Water Data Program
The USGS provides maps, reports, and information to help others meet their needs to manage, develop, and protect America's water, energy, mineral, and land resources. We help find natural resources needed to build tomorrow, and supply scientific understanding needed to help minimize or mitigate the effects of natural hazards and environmental damage caused by human activities. The results of our efforts touch the daily lives of almost every American.
Index of Subjects
Knowledge of surface and ground waters in the United States is essential to ensuring the well-being of our people and the viability of our economy. In virtually all parts of the Nation, the quantity, quality, and distribution of water are becoming increasingly critical to economic growth and people's health, safety, and comfort. Most areas are experiencing increasing demands on water supplies because of population growth, industrial expansion, and additional irrigation of croplands. Many places are subject to floods, and many parts of the country have been severely affected by drought, if not by chronic water shortages. In some locations, deteriorating quality of surface water and, especially, ground water is of major concern. Shifts in population, changes in land use, and transformations in mineral and food-production activities are placing new demands on existing water supplies. Thus, competition for currently available supplies of water of acceptable quality has heightened dramatically among domestic, industrial, and agricultural users. As a result, there is a growing need for reliable hydrologic data to facilitate planning, development, and management of the resource.
Water-data collection is a necessary role of government. The costs and benefits of several alternative funding and management options are examined in table 1. The options shown in the table are funding and operations by a single Federal agency, funding and operations by each agency needing data, and a partnership between a central Federal agency and the major beneficiaries of the data. The third is the system in use in the United States today with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) acting as the central Federal agency.
Table 1. Options to fund and manage a national water data program; Option C is used at present
Evaluation criteria A. Funding and operations in a B. Funding and operations C. Funded as partnership
single Federal agency centered in each agency that between a central Federal
needs the data agency and a variety of major
beneficiaries. Federal agency
operates the network
Operational efficiency High---Single system of data col- Low---Many organizations need High---Single system of data col
lecting, processing, and dis to create their own duplicate lection, processing, and dis
semination; equipment capabilities semination; equipment
testing; and training of staff testing; and training of staff
Responsiveness to Moderate---Users do not have High---Network totally paid for High---Network design negoti-
needs of major users much influence over network by major users ated with major users
Accessibility of infor- High---Data available in a single Low---No assurance that data will High---Data available in a single
mation to secondary data base; free to all users, be entered into widely avail- data base; free to all users,
users or future users including users many years able data bases including users many years
after data have been collected after data have been collected
Quality Assurance High---National training and Uncertain quality and variable High---National training and
quality assurance can be methodologies quality assurance can be
Likelihood of innova- High---Funded as small percent Low---Large percentage of pro- High---Funded as small percent-
tive research and age of network cost; successes gram cost to invest in research age of network cost; successes
development to quickly applied throughout and development, resulting in quickly applied throughout
improve effective- entire network isolated development and entire network
ness or accuracy of application
Ability to respond to High---Technology and methods Low---Technology and methods High---Technology and methods
emergencies (e.g. consistent; all staff work for differ among States. Deploy- consistent; all staff work for
floods)--rapid same agency ment of staff unlikely because same agency
deployment of of interstate work and travel
trained staff to other restrictions
parts of the country
Usefulness of data for High---Data are trusted because Low---Data would be associated High---Data are trusted because
adjudication of water the agency collecting them is a with one of the parties and may the agency collecting them is a
rights or settlement credible, disinterested third be distrusted by others credible, disinterested third
of disputes party party
Cost to Federal Gov- High---Whole program funded by Low---Cost covered by the major Medium---Cost shared by Federal
ernment Federal Government beneficiaries---State and local Government and State and
government plus Federal water local governments
Total cost Medium---Single infrastructure High---Duplication of infrastruc- Medium---Single infrastructure
nationwide (computer systems ture and need to duplicate mea- nationwide (computer systems
and data-base structure). Net surements on either side of a and data-base structure). Net-
work coordinated across State jurisdictional boundary work coordinated across State
Cost to major Low---Users are not asked to pay High---Major beneficiaries pay Medium---Major beneficiaries
beneficiaries any of the cost directly the whole cost pay a share of the cost
Conclusions High efficiency---High cost to Low efficiency---Low cost to High efficiency---Medium cost
Federal Government, medium Federal Government, high cus- to Federal Government, high
customer responsiveness, con tomer responsiveness, incon customer responsiveness, con-
sistent data available to all sistent data availability sistent data available to all
The USGS provides much of the hydrologic information collected in the Nation. The USGS was established March 3, 1879, and began stream gaging in the West in 1888. The fact that the USGS neither designs, builds, nor operates water projects is, in large part, the basis for the impartiality that has characterized USGS work through the years. With time, a framework began to take shape that eventually led to a water program closely attuned to local data needs, yet sufficiently broad to provide the information required to plan and assess regional water-resources development and management.
The USGS maintains a nationwide system of stream-gaging stations, ground-water observation wells, and water-quality sampling locations for ground and surface waters. The resulting data provide an invaluable foundation for addressing emerging issues and form the basis for water-resources appraisals, environmental impact assessments, and contamination studies. These issues include identification and analysis of potential problems related to movement and storage of toxic wastes, acid precipitation, organic contamination in surface and ground water, agriculture, land-use changes, and hydrologic hazards.
USGS funding support for the hydrologic data program is derived from three major sources---the USGS Federal Program, the Federal--State Cooperative Program, and reimbursements from other Federal agencies. The sources of funds for operation of continuous surface-water discharge stations are shown in figure 1. A wide variety of agencies at Federal, State, and local levels furnish support to the Survey, and activities at a single data-collection site commonly are funded by a combination of sources. More than 600 agencies provide funding to the USGS for the operation of continuous-record stream-gaging stations.
Figure 1. Number of continuous-record surface-water-discharge stations operated by the USGS and sources of funding support in 1994.
Personnel assigned to USGS offices throughout the 50 States, Guam, and Puerto Rico currently (1995) collect data at many sites (table 2): more than 12,000 surface-water stage and discharge stations, about 32,000 wells where ground-water level and (or) pumpage data are collected annually or more frequently, and about 3,100 surface-water stations and 6,900 wells where water-quality information is collected.
Table 2. Number of USGS data-collection stations operated in 1994, by source of funds
Types of Federal Federal- Other Combine Total
stations Progra State Federal d
m Cooper- Agency support
Discharge 638 6,419 2,219 964 10,240
Stage-only-- 47 968 850 183 2,048
Surface-water-discharge (flow) data were collected by the USGS at 10,240 stations in 1994. At 7,426 of these stations, continuous discharge was computed, which means that the flow can be determined for any moment of any day. At 2,814 other stations, partial records were collected. For example, at stations where there is an interest only in peak flows, data are collected and recorded only at stages above a predetermined level. At all stations where discharge was computed, a record of the stage (water-surface elevation) was maintained either continuously or during certain events at partial-record stations. In addition, information on stage only was collected by the USGS at 991 stream-gaging stations. Stage data were also collected at 1,057 stations on lakes and reservoirs.
Quality 778 1,666 426 228 3,098
Water levels 2,344 27,029 2,421 237 32,031
Quality 691 4,602 1,347 216 6,856
Water-level fluctuations are indicators of the stresses placed on aquifers, their ability to yield water, and the quantity of water in storage beneath the Earth's surface. The USGS collected information on ground-water levels at 32,031 sites in 1994. Ground-water level data were collected at 26,303 stations to assess long-term trends. When special areal studies were conducted, water-level data occasionally were collected on a short-term basis to supplement the information available in the area from the long-term stations. In 1994, ground-water level data were collected at 5,728 stations for these investigations.
In 1994, stream and lake samples were collected at 3,098 stations nationwide and analyzed for water-quality characteristics. The types of water-quality characteristics measured vary from site to site. A continuous record was maintained at 771 of these sites. At 2,018 stream sites, water-quality data were collected as part of a scheduled long-term operation. At 1,080 stations, samples were collected for short-term projects.
Ground water was sampled and analyzed at 6,856 stations in 1994. To maintain information on the changes in quality of critical ground-water bodies, samples were collected at 2,756 stations as part of a scheduled long-term operation. Ground-water quality data also were collected at 4,100 stations to provide information needed for short-term studies.
Data from USGS stations are used for many purposes, including the following:
Stream-gaging stations provide information to assist water managers in making daily operational decisions on water requirements for municipal, industrial, and agricultural use; hydroelectric power generation; and space in reservoirs for flood control. For example, data from many USGS stations are used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), the Bureau of Reclamation, and others to operate more than 2,000 flood control, navigation, and water-supply reservoirs. More than 3,000 of the stations operated by the USGS are used in the National Weather Service's (NWS) flood-forecasting system.
- Enhancing the public safety by providing current data for forecasting and managing floods
- Identifying and managing flood plains
- Operating and designing multipurpose reservoirs
- Managing releases of treated water or mitigating the effects of pollution
- Designing highway bridges and culverts
- Determining and monitoring instream flow needs
- Developing or operating recreation facilities
- Producing power
- Designing, operating, and maintaining navigation facilities
- Allocating water for municipal, industrial, and irrigation uses
- Characterizing current water-resource conditions (quantity and quality)
- Administering compacts or resolving conflicts on interstate rivers
- Defining and apportioning the water resources at the borders with Canada and Mexico
Today, more than one-half of currently operating stream-gaging stations use automated earth-satellite telemetry equipment for the transmission of data from the collection site. Data are transmitted around the clock by means of two geostationary satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These data then are retransmitted through a domestic satellite, and the resulting data are received by the USGS and other users. The automated telemetry provides water-data users with provisional information in a time frame that meets water management needs. This system gives the USGS the capability to continuously monitor the operation of the hydrologic stations so that visits to the stations (for maintenance, instrument calibration, selective data collection) can be planned with maximum effectiveness.
During the 1993 Mississippi River floods, USGS personnel made more than 2,000 visits to stream-gaging stations in the flood-affected areas to verify that the instruments were working properly and to make direct measurements of the streamflow. Data from these stations were provided continuously to the NWS and the COE and formed the basis for flood forecasts that allowed people to be evacuated from areas about to be inundated. It also enabled the COE and others to focus flood-fighting activities where they were most needed. The USGS was able to move staff from other locations into the disaster area. These hydrologists and technicians were already familiar with the equipment and procedures so they could begin work immediately upon arrival.
Surface- and ground-water and water-quality data commonly are closely related. For example, water-quality sampling and analysis provide information on the concentrations of chemical constituents in the water. Some water-quality sampling is done only within pre-specfied ranges of discharge as determined by stream-gaging stations. These stations also generate the flow data needed to convert concentrations to loads (the total amount of the material transported by the water), which is required to characterize the movement and fate of the material in the stream. Because ground water at times either discharges to or is recharged by streams, knowledge of the overall hydrologic system is necessary to the understanding of water quality in that system. A few specific examples of uses of ground-water and water-quality data are as follows:
To meet local and national data needs, the USGS cooperates with State and local governments and other Federal agencies in conducting investigations and research on the availability, quality, and utilization of surface- and ground-water resources. This work depends on the systematic nationwide program of data collection, analysis, and dissemination. Over the years, the Water-Data Program has achieved a high degree of credibility because the resulting information has been used and tested by many organizations and individuals in government and private sectors. In large measure, this credibility is the result of continuous efforts to ensure that data are collected, analyzed, and disseminated through thoroughly proven methods and techniques under rigorous standards of quality control.
- Water levels are measured semi-annually at more than 1,000 wells in west-central Florida to document the potentiometric surface of the Floridan aquifer. This information is used to update ground-water-flow models of the Florida Water Management Districts.
- Water-quality stations are operated in the Delaware River estuary to monitor the location of the freshwater/saltwater interface. This information is used to protect the water supplies of southwestern New Jersey.
- Utilities in South Carolina and other States use realtime water-temperature and conductance data to manage the release of effluent from power-generation plants.
- Specific conductance and chloride concentrations are measured at many coastal locations to monitor the movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers.
Viewed from today's perspective of environmental concerns, technologic change, resource depletion, and population stress, the USGS's Water-Data Program is the foundation for many decisions involving water and water-related resources. The success of the Program in anticipating and responding to changing priorities and emergencies stems directly from its effective blending of Federal, State, and local inputs. The Program shares with Federal and non-Federal cooperators the cost and the responsibility for the design and management of the system. As a result of these and other characteristics, the Water-Data Program has acquired an unusual record of scientific objectivity, which is especially significant in assessing the environmental and legal aspects of water-resource developments and control measures.
The USGS publishes hydrologic data in a series of annual reports for each State and catalogs these reports in a monthly list of USGS publications. Beginning with the 1990 water year, water data reports also are available on Compact Disk--Read Only Memory (CD--ROM). The Water- Data Reports and the CD--ROM are distributed to participating agencies and to libraries; they are also available for sale by the Books and Open-File Reports Section, USGS, Denver, Colorado. In 1994, the USGS began moving more and more of these data to online accessibility over the Internet, thus making their availability virtually instantaneous and free.
The data are stored in the USGS's National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System (WATSTORE), which includes a Daily Values File that contains 300 million observations of streamflow, water quality, sediment-discharge, and ground-water-level data; a Water Quality File that contains 4.1 million surface- and ground-water analyses; a Peak Flow File that contains nearly 600,000 observations of annual peaks of streamflow and river stage; and a Ground Water Site Inventory File that contains information for more than 1.4 million wells.
---Bruce K. Gilbert
from U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Fact Sheet FS-065-95
For more information contact any of the following:
- Office of the Regional Hydrologist, NR, National Center, Mail Stop 433, Reston, Virginia 20192
Conn., Del., D.C., Ill, Ind., Ky, Maine, Md., Mass., Mich, NH., N.J., N.Y., Ohio, Pa., R.I., Vt., Va., W.Va., and Wis.
- Office of the Regional Hydrologist, SR, Spalding Woods Office Park, 3850 Holcomb Bridge Road, Suite 160, Norcross, Georgia 30092-0223
Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., Mo., N.C.,
P.R., S.C., Tenn., and V.I.
- Office of the Regional Hydrologist, CR,
Mail Stop 406, Box 25046,
Denver Federal Center,
Lakewood, Colorado 80225
Colo., Iowa, Kans., Minn., Mont., Nebr.,
N. Mex., N. Dak., Okla., S. Dak., Tex.,
- Office of the Regional Hydrologist, WR,
345 Middlefield Road, Mail Stop 470,
Menlo Park, California 94025-3591
Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Guam, Hawaii, Idaho,
Nev., Oreg., Utah, and Wash.>
- Additional earth science information can be found by accessing the USGS Home Page
- USGS Node of National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse
- For more information on all USGS reports and products (including maps, images, and computerized data), call 1-888-ASK-USGS
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Last modified: 1100 25 JUL 95 dlb