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At least 1,315 records · Page 73Linked to original sources

Northwest Forest Plan — The first 25 years (1994–2018): Watershed condition status and trends

This report describes status and trends in watershed condition across the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) area over the first 25 years since its inception in 1994. The program charged with this task is the Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program (AREMP), which has assembled information from field data collection, spatial datasets, and a host of landscape models to evaluate the status and trends in aquatic resources in streams and watersheds. Field data included hydrologic measurements (stream wetted widths and temperatures), geomorphic responses (instream wood and sediment), and biological responses (macroinvertebrates and aquatic organism passage). Novel statistical models were used to estimate trends in these measured responses. A suite of complementary modeled results was also employed to describe hydrometeorological drivers (e.g., drought indices and stream discharge), forest cover (upslope and riparian vegetation), and geomorphic conditions (e.g., road-related estimates of chronic and shallow landslide sediment delivery risk). Collectively, information on these responses allowed us to rigorously evaluate instream responses and hypothesize watershed drivers of those responses across the NWFP area and over time. The majority of responses we observed indicated widespread and incremental improvements from active management of forests, forest roads, and road-stream crossings as envisioned by the aquatic conservation strategy of the NWFP. Additionally, many of the responses we observed were consistent with those expected under the influences of changing climates in the Pacific Northwest. Ultimately, the long-term, broad-scale information provided by AREMP is a critical foundation for evaluating the effectiveness of federal land management and the effects of changing climates on water resources that sustain the Pacific Northwest’s human and natural landscapes.

California, Oregon, Washington↗

Taunton River basin

The Taunton River, emptying into an arm of Narragansett Bay at Fall River, drains 528 square miles of interior southeastern Massachusetts. The Taunton River basin is separated from the basins of short streams draining to the coast by low divides on the east, south, and southwest. On the west and north, the basin is bordered by the Ten Mile, Charles, Neponset, and Weymouth River basins. Principal tributaries of the lower Taunton River are Segreganset, Threemile, Mill, Assonet, Nemasket, and Winnetuxet Rivers. The upper part of the basin is drained by the Canoe, Wading, and Rumford Rivers which empty into Mill and Threemile Rivers and by the Matfield and Town Rivers which unite to form the Taunton River. This report presents in tabular form selected records of wells, test wells, and borings collected during a study of the basin from 1966 to 1968 in cooperation with the Massachusetts Water Resources Commission, and during earlier studies. This report is released in order to make available to the public and to local, state, and federal agencies basic ground-water information that may aid in planning water-resources development. Basic records contained in this report will complement an interpretative report on the Taunton River basin to be released at a later date.

Massachusetts↗

Statistical Summary of Hydrologic and Water-Quality Data from the Halawa, Haiku, and Kaneohe Drainage Basins Before, During, and After H-3 Highway Construction, Oahu, Hawaii, 1983-99

This report provides statistical summaries of rainfall, streamflow, suspended-sediment, and water-quality data collected in the Halawa, Haiku, and Kaneohe drainage basins before, during, and after construction of the H-3 Highway on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Methods of data collection also are described. Data collected during water years 1983 through 1999 at eight streamflow and six stream water-quality gaging stations, and two water-quality stations located in Waimaluhia Reservoir are included. Physiographic data for all basins contributing to the 14 stream stations as well as brief land-use descriptions of the Halawa, Haiku, and Kaneohe drainage basins are provided.

Open-File Report↗

Lagrangian sampling of wastewater treatment plant effluent in Boulder Creek, Colorado, and Fourmile Creek, Iowa, during the summer of 2003 and spring of 2005— Hydrological and water-quality data

This report presents methods and data for a Lagrangian sampling investigation into chemical loading and in-stream attenuation of inorganic and organic contaminants in two wastewater treatment-plant effluent-dominated streams: Boulder Creek, Colorado, and Fourmile Creek, Iowa. Water-quality sampling was timed to coincide with low-flow conditions when dilution of the wastewater treatment-plant effluent by stream water was at a minimum. Sample-collection times corresponded to estimated travel times (based on tracer tests) to allow the same "parcel" of water to reach downstream sampling locations. The water-quality data are linked directly to stream discharge using flow- and depth-integrated composite sampling protocols. A range of chemical analyses was made for nutrients, carbon, major elements, trace elements, biological components, acidic and neutral organic wastewater compounds, antibiotic compounds, pharmaceutical compounds, steroid and steroidal-hormone compounds, and pesticide compounds. Physical measurements were made for field conditions, stream discharge, and time-of-travel studies. Two Lagrangian water samplings were conducted in each stream, one in the summer of 2003 and the other in the spring of 2005. Water samples were collected from five sites in Boulder Creek: upstream from the wastewater treatment plant, the treatment-plant effluent, and three downstream sites. Fourmile Creek had seven sampling sites: upstream from the wastewater treatment plant, the treatment-plant effluent, four downstream sites, and a tributary. At each site, stream discharge was measured, and equal width-integrated composite water samples were collected and split for subsequent chemical, physical, and biological analyses. During the summer of 2003 sampling, Boulder Creek downstream from the wastewater treatment plant consisted of 36 percent effluent, and Fourmile Creek downstream from the respective wastewater treatment plant was 81 percent effluent. During the spring of 2005 samplings, Boulder Creek downstream from the wastewater treatment plant was 40 percent effluent, and Fourmile Creek downstream from that wastewater treatment plant was 28 percent effluent. At each site, 300 individual constituents were determined to characterize the water. Most of the inorganic constituents were detected in all of the stream and treatment-plant effluent samples, whereas detection of synthetic organic compounds was more limited and contaminants typically occurred only in wastewater treatment-plant effluents and at downstream sites. Concentrations ranged from nanograms per liter to milligrams per liter.

Colorado, Iowa↗

Laboratory evaluation of the Level TROLL 100 manufactured by In-Situ Inc.: results of pressure and temperature tests

The Level TROLL 100 manufactured by In-Situ Inc. was evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) for conformance to the manufacturer’s accuracy specifications for measuring pressure throughout the device’s operating temperature range. The Level TROLL 100 is a submersible, sealed, water-level sensing device with an operating pressure range equivalent to 0 to 30 feet of water over a temperature range of −20 to 50 degrees Celsius (°C). The device met the manufacturer’s stated accuracy specifications for pressure within its temperature-compensated operating range of 0 to 50 °C. The device’s accuracy specifications did not meet established USGS requirements for primary water-stage sensors used in the operation of streamgages, but the Level TROLL 100 may be suitable for other hydrologic data-collection applications. As a note, the Level TROLL 100 is not designed to meet USGS accuracy requirements. Manufacturer accuracy specifications were evaluated, and the procedures followed and the results obtained are described in this report. USGS accuracy requirements are routinely examined and reported when instruments are evaluated at the HIF.

Open-File Report↗

Baseline groundwater hydrology and water quality in and around Bluff, Utah

Southeastern Utah has a long history of oil and gas production. Two new hydrocarbon extraction wells have been proposed several miles northeast of the town of Bluff, Utah. In response to concern about the impacts of oil and gas extraction in the area on drinking-water quality, this study provides groundwater quality and hydrologic baseline data obtained before drilling the new hydrocarbon extraction wells. Data from future monitoring can be compared to these baseline water-quality data to identify changes in water quality. The quality of drinking water in Bluff is generally good, making changes in water quality more easily identifiable. Potential degradation of water quality from the proposed production wells could take hundreds to thousands of years to reach public-supply wells. Because of the limited water supply in this area, high-quality groundwater will continue to be an important resource into the foreseeable future.

Utah↗

Relation of drainage problems to high ground-water levels, Coconut Grove area, Oahu, Hawaii

Purpose and Scope In 1969, hydrologic data-collection sites were established in and around the Coconut Grove area for the purpose of measuring directly the relationship between rainfall, runoff, ground-water levels, the level of water in Kawainui Swamp and the canals, and tidal fluctuations. The primary objective was to identify the causes of the occurrence and persistence of flooding and to gain data on which to base recommendations for remedial action. The scope of the study included establishing and operating flow and stage-recording gages on the Swamp, Kawainui Canal, and the inner canal; periodic and repeated measurements of ground-water level in test borings throughout the residential area; collection and analysis of soil and construction borings made for engineering purposes; the assembly and analysis of all available data relating surface and subsurface flow conditions, and the development of conclusions as to the causes and means to alleviate the flooding. This report summarizes the information collected from October 1969 to June 1971, includes analysis of the data, and discusses the probable causes of flooding.

Hawai'i↗

Hydrologic and water-quality data for streams and impoundments in the Coteau des Prairies-Upper Minnesota River basin, 1979-84

Water-quality and streamflow data were collected in the Coteau des Prairies region of southwestern Minnesota and eastern South Dakota from 1979- 84. Data were collected to (1) document the water-quality characteristics of streams and impoundments in the Coteau area, (2) predict the impact of proposed impoundments, (3) define the amount of dissolved and suspended material transported, and (4) determine the differences in water quality between the impoundment inflows and outflows. Streamflow and water-quality data were collected at 12 stream and four impoundment sites. Continuous-record gages, set to collect data at 15-minute intervals, and readings taken by local observers were used to complete discharge records at 10 stream sites and stage records at three impoundment sites. Automatic samplers and local observers collected storm runoff, sediment, and nutrient samples at 10 stream sites. Water-quality samples were collected at various time and stage intervals during high flow and periodically during low flow. Primary emphasis in the stream-sampling program was on analysis of samples for nutrients in 1980-82, and on analysis of suspended sediment and nutrients in 1983-84. Field measurements were made of pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, alkalinity, and bacteria. Secondary emphasis was on analysis of major dissolved substances. Primary emphasis in the impoundments was on analysis of samples for phosphorus and chlorophyll and on the measurement of transparency. Temperature and dissolved-oxygen concentrations were measured to determine the degree of stratification. All data collected during the study are given in tables 4-13 of this report. The tables list mean-daily stream discharge, mean-daily suspendedsediment concentration, daily suspended-sediment discharge, results of waterquality analyses, and bed-material particle-size analyses at stream sites. The tables also list information on pool stage, water temperature, and transparency, on dissolved-oxygen, chlorophyll a, phytoplankton, and nutrient concentrations, and on chemical and partical-size analyses of bed material at impoundment sites.

Minnesota↗

Hydrologic and water-quality data for the lower Bradley River, Alaska, March 1993 to April 1994

A dam constructed at the outlet of Bradley Lake near Homer, Alaska has blocked natural flows to the lower Bradley River. To protect salmon egg incubation habitat during the period November 2 to April 30, a fish-water bypass was incorporated into the design of the dam to ensure a minimum discharge of 40 cubic feet per second in the lower river. This minimum flow determination was based on an open-water instream flow study that did not take into account effects of ice formation. A study was begun in March 1993 to determine winter flow conditions in the lower Bradley River. As a part of this study, data were collected at sites in the lower Bradley River to measure discharge, wetted perimeter, cross-sectional area, water depth, flow velocity, and specific conductance, as well as temperature and dissolved oxygen from both surface water and intragravel water. Discharge and specific conduc- tance in the Middle Fork Bradley River below North Fork Bradley River were also measured. This report presents data collected between March 1993 and April 1994.

Alaska↗