Water Resources Programs

USGS Programs Managed by the Water Resources Discipline

• Cooperative Matching Funds
  Conducts data collection and investigations that form the foundation for water-resources management and planning activities nationwide, through partnerships with over 1,000 State and local agencies.
• Water Resources Research Program
  Supports water resources research, education, and information transfer at the 54 university-based State Water Resources Research Institutes, through the use of matching grants.
• Water Availability and Use Science Program (WAUSP)
  Provides a more accurate assessment of the status of the water resources of the U.S.; assists in the determination of the quantity and quality of water that is available for beneficial uses; identifies long-term trends in water availability; and develops the basis for an improved ability to forecast the availability of water for economic, energy production, and environmental uses.
• Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program
  Identifies, measures, and assesses the Nation’s water resources and monitors groundwater and streamflow, including floods and droughts, related to groundwater resources at the regional/national scales.
• National Water Quality Program
  Provides an understanding of water-quality conditions; whether conditions are getting better or worse over time; and how natural features and human activities affect those conditions.
  

Sub-Programs

• Water Information Coordination Program (WICP)
  Ensures the availability of cost effective water information required to make effective decisions for natural resources management and environmental protection.
• National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN)
  Focuses on the water quality of four of the Nation's largest river systems—the Mississippi (including the Missouri and Ohio), the Columbia, the Colorado, and the Rio Grande.
• Hydrologic Benchmark Network (HBN)
  Provides long-term measurements of streamflow and water quality in pristine areas, to serve as a baseline and control for distinguishing natural from artificial changes in other streams.
• National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN)
  Monitors precipitation chemistry at about 200 sites nationwide.
• National Water-Use Program
  Examines the withdrawal, use, and return flow of water on local, State, and national levels.
• National Water-Quality Assessment Program
  Provides an understanding of water-quality conditions; whether conditions are getting better or worse over time; and how natural features and human activities affect those conditions. 
• National Park Service - Water Quality Partnership Program
  Empowers U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and National Park Service (NPS) resource managers to work in partnership to support a broad range of policy and management needs related to high-priority water-quality issues in national parks. 
  
• National Research Program
  Conducts research to develop and disseminate science-based information and tools needed for a fundamental understanding of the processes that affect the availability, movement, and quality of the Nation’s water resources. Our science supports a wide range of policies and activities

Initiatives

• National Water Census
  An initiative to provide a nationwide assessment of water availability and use. Information will be provided on components of the water budget, on water use, and ecological flow estimation. Regional Groundwater Studies will be expanded.
  

International Programs

• International Water Activities
  Activities of the USGS International Water Resources Branch