USGS Monthly Groundwater News and Highlights: May 1, 2017

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Featured Product: USGS National Brackish Groundwater Assessment

[ Map: Predicted depth to brackish groundwater in the conterminous United States. ]

Predicted depth to brackish groundwater in the conterminous United States. Depths range from 500 to 3,000 feet below land surface. Source: Figure 12, USGS Professional Paper 1833.

A new USGS assessment suggests that brackish groundwater could help stretch limited freshwater supplies. The amount of fresh or potable groundwater in storage has declined for many areas in the United States and has led to concerns about the future availability of water for drinking-water, agricultural, industrial, and environmental needs. Use of brackish groundwater could supplement or, in some places, replace the use of freshwater sources and enhance our Nation's water security. Learn more:

USGS Groundwater-Related Press Releases

Animation of Groundwater Watch Active Water Level Network, 30 days

The USGS Active Groundwater Level Network includes about 20,000 wells that have been measured by the USGS or USGS cooperators at least once within the past 13 months. The animation shows a daily snapshot of water-level statistics in the network for April 2017. Credit: USGS. The image is in the public domain.

Media Advisory: Helicopter to Fly Low Over Cedar Rapids for Groundwater Study (04/27/17)

2017 Snowmelt Runoff Signals Good News for Walker Lake but Raises Flooding Concerns Along Walker River (04/24/17)

Freshwater Ecosystems are an Important Part of the Alaskan Carbon Cycle (04/14/17)

Wells Affect Water Flows in the Central Sands Region (04/06/17)

New Map Shows How Groundwater Pumping Could Affect the Malad River (04/06/17)

USGS Assessment of Brackish Water Could Help Nation Stretch Limited Freshwater Supplies (04/05/17)

USGS Groundwater-Related Publications

Controls on the chemical composition of saline surface crusts and emitted dust from a wet playa in the Mojave Desert (USA) (04/28/17)

Seawater-flooding events and impact on freshwater lenses of low-lying islands: Controlling factors, basic management and mitigation (04/28/17)

Chapter 1: Hydrologic exchange flows and their ecological consequences in river corridors (04/26/17)

Evaluation of perchlorate sources in the Rialto-Colton and Chino California subbasins using chlorine and oxygen isotope ratio analysis (04/25/17)

Validation of chlorine and oxygen isotope ratio analysis to differentiate perchlorate sources and to document perchlorate biodegradation (04/25/17)

Hydrology of the Claiborne aquifer and interconnection with the Upper Floridan aquifer in southwest Georgia (04/24/17)

Density-driven free-convection model for isotopically fractionated geogenic nitrate in sabkha brine (04/24/17)

Regional water table (2014) in the Mojave River and Morongo Groundwater Basins, southwestern Mojave Desert, California (04/24/17)

Stable isotopic composition of perchlorate and nitrate accumulated in plants: Hydroponic experiments and field data (04/19/17)

Shallow-depth location and geometry of the Piedmont Reverse splay of the Hayward Fault, Oakland, California (04/19/17)

Regional geophysics of western Utah and eastern Nevada, with emphasis on the Confusion Range (04/18/17)

A groundwater-flow model for the Treasure Valley and surrounding area, southwestern Idaho (04/18/17)

Potential effects of existing and proposed groundwater withdrawals on water levels and natural groundwater discharge in Snake Valley and surrounding areas, Utah and Nevada (04/17/17)

Geogenic organic contaminants in the low-rank coal-bearing Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer of East Texas, USA (04/13/17)

Brackish groundwater in the United States (04/13/17)

Extent and persistence of secondary water quality impacts after enhanced reductive bioremediation (04/12/17)

Groundwater flow model for the Little Plover River basin in Wisconsin's Central Sands (04/11/17)

An update of hydrologic conditions and distribution of selected constituents in water, eastern Snake River Plain aquifer and perched groundwater zones, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, emphasis 2012-15 (04/11/17)

Shallow bedrock limits groundwater seepage-based headwater climate refugia (04/04/17)

USGS Groundwater-Related Software Updates and New Releases

Groundwater Toolbox v.1.3

ModelMuse v.3.9

Cascade Routing Tool (CRT) v1.3.1

FloPy v.3.2.6

WTAQ v.2.1

USGS Groundwater Flow and Transport Model Data Releases

Note: The following links take you to data.gov

MODFLOW-NWT groundwater flow model and GWM-VI optimization code for the Little Plover River Basin in Wisconsin's Central Sand Plain

Modeled temperature data developed for study of shallow mountain bedrock limits seepage-based headwater climate refugia, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Field Photo

Photo of scientist standing near well in the desert

Credit: USGS/Chris Morris. Photo is in the public domain. Click on photo for larger version.

Did you know USGS scientists use groundwater wells for more than just measuring depth to groundwater? For example, hydrogeologists can cause the water level in a well to change rapidly, and then measure how the water level in the well responds after that change. This is called a "slug test," which is a type of aquifer test that helps us quantify how groundwater is moving through the ground near the well.

In this photo, USGS Hydrologist Phil Gardner is performing a slug test in Chicago Valley, California, with the Nopah Range in the background. The test was performed while collecting location data with Chris Morris of the USGS Nevada Water Science Center. The door on the ground is a to a vault that protects the opening of the well. The yellow tripod in the background is the GPS equipment for collecting highly accurate location information.

Learn more about the USGS Nevada Water Science Center.

Learn more about standard USGS groundwater field procedures, including slug tests.

Archive of Past Highlights:

Past monthly summaries are available online.