driver, N.E., 1988, Nationwide regression models for predicting urban runoff water quality at 

unmonitored sites: Water Resources Bulletin, v. 24, no. 5, p. 1091-1101.

Funding

Fiscal vear (dollars in millions)

Source of funds

Federal Program

Federal-State Cooperative

Program

Total

1988

0.2

1.6

1.8

1989

0.2

1.6

1.8

1990

0.2

1.6

1.8

1991

na1

na

na

1992

na

na

na

!Not available. 

Keywords

Urban hydrology, Runoff, Peak flow, Sediment, Environmental Protection Agency, Stormwater, Floods, Soil 

Conservation Service, Atmospheric deposition, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

55
Nonpoint Sources of Pollution

Diffuse nonpoint sources of water pollution, such as agricultural and urban runoff, constitute a continuing threat 

to water quality that is neither well understood nor defined. The WRD conducts water-quality investigations that 

encompass almost all aspects of the hydrology of nonpoint sources from collecting and reporting hydrologic data to 

conducting basic research to better understand the fundamental processes that control nonpoint-source pollution.

Activities

 The NAWQA describes the status and trends of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources. A major 

focus of the program is estimating the contribution of nonpoint sources to water pollution.

 Data collection and analysis includes operation of continuous-record stream gages, which are used to compute pollution loads, and water-quality monitoring stations. The NASQAN and the Bench-Mark Networks 

are part of this effort.

 Within the Federal-State Cooperative Program, a number of nonpoint-source effects, such as agriculture, 

storm runoff, and the effects of land-management practices, are evaluated on a local or regional scale.

 The Toxic Substances Hydrology Program includes such nonpoint-pollution components as the effects of 

agriculture and urban areas, ground-water contamination, and land use.

 The NRP improves knowledge of the fundamental processes that affect the fate and transport of sediment and 

chemicals through hydrologic systems. Nonpoint-pollution components include sediment, nutrient, and trace 

element studies.

Recent Accomplishments

 A reconnaissance of surface waters in 10 Midwestern States determined that detectable levels of triazine 

herbicides were present in 55 percent of the 150 stream sites. The streams were sampled in early spring 1989 

before new application of herbicides to fields. Subsequent sampling after herbicide application yielded 

detectable levels at about 90 percent of the sites.

 Recently established ground-water-quality monitoring programs have detected pesticides in a significant 

number of shallow ground-water supplies throughout Iowa. Increasing concern about the leaching of 

agricultural chemicals into aquifers has highlighted the need to better understand the movement of these 

contaminants. Data collected by the State indicate that nearly 56 million pounds of herbicides are applied 

annually to Iowa fields.

 An initial effort to document the occurrence of pesticides and nitrate in intensively developed agricultural 

areas of Missouri took place in 1986 and 1987. Ground water and streams were sampled at 129 sites in the 

southeast lowlands area. As a result, 23 different pesticides were detected, and at least 1 pesticide was present 

at most sites. Nitrate concentrations exceeded drinking water standards in 10 of 40 samples from domestic 

water supplies. This effort continued in 1988 with collection of samples from about 60 domestic wells in 

northwestern Missouri.

 The USGS and the City of Memphis, Tennessee, began a study of hazardous wastes at a closed landfill, which 

also is an USEPA Superfund site. Concern exists about possible contamination of the underlying aquifer that 

provides drinking water for almost 1 million people. Toxic wastes at this site are residues of pesticide 

manufacturing, which have been detected in local soils, sediments, biota, and ground and surface waters.

Funding

Funding for USGS activities related to nonpoint-source pollution does not appear as a line item in the USGS 

budget, but is derived from multiple sources because projects may occur in any of several Federal budget line items, 

as well as the Federal-State Cooperative Program.

Keywords

Nonpoint sources, Agriculture, Urban runoff, Pollution loads, Land management, Toxic substances, Pesticides.

56
Erosion and Sedimentation

Accelerated sedimentation is caused by such human activities as agriculture, timber harvesting, mining, 

urbanization, and the construction of dams and other channel-control structures. The purpose of the WRD sediment 

activities is to provide a more complete understanding of sedimentation processes and to develop and use mathematical 

models to estimate the effect of human activities on stream systems.

Activities

 Collects, analyzes, and reports data on sediment concentration, discharge, and particle-size deposition at 

about 170 surface-water stations nationwide on a daily basis and at about 900 stations on a periodic basis.

 Conducts special studies to define sedimentation problems in specific locations and to transfer the results and 

knowledge to other areas with similar problems. About 100 sedimentation-related studies are in progress; a 

like number of studies have sedimentation as a secondary issue.

 Conducts research projects on measurement and prediction of sediment transport, mechanics of bedloadtransport processes, storage of sediment in river systems, cumulative effects of sediment resulting from coal 

mining, development of sediment-sampling and sediment-analysis instruments, and changes in channel form 

as a result of river regulation.

Recent Accomplishments

 Developed sediment-sampling instruments used by all Federal agencies and many foreign countries for the 

collection of sediment data (Beverage and Williams, 1989; Tai and others, 1991).

 Documented sediment transport by the Colorado River and its tributaries in the Grand Canyon for use by the 

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the WRD in evaluating proposed power generation release cycles from Glen 

Canyon Dam, Arizona (Andrews, 1990).

 Developed techniques to estimate recurrence intervals of debris and mudflows connected with activities of 

the Cascade Range volcanoes. This information is being developed for use by Federal and State planning 

agencies in designing dams, roads, and bridges (Hammond, 1989; Dinehart, 1991).

 Defined the effects of channelization of streams in western Tennessee (Simon, 1989).

 Documented the effects of sedimentation on a proposed reservoir (Naftz and Barclay, 1991).

 Conducted two new projects of national scope: measurement of stream-channel scour at bridges during 

floods (Landers and Trent, 1991) and evaluation of the potential for scour at bridges in participating States 

(Butch, 1991).

Recent Report:

Andrews, E.D., 1990, Sediment transport in the Colorado River basin: Colorado Ecosystem and Dam Management

Symposium, Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 25-26,1990,43 p. 

Beverage, J.P., and Williams, D.T., 1989, Comparison: US P-61 and Delft sediment samplers: Journal of Hydraulic

Engineering^. 115, no. 12, p. 1702-1706. 

Butch, G.K., 1991, Measurement of scour at selected bridges in New York, in Federal Interagency Sedimentation

Conference, 5th, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 18-21, 1991, Proceedings: Subcommittee on Sedimentation,

Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, v. 1, p. 2-113-2-120. 

Dinehart, R.L., 1991, Sediment data for streams near Mount St. Helens, Washington, v. 3, Water years, 1984-87:

Open-File Report 91-219,166 p. 

Hammond, S.E., 1989, Comparison of sediment transport formulas and computation of sediment discharges for the

North Fork Toutle and Toutle Rivers, near Mount St. Helens, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File

Report 88-463, 18 p. 

Landers, M.L., and Trent, R.E., 1991, A national bridge scour data collection program: Nashville, Tennessee,

American Society of Civil Engineers Symposium, 10 p. 

Naftz, D.L., and Barclay, C.S.V., 1991, Selenium and associated trace elements in soil, rock, water, and streambed

sediment of the proposed Sandstone Reservoir, south-central Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigations Report 91-4000,69 p. 

Sams, J.I., III, and Witt, E.G., Ill, Simulation of streamflow and sediment transport in two surface-coal-mined basins

in Fayette County, Pennsylvania: Water-Resources Investigations Report 92-4093,106 p.

57
Simon, Andrew, 1989, The discharge of sediment in channelized alluvial streams: Water Resources Bulletin, v. 25,

no. 6, p. 1177-1188. 

Tai, D.Y., Jennings, M.E., White, K.D., and Garcia, L.A., 1991, Evaluation of a modified automatic sampler for the

collection of water samples for analysis of trace organic compounds or suspended sediment: U.S. Geological

Survey Open-File Report 91-469, 26 p.

Funding

Funding in 1992 for the sediment and erosion program includes $3.9 million for sediment data collection, and 

$3.9 million for bridge-scour investigations. In addition, significant, but untabulated, funding exists for part or all of 

the many interpretive projects and research activities that deal with sediment and erosion.

Keywords

Erosion, Sediment, Stations, Bedload, Colorado River, Debris flow, Volcanoes, Reservoirs, Stream-channel 

scour.

58
Estuaries

Estuaries, which are highly productive ecosystems that provide habitats for waterfowl and fish populations, are 

among the most heavily used and important of the Nation's surface-water resources. Their value for water supply, 

commerce, recreation, and food depends, to a large extent, on the degree to which the estuaries are affected by human 

activities. Because estuaries trap and accumulate paniculate matter and associated contaminants, they are particularly 

susceptible to nutrient enrichment and to contamination by toxic substances that are derived from municipal and 

industrial effluents, as well as from urban and agricultural runoff. To fully assess the effects of human activities on 

the natural resources of the Nation's estuaries, the WRD undertakes intensive studies of the effects of changing 

hydrologic, ecologic, and water-quality conditions in estuaries and their tributary streams.

Activities

 Collects hydrodynamic data and develops numerical models to study effects of river inflow, wind, and tides 

on water circulation and mixing in selected estuaries.

 Studies the effects of climate variability on estuaries.

 Defines dominant processes and rate controlling chemistry of river-estuary systems.

 Conducts studies of the distribution, transport, fate, and ecological significance of suspended sediments, 

nutrients, trace metals, and organic contaminants.

 Defines processes controlling variability in the distribution, abundance, and production of biotic 

communities.

 Studies processes affecting biological availability of contaminants. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Applied and calibrated two- and three-dimensional hydrodynamic models to the major embayments of San 

Francisco Bay with the objective of determining the magnitude and location of variations in water currents 

and salinity that result from changes in freshwater inflows.

 Used numerical models to examine wind-forcing on circulation in the Pamlico and Neuse River Estuaries.

 Determined elevations of the 1989 Hurricane Hugo storm surge at more than 300 sites along the South 

Carolina coast; some surges were as high as 20 feet above sea level.

 Determined that sedimentation has increased in the Potomac and the Tillamook Estuaries since the Holocene 

(anthropogenic influences), but that little or no sediment from external sources is transported through the 

Potomac Estuary.

 Determined that atmospheric conditions (barometric pressure patterns) in the northeast Pacific region 

influence variability in California stream, estuary, and coastal ocean chemistry.

 Determined that a close coupling exists between freshwater inflow and phytoplankton biomass and 

production in San Francisco Bay, with unusually low biomass and primary production during the drought that 

has persisted since 1987.

 Demonstrated that an Asian clam recently introduced accidentally into San Francisco Bay has become the 

numerically dominant benthic invertebrate throughout the upper estuary and is probably responsible for the 

dramatic reduction in phytoplankton biomass and consequent changes in the estuary food web.

 Measured seasonal primary production, nutrient distributions, and hydrographic properties of Tomales Bay, 

California, as part of a multidisciplinary, multiinstitutional study of estuary biogeochemistry.

 Determined that climate patterns (temperature and light during growing periods), as well as anthropogenic 

disturbance, are important to the distribution and abundance of submersed macrophyte beds in the tidal 

Potomac River.

 Characterized spatial distributions and temporal fluctuations of bioavailable trace elements, separating 

biologic, hydrologic, and anthropogenic contributions to observed concentrations in San Francisco Bay 

organisms and sediments.

 Used historical information on estuarine water quality, land use, agricultural statistics, fertilizer use, forest 

data, population, and other data to determine spatial and temporal trends in water quality in the Albemarle 

and Pamlico Sounds.

59
 Used a Lagrangian sampling to follow the transport of four rice pesticides (carbofuran, methyl parathion, 

molinate, and thiobencarb) along the lower Sacramento River above the San Francisco Bay Estuary.

 Conducted a study of nonpoint-source runoff into South San Francisco Bay demonstrating that freshwater 

plumes are rapidly mixed in the estuary, with tidal ebb, tidal flood, and longshore currents determining the 

distribution of runoff-associated contaminants.

 Modeled waste assimilative capacity in the Intracoastal Waterway in South Carolina.

 Assessed the effects on water quality and productivity of Charlotte Harbor, Florida, as a result of land-use 

changes, increased freshwater diversion, and increased wastewater flows that result from progressive 

urbanization.

 Conducted water-quality monitoring in the Houston, Texas, ship channel (dissolved oxygen, temperature, 

conductivity); Cook Inlet, Alaska (tides, streamflow); Long Island Sound, New York (nutrients in seven 

streams and estuaries); Intracoastal Waterway and Cooper River, South Carolina (salinity); AlbemarlePamlico Sounds (temperature, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen at multiple depths at each of 35 sites), to 

determine baseline water-quality conditions and to evaluate the effects of management actions on water 

quality.

 Initiated a study of the effects of freshwater diversions and sea-level rise on the salinity of the Toms and 

Metedeconk River embayments in Barnegat Bay and the estuaries of the Great Egg Harbor and Tuckahoe 

Rivers, New Jersey.

 Used cadmium to calcium ratios in a benthic foraminifer collected from sediment cores from the mouth of 

San Francisco Bay to show that coastal upwelling has decreased over the past 4,000 years. This finding is in 

agreement with predictions of atmospheric general circulation models that northwesterly winds that drive 

upwelling became weaker as summer insolation in the northern hemisphere has decreased.

 Demonstrated through three decades of observations of dissolved water column nitrogen and nearly two 

decades of observations of metals in estuarine clams that major water-quality improvements have been 

achieved in San Francisco Bay as a result of improvements in waste-treatment practices.

 Coupled a decade of field measurements in San Francisco Bay with model results to explain the physical 

mechanisms that contribute to the occurrence of phytoplankton blooms.

Recent Reports:

Bales, J.D., 1990, Data-collection program for Pamlico River estuary model calibration and validation, in Spaulding,

M.L., ed., Estuarine and coastal pollutant transport modeling: American Society of Civil Engineers, p. 492-501. 

Burau, J.R., and Cheng, R.T., 1989, A vertically averaged spectral model for tidal circulation in estuaries: U.S.

Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 88-4126, 31 p. 

Cain, D.J., and Luoma, S.N., 1990, Influence of seasonal growth, age, and environmental exposure on Cu and Ag in a

bivalve indicator, Macoma balthica, in San Francisco Bay: Marine Ecology Progress Series, v. 60, p. 45-55. 

Cloern, J.E., 1991, Tidal stirring and phytoplankton bloom dynamics in an estuary: Journal of Marine Research, v. 49,

p. 203-221. 

Cloern, J.E., Powell, T.M., and Huzzey, L.M., 1989, Temporal changes in salinity, suspended sediments, and

phytoplankton biomass and productivity over tidal time scales, pt. 2 of Spatial and temporal variability in South

San Francisco Bay (USA): Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, v. 28, no. 6, p. 599-613. 

Luoma, S.N., Johns, C, Fisher, N.S., Steinberg, N.A., Oremland, R.S., and Reinfelder, J.R., 1992, Determination of

selenium bioavailability to a benthic bivalve from paniculate and solute pathways: Environmental Science and

Technology, v. 26, p. 485-491. 

McPherson, B.F., and Miller, R.L., 1990, Nutrient distribution and variability in the Charlotte Harbor estuarine system,

Florida: Water Resources Bulletin, v. 26, no. 1, p. 67-80. 

Peterson, D.H., Cayan, D.R., Festa, J.F., Nichols, F.H., Walters, R.A., Slack, J.V., Hager, S.E., and Schemel, L.E.,

1989, Climate variability in an estuary Effects of riverflow on San Francisco Bay, in Peterson, D.H., ed.,

Aspects of climate variability in the Pacific and the western Americas: American Geophysical Union

Geophysical Monograph, v. 55, p. 419-442. 

Powell, T.M., Cloern, J.E., and Huzzey, L.M., 1989, Horizontal distributions of salinity, suspended sediments, and

phytoplankton biomass productivity, pt. 1 of Spatial and temporal variability in South San Francisco Bay

(USA): Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, v. 28, no. 6, p. 583-597.

60
Stoker, Y.E., Henderson, S.E., and McPherson, B.F., 1989, Hydraulic and salinity characteristics of the tidal reach of 

the Peace River, southwestern Florida: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 

88^162, 37 p.

van Geen, L., Luoma, S.N., Fuller, C.C., Anima, R., Clifton, H.E., and Trumbore, S., 1992, Evidence from Cd/Ca 

ratios in foraminifera for greater upwelling off California 4,000 years ago: Nature, v. 358, p. 54-56.

Funding

_______Fiscal vear (dollars in millions)_______

Source of funds 1991 1992

Federal Program 10.5 14.0

Keywords

Estuaries, Global change, Bays, Macrophytes, Sounds.

61
Ice and Snow

Concerns over long-term climate change have brought about increased interest in ice and snow. New remote 

sensing technology has enabled scientists to track changing sea-ice distribution and the spatial variations of 

snowpacks. These changes can have substantial effects on local and global climate. Public interest has increased due 

to the dramatic retreat of the Columbia Glacier and the potential threat of calved icebergs on oil-tanker operations near 

Valdez, Alaska, and the advance of the Hubbard Glacier and other surging glaciers. WRD research on these topics 

began more than 30 years ago. The purpose of this work is to acquire long-term data on the variations of sea ice, snow, 

ice sheets, and glaciers; to analyze the natural processes operative in these poorly understood parts of the hydrologic 

cycle; and to develop predictive capabilities in assessing their responses to meteorologic and hydrologic stresses.

Activities

 Participates in the design, testing, and utilization of microwave satellites dedicated to ice, ocean, and climate 

research.

 Participates in the design and execution of international ice/ocean/atmosphere interaction experiments in the 

polar regions.

 Utilizes remotely sensed data collected by aircraft and satellites to investigate the thickness and extent of 

snow and icepacks in polar regions and the contiguous 48 States.

 Monitors the movement and changes in ice mass of selected glaciers and develops numerical modeling 

techniques to predict their future advances and retreats.

 Develops models to predict the effect of climatic warming (for example, associated with a rise in atmospheric 

carbon dioxide) on glacier size and glacier-derived runoff.

Recent Accomplishments

 Performed pioneering work on the development of microwave satellites that observe the entire Arctic and 

Antarctic sea-ice packs through the clouds on a day-and-night basis.

 Published the first comprehensive 4-year study of the monthly to interannual variations of the Arctic and 

Antarctic sea-ice packs in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

 Developed numerical modeling techniques that enabled the WRD to predict for the first time the advance and 

retreat of glaciers. As predicted, observations show that the Columbia Glacier is in retreat and that the 

Hubbard Glacier is advancing.

 Applied the passive microwave-detection capabilities of the NASA Nimbus-7 satellite to map the water 

content of snow in the upper Colorado River basin to better predict water availability and flood potential 

associated with the snowmelt.

 Analyzed the 9-year Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) observations of the Arctic and 

Antarctic sea ice, 1979-87, and found a statistically significant decrease in the Arctic sea ice, that is not seen 

in the Antarctic sea ice.

Recent Reports:

Gloersen, P., and Campbell, W.J., 1991, Recent variations in Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice covers: Nature, v. 352,

no. 6330, p. 33-36. 

Josberger, E.G., Campbell, W.J., Gloersen, P., Chang, A.T.C., Rango, A., in press, Snow conditions and hydrology of

the Upper Colorado River basin from satellite passive microwave observations: Annals of Glaciology.

Funding

Funding for this activity is derived from several sources. In fiscal year 1992, approximately $0.9 million was 

spent on snow and ice studies.

Keywords

Climate, Global sea-ice variation, Ice sheet dynamics, Snow cover variations, Glacier variations.

62
Irrigation Drainage Program

In response to concerns expressed by the U.S. Congress over contamination at the Kesterson National Wildlife 

Refuge in California, the DOI started a program in 1985 to identify the nature and extent of irrigation-induced waterquality problems that might exist in other areas of the Western United States. A DOI Task Group prepared a 

comprehensive plan for reviewing irrigation-drainage concerns for areas where the DOI might have responsibility. 

Initially, the Task Group identified 19 locations in 13 States that warranted reconnaissance-level investigations. These 

locations relate to three specific areas of DOI responsibility: irrigation or drainage facilities constructed or managed 

by the DOI, national wildlife refuges managed by the DOI, and other migratory-bird or endangered-species 

management areas that receive water from DOI-funded projects.

To accomplish the investigations, interagency study teams were formed for each location. Scientists from the 

WRD (team leader), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bureau of Indian 

Affairs were named to conduct the investigations at each location. Media investigated at each location include 

surface and ground water, bottom sediment, and biota.

Results of the completed reconnaissance-level investigations and preliminary data from the ongoing 

reconnaissance investigations and detailed studies have provided several generalizations regarding areas where 

problems have been detected: (1) irrigation drainage problems are prevalent in the Western United States; (2) elevated 

concentrations of trace elements have been detected in several of the study areas, and pesticides have been found in 

some of the study areas; (3) alkaline oxidized soils that contain elevated concentrations of trace elements in semiarid 

environments indicate potential problem areas; (4) selenium, boron, arsenic, and mercury are the constituents found 

most often at elevated concentrations in water, bottom sediment, and biota in the study areas; (5) contamination 

problems are mostly area specific; (6) concentrations of arsenic and selenium tend to vary inversely; and (7) the highest 

concentrations of constituents occur in internally drained basins.

Activities

 Compiles a list of areas that fall under the scope of the DOI management strategy.

 Prepares detailed work plans for reconnaissance investigations.

 Plans and conducts intensive studies to determine the extent, magnitude, effects, and exposure pathways that 

cause contamination in areas where contamination warrants further study.

 Prepares reports and makes results of studies available to the public and private sectors. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Prepared the departmental management strategy for identifying and addressing irrigation-induced waterquality problems that involve DOI responsibilities.

 Published 87 reports and journal articles.

 Initiated a synthesis of all data collected since the program began in 1986. 

Funding

Fiscal vear (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988____1989____1990____1991____1992 

Federal Program__________________3.6_____42_____2.8_____2.8_____2.8

Keywords

Irrigation drainage, Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, Water quality, Selenium, Trace elements, Biota.

63
Indian Water Rights

Decisions on Indian water rights will have a major effect on the existing pattern of water allocation in the 

Western United States. The WRD collects hydrologic data and conducts water-resources investigations on tribal lands 

in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and with individual tribes under the Federal-State Cooperative 

Program. The purpose of these studies is to define the location, quantity, and quality of water available on Indian 

lands; to determine how the water supply varies in terms of quantity and quality; to describe the natural or historical 

condition of the resource; and to appraise the potential of the resource for further development.

Activities

 Participates in the planning and deliberations on Indian water rights with representatives of the DOI 

Solicitor's Office, the Justice Department, the BIA, and the Indian tribes.

 Conducts hydrologic investigations on Indian lands in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and Washington (1992).

Recent Accomplishments

 Completed project and report related to adjudication of Federal and Indian water rights.

 Began project in the Clearwater and Salmon River basins in Idaho in support of Federal and Indian tribal 

claims for reserved instream water rights.

 Completed an assessment of the water resources of the White Earth Indian Reservation, Minnesota.

 Prepared reports describing the hydrogeology and model simulation of ground-water flow of the San AndresGlorieta aquifer system, Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna, New Mexico.

 Conducted studies in the Rio Puerco river basin, Arizona, for the Navajo-Hopi New Lands Commission 

related to the relocation of the Navajo Indians.

 Conducted 21 studies, in 1992, related to Indian Water Rights and water resources. 

Funding

In fiscal year 1992, about $2.7 million was spent on studies related to water resources on Indian lands. About 

40 percent of these funds were transfers from the BIA, and the remainder were funds from individual Indian tribes that 

are matched as part of the Federal-State Cooperative Program.

Keywords

Indian, Tribal, Water rights, Water resources.

64
Global Change Hydrology

The Global Change Hydrology Program is a major component of the USGS Global Change Research Program. 

It is a diverse, multidisciplinary research and monitoring activity focusing on (1) the collection of basic hydrologic and 

biogeochemical data associated with processes that affect and are affected by climatic variability and related global 

systems change, (2) understanding the physical and biogeochemical mechanisms that govern how the hydrologic 

system influences and responds to climatic variability and change, and (3) the development of a capability to predict 

hydrologic and biogeochemical processes as a function of climatic variability and change.

Activities

 Conducts research, interpretive studies, and data collection in the following topical areas: water and carbon 

budgets, sensitivity of water resources, climate and hydrologic diagnostics, and global modeling.

Recent Accomplishments

 Initiated a program of intensive field investigations focusing on Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budget 

(WEBB) processes at five sites: Sleepers River Watershed (Vermont), Trout Lake (Wisconsin), Loch Vale 

Experimental Watershed (Colorado), Panola Mountain Experimental Watershed (Georgia), and Luquillo 

Experimental Forest (Puerto Rico). These long-term process investigations are designed to improve 

understanding and prediction of water and carbon fluxes, their interactions, and their relations to climatic 

variables, over a range of spatial and temporal scales.

 Published the results of a 3-year study of the sensitivity of the hydrology and water resources of the Delaware 

River to climatic variability and change.

 Initiated a joint study with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation focusing on the development of techniques and 

procedures for evaluating water resources and water-resources systems under climate uncertainty in the 

Western United States. The 3-year study is being conducted in the Gunnison Basin (Colorado), the American 

Basin (California), and the Truckee and Carson Basins (Nevada). The American, Truckee, and Carson 

watersheds have adjacent catchments located in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains.

 Published a study of the relation between fire occurrence in the Southwestern United States and the Southern 

Oscillation (Swetnam and Betancourt, 1990). Fire scar and tree growth chronologies (from 1700 to 1905) 

and fire statistics (since 1905) from Arizona and New Mexico show that large areas burn after dry springs 

associated with the high phase of the Southern Oscillation (La Nifla). Because fires lag certain related 

atmospheric and oceanic patterns by one or more seasons, the relation between climatic variability in the 

tropical Pacific and fires could have forecasting value and, thus, important implications for fire and watershed 

management.

 Completed a major study designed to develop transferable methods for understanding the sensitivity of water 

resources to climate variability and change in the Delaware River basin. Results from this study show that a 

transient warming trend would cause an increase in the proportion of winter precipitation that is converted to 

runoff, a reduction in snow accumulation, and a reduction in spring runoff in the northern part of the basin.

Recent Reports:

Gloersen, P., and Campbell, W.J., 1991, Recent variations in Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice covers: Nature, v. 352,

p. 33-36. 

Hay, L.E., McCabe, G.J., Wolock, D.M., and Ayers, M.A., 1991, Simulation of precipitation by weather type analysis:

Water Resources Research, v. 27, p. 493-501. 

Hosteller, S.W., and Benson, L.V., 1990, Paleoclimatic implications of the high stand of Lake Lahontan derived from

models of evaporation and lake level: Climate Dynamics, v. 4, p. 207-217. 

Milly,P.C.D., 1991, A refinement of the combination equations for evaporation: Surveys in Geophysics, v. 12, p. 145-

154.

 1992, Potential evaporation and soil moisture in general circulation models: Journal of Climate, v. 5, p. 209-226. 

Swetnam, T.R., and Betancourt, J.L., 1990, Fire-Southern Oscillation relations in the southwestern United States:

Science, v. 249, no. 4972, p. 1017-1020. 

Wolock, D.M., and Hornberger, G.M., 1991, Hydrological effects of changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels:

Journal of Forecasting, v. 10, p. 105-116.

65
Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_______________________________1990____1991____1992 

Federal Program________________________________2.0_____7.0_____7.7

Keywords

Global change, Climate, Paleohydrology, Cold regions hydrology, General circulation models.

66
Lake Hydrology

Lakes and reservoirs are important sources of water supply and recreation and a significant component of the 

Nation's water resources. The WRD lake hydrology investigations are directed at increasing understanding of the 

basic principles controlling the interaction of lakes with the atmosphere, surface water, and ground water, including 

associated chemical fluxes. The studies also include research on internal processes and cycling within lake 

ecosystems. The studies emphasize integration of theoretical and experimental field work.

Activities

 Conducts long-term research on the physical, chemical, and biological processes of lakes. Research sites are 

in Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, New York, and 

Wisconsin.

 Conducts extensive studies on lakes with specific water-quality problems, such as Lake Travis and Lake 

Houston, Texas; Little Rock Lake, Wisconsin; and Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada.

 Interprets and analyzes data on a national scale to assess the general condition of lake quality in the United 

States. These studies are directed principally toward eutrophication, metal contamination, and acid rain.

 Assists agencies responsible for lake management, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and Bonneville Power Authority.

Recent Accomplishments

 Showed that seepage from lakes greatly affects ground-water chemistry, which results in different chemical 

characteristics of ground water on different sides of lakes.

 Demonstrated that ground-water seepage to lakes has a significant influence on lake and wetland life that, in 

turn, influences waterfowl habitat and food production.

 Demonstrated through long-term research that evaporation rates are not uniform, but can vary by as much as 

35 percent from year to year.

 Demonstrated that seepage from lakes can occur through a large area of lakebed offshore at the same time 

that water-table slopes are toward the lake causing seepage into the lake in the near-shore littoral zone.

 Demonstrated that lakes in identical physiographic and climatic settings can differ substantially in chemical 

and biological characteristics because of greatly different water-residence times.

 Developed a national framework for a unified and comprehensive research program on the hydrology of 

wetlands.

Recent Reports:

LaBaugh, J.W., in press, Spatial and temporal variation in chemical characteristics of ground water adjacent to selected

lakes and wetlands in the north central United States: Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung Limnologie,

v. 24. 

Peters, N.E., and Murdock, P.S., 1985, Hydrogeologic comparison of an acidic-lake basin with a neutral-lake basin in

the west-central Adirondack Mountains, New York: Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, v. 26, p. 387-402. 

Rosenberry, D.O., 1990, Inexpensive ground water monitoring methods for determining hydrologic budgets of lakes

and wetlands, in Proceedings of the National Conference on Enhancing the States' Lake and Wetland

Management Programs, Chicago, Illinois, May 18-19,1989: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and North

American Lake Management Society, p. 123-131. 

Sturrock, A.M., Winter, T.C., and Rosenberry, D.O., 1992, Energy-budget evaporation from Williams Lake, a closed

lake in north-central Minnesota: Water Resources Research, v. 28, no. 6, p. 1606-1617. 

Wiche, G.J., 1990, Evaporation computed by energy-budget and mass-transfer methods, and water balance estimates

for Devils Lake, North Dakota, 1986-88: North Dakota State Water Commission Water-Resource Investigation

11, 52 p. 

Winter, T.C., 1992, A physiographic and climatic framework for hydrologic studies of wetlands, in Robards, R.D., and

Bothwell, M.L., eds., Aquatic Ecosysems in Semi-Arid Regions, Implications for Resource Management:

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Environment Canada, The National Hydrology Research Institute

Symposium series no. 7, p. 127-148.

67
Winter, T.C., and Woo, Ming-Ko, 1990, Hydrology of lakes and wetlands, in Wolman, M.G., and Riggs, H.C., eds., 

Surface water hydrology: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America, 

v.O-l,p. 159-187.

Funding

Funding for this activity is derived from several sources. For the past few fiscal years, funding for lake 

hydrology studies was between $2 million to $3 million.

Keywords

Lakes, Reservoirs, Eutrophication, Acid precipitation, Wetlands.

68
Support Functions

Instrumentation Program

Modern technologies have greatly increased the WRD's capability to conduct hydrologic investigations. 

Computers, communications satellites, automated radios, and various other electronic devices some unique to the 

science of hydrology are used to sense, sample, record, and communicate large quantities of water-resources 

information. The WRD, through its Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; the 

Federal Interagency Sediment Project at Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Satellite Data Relay Project at Reston, 

Virginia, is working to improve hydrologic instruments and to support their use in the WRD data-collection activities.

Activities

 Works to expand the number of hydrologic parameters that can be automatically monitored at field stations.

 Identifies requirements, prepares specifications, and conducts competitive procurements to obtain hydrologic 

instrumentation.

 Designs and develops hydrologic data-collection and telemetry instruments that are not available from the 

private sector.

 Provides assistance to field offices in the use and application of instruments through consulting, training, 

documentation, and direct project assistance.

 Tests and evaluates commercially available instruments to insure compliance with WRD reliability, 

performance, and accuracy standards.

 Supplies, calibrates, and repairs instruments.

 Coordinates the planning and use of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) for the 

relay of hydrologic data to District Offices from automated data-collection stations.

 Develops computerized procedures for data collection, handling, and entry into the NWIS. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Developed valves to improve reliability of point-integrating suspended-sediment samplers. Special valves 

were designed for sediment-chemistry studies.

 Purchased and deployed new electronic data loggers with shaft encoders for measuring water levels.

 Established a new serial-digital-interface standard for connecting sensors to automated field data loggers.

 Distributed new software to convert output from a wide array of electronic data loggers to a format 

compatible with the NWIS.

 Upgraded equipment for measuring stream velocities (current meters) and obtaining water samples for rivers 

under ice cover.

 Initiated testing of WRD-developed liquid-solid-phase sampler for organics.

 Completed testing of a modified commercial sampler for organics.

 Completed testing of ground-water samplers for volatile organics.

 Procured pressure-type water-level sensors and planned laboratory acceptance tests.

 Procured ultrasonic velocity meters and downhole recorders for purchase or rent by WRD field offices.

 Upgraded equipment for sampling river-bed deposits.

 Specified and tested the first version of a portable field computer for supporting automated field instruments.

 Tested and refined the Dynatrol vibrating U-tube fluid-density gage for automated field measurement of 

suspended sediment.

 Assisted USGS Districts and other Federal agencies to establish GOES telemetry at more than 3,000 WRD 

hydrologic stations to increase access to real-time data.

 Began operational use of a dedicated real-time communications line to NWS computers for backup of WRDoperated GOES direct-readout ground stations.

69
 Expanded the number of WRD network of owned and operated direct-readout ground stations to seven with 

the addition of Texas and Puerto Rico.

 Developed jointly with industry and the Office of Surface Water a broad-band acoustic doppler meter for 

sensing shallow and deep water velocity profiles, depths, and boat movement; integrating these data; and 

computing discharge in streams, rivers, canals, and estuaries.

Recent Reports:

Beverage, J.P., and Williams, D.T., 1989, Comparison US P-61 and Delft sediment samplers: American Society of 

Civil Engineers Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Paper 24186, v. 115, no. 12, p. 1702-1706.

Ficken, J.H., and Tai, D.Y., 1988, Activities of the U.S. Geological Survey's Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility in 

support of hazardous- and toxic-substances programs, in Mallard, G.E., ed., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic 

Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, September 26-30, 

1988: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 88-4220, p. 625-631.

Glysson, G.D., and Skinner, J.V., 1990, Relation between the National Handbook of Recommended Methods for 

Water Data Acquisition and American Society for Testing and Materials Standards: American Society for 

Testing and Material Standards Symposium on Monitoring Water in the 1990's, June 11-14,10 p.

Holland, R.R., and Rapp, D.H., 1988, Results of qualification tests on water-level sensing instruments, 1986: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-193, 34 p.

Johnson, R.A., and Rorabaugh, J.I., 1988, Operating manual for the R200 downhole recorder with Husky Hunter 

retriever: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 88-455,111 p.

Latkovich, V.J., 1991, Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility annual report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 

92-132, 75 p.

Olive, T.E., 1989, Results of qualification tests on water-level sensing instruments, 1987: U.S. Geological Survey 

Open-File Report 89-397,37 p.

Shope, W.G., 1987, The U.S. Geological Survey's national real-time hydrologic information system using GOES 

satellite technology, in Proceedings of Applications of Remote Sensing Technology in Tidal Hydraulics, 

American Society of Civil Engineers Specialty Conference, Williamsburg, Virginia, August 1987: American 

Society of Civil Engineers, 9 p.

 1989, The U.S. Geological Survey's use of satellite technology for the collection of hydrologic data in United

States - China, Bilateral Symposia on Flood Forecasting, Portland, Oregon, March 1989, Proceedings: National

Weather Service, lip. 

___1992, The use of satellite data relay by the U.S. Geological Survey for near real-time hydrologic data collection:

Proceedings of the 1992 national conference of the U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, Phoenix,

Arizona, October 1992,12 p.

 in press, Hydrologic data acquisition and handling from field instrumentation to the National Water Information

Systems computers: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report. 

Skinner, J.V., 1989, Model B sediment-concentration gage Factors influencing its reading and a formula for

correcting its errors: St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers District, Report JJ, 34 p.

 1989, History of the Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project, in Symposium on sediment transport: 

American Society of Civil Engineers, 7 p.

Funding

_______Fiscal year (dollars in millions)_______

Source of funds_________________1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 

Federal Program__________________1.6_____1/7_____L6_____1/7_____1.7

Keywords

Instrumentation, Data relay, Sediment, Satellite telemetry, Hydrologic data collection, Field stations.

70
National Water-Quality Laboratory

To support water-resources investigations, the WRD operates the National Water-Quality Laboratory (NWQL) 

at Arvada (near Denver), Colorado. The NWQL is equipped with the most modern and sophisticated instrumentation 

that permits inorganic, organic, trace-metal, and heavy-metal analysis of precipitation, surface and ground water, 

bottom sediment, aquatic animal and plant tissue, and aquifer material. To provide research and development of 

improved analytical and field sampling methods, a Methods Research and Development Program was established as 

a part of the NWQL in fiscal year 1987.

Activities

 Provides physical, chemical, and biological analyses in support of the WRD water-resources investigations.

 Provides continuous quality assurance for all analyses through development of statistical quality-control 

processes.

 Provides rapid access through computers to water-quality data.

 Develops techniques for sampling of organics in surface and ground water.

 Develops protocol for quality control of field and laboratory activities.

 Develops more efficient inorganic and organic analytical techniques for analyses of water and sediment.

 Develops plans for an improved, more complete laboratory-management computer system.

 Plans for increased NWQL capabilities to meet analytical requirements of the NAWQA program.

 Provides field assistance to districts for investigating extent of soil contamination by synthetic organic 

compounds.

 Provides instructors for classes at the USGS National Training Center. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Performed 832,000 water-quality analyses on 41,600 samples in fiscal year 1989.

 Improved efficiency through data-transfer automation of 90 percent of inorganic program instrumentation.

 Implemented more efficient ion-chromatographic techniques for determination of sulfate, chloride, and 

fluoride anions.

 Developed a field bank and spike program for improved quality assurance of field sampling, preservation, 

and shipping processes, as well as interlaboratory bias assessment.

 Developed computer-generated control-chart systems for routine quality monitoring of inorganic analyses.

 Published revised manuals for organic and inorganic analytical methods.

 Published a manual for quality-control procedures and policies.

 Initiated studies to determine efficiency of recovery of triazine, carbamate, and organophosphorus 

compounds from water.

 Installed new chromatograph-mass spectometry equipment for determination of nitrogen-containing 

herbicides.

 Implemented immunoassay-screening techniques for nitrogen-containing herbicides.

 Provided an estimted $11.0 million in analytical services to client Districts in 1991. This amount is up from 

$8.3 million in 1990. The laboratory is developing several new analytical methods for the NAWQA program.

Recent Reports:

Patton, C.J., and Truitt, E.P., in press, Methods of analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality 

Laboratory Determination of total phosphorus by a Kjeldahl digestion method and an automated colorimetric 

finish that includes dialysis: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 92-146.

Sandstrom, M.W., Wydoski, D.S., Schroeder, M.P., Zamboni, J.L., and Foreman, W.T., 1992, Methods of analysis by 

the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Laboratory Determination of organonitrogen herbicides 

in water by solid-phase extraction and capillary-column gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with selectedion monitoring: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 91-519, 26 p.

71
Funding

Fiscal year (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988____1989____1990____1991____1992

USGS offices or other Federal 

agencies requesting 

analytical work_________________5.8_____7.9_____7.6_____13.0_____15.0

Keywords

Laboratory, Water quality, Instrumentation, Analytical methods, Quality control.

72
National Training Center

The USGS National Training Center was established in 1977 in Lakewood, Colorado, to provide specialized 

training in water resources sciences for USGS personnel and others connected with USGS activities. The Center also 

offers training in hydrologic science and techniques through special courses for international hydrologists and college 

professors.

Many of the training courses offered at the facility provide for technology transfer from the research program to 

operations program of the USGS. As a result of the many and diverse technical skills taught at the National Training 

Center, the water resources scientists in the USGS are among the foremost in the world.

Activities

 Conducts formal training in all areas of hydrology for USGS personnel, representatives from cooperating 

agencies, and selected international and university participants. Provides hydrologic courses on groundwater, surface-water, and water quality ranging from basic concepts to advanced three-dimensional modeling 

approaches.

 Serves as a site for seminars, conferences, and meetings of large groups.

 Administers specialized correspondence courses for USGS personnel in selected hydrologic topics. 

Recent Accomplishments

 Provided 80 hydrologic training courses to 1,426 personnel in fiscal year 1992, including 702 hydrologists, 

299 hydrologic technicians, and 270 students from cooperating agencies and organizations. In addition, 22 

international hydrologists and 25 college professors received hydrologic training in special courses.

Funding

Fiscal vear (dollars in millions)

Source of funds_________________1988____1989____1990____1991____1992

USGS funds allocated

to the Center1__________________0.6_____0.6____0.61____0.68____0.68

funding allocation for operation and maintenance of the Center does not include the costs of the actual courses. 

Keywords

Training, Water-resources methods, Technical skills, Cooperative activities, Seminars, Conferences, 

Correspondence courses, Videotapes, Meetings.

73
DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION

The USGS is the Nation's lead agency in the collection of water data and the dissemination of information on 

water resources. The WRD makes water data and information readily and equally available to water managers, 

policymakers, the scientific community, and the public.

The WRD has published the results of its studies for more than 100 years. The information is multipurpose and, 

after initial use, becomes a basis for future resource evaluation and water-management decisions. The WRD releases 

information through several publication series and through computerized systems, accessible through the NWIS.

A description of the publications series, the types of information presented, examples of the series, and the 

number of reports released during 1981-92 are shown below.

 Water-Supply Paper Significant interpretive results of hydrologic investigations that are considered to be 

of broad interest.

 Professional Paper Comprehensive or topical reports on any earth science subject of interest to 

multidiscipline scientific audiences.

 Bulletin Significant interpretive results of earth science investigations of broad interest, including computer 

applications.

 Circular Summaries of topical investigations or programs that are of immediate and broad public interest.

 Map series, such as Hydrologic Investigations Atlas Significant results of hydrologic investigations 

presented in map format.

 Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations Report Descriptions of methods and techniques used in 

collecting, analyzing, and processing hydrologic data for technically oriented audiences.

 Geological Survey Yearbook Selected significant activities of the WRD that are summarized each year for 

general audiences.

 Water-Resources Investigations Report Comprehensive or topical interpretive reports and maps, mainly of 

local or short-term interest, for interdisciplinary audiences.

 Open-File Report Compilations of data and preliminary interpretive reports or maps of limited interest or 

reports or maps awaiting formal publication that require interim release.

 Water-Data Report Water-year data on streamflow, ground-water levels, and quality of surface and ground 

water for each State, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Trust Territories; published annually.

 National Water Conditions Monthly news release that summarizes the national water situation for waterresources-oriented audiences.

With the exception of the National Water Conditions, which is a form of news release, all the above publication 

series are listed in two catalogs-Publications of the Geological Survey, 1879-1961 , and Publications of the Geological 

Survey, 1962-70~and in yearly supplements to these catalogs for 1971 through 1992.

As new publications are released, each is announced in the monthly list, New Publications of the Geological 

Survey. This listing is available upon request to the public.

Many topical reports of scientific interest are published in technical and scientific journals to make the 

information readily available to those in related fields of study. Other reports of local interest are published by 

cooperating State agencies and made available within that State. These types of publications are announced in the 

monthly list described previously.

In addition to the above described traditional book and map reports, the WRD also releases information in film, 

video, slide-cassette, and electronic or machine-readable formats. For example, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File 

Report 84-606 is a video presentation of mud and debris flows. Abstracts of reports from 1967 to date are available 

on compact disk from the Water-Resources Scientific Information Center.

74
Number of reports approved for release or publication by the WRD

Number of aooroved reoorts bv calendar vear

Type of report

Water Supply Paper

Professional Paper

Bulletin

Circular

Techniques of Water

Resources Investigations

Map Series

Water-Resources

Investigations Reports

Open-File

(book and map) Reports

Water Data Reports

Administrative releases

Outside publications

(includes State

publications, journal

articles, abstracts,

and other related items)

Flood-prone area

mapping project: Maps2

Total (exclusive of

flood-prone

maps and pamphlets)

1981

28

13

0

12

3

13

200

265

78

2

495

129

1,109

1982

13

12

1

3

3

13

222

275

76

10

599

173

1,227

1983

30

16

1

10

3

20

283

192

74

4

582

1,215

1984

22

13

3

1

2

18

398

220

64

5

702

1,448

1985

22

14

1

5

1

21

344

208

77

4

858

1,555

1986

22

12

2

4

2

20

270

158

64

70

835

1,459

1987

37

16

1

6

2

8

281

130

74

50

923

1,528

1988

22

10

4

4

5

9

244

115

83

10

1,068

1,574

!Data through September 1992.

2The flood-prone area mapping project was completed in 1982.

en
INDEX OF KEYWORDS

Abu Dhabi 32,33

Access 27

Acid precipitation 1,10, 11,17,18,45,46,67, 68

Acidic 17,40,45,46, 67

Adjudications 26

Africa 32,33

Agricultural chemicals 16, 38, 56

Agriculture 56,57

Ambient water quality 25

Analytical methods 71, 72

Aquifer hydrology 16

Aquifers 11, 29,30,31, 38, 43,44

Atmospheric deposition 4, 45, 54, 55

B

Bays 61 

Bedload 57,58 

Bench-Mark Network 25, 56 

Biota 38, 56, 63

CERCLA 31

Central America 32, 33

Chemistry 17,18, 24, 25, 40,45,50, 54, 59, 67,69

Clearinghouse 27

Climate 32,34, 35, 59, 62,65,66

Cold regions hydrology 66

Colorado River 16, 26, 29, 43, 57, 58,62

Columbia River 26

Compacts 26,36

Computer models 43,44

Computer systems 19, 71, 74

Conditions 2,4,11, 16, 20,22, 24, 25,34,35, 41,49,50, 59,60,64, 74

Conferences 13,73

Consumption 21

Contamination 11,16,17, 30, 31, 36, 38, 50, 56,59,63, 67,71

Cooperative activities 12, 20, 21, 28,37,73

Coordination 1, 2,3, 4,9,10, 13,15,16,31, 32

Correspondence courses 73

Cost-sharing 11,12

Court decrees 26

77
D

Data collection 4,9,10,11,13,15,19,22,23,24,30,56,58,63,65,69

Data coordination 2,3,4,13,15

Data relay 4,6,69,70

Data systems 19,20,21

Debris flow 47,48,57,58,74

Demand 11,20,21

Department of Energy 16,34,35,37

Discharge 16,22,23,43,47,50,52,57,70

Dissemination 4,10,13,27,74

Distributed information system 4,19

Droughts 11,49

E

Ecology 16,17,18

Environmental Protection Agency 16,31,43,55,67

Erosion 1,10,47,58

Estuaries 1,10,16,17,18,38,59,60,61

Eutrophication 67,68

Far East 32,33

Federal agencies 2,9,13,16,20,22,36,57,69

Federal Emergency Management Agency 52,53,54,55

Federal-State Cooperative Program 1,4,9,10,11,20,22,29,30,31,45,53,56,64

Field stations 69,70

Floods 10,11,47,49,52,53,55

G

General circultation models 60,65,66

Geochemistry 30,34,43,44,45

Geomorphology 17,18

Glacier variations 62

Glaciers 17,18,47,62

Global change 1,11,61,65,66

Global sea-ice variation 62

Ground water 2,4,10,11,12,13,16,17,18,19,20,22,23,25,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,40,41,43,43,

45,50, 51,56,63,64,67,69,71,73,74 

Ground-water data base 29 

Ground-water management 29,43,44 

Ground-water quality 2,30,38,42,43,44,45,56 

Ground-water quantity 2,22,29,44 

Ground-Water Site Inventory 29 

Ground-water supplies 43,44,56

H

Hazardous substances 17,18,40 

Hazardous waste 16,31,56 

Hazards 2,32,48,52,53

78
Hydrologic data collection 70 

Hydrologic unit codes 15

Ice sheet dynamics 62

Indexing 15

India 32,33

Indian 1,11,31, 52, 64

Information retrieval 15,19

Information system 27

Information transfer 15,32

Instrumentation 1, 4,6,11,34, 69,70,71

Insurance 52,53

Interagency agreement 31,36

Interagency coordination 15

International activities 33

Irrigation drainage 1,10,63

Issues 4,11,22,31,38,41,49 J

Japan 32,33 K

Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge 63

Laboratory 1,6,11,17,30,36,38,45, 69,71,72

Lahars 47,48

Lake hydrology 1,11,67,68

Lakes 11,17,18, 23,38,45,47,67,68

Land management 56

Land use 38, 49, 59

Local governments 2,9,10,11,15,22,27,50 M

Macrophytes 50, 51, 59,61

Mass transport 24

Materials damage 46

Meetings 73

Memorandum of Understanding 16,31

Middle East 32,33

Mudflows 2, 47,48, 57,74 N

NASQAN 24,56

NAWDEX 27

NWIS 4,19,69, 74

National Research Program 1,4,6,10,17,18

79
National Weather Service 52, 53,69

Nevada 16,29,34,36,65,67

Nevada test site 35

Nonpoint sources 1,10,31,38,56

Norway 32,33

Nuclear waste disposal 35,37

Nutrient cycling 50,51

O

Observation wells 29

Organizations 1,6,11,13,15,32,45,73

Paleohydrology 52,66

Peak flow 54,55

People's Republic of China 32,33

Pesticides 11,38,41,49,56,60,63

Policy 4, 31,32,34,36,49, 74

Pollution 31,40,56

Pollution loads 56

Precipitation 2,34,36,45,46, 71

Q

Quality control 71,72

RASA 29,30,43,44

RCRA 31

Radioactive waste 10,34,35,36,37

Regional assessment 30,42

Regional ground-water studies 43,44

Research Grants 1,10,17,28

Reservoirs 12, 20,22, 23, 29,57,58, 67,68

Rio Grande 26

Runoff 41, 53,54,55,56,59,60,62,64,65

SARA 31

Satellite telemetry 70

Sea ice 17,18,62

Sediment 11,16,17,24,38,47,50,52,55,56,57,58,59,63,69,70,71

Sediment transport 17,47,52,53,54,57

Selenium 50,63

Seminars 73

Snow cover variations 62

Snowmelt 25,62

Soil Conservation Service 54,55

Sounds 59,60,61

South America 32,33

80
Special water districts 12

Stage 22,23,52,53

State Water Resources Research Institutes 1,2,9,10,17,28

States 2,6,12,13,16,21,25,26,31,36,50,52,53,56,57,62,63

Stations 19,22,23,25,26, 52, 53,56,57,58,69,70

Statistical summary 49,53

Stormwater 54,55

Stream acidity 25

Stream-channel scour 57,58

Stream channels 52,53

Streamflow 16,19,22,24,25,26,43,52,53,60,74

Superfund 4,16,31,56

Supply and demand 21,49

Surface water 2,4,16,18,19,20,22,23,24,29,36,38,40,41,56,67

Surface-water quality 25,42,45, 74

Technical assistance 2,16,31,32,36

Technical skills 31, 73

Toxic substances 1,10,38,40,56,59

Trace elements 30,59,63

Training 4,6,21,27,32,33,45,69, 73

Trends 4, 20, 21,22,24,25,41,49,56,59

Tribal 64

U

U.S.S.R. 32,33

United States 24, 25,29,32,42,45,50,54,67

Urban hydrology 1,10,11,54,55

Urban runoff 54,56,59

Videotapes 41,45,73,74 

Visiting scientists 32,33 

Volcanic hazards 1,10,47,48 

Volcanoes 2,47,48,57,58

W

Water 49

Water quality 4,16, 24,25,30,38,40,41,43,45,46,49,50,54,56,59,60,63,72

Water resources 1,2,11,20,26,28,32,38,43,47,49,64,65,67,74

Water Resources Research Act 2,4,9,28

Water rights 1,10,11,43,64

Water supply 2,11,16,20,21,43,44,59,64,67

Water use 13,15,19,20,21,26,29,41,49

Waterfowl 50,51,59,67

Water-quality trends 24,25,41,49

Water-resources assessment 49

Water-resources information 15,19,69

81
Water-resources methods 73 

WATSTORE 4,19 

Wells 20,22,23,25, 43, 56 

Wetlands 1,10,50, 51, 68

Yellowstone River 26 

Yucca Mountain 16,34, 35

i»2 *USGPO: 1993-750-232/80019