Featured Water Resources Information

Take a look at the re-designed USGS Mine Drainage Interest Group web site!

The Lewis and Clark Expedition and the USGS - Because of its origin in natural resource surveys and the similarity of the USGS mission to Thomas Jefferson's charge to Meriwether Lewis, the USGS can be seen as the organizational successor to Lewis and Clark.

New USGS Publication on Rock Creek - The USGS recently released findings of a water study conducted in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. Scientists found pesticides in the surface water and metals, organics and pesticides in sediments, which exceeded criteria for the protection of aquatic life.

Data on fish communities for 960 stream sites in more than 50 major river basins across the Nation are now available. More than 1,900 fish community samples, collected from 1993 through 2002 by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program can be downloaded.

National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that contains information about surface water features. Within the NHD, surface water features are combined to form "reaches," which provide the framework for linking water-related data to the NHD surface water drainage network.

USGS Ground Water Resources Program encompasses regional studies of ground-water systems, multidisciplinary studies of critical ground-water issues, access to ground-water data, and research and methods development.

National Bridge Scour Database- Scour of the streambed near bridge piers and abutments is the leading cause of recent bridge failures. Learn more about the National Bridge Scour Project here.

NAWQA Data Warehouse -- The USGS began its NAWQA Program in 1991, systematically collecting chemical, biological, and physical water quality data from study units (basins) across the nation. These data were collected at about 2,800 stream sites and 5,000 wells selected to be indicative of various land uses. Find out more!

The Ground Water Atlas of the United States purpose is to summarize, in one publication with a common format, the most important ground-water information that has been collected over many years by the USGS, other Federal agencies, and State and local water management agencies. Get More Information Here!

Ground Water And Surface Water A Single Resource- As the Nation's concerns over water resources and the environment increase, the importance of considering ground water and surface water as a single resource has become increasingly evident.

USGS Water Science for Schools offers information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge.