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This digital geospatial data set consists of locations of coal, oil, gas and water wells shown as data points in the report, "Structure, Outcrop, and Subcrop of the Bedrock Aquifers Along the Western Margin of the Denver Basin, Colorado" (Robson and others, 1998).
Long-range economic development in Central America will depend in large part on production of indigenous mineral, energy, and water resources and on mitigation of the disastrous effects of geologic and hydrologic hazards such as landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods. The region has six world-class metal mines at present as well as additional evidence of widespread mineralization. Systematic investigations using modern mineral exploration techniques should reveal more mineral deposits suitable for development. Widespread evidence of lignite and geothermal resources suggests that intensive studies could identify producible energy sources in most Central American countries. Water supply and water quality vary greatly from country to country. Local problems of ground- and surface-water availability and of contamination create a need for systematic programs to provide better hydrologic data, capital improvements, and management. Disastrous earthquakes have destroyed or severely damaged many cities in Central America. Volcanic eruptions, landslides, mudflows, and floods have devastated most of the Pacific side of Central America at one time or another. A regional approach to earthquake, volcano, and flood-risk analysis and monitoring, using modern technology and concepts, would provide the facilities and means for acquiring knowledge necessary to reduce future losses. All Central American countries need to strengthen institutions and programs dealing with earth and water resources and natural hazards. Some of these needs may be satisfied through existing or pending projects and technical and economic assistance from U.S. or other sources. The need for a comprehensive study of the natural resources of Central America and the requirements for their development is evident. The U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative offers both an excellent opportunity for a regional approach to these pervasive problems and an opportunity for international cooperation.
Drainage areas for about 1,500 surface-water sites on streams and lakes in Florida are contained in this report. Sites are described in relation to a nearby city or town, and are located by county, by latitude-longitude, and by topographic map on which it is located. In addition, the surface areas of lakes are shown for the elevation given on the topographic map. These data were retrieved from the Surface Water Index developed and maintained by the Hydrologic Records Section of the Florida District office of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Drainage areas for about 1,600 surface-water sites on streams and lakes in Florida are contained in this report. The sites are generally either U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations or the mouths of gaged streas. Each site is identified by latitude and longitude, by the general stream type, and by the U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic map on which it can be located. The gaging stations are furhter identified by a downstream order number, a county code, and a nearby city or town. In addition to drainage areas, the surface areas of lakes are shown for the elevation given on the topographic map. These data were retrieved from the Surface Water Index developed and maintained by the Hydrologic Surveillance section of the Florida District Office, U.S. Geological Survey. (USGS)
Drainage areas for about 1,600 surface-water sites on streams and lakes in Florida are contained in this report. The sites are generally either U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations or the mouths of gaged streams. Each site is identified by latitude and longitude, by the general stream type, and by the U.S. Geological Survey 7 1/2-minute topographic map on which it can be located. The gaging stations are further identified by a downstream order number, a county code, and a nearby city or town. In addition to drainage areas, the surface areas of lakes are shown for the elevation given on the topographic map. These data were retrieved from the Surface Water Index developed and maintained by the Hydrologic Surveillance Section of the Florida District Office, U.S. Geological Survey.
This report presents data collected to determine the hydraulic characteristics of rocks penetrated in test well USW H-1. The well is one of a series of test wells drilled in and near the southwestern part of the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, in a program conducted on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy. These investigations are part of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations to identify suitable sites for storage of high-level radioactive wastes. Data on drilling operations, lithology, borehole geophysics, hydrologic monitoring, core analysis, ground-water chemistry and pumping and injection tests for well USW H-1 are contained in this report.
Data are presented on drilling operations, lithology, borehole geophysics, hydrologic monitoring, core analysis, water chemistry, pumping tests, and packer-injection tests for test well USW G-4. The well is one of a series of test wells drilled in and near the southwestern part of the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy. These test wells are part of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations to identify suitable sites for underground storage of high-level radioactive wastes. Test well USW G-4 was drilled to a total depth of 915 meters through volcanic rocks, consisting mostly of ash-flow tuff. Depth of water in the well during and after drilling and testing ranged from 538 to 544 meters below land surface, at approximate altitude of 728 meters above sea level. Drawdown in the well was about 3 meters after test pumping more than 5,000 minutes at a rate of 16 liters per second. A borehold-flow survey indicated that almost all water withdrawn from the well was contributed by the zone between a depth of about 865 and 915 meters below land surface. Analysis of a composite water sample collected after well completion showed the water to contain 216 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids, with relatively large concentrations of silica, sodium, and bicarbonate. (USGS)
Physical, chemical, and biological water-quality data were collected and compiled for sites located in the Lakes Maumelle and Winona reservoir systems May 5, 1989, to October 30, 1992. Data were collected in order to establish a comprehensive water-quality data base for the two systems and will be used in water-quality interpretive chemical variables (temperature, pH, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, light transparency, and penetration); solids, and major cations and anions); trace metals; organics (pesticides and industrial organic chemicals); and biological components (bacteria and chlorophyll-a); and nutrients, trace metals, and organic contaminants in bed material. Reservoir sedimentation was measured by comparing fathometry measurements taken during the study to pre-impoundment tophographic maps.
Data on streamflow and ground-water levels were collected in the Ophir Creek watershed in southeast Alaska to obtain information about the relations between streamflow, ground-water levels, and precipitation. In addition, the possible effect of an experimental channel excavation to increase flows in Ophir Creek was evaluated. Stream discharges were monitored continuously at one site and measured intermittently at five other sites from October 1991 to May 1997, and ground-water levels were measured weekly in seven wells from July 1995 to October 1996. All measured ground-water levels were less than 11.4 feet below land surface. The data indicate that ground-water levels are closely related to rain and snowmelt, which in turn are related to water levels in Ophir Creek. Six of seven wells had peak water levels concurrent with peak flows in Ophir Creek. In one well, both maximum and minimum water levels coincided with maximum and minimum streamflow in Ophir Creek. Deepening part of the Ophir Creek channel by excavation has increased streamflows along the deepened reach; however, some of this additional flow infiltrates into the stream channel downstream from the excavated reach. The deepened reach flowed intermittently before the excavation and continues to dewater during prolonged periods of no precipitation.
Lakes Maumelle and Winona are water-supply reservoirs for the Little Rock and North Little Rock metropolitan areas in central Arkansas. In addition to water supply, the reservoirs are used for recreation and fish and wildlife habitat. The purpose of this report is to describe the hydrology and water quality of Lakes Maumelle and Winona and their inflows from data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with Central Arkansas Water for calendar years 1991 through 2003. The main inflows into Lakes Maumelle and Winona, the Maumelle River and Alum Fork Saline River, exhibited typical seasonal variability in streamflow with high flows usually occurring in the late fall, winter, and early spring, and low or no flow in the summer and early fall. The highest annual mean streamflow occurred in 1991 and the lowest annual mean streamflow occurred in 1992 for the Maumelle River and 1995 for the Alum Fork Saline River. Water quality measured in Lakes Maumelle and Winona varied spatially and temporally. Although total phosphorus concentrations were substantially higher at the upper ends of the lakes than at the lower ends of the lakes, nitrogen and orthophosphorus concentrations were not significantly different among the sampling sites on each lake. The highest concentrations of nitrogen generally were measured in 1991 and from 1998 through 2003 at all of the sampling sites. The highest total phosphorus concentrations were measured from 1994 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2001 on Lake Maumelle and from 1993 to 1994 on Lake Winona. Total and dissolved organic carbon concentrations were similar among sites on each lake and the greatest concentrations were measured in 1996 and 1997 at all of the sites. The chlorophyll a concentrations varied seasonally, with the highest concentrations in October and November, but were relatively uniform spatially and annually in Lakes Maumelle and Winona for 1991 through 2003. Water clarity was greater at the lower ends of the lakes than at the upper ends. Secchi depth varied seasonally, with the greatest depth from July to September and the least depth during October through December. There was no apparent trend in Secchi depth over the entire sampling period. The trophic state indices calculated from near-surface concentrations of total phosphorus and chlorophyll a for Lakes Maumelle and Winona indicated that they generally were oligotrophic although they fluctuated in time between mesotrophic and oligotrophic conditions. Water-quality concentrations generally were less for the main inflow to Lake Winona, the Alum Fork Saline River, than for the Maumelle River, Bringle, Yount, and Reece Creeks, which flow into Lake Maumelle. Nutrient concentrations for the Maumelle and Alum Fork Saline Rivers remained fairly uniform from 1991 through 2003. Suspended-sediment concentrations generally were greatest at Bringle Creek. Concentrations of fecal streptococci measured at the Alum Fork Saline River were similar to concentrations measured at the Maumelle River, and fecal coliforms concentrations for the Alum Fork Saline River were approximately half the concentration measured at the Maumelle River. Bringle and Reece Creeks had greater concentrations of fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci than the Maumelle River, and Yount Creek had the lowest concentration of fecal streptococci among all the sites. Annual loads of nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, and suspended sediment estimated for the Maumelle River and the Alum Fork Saline River were similar between sites and varied with time from 1991 through 2003. Annual loads were greatest in 1991 for the Maumelle and Alum Fork Saline Rivers and the least in 2000 for the Maumelle River and 1995 for the Alum Fork Saline River. Estimated loads also demonstrated seasonal trends with the highest daily loads in the winter and fall and lowest daily loads in the summer for both sites. Annual yields of nutrients and dissolved organic carbon computed
Small streams in the rapidly developing Matanuska-Susitna Valley in south-central Alaska are known to support anadromous and resident fish but little is known about their hydrologic and riparian conditions, or their sensitivity to the rapid development of the area or climate variability. To help address this need, channel geometry and aquatic habitat data were collected in 2005 as a baseline of stream conditions for selected streams. Three streams were selected as representative of various stream types, and one drainage network, the Big Lake drainage basin, was selected for a systematic assessment. Streams in the Big Lake basin were drawn in a Geographic Information System (GIS), and 55 reaches along 16 miles of Meadow Creek and its primary tributary Little Meadow Creek were identified from orthoimagery and field observations on the basis of distinctive physical and habitat parameters, most commonly gradient, substrate, and vegetation. Data-collection methods for sites at the three representative reaches and the 55 systematically studied reaches consisted of a field survey of channel and flood-plain geometry and collection of 14 habitat attributes using published protocols or slight modifications. Width/depth and entrenchment ratios along the Meadow-Little Meadow Creek corridor were large and highly variable upstream of Parks Highway and lower and more consistent downstream of Parks Highway. Channel width was strongly correlated with distance, increasing downstream in a log-linear relation. Runs formed the most common habitat type, and instream vegetation dominated the habitat cover types, which collectively covered 53 percent of the channel. Gravel suitable for spawning covered isolated areas along Meadow Creek and about 29 percent of Little Meadow Creek. Broad wetlands were common along both streams. For a comprehensive assessment of small streams in the Mat-Su Valley, critical additional data needs include hydrologic, geologic and geomorphic, and biologic data, in particular the contribution of ground water and lakes to streamflow, water quality, flood plain connectivity, and surficial geology.
Annual peak-flow data collected at U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in Minnesota and adjacent areas of neighboring states of Iowa and South Dakota were analyzed to develop and update regional regression equations that can be used to estimate the magnitude and frequency of peak streamflow for ungaged streams in Minnesota, excluding the Lake of the Woods-Rainy River Basin upstream from Kenora, Ontario, Canada. Hydraulic engineers use peak-flow frequency estimates to inform designs of bridges, culverts, and dams, and water managers use the estimates for regulation and planning activities. Peak-flow estimates are provided for the 66.7-, 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, and 0.2-percent annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs), which are equivalent to annual flood-frequency recurrence intervals of 1.5-, 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, and 500-years, respectively. The estimates were computed by applying the expected moments algorithm to fit a Pearson Type III distribution to the logarithms of annual peak flows for 298 streamgages based on annual peak-flow data collected through water year 2019. The study area is represented by six hydrologic regions delineated on the basis of a pattern of residuals of statewide regressions, using basin characteristics such as drainage area, main-channel slope, lake area, storage area, and mean annual runoff as explanatory variables. The concept and principles of hydrologic landscape units was used to validate the regions. Residual analysis of the regional regression equations was used to subsequently develop equations relating the peak flow estimates for selected AEPs using 17 characteristics tested as explanatory variables in the regression analysis. The equations developed in this study can be used to produce AEPs within the six regions and to update equations developed in earlier, similar studies in Minnesota. Furthermore, updating the equations in StreamStats, a web-based geographic information system tool developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, will allow hydraulic engineers and water managers to obtain AEPs and basin characteristics for user-selected locations on streams through an interactive map.
Intense rainfall during the evening of July 20 and early morning hours of July 21, 1975 caused flooding of unprecedented magnitude in highly urbanized Mercer County, New Jersey. Over 6 inches (152 millimetres) of rainfall was recorded during a 10-hour period at Trenton, the capital of New Jersey. No lives were lost but damages to highways and bridges, to industrial, business, and residential buildings, to farmlands and crops, and to water supply systems were severe. This report illustrates the magnitude of the flood and provides hydrologic data needed for planning and design to control or lessen damages from future floods. It includes discussions of the antecedent conditions and meteorological aspects of the storm; a description of the flood and comparison to previous floods; a summary of flood stages and discharges; a discussion of flood frequency; and photomosaics which show inundated areas. More than 200 high-water marks are described as to location and elevation above mean sea level.
In the Eastern Coal Field region of Kentucky, water is obtained from consolidated sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Devonian to Pennsylvanian and from unconsolidated sediments of Quaternary age. About 95 percent of the area is underlain by shale, sandstone, and coal of Pennsylvanian age. Principal factors governing the availability of water in the region are depth, topographic location, and the lithology of the aquifer penetrated. In general, the yield of the well increases as the depth increases. Wells drilled in topographic lows, such as valleys, are likely to yield more water than wells drilled on topographic highs, such as hills. Sand and gravel, present in thick beds in the alluvium along the Ohio River, form the most productive aquifer in the Eastern Coal Field. Of the consolidated rocks in the region sandstone strata are the best aquifers chiefly because joints, openings along bedding planes, and intergranular pore spaces are best developed in them. Shale also supplies water to many wells in the region, chiefly from joints and openings along bedding planes. Coal constitutes a very small part of the sedimentary section, but it yields water from fractures to many wells. Limestone yields water readily from solution cavities developed along joint and bedding-plane openings. The availability of water in different parts of the region was determined chiefly by analyzing well data collected during the reconnaissance. The resulting water-availability maps, published as hydrologic investigations atlases (Price and others, 1961 a, b; Kilburn and others, 1961) were designed to be used in conjunction with this report. The maps were constructed by dividing the region into 5 physiographic areas, into 10 subareas based chiefly on lithologic facies, and, in the case of the Kanawha section, into 2 quality-of-water areas. The 5 physiographic areas are the Knobs, Mississippian Plateau, Cumberland Plateau section, Kanawha section, and Cumberland Mountain section. The 10 subareas are as follows: 1. The Chattanooga shale. This black shale yields only enough water for a minimum domestic supply-100 to 500 gpd (gallons per day). 2. Mississippian-Devonian rocks exposed along Pine Mountain. These rocks consist of shale, limestone, and sandstone. The limestone yields water to springs, and faulted limestone and sandstone lying below drainage may yield several hundred gallons per minute to wells. 3. Mississippian rocks exposed along the western margin of the region. These rocks consist of thick limestone underlain by shale. The limestone yields enough water for a modern domestic supply (more than 500 gpd) , and discharges as much as 100 gpm (gallons per minute) to springs. The shale yields only enough water for a minimum domestic supply. 4. Subarea 1 of the Lee formation of Pennsylvanian age. The thin shaly rocks of this subarea generally yield only enough water for a minimum domestic supply. 5. Subarea 2 of the Lee formation of Pennsylvanian age. This subarea is predominantly underlain by massive sandstones; it generally yields enough water for a modern domestic supply, and in some places, enough water for small public and industrial supplies. 6. Subarea 1 of the Breathitt and Conemaugh formations of Pennsylvanian age. Rocks in this subarea contain more shale than sandstone. Wells in this subarea range from adequate for a minimum domestic supply to adequate for a modern domestic supply. 7. Subarea 2 of the Breathitt formation of Pennsylvanian age and undifferentiated post-Lee Pennsylvanian rocks. Wells in this subarea yield enough water for a modern domestic supply, and in many places, enough water for small public and industrial supplies. 8. Alluvium along the Ohio River. Mostly composed of glacial outwash sand and gravel, the alluvium is reported to yield as much as 360 gpm to wells. 9. Alluvium along the Big Sandy River and lower reaches of its Tug and Levisa Forks. Where consisting mostly of sand,
The many varied though related terms developed by ground-water hydrologists and by soils engineers are useful to each discipline, but their differences in terminology hinder the use of related information in interdisciplinary studies. Equations for the Terzaghi theory of consolidation and equations for ground-water flow are identical under specific conditions. A combination of the two sets of equations relates porosity to void ratio and relates the modulus of elasticity to the coefficient of compressibility, coefficient of volume compressibility, compression index, coefficient of consolidation, specific storage, and ultimate compaction. Also, transient ground-water flow is related to coefficient of consolidation, rate of soil compaction, and hydraulic conductivity. Examples show that soils-engineering data and concepts are useful to solution of problems in ground-water hydrology.
The major aquifers in Idaho are categorized under two rock types, sedimentary and volcanic, and are grouped into six hydrologic basins. Areas with adequate, minimally adequate, or deficient data available for groundwater-quality evaluations are described. Wide variations in chemical concentrations in the water occur within individual aquifers, as well as among the aquifers. The existing data base is not sufficient to describe fully the ground-water quality throughout the State; however, it does indicate that the water is generally suitable for most uses. In some aquifers, concentrations of fluoride, cadmium, and iron in the water exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's drinking-water standards. Dissolved solids, chloride, and sulfate may cause problems in some local areas. Water-quality data are sparse in many areas, and only general statements can be made regarding the areal distribution of chemical constituents. Few data are available to describe temporal variations of water quality in the aquifers. Primary concerns related to special problem areas in Idaho include (1) protection of water quality in the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, (2) potential degradation of water quality in the Boise-Nampa area, (3) effects of widespread use of drain wells overlying the eastern Snake River Plain basalt aquifer, and (4) disposal of low-level radioactive wastes at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Shortcomings in the ground-water-quality data base are categorized as (1) multiaquifer sample inadequacy, (2) constituent coverage limitations, (3) baseline-data deficiencies, and (4) data-base nonuniformity.
This report is the last of 19 hydrologic reconnaissances of the basins in western Utah. The purposes of this series of studies are (1) to analyze available hydrologic data and describe the hydrologic system, (2) to evaluate existing and potential water-resources development, and (3) to identify additional studies that might be needed. Part 1 of this report gives an estimate of recharge and discharge, an estimate of the potential for water-resources development, and a statement on the quality of water in the southern Great Salt Lake Desert part of west-central Utah. Part 2 deals with the same aspects of west-central Utah as a whole. Part 2 also summarizes the evidence of interbasin ground-water flow in west-central Utah and presents a theory for the origin of the water discharged from Fish Springs.
Although there are considerable site-based data for individual or groups of ecosystems, these datasets are widely scattered, have different data formats and conventions, and often have limited accessibility. At the broader scale, national datasets exist for a large number of geospatial features of land, water, and air that are needed to fully understand variation among these ecosystems. However, such datasets originate from different sources and have different spatial and temporal resolutions. By taking an open-science perspective and by combining site-based ecosystem datasets and national geospatial datasets, science gains the ability to ask important research questions related to grand environmental challenges that operate at broad scales. Documentation of such complicated database integration efforts, through peer-reviewed papers, is recommended to foster reproducibility and future use of the integrated database. Here, we describe the major steps, challenges, and considerations in building an integrated database of lake ecosystems, called LAGOS (LAke multi-scaled GeOSpatial and temporal database), that was developed at the sub-continental study extent of 17 US states (1,800,000 km 2 ). LAGOS includes two modules: LAGOS GEO , with geospatial data on every lake with surface area larger than 4 ha in the study extent (~50,000 lakes), including climate, atmospheric deposition, land use/cover, hydrology, geology, and topography measured across a range of spatial and temporal extents; and LAGOS LIMNO , with lake water quality data compiled from ~100 individual datasets for a subset of lakes in the study extent (~10,000 lakes). Procedures for the integration of datasets included: creating a flexible database design; authoring and integrating metadata; documenting data provenance; quantifying spatial measures of geographic data; quality-controlling integrated and derived data; and extensively documenting the database. Our procedures make a large, complex, and integrated database reproducible and extensible, allowing users to ask new research questions with the existing database or through the addition of new data. The largest challenge of this task was the heterogeneity of the data, formats, and metadata. Many steps of data integration need manual input from experts in diverse fields, requiring close collaboration.