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Ground-Water Quality Of The Northern High Plains Aquifer, 1997, 2002–04, Jennifer S. Stanton, Sharon L. Qi

Publications of the US Geological Survey

An assessment of ground-water quality in the northern High Plains aquifer was completed during 1997 and 2002–04. Ground-water samples were collected at 192 low-capacity, primarily domestic wells in four major hydrogeologic units of the northern High Plains aquifer—Ogallala Formation, Eastern Nebraska, Sand Hills, and Platte River Valley. Each well was sampled once, and water samples were analyzed for physical properties and concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, pesticides and pesticide degradates, dissolved solids, major ions, trace elements, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), radon, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Tritium and microbiology were analyzed at selected sites. The results of this assessment …

Ground-Water Quality Beneath Irrigated Cropland Of The Northern And Southern High Plains Aquifer, Nebraska And Texas, 2003–04, Jennifer S. Stanton, Lynne Fahlquist

Publications of the US Geological Survey

A study of the quality of ground water beneath irrigated cropland was completed for the northern and southern High Plains aquifer. Ground-water samples were collected from 30 water-table monitoring wells in the northern agricultural land-use (NAL) study area in Nebraska in 2004 and 29 water-table monitoring wells in the southern agricultural land-use (SAL) study area in Texas in 2003. The two study areas represented different agricultural and hydrogeologic settings. The primary crops grown in the NAL study area were corn and soybeans, and the primary crop in the SAL study area was cotton. Overall, pesticide and fertilizer application rates were …

Use Of Sediment Rating Curves And Optical Backscatter Data To Characterize Sediment Transport In The Upper Yuba River Watershed, California, 2001–03, Jennifer A. Curtis, Lorraine E. Flint, Charles N. Alpers, Scott A. Wright, Noah P. Snyder

Publications of the US Geological Survey

Sediment transport in the upper Yuba River watershed, California, was evaluated from October 2001 through September 2003. This report presents results of a three-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the California Ecosystem Restoration Program of the California Bay–Delta Authority and the California Resources Agency. Streamflow and suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) samples were collected at four gaging stations; however, this report focuses on sediment transport at the Middle Yuba River (11410000) and the South Yuba River (11417500) gaging stations. Seasonal suspended-sediment rating curves were developed using a group-average method and non-linear least-squares regression. Bed-load transport relations were used …

Geochemical Data For Mercury, Methylmercury, And Other Constituents In Sediments From Englebright Lake, California, 2002, Charles N. Alpers, Michael P. Hunerlach, Mark C. Marvin-Dipasquale, Ronald C. Antweiler, Brenda K. Lasorsa, John F. De Wild, Noah P. Snyder

Publications of the US Geological Survey

This report presents geochemical data from two 2002 sampling campaigns conducted in Englebright Lake on the Yuba River in northern California. A deep coring campaign was done in May–June 2002 and a shallow sampling campaign was completed in October 2002. This work assessed the chemical composition of material deposited in the reservoir between 1940, the year Englebright Dam was completed, and 2002 as part of the Upper Yuba River Studies Program, an effort designed to evaluate the feasibility of introducing anadromous fish, including steelhead and spring-run Chinook salmon, upstream from Englebright Dam. Results of analyses of total mercury (HgT) in …

The Sparrow Surface Water-Quality Model: Theory, Application And User Documentation, G. E. Schwarz, A. B. Hoos, R. B. Alexander, R. A. Smith

Publications of the US Geological Survey

SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes) is a watershed modeling technique for relating water-quality measurements made at a network of monitoring stations to attributes of the watersheds containing the stations. The core of the model consists of a nonlinear regression equation describing the non-conservative transport of contaminants from point and diffuse sources on land to rivers and through the stream and river network. The model predicts contaminant flux, concentration, and yield in streams and has been used to evaluate alternative hypotheses about the important contaminant sources and watershed properties that control transport over large spatial scales.

This report provides …