Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination

Locations of Toxics Program Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination Investigations (Click on map for larger version) View of a data logger used to control a pump that injects a tracer solution into a stream during a stream tracer test -- from the Abandoned Hard-Rock Mining Photo Gallery

The Toxics Program conducts watershed- and regional-scale investigations of legacy, current, and emerging contaminants affecting aquatic ecosystems from common types of nonpoint and distributed point-source contamination. More about watershed- and regional-scale contamination investigations

Watershed Contamination from Hard-Rock Mining

Pesticide Contamination in Varied Pesticide-Use Settings

Emerging Contaminants in the Environment

Mercury in Aquatic Ecosystems

Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative

Priority Ecosystem Studies

Complete listing of watershed and regional scale investigations and projects >>

Other Watershed- and Regional-Scale Investigations

• Fate of Organic Compounds in River Systems, Lower Calcasieu River, Louisiana [Completed]
• Management Systems Evaluation Areas, Upper Midwest (Corn Belt) [Completed]
• Nonpoint-Source Ground-Water Contamination in Relation to Land Use [Completed]
• National Irrigation Water Quality Program (NIWQP) [Completed]

Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination Information

• Index of Bibliographies from Point-Source Investigations
• Index of Photo Galleries for Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination Investigations
• Crosscutting Topics Related to Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination
• Agricultural Chemicals — Occurrence and fate of chemicals used for agriculture
• Contaminant Occurrence Studies — Large-scale studies of the occurrence and distribution of new contaminants in the environment
• Nutrients — Fate and effects of nutrients in the environment
• Surface-Water Contaminant Transport — Research on the transport and fate of contaminants in surface water
• Unsaturated Zone — Contaminant transport and fate in the unsaturated zone
• Selected Fact Sheets on Watershed- and Regional-Scale Contamination
• USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, 2010: USGS Fact Sheet 2010-3011
• Water quality in the Blue River Basin, Kansas City metropolitan area, Missouri and Kansas, July 1998 to October 2004: USGS Fact Sheet 2006-3103.
• Wastewater chemicals in Colorado's streams and ground water: USGS Fact Sheet 2004-3127.
• Trends in the water budget of the Mississippi River basin, 1949-1997: USGS Fact Sheet 2005-3020.
• Is septic waste affecting drinking water from shallow domestic wells along the Platte River in eastern Nebraska?: USGS Fact Sheet 072-03.
• Linking selenium sources to ecosystems--San Francisco Bay-Delta model: USGS Fact Sheet 2004-3091.
• Water quality of the Boulder Creek watershed, Colorado: USGS Fact Sheet 043-03.
• Mercury in stream ecosystems--New studies initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey: USGS Fact Sheet 016-03.
• Occurrence of antibiotics in water from fish hatcheries: USGS Fact Sheet 120-02.
• Glacial ice cores reveal a record of natural and anthropogenic atmospheric mercury deposition for the last 270 years: USGS Fact Sheet FS-051-02.
• Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams: USGS Fact Sheet FS-027-02.
• Malformed frogs in Minnesota--An update: USGS Fact Sheet FS-043-01.
• Nitrogen in the Mississippi Basin--Estimating sources and predicting flux to the Gulf of Mexico: USGS Fact Sheet 135-00.
• Mercury contamination from historic gold mining in California: USGS Fact Sheet FS-061-00.
• Discharge of herbicides from the Mississippi River Basin to the Gulf of Mexico, 1991-97: USGS Fact Sheet FS-163-98.
• Occurrence of cotton pesticides in surface water of the Mississippi Embayment: USGS Fact Sheet FS-022-98.
• Herbicides in rain fall across the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, 1990-91: USGS Fact Sheet FS-181-97.
• Herbicides in Midwestern reservoir outflows, 1992-93: USGS Fact Sheet FS-134-98.
• Herbicides in ground water of the Midwest--A regional study of shallow aquifers, 1991-94: USGS Fact Sheet FS-076-98.
• A reconnaissance for sulfonylurea herbicides in waters of the Midwestern USA: An example of collaboration between the public and private sectors: USGS Fact Sheet FS-046-98.
• Methods to identify areas susceptible to irrigation-induced selenium contamination in the Western United States: USGS Fact Sheet FS-O38-97.
• Source characterization of disinfection byproduct precursors in two Arkansas water-supply reservoirs: USGS Fact Sheet 118-97.
• Agricultural chemicals in Iowa's ground water, 1982-95 -- What are the trends: USGS Fact Sheet FS-116-97.
• Are walleye from Lake Roosevelt contaminated with mercury?: USGS Fact Sheet FS-102-97.
• Vulnerability of public drinking water supplies in New Jersey to pesticides: USGS Fact Sheet FS-165-96.
• Using Geochemical and Statistical Tools to Identify Irrigated Areas that Might Contain High Selenium Concentrations in Surface Water: USGS Fact Sheet FS-O77-96.
• Mercury Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems: USGS Fact Sheet FS-216-95.

Meetings and Conferences

• USGS cosponsors the special session Nutrient Sources and Cycling in Aquatic Systems at the 2009 AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, California, December 14-18, 2009
• USGS cosponsors the special session Fate and Behavior of Pharmaceuticals in Treated Wastewaters, Sludge and River Waters at the SETAC 30th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 19-23, 2009
• The USGS sponsored the special session Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals--Analytical Methods and Environment Processes at the SETAC 30th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 19-23, 2009
• USGS and Montana Tech of the University of Montana co-sponsor the Special Session Diurnal Biogeochemical Processes in Rivers, Lakes, and Shallow Groundwater at the 2009 GSA Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, October 18-21, 2009
• USGS science featured at the AAAS symposium San Francisco Bay: Tracking and Understanding a Changing Estuary, San Francisco, California, August 17, 2009

New Publications

Upcoming Publications

• Occurrence of boscalid and other selected fungicides in surface water and groundwater in three targeted use areas in the United States: Reilly, T.J., Smalling, K.L., Orlando, J.L., and Kuivila, K.M., Chemosphere, doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.04.023 (IN PRESS).
• Assessing time-integrated dissolved concentrations and predicting toxicity of metals during diel cycling in streams: Balistrieri, L.S., Nimick, D.A., and Mebane, C.A., Science of the Total Environment, no. 0, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.03.008 (IN PRESS).
• Population dynamics of Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) in mesohaline and oligohaline habitats--Invasion success in a southern Europe estuary: Franco, J.N., Ceia, F.R., Patrício, J., Modesto, V., Thompson, J., Marques, J.C., and Neto, J.M., Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2011.07.014 (IN PRESS).
• Methylation of Hg downstream from the Bonanza Hg mine, Oregon: Gray, J.E., Hines, M.E., Krabbenhoft, D.P., and Thoms, B., Applied Geochemistry, v. 27, no. 1, p. 106-114, doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.09.019 (IN PRESS).
• Earthworm bioassays and seed germination for monitoring biosolids toxicity, aging and bioaccumulation of anthropogenic waste indicator compounds in biosolids-amended soil: Kinney, C.A., Campbell, B.R., Thompson, R., Furlong, E.T., Kolpin, D.W., Burkardt, M.R., Zaugg, S.D., Werner, S.L., and Hay, A.G., Environmental Science and Technology (IN PRESS).
• Dissolved pesticides, dissolved organic carbon, and water-quality characteristics in selected Idaho streams, April-December 2010: Reilly, T.J., Smalling, K.L., Wilson, E.R., and Battaglin, W.A., U.S. Geological Survey Data Series (IN PRESS).

Newly Published

• Occurrence and potential sources of pyrethroid insecticides in stream sediments from seven U.S. metropolitan areas: Kuivila, K.M., Hladik, M.L., Ingersoll, C.G., Kemble, N.E., Moran, P.W., Calhoun, D.L., Nowell, L.H., and Gilliom, R.J., 2012, Environmental Science and Technology, v. 46, no. 8, p. 4297-4303, doi:10.1021/es2044882.
• Trophic transfer efficiency of methylmercury and inorganic mercury to lake trout Salvelinus namaycush from its prey: Madenjian, C.P., David, S.R., and Krabbenhoft, D.P., 2012, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, doi:10.1007/s00244-012-9767-2 (Advanced Web release).
• Combined sewer overflows--An environmental source of hormones and wastewater micropollutants: Phillips, P.J., Chalmers, A.T., Gray, J.L., Kolpin, D.W., Foreman, W.T., and Wall, G.R., 2012, Environmental Science and Technology, doi:10.1021/es3001294.
• Fish endocrine disruption responses to a major wastewater treatment facility upgrade: Barber, L.B., Vajda, A.M., Douville, C., Norris, D.O., and Writer, J.H., 2012, Environmental Science and Technology, v. 46, no. 4, p. 2121-2131, doi:10.1021/es202880e.
• Hydrology and methylmercury availability in coastal plain streams (Chapter 8): Bradley, P., and Journey, C., 2012 in Nayak, P., ed., Water Resources Management and Modeling, Rijeka, Croatia, InTech, p. 169-190, ISBN:9789535102465.
• Population dynamics of Corbicula fluminea (MŸller, 1774) in mesohaline and oligohaline habitats--Invasion success in a southern Europe estuary: Franco, J.N., Ceia, F.R., Patr’cio, J., Modesto, V., Thompson, J., Marques, J.C., and Neto, J.M., 2012, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2011.07.014.
• Integrating field observations and inverse and forward modeling--Application at a site with acidic, heavy-metal-contaminated groundwater (Chapter 8): Glynn, P.D., and Brown, J.G., 2012 in Bundschuh, J., and Zilberbrand, M., eds., Geochemical Modeling of Groundwater, Vadose and Geothermal Systems, Boca Raton, Fla., CRC Press, v. 5 (Multiphysics Modeling), p. 181-234.
• Dissolved organic matter enhances microbial mercury methylation under sulfidic conditions: Graham, A.M., Aiken, G.R., and Gilmour, C.C., 2012, Environmental Science and Technology, v. 46, no. 5, p. 2715-2723, doi:10.1021/es203658f.
• Pyrethroid insecticides in bed sediments from urban and agricultural streams across the United States: Hladik, M.L., and Kuivila, K.M., 2012, Journal of Environmental Monitoring.
• Occurrence and potential sources of pyrethroid insecticides in stream sediments from seven U.S. metropolitan areas: Kuivila, K.M., Hladik, M.L., Ingersoll, C.G., Kemble, N.E., Moran, P.W., Calhoun, D.L., Nowell, L.H., and Gilliom, R.J., 2012, Environmental Science and Technology, doi:10.1021/es2044882.
• Concentration of organic contaminants in fish and their biological effects in a wastewater-dominated urban stream: Lozano, N., Rice, C.P., Pagano, J., Zintek, L., Barber, L.B., Murphy, E.W., Nettesheim, T., Minarik, T., and Schoenfuss, H.L., 2012, Science of the Total Environment, v. 420, p. 191-201, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.12.059.
• Contaminants in stream sediments from seven U.S. metropolitan areas--Data summary of a national pilot study: Moran, P.W., Calhoun, D.L., Nowell, L.H., Kemble, N.E., Ingersoll, C.G., Hladik, M.L., Kuivila, K.M., Falcone, J.A., and Gilliom, R.J., 2012, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5092, 66 p.
• Litterfall mercury dry deposition in the Eastern USA: Risch, M.R., DeWild, J.F., Krabbenhoft, D.P., Kolka, R.K., and Zhang, L., 2012, Environmental Pollution, v. 161, p. 284-290, doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2011.06.005.
• Evaluating remedial alternatives for an acid mine drainage stream--A model post audit: Runkel, R.L., Kimball, B.A., Walton-Day, K., Verplanck, P.L., and Broshears, R.E., 2012, Environmental Science and Technology, v. 46, no. 1, p. 340-347, doi:10.1021/es2038504.
• Steroid hormone runoff from agricultural test plots applied with municipal biosolids: Yang, Y.-Y., Gray, J.L., Furlong, E.T., Davis, J.G., ReVello, R.C., and Borch, T., 2012, Environmental Science and Technology, v. 46, no. 5, p. 2746-2754, doi:10.1021/es203896t.