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At least 883 records · Page 49Linked to original sources
USGS1979

Techniques for estimating magnitude and frequency of floods on rural unregulated streams in New York State excluding Long Island

Techniques are presented for estimating the magnitude and frequency of floods at ungaged sites on unregulated rural streams in New York, excluding Long Island. The discharge-frequency data and basin characteristics of 220 stream-gaging stations in New York and adjacent States were used in developing multiple linear regression equations for floods ranging in recurrence interval from 2 to 100 years. Separate equations were developed for northern, southeastern, and western New York. Standard errors of estimate of the 100-year flood range from 32.9 percent in the southeastern region to 42.8 percent in the western region. Drainage area is the independent variable needed in all equations; other variables needed, depending on region, are main-channel slope, storage index, and mean annual precipitation. A method is given for obtaining improved discharge-frequency relationships at gaged sites by weighting log-Pearson type III and regression estimates according to their variances. Basin characteristics, log-Pearson type III statistics, and regression and weighted estimates of the frequency-discharge relationship, are tabulated for the gaging stations used in the regression analyses. (Kosco-USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1991

Use of Landsat imagery to estimate ground-water pumpage for irrigation on the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington, 1985

A method for estimating ground-water pumpage for irrigation was developed for the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington. The method combines water-application rates estimated from pumpage data with acreage of irrigated crops that was mapped by using Landsat imagery. The study area consisted of Grant, Lincoln, Adams, and Franklin Counties, an area of approximately 8,900 square miles, and accounts for approximately three-fourths of the ground-water pumpage in the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington. Data from two passes of Landsat's multispectral scanner were analyzed by using a spectral band ratioing procedure to map irrigated crops for the study area. Data from one pass of Landsat's thematic mapper, covering approximately two-thirds of the study area, also were analyzed for determining irrigated crops in the area resulting in a 6-percent improvement in accuracy over the multispectral scanner analysis. A total of 576 annual water-application rates associated with particular crops, for the 1982 through 1985 seasons, were calculated. A regression equation was developed for estimating annual water-application rates as a function of crop type, annual precipitation, irrigation system type, and available water capacity of the soil. Crops were grouped into three water-use categories: (1) small grains, primarily wheat and barley; (2) high water-use crops consisting of corn, alfalfa, and potatoes; and (3) miscellaneous vegetable and row crops. Annual water-application rates, expressed as a depth of water, then were multiplied by irrigated area determined by Landsat to estimate a volume of water pumped for irrigation for 1985-620,000 acre-feet. An assessment of accuracy for estimating pumpage for 28 of the sites showed that total predicted pumpage was within 4 percent of the total observed pumpage.

Washington↗
USGS2009

Preliminary Assessment of the Potential for Inducing Stormwater Infiltration in Cook County, Illinois

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago is responsible for all of the regional stormwater management for Cook County in northeastern Illinois, one of the largest urban areas in the United States. Continuing urban expansion in this area has increased stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows and likely decreased groundwater recharge. Passive induced-infiltration structures may help reduce stormflow problems and increase infiltration. These structures must be properly located to function effectively. Using hydrogeologic and land cover and use characteristics, maps of Cook County were developed indicating areas having the most potential for inducing stormwater infiltration. This assessment is preliminary because the scale of the mapping only gives a general indication of potential infiltration areas and is not suitable for site-specific investigations. In Cook County, 76,080 of 612,636 acres (12.4 percent) were determined to have the greatest potential for passive induced-infiltration-structure locations. Of these 76,080 acres, 8,650 are within the Lake Michigan surface watershed, with the remaining 67,430 acres within the Illinois River surface watershed. If all the annual rainfall on the 8,650 acres infiltrated and flowed to Lake Michigan, the resulting groundwater flux would be about 33 cubic feet per second (ft3/s).

Open-File Report↗
USGS1996

Determination of hydraulic characteristics and yield of aquifers underlying Vekol Valley, Arizona, using several classical and current methods

Investigations were conducted in Arizona during the early 1980's to obtain hydrologic data in order to deliver 30,000 acre-feet of water annually to the Ak-Chin Indian Reservation. A recharge experiment produced infiltration rates for an ephemeral stream channel that ranged from 0.64 to 1.09 cubic feet per second per 1,000 feet of channel length. Water moved vertically through the 330-foot-thick unsaturated zone to the water table in less than 5 days.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS2014

Nutrient budgets, marsh inundation under sea-level rise scenarios, and sediment chronologies for the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary at Acadia National Park

Eutrophication in the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary on Mount Desert Island, Maine, is an ongoing problem manifested by recurring annual blooms of green macroalgae species, principally Enteromorpha prolifera and Enteromorpha flexuosa, blooms that appear in the spring and summer. These blooms are unsightly and impair the otherwise natural beauty of this estuarine ecosystem. The macroalgae also threaten the integrity of the estuary and its inherent functions. The U.S. Geological Survey and Acadia National Park have collaborated for several years to better understand the factors related to this eutrophication problem with support from the U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service Water Quality Assessment and Monitoring Program. The current study involved the collection of hydrologic and water-quality data necessary to investigate the relative contribution of nutrients from oceanic and terrestrial sources during summer 2011 and summer 2012. This report provides data on nutrient budgets for this estuary, sedimentation chronologies for the estuary and fringing marsh, and estuary bathymetry. The report also includes data, based on aerial photographs, on historical changes from 1944 to 2010 in estuary surface area and data, based on surface-elevation details, on changes in marsh area that may accompany sea-level rise. The LOADEST regression model was used to calculate nutrient loads into and out of the estuary during summer 2011 and summer 2012. During these summers, tidal inputs of ammonium to the estuary were more than seven times greater than the combined inputs in watershed runoff and precipitation. In 2011 tidal inputs of nitrate were about four times greater than watershed plus precipitation inputs, and in 2012 tidal inputs were only slightly larger than watershed plus precipitation inputs. In 2011, tidal inputs of total organic nitrogen were larger than watershed input by a factor of 1.6. By contrast, in 2012 inputs of total organic nitrogen in watershed runoff were much larger than tidal inputs, by a factor of 3.6. During the 2011 and 2012 summers, tidal inputs of total dissolved phosphorus to the estuary were more than seven times greater than inputs in watershed runoff. It is evident that during the summer tidal inputs of inorganic nitrogen and total dissolved phosphorus to the estuary exceed inputs from watershed runoff and precipitation. Projected sea-level rise associated with ongoing climate warming will affect the area of land within the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary watershed that is inundated during conditions of mean higher high water and during mean lower low water and hence will affect the vegetation and marsh area. Given 100-centimeter sea-level rise, the inundated area would increase from 25.7 hectares at the current condition to 77.5 hectares at mean higher high water and from 21.6 hectares to 26.7 hectares at mean lower low water. Given 50-centimeter sea-level rise, flooding of the entire marsh surface, which currently occurs only under the highest spring tides, would occur on average every other day. Radioisotope analysis of sediment cores from the estuary indicates that the sediment accumulation rate increased markedly from 1930 to 1980 and was relatively constant (0.4 to 0.5 centimeter per year) from 1980 to 2009. Similarly, from 1980 to 2009 there was a consistently high mass accumulation rate of 0.09 to 0.11 grams per square centimeter per year. The sediment accretion rates determined for the five cores collected from the marsh surface (east and west sides of the estuary) in 2011 show generally higher rates of 0.20 to 0.29 centimeter per year for the period between 1980 to 2011 than for the period before 1980, when sediment accretion rates were 0.06 to 0.25 centimeter per year. The data in this report provide resource managers at Acadia National Park with a baseline that can be used to evaluate future conditions within the estuary. Climate change, sea-level rise, and land-use change within the estuary’s watershed may influence nutrient dynamics, sedimentation, and eutrophication, and these potential effects can be studied in relation to the baseline data provided in this report. The Route 102 Bridge in Tremont, Maine is constructed over a sill that controls the amount of tidal flushing by restricting the duration of the flood tide, and structural changes to the bridge could alter tidal nutrient inputs and residence times for watershed and ocean-derived nutrients in the estuary. Ongoing sea-level rise is likely increasing ocean-derived nutrients and their residence time in the estuary on the one hand and decreasing the residence time of watershed-derived nutrients on the other.

Maine↗
USGS1981

Quality of surface water at selected sites in the Suwannee River basin, Florida, April 1978 to December 1979

This report presents the results of analyses of water-quality samples collected from 13 surface-water sites in the Suwannee River basin in Florida from April 1978 to December 1979. The U.S. Geological Survey, in a cooperative investigative program with the Suwannee River Authority, has sampled a network of nine water-quality monitoring stations since 1968 to detect short- and long-term changes in surface-water quality in the Suwannee River. Two additional stations, Camp Branch near Genoa and Rocky Creek near Houston, were established in October 1978. In addition to this 11-station network, Deep Creek and Robinson Creek near Suwannee Valley, which originate in the Osceola National Forest and have been supported since April 1976 through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, have been included in this report. The analyses of samples collected routinely included: nutrients, total organic carbon, and 5-day biological oxygen demand, bimonthly; trace metals, annually. The array of constituents sampled was expanded in October 1978 at three of the original nine stations to provide quality-of-water information for streams draining an industrial area: Rocky Creek near Belmont, Hunter Creek near Belmont, and Swift Creek at Facil. Data collected at these three sites now include: major chemical constituents, six times per year; radium-226, two times per year; and trace metals, one time per year. These constituents are determined in addition to nutrients, total organic carbon, and biological oxygen demand which continue to be collected six times per year. All results of analyses of the water-quality samples collected from April 1978 to December 1979 remained within, or near, previously measured ranges and water-quality fluctuations were similar to those noted from data collected since 1970.

Florida↗
USGS2017

Adaptive harvest management for the Svalbard population of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus)

This document describes progress to date on the development of an adaptive harvest-management strategy for maintaining the Svalbard population of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) near their target level (60,000) by providing for sustainable harvests in Norway and Denmark. Specifically, this report provides an assessment of the most recent monitoring information and its implications for the harvest management strategy. The development of an adaptive harvest management (AHM) strategy requires specification of four elements: (a) a set of alternative population models, which bound the uncertainty about effects of harvest and other relevant environmental factors; (b) a set of probabilities (or weights) describing the relative credibility of the alternative models, which are updated each year based on a comparison of model predictions and monitoring information; (c) a set of alternative harvest quotas from which to choose; and (d) a management objective function, by which alternative harvest strategies can be evaluated and a mathematically optimal strategy identified. By combining varying hypotheses about survival and reproduction, a suite of nine models were developed. Those models represent a wide range of possibilities concerning the extent to which demographic rates are density dependent, and the extent to which spring temperatures influence survival and reproduction. Five of the models incorporate density-dependent mechanisms that would maintain the population near a carrying capacity (i.e., in the absence of harvest) of 65,000 – 129,000 depending on the specific model. The remaining four models are density independent and predict an exponentially growing population even with moderate levels of harvest. The most current set of monitoring information was used to update model weights for the period 1991 – 2016. Current model weights suggest little evidence for density-dependent survival and reproduction. These results suggest that the pink-footed goose population may have recently experienced a release from density-dependent mechanisms, corresponding to the period of most rapid growth in population size. There is equivocal evidence for the effect of May temperature days in Svalbard (number of days with temperatures above freezing) on survival and reproduction. Beginning with the 2016 hunting season, harvest quotas are chosen on an annual basis rather than every three years because of the potential to better meet management objectives. The optimal harvest strategy, however, remains “knife-edged,” meaning that small changes in resource status can precipitate large changes in the annual harvest quota. This potential outcome is likely to be of concern to hunters, and we are investigating ways in which large swings in harvest quotas might be dampened. Based on updated model probabilities, the recent observations of record-high population size (88,000), the aboveaverage proportion of the population comprised of one-year-old birds (0.196), and temperature days in Svalbard (4), the suggested harvest quota for the 2017 hunting season is 36,000. Last year the quota was 25,000, yet a harvest of only 16,143 was realized. We are increasingly concerned that with the return of average spring temperatures in Svalbard, the population will continue to grow beyond managers’ ability to control it, as is the case with many goose populations in Europe and North America.

EGMP Technical Report↗
USGS2024

Co-mast: Harmonized seed production data for woody plants across US long-term research sites

Plants display a range of temporal patterns of inter-annual reproduction, from relatively constant seed production to “mast seeding,” the synchronized and highly variable interannual seed production of plants within a population. Previous efforts have compiled global records of seed production in long-lived plants to gain insight into seed production, forest and animal population dynamics, and the effects of global change on masting. Existing datasets focus on seed production dynamics at the population scale but are limited in their ability to examine community-level mast seeding dynamics across different plant species at the continental scale. We harmonized decades of plant reproduction data for 141 woody plant species across nine Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) or long-term ecological monitoring sites from a wide range of habitats across the United States. Plant reproduction data are reported annually between 1957 and 2021 and based on either seed traps or seed and/or cone counts on individual trees. A wide range of woody plant species including trees, shrubs, and lianas are represented within sites allowing for direct community-level comparisons among species. We share code for filtering of data that enables the comparison of plot and individual tree data across sites. For each species, we compiled relevant life history attributes (e.g., seed mass, dispersal syndrome, seed longevity, sexual system) that may serve as important predictors of mast seeding in future analyses. To aid in phylogenetically informed analyses, we also share a phylogeny and phylogenetic distance matrix for all species in the dataset. These data can be used to investigate continent-scale ecological properties of seed production, including individual and population variability, synchrony within and across species, and how these properties of seed production vary in relation to plant species traits and environmental conditions. In addition, these data can be used to assess how annual variability in seed production is associated with climate conditions and how that varies across populations, species, and regions. The dataset is released under a CC0 1.0 Universal public domain license.

Ecology↗
USGS2008

Elements in Mud and Snow in the Vicinity of the DeLong Mountain Regional Transportation System Road, Red Dog Mine, and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Alaska, 2005-06

A small number of mud, road bed soil, and snow samples were collected in 2005 and 2006 to assess metal concentrations and loadings to areas adjacent to the DeLong Mountain Regional Transportation System (DMTS) road in northwest Alaska. The DMTS road is used by large trucks to transport lead and zinc concentrates from Red Dog Mine to the shipping facility at Red Dog Port; it traverses 32 kilometers of land in Cape Krusenstern National Monument (CAKR). Mud collected in the summer of 2005 from wheel-wells of two passenger vehicles used for transport between Red Dog Mine and the port facility were enriched in cadmium, lead, and zinc by factors of about 200 to 800 as compared with mud collected from a vehicle stationed in Kotzebue, Alaska, whereas DMTS road bed soil samples were enriched by factors of 6 to 12. Thus, as of 2005, dispersal of mine ore wastes or concentrates by vehicles appeared to remain a potential source of metals along the DMTS road. Compared to snow samples obtained near a gravel road located near Kotzebue, Alaska, metal loadings estimated from individual snow samples collected in CAKR in April 2006 near three creeks, 13 to 50 meters from the road, were greater by factors of 13 to 316 for cadmium, 28 to 589 for lead, and 8 to 195 for zinc. When averaged for all three creek locations, mean loadings of cadmium, lead, and zinc calculated from snow samples collected at a nominal distance of 15 meters to the north of the road were 0.63, 34, and 89 milligrams of metal per square meter, respectively. Variability of particulate and metal loadings between individual samples and the three creek locations probably was affected by localized meteorological conditions and micro-topography on the snow drift and scour patterns, but road orientation on attainable truck speeds also might have been a factor. Results indicated that the ?port effect?, previously attributed to fugitive metal-enriched dusts stemming from concentrate transfer operations at the port facility, was not necessarily an important factor affecting spatial differences of metals deposition in snow along the road in CAKR during winter 2005?06. The average metal content of particulates in 2005?06 snow samples was slightly less than that of snow samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in CAKR at three near-road locations in April 2003. Mean metals concentrations in 2006 snow particulates were about three times greater than in the road bed soils that were sampled in 2005; however, the fraction of annual metals loadings occurring in winter as compared to the remainder of the year was not readily determined by these data. Although procedures have been implemented in recent years to reduce the quantities of metal-enriched fugitive dusts, particulates dispersed near the road during the winter of 2005?06 were enriched in metals and these particulates contributed considerable metal loadings to the nearby terrain.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2008

Effects of Potential Future Warming on Runoff in the Yakima River Basin, Washington

The Bureau of Reclamation has implemented a long-term planning study of potential water-storage alternatives in the Yakima River Basin, which includes planning for climate change effects on available water resources in the basin. Previously constructed watershed models for the Yakima River Basin were used to simulate changes in unregulated streamflow under two warmer climate scenarios, one representing a 1 degree C increase in the annual air temperature over current conditions (plus one scenario) and one representing a 2 degree C increase in the annual air temperature over current conditions (plus two scenario). Simulations were done for water years 1981 through 2005 and the results were compared to simulated unregulated runoff for the same period using recorded daily precipitation, and minimum and maximum air temperatures (base conditions). Precipitation was not altered for the two warmer climate change scenarios. Simulated annual runoff for the plus one and plus two scenarios decreased modestly from the base conditions, but the seasonal distribution and the general pattern of runoff proved to be highly sensitive to temperature changes throughout the basin. Seasonally increased runoff was simulated during the late autumn and winter months for both the plus one and plus two scenarios compared to base conditions. Comparisons at six principal regulatory locations in the basin showed that the maximum percentage increases in runoff over the base conditions during December to March varied from 24 to 48 percent for the plus one scenario and 59 to 94 percent for the plus two scenario. During late spring and summer months, significantly decreased runoff was simulated at these sites for both scenarios compared to base conditions. Simulated maximum decreases in runoff occurred during June and July, and the changes ranged from -22 to -51 percent for the plus one scenario and -44 to -76 percent for the plus two scenario. Differences in total annual runoff at these sites ranged from -1.4 to -3.9 percent for the plus one scenario and from -2.5 to -8.2 percent for the plus two scenario. The percent change of the monthly mean runoff for both scenarios from the base conditions at many points in the basin will be used in a water-management model developed by the Bureau of Reclamation to assess various storage alternatives.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2009

Regional regression equations for estimation of natural streamflow statistics in Colorado

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Colorado Department of Transportation, developed regional regression equations for estimation of various streamflow statistics that are representative of natural streamflow conditions at ungaged sites in Colorado. The equations define the statistical relations between streamflow statistics (response variables) and basin and climatic characteristics (predictor variables). The equations were developed using generalized least-squares and weighted least-squares multilinear regression reliant on logarithmic variable transformation. Streamflow statistics were derived from at least 10 years of streamflow data through about 2007 from selected USGS streamflow-gaging stations in the study area that are representative of natural-flow conditions. Basin and climatic characteristics used for equation development are drainage area, mean watershed elevation, mean watershed slope, percentage of drainage area above 7,500 feet of elevation, mean annual precipitation, and 6-hour, 100-year precipitation. For each of five hydrologic regions in Colorado, peak-streamflow equations that are based on peak-streamflow data from selected stations are presented for the 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-year instantaneous-peak streamflows. For four of the five hydrologic regions, equations based on daily-mean streamflow data from selected stations are presented for 7-day minimum 2-, 10-, and 50-year streamflows and for 7-day maximum 2-, 10-, and 50-year streamflows. Other equations presented for the same four hydrologic regions include those for estimation of annual- and monthly-mean streamflow and streamflow-duration statistics for exceedances of 10, 25, 50, 75, and 90 percent. All equations are reported along with salient diagnostic statistics, ranges of basin and climatic characteristics on which each equation is based, and commentary of potential bias, which is not otherwise removed by log-transformation of the variables of the equations from interpretation of residual plots. The predictor-variable ranges can be used to assess equation applicability for ungaged sites in Colorado.

Colorado↗
USGS2021

Sediment budget for watersheds of West Maui, Hawaii

Episodic runoff brings suspended sediment to West Maui’s nearshore waters, turning them from blue to brown. This pollution degrades the ecological, cultural, and recreational value of these iconic nearshore waters. We used mapping, monitoring, and modeling to identify and quantify the watershed sources for fine sediment that pollutes the nearshore each year. These results focus strategies to reduce pollution on the outstanding sources for this sediment. Terrestrial runoff causing coastal plumes now occurs when two or more hours of rain falls at rates greater than 10–20 millimeter (mm) per hour in source watersheds. Analysis of recent and historical rainfall indicates that West Maui communities can expect rainfalls to bring coastal plumes at least 3–5 times per year. Former agricultural fields and some unimproved roads are possible sources for the fine sediment of these plumes. We found, however, that these obvious sources do not produce plumes during small annual storms, because they drain water at rates that far exceed most annual rainfalls and because there is no evidence for runoff from rains that caused recent plumes. Streambanks now eroding into historic fill terraces of sands, silts, and clays are a more plausible source. These terraces are found only downstream of historical agricultural fields and are composed of silt and fine sand. Surveys show that the fill terraces occupy ~40 percent of streambank length, making them extensive. During 2015–2016, these deposits eroded at median rates of 5–24 mm per year. Summed over West Maui’s watersheds, these rates imply sediment loads carried to the coast that can be ten times or more than modeled pre-human values. A sediment budget indicates that bank erosion of fill terraces from a few watersheds likely dominates the current annual fine-sediment load to the nearshore, with Kahana Stream watershed producing the largest annual input of 285 metric tons, the equivalent of 29 dump-truck loads every year. Although past large storms have contributed to sediment loading, annual plume generation is now caused by smaller rainfalls eroding these near-stream terrace deposits, a legacy of historic agriculture. Treatments of former agricultural fields, roads, and reserve forests are consequently not likely to measurably effect sediment pollution from smaller, more frequent storms. Increased runoff from residential and commercial development of West Maui has the potential to exacerbate sediment plumes from such storms.

Hawaii↗
USGS1982

Base flow of streams on Long Island, New York

On Long Island, base flow under nonurbanized conditions constitutes 90 to 95% of total stream discharge. Base-flow data from 19 continuously gaged streams are presented as monthly mean and annual mean discharge for water years 1960-75, which includes the 1962-66 drought. The data were derived by hydrograph-separation procedures that isolate mean daily base flow from mean daily discharge. A close empirical relationship between annual mean base flow and stream discharge at the 55-% duration point facilities estimation of average base flow and can be used in place of the more time-consuming hydrograph-separation technique. These data are needed in calibration of computer models that will be used to predict the effects of hydrologic stresses, such as sewering, on the Long Island ground-water system. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1985

Runoff and chemical loading in small watersheds in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota

Flow, rainfall, and water-quality data were collected during 1980 for 15 to 30 rainfall and snowmelt events on 6 rural and 11 urban watersheds in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Event or daily flow and load models (for seven constituents) were developed and used with runoff and rainfall data for 1963-80 to compute 2-year frequency annual and seasonal flows and loads for each watershed. In models of storm-sewered watersheds, total storm rainfall proved to be the most significant factor controlling runoff and loads. Depending on the watershed type, antecedent soil-moisture indices and rainfall intensity also were important factors in estimating runoff. Annual runoff from storm-sewered watersheds averaged about 27 percent of annual precipitation, ranging from 13 to 57 percent. Runoff in urban main-stem streams ranged from 13 to 20 percent and was related to the percent of urbanization in the watershed. Annual runoff in rural watersheds ranged from 6 to 20 percent of annual precipitation. Runoff responses were highest in the snowmelt season for all watersheds and declined through the rest of the year. Rural watersheds showed a considerable decrease in runoff response during late summer and fall. Urban-watershed response from season to season was more consistent than rural watersheds because of the impervious area and storm sewers in urban watersheds. (USGS)

Minneosta↗
USGS1996

Water Budget for the Lahaina District, Island of Maui, Hawaii

Ground-water recharge is estimated as the residual component of a monthly water budget calculated using long-term average rainfall, streamflow, irrigation, pan-evaporation data, and soil characteristics. The water-budget components are defined seasonally, through the use of monthly data, and spatially by topographic and geologic areas, through the use of a geographic information system model. The long-term average ground-water recharge for the Lahaina District was estimated for three scenarios using 1923-78 land-use and irrigation data, 1986-93 land-use and irrigation data, and natural conditions. The average annual ground-water recharge rate for 1923-78 conditions is 190 million gallons per day, which is 45 percent of the sum of rainfall and irrigation. The recharge rate for 1986-93 conditions is 163 million gallons per day, which is 42 percent of rainfall plus irrigation. The recharge rate for natural conditions is 145 million gallons per day, which is 44 percent of rainfall.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1999

Great Salt Lake, Utah

This document is intended as a source of general information and facts about Great Salt Lake, Utah. This U.S. Geological Survey information sheet answers frequently asked questions about Great Salt Lake. Topics include: History, salinity, brine shrimp, brine flies, migratory birds, and recreation. Great Salt Lake, the shrunken remnant of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, has no outlet. Dissolved salts accumulate in the lake by evaporation. Salinity south of the causeway has ranged from 6 percent to 27 percent over a period of 22 years (2 to 7 times saltier than the ocean). The high salinity supports a mineral industry that extracts about 2 million tons of salt from the lake each year. The aquatic ecosystem consists of more than 30 species of organisms. Harvest of its best-known species, the brine shrimp, annually supplies millions of pounds of food for the aquaculture industry worldwide. The lake is used extensively by millions of migratory and nesting birds and is a place of solitude for people. All this occurs in a lake that is located at the bottom of a 35,000-square-mile drainage basin that has a human population of more than 1.5 million.

Utah↗
USGS1992

Sediment transport, particle sizes, and loads in lower reaches of the Chippewa, Black, and Wisconsin Rivers in Western Wisconsin

Hydraulic and sediment data were collected at three sites on the Chippewa River (near Caryville, at Durand, and near Pepin); at one site near Galesville on the Black River; and at one site at Muscoda on the Wisconsin River during water years 1976-83. This report summarizes an interpretation of those data by providing (1) a description of the relation of suspended sediment, bedload, and total-sediment discharge to water discharge; (2) a description of particle-size characteristics of bed material, bedload, and suspended sediment; and (3) estimates of annual and average annual suspended load, bedload, and total-sediment load for water years 1974-83. Direct measurement with a Helley-Smith bedload sampler and calculations by the modified-Einstein procedure were used to estimate bedload. Single equations describe the suspended- and totalsediment transport-rate relations for Chippewa River at Durand and main channel at Pepin, and the Black River near Galesville. Two equations were needed to define the transport- rate relations for the Chippewa River near Caryville and Wisconsin River at Muscoda. Bed material at all sites except Chippewa River near Caryville were of similar particle size and exhibited little variation with time or location in the river cross sections. Median diameter at these sites ranged from 0.35 to 0.84 mm (millimeter). At Chippewa River near Caryville, median diameter ranged from 0.42 to 15 mm. Helley-Smith bedload at Chippewa River at Durand and near Pepin, Black River near Galesville, and Wisconsin River at Muscoda were of similar particle size. About 57 to 65 percent of bedload at all sites except Chippewa River near Caryville was in the 0.4- to 0.6- mm size range. About 50 percent of bedload at Chippewa River near Caryville was in the 0.5- to 1.0-mm size range. Suspended sediment at all sites except Chippewa River near Caryville was in the sand-size range; the average median diameters were between 0.17 and 0.22 mm. At Chippewa River near Caryville, 60 percent (on the average) of suspended sediment was finer than 0.062 mm. Average annual total-sediment load and the percentage transported as bedload were determined for a 10-year period (water years 1974-83)(October 1,1973-September 30, 1982). These loads and percentages were, respectively, 123,000 tons and 35 percent at Chippewa River near Caryville; 1,073,000 tons and 61 percent at Chippewa River at Durand; 940,000 tons and 44 percent at Chippewa River near Pepin; 277,000 tons and 43 percent at Black River near Galesville; and 558,000 tons and 49 percent at Wisconsin River at Muscoda.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1986

Water quality in the St Croix National Scenic Riverway, Wisconsin

The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a water-quality study of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. This report documents the water quality during the period 1975-83. The water quality is good for most uses and is a calcium bicarbonate type. Concentrations of most constituents analyzed were less than most sites in Wisconsin. Constituent loads and yields were alsg lower in the Sceiilc Riverway than in other Wisconsin streams. Water-quality samples were collected at 10 stations throughout the study area and were compared to analyses of samples from selected National Stream Quality Accounting Network stations (NASQAN) and the Hydrologic Bench-Mark NetWork (HBMN) station in Wisconsin. The average suspended-sediment concentration for 9 of the 10 stations in this study was 7.7 milligrams per liter. This compared with an average suspended-sediment concentration of 11 milligrams per liter for two other stations in the scenic riverway and an average suspended-sediment concentration of 110 milligrams per liter for Wisconsin. Concentrations of major cations and anions were generally below concentrations at other stations in the State. The concentrations of major cations and anions at two of the stations were similar to concentrations at the HBMN station Popple River near Fence. Mean total phosphorus concentrations ranged from 0. 02 to 0. 08 milligram per liter at the study stations and from 0.03 to 0.16 milligram per liter at selected NASQAN stations. Concentrations of trace metals were below safe drinking water standards at all the study sites except for iron and manganese which exceeded drinking water standards at some of the study sites. Pesticides were sampled at the St. Croix River at St. Croix Falls and above and below cranberry bogs that drain into the Namekagon River. No pesticides were detected in the water/suspended-sediment mixture or bottom material. Average annual loads of suspended sediment, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and dissolved solids were calculated by a flow-duration curve method. Annual suspended-sediment loads ranged from 580 to 25,000 tons per year at the study stations. Annual suspended-sediment loads at the HBMN station and NASQAN stations ranged from 720 tons at the Popple River near Fence to 443,000 tons at the Chippewa River near Durand. Average annual total phosphorus loads ranged from 6,800 to 900,000 pounds at the study stations compared with 145,000 to 1 ,600,000 pounds at selected Wisconsin NASQAN stations. Yields for suspended sediment, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and dissolved solids at the study stations were consistently lower than at other stations in the State. Suspendedsediment yields ranged from 1.9 to 13.3 tons per square mile. The average suspended-sediment yield for Wisconsin is 80 tons per square mile. Total phosphorous and the other constituents exhibited the same trend.

Wisconsin, Minnesota↗