Fact Sheet United States Geological Survey Programs in Texas

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.

Flood-Related Activities The USGS also is involved in related Index of Subjects statewide studies, including a flood-fre­ quency analysis and a study of channel £ Iqpd-ieiatetj Activities Meteorologic and physiographic fac­ Ktonftoring^jf tand;Subsi6ertce tors in parts of Texas combine to produce scour at bridges. The flood-frequency National Water-duality, Assessment Program some of the most intense rainstorms in the analysis, which is done in cooperation Nation; these rainstorms cause severe, with (that is, on a cost-sharing basis with) Studie&ofilnvironmental Contamination ;at destructive floods somewhere in the State the Texas Department of Transportation, almost every year. A recent example is uses streamflow data collected at previous ^ud|es InvolMng AvaiteBlllyeand Management the catastrophic flooding in the Houston and current (1995) streamflow-gaging of Ground Water eplleistjoh of tHyHrotcpc Data, area in October 1994 that resulted in at sites to predict streamflow characteristics, such as flood magnitude and probability. Assessment of XDif andffJSS; Resourcefs, least 22 deaths, hundreds of millions of Studies of jContamlrratiorf from Oil;and Gas Pro** The information from this study, together dollars in property damage, and substan­ with knowledge of low-flow streamflow tial environmental damage. When flood­ characteristics at gaging sites, is useful in Estuaries ing is imminent, the U.S. Geological bridge and highway design, reservoir National ppat Resources: Data System! Survey (USGS) mobilizes field crews that design and operation, and waste-dis­ work around the clock making direct i Earth Observation Data charge and pollution-abatement activities. CqdjpierMive Programs measurements of streamflow and water- surface elevations. The data collected by Strong currents, such as those caused tible to scour-related failure. The work also includes development and testing of USGS personnel are provided continu­ by floodwaters, can erode the streambed instrumentation for monitoring streambed ously to the National Weather Service and at the foundation of a bridge. If the stre­ scour at bridges during floods. the Federal Emergency Management ambed is eroded (scoured) sufficiently, Agency among others. The data collected then the foundation can shift, causing during a series of floods provide a chro­ sudden failure of the bridge. Studies of Monitoring of nology of historical peak streamflows and streambed scour in Texas by the USGS, Land Subsidence water-surface elevations that aid in flood done in cooperation with the Texas Compaction of underground clay lay­ forecasting and the design of structures to Department of Transportation, are identi­ ers caused by the withdrawal of large convey or withstand flood waters. fying the bridges in the State most suscep- amounts of ground water, as well as oil and gas, in the Houston area has resulted in land subsidence from 1 to nearly 10 feet in an area of more than 5,000 square miles. Tidal inundation and (or) increased frequency of flooding in subsidence- affected areas (fig. 1) have required the expenditure of millions of dollars to reclaim submerged lands, construct levees, and elevate structures and road­ ways.

The USGS, in cooperation with the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District, continually monitors land sub­ sidence in the Houston area. Global Posi­ tioning System technology uses satellites to measure land-surface elevations with an accuracy of less than 1 centimeter. The elevation data are electronically transmit­ ted each day to a computer at the Subsid­ Figure 1. The effects of land subsidence tidal inundation of yard at Baytown, Texas. ence District office. lay reports to local, State, and Federal Studies of Environmental agencies and to the public. Contamination at Federal Installations A principal goal of the Trinity River Basin study is the detection of trends in Several U.S. Department of Defense streamwater quality over time. This is sites and a U.S. Department of Energy being done by examining cores of bottom site in Texas have reported the contamina­ sediments in reservoirs and by correlating tion of soil or shallow ground water by the ages of sediment layers in the cores to hazardous or radioactive substances. concentrations of various trace elements These contaminants have the potential to and organic constituents in those layers. migrate into drinking-water supplies or For example, examination of cores of sed­ other water resources. The USGS is coop­ iment from White Rock Lake in Dallas erating with the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air has shown that concentrations of lead in Force, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Figure 2. NAWQA study units in Texas. the bottom sediments were constant from and Department of Energy in a variety of 1910 to the late 1950's. Lead concentra­ complex contaminant hydrology, hydro- tions increased about fivefold between geology, and lake studies at Federal Aquifers are an important source of about 1960 and the early 1970's, when installations. A major study is in progress water supply in the Houston area, rapid urbanization of the watershed at the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve although measures have been taken to began. Concentrations decreased mark­ Plant and the adjacent Naval Air Station- reduce the area's dependence on ground edly from the early 1970's to the present, Dallas in Grande Prairie to determine water and thus reduce land subsidence. coincident with the change to unleaded whether contaminants from sites on the Because of the relation between ground- gasoline. installations have affected the water qual­ water withdrawals and land subsidence, ity and aquatic ecology of adjacent Moun­ the USGS, in cooperation with the Har- Effects of Urbanization and tain Creek Lake and whether contam­ ris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence Dis­ Agriculture on Water Quality inants have migrated into the well casings trict, the Fort Bend Subsidence District, of deep water-supply wells that pass and the city of Houston, measures and The USGS is cooperating with local through contaminated zones in the shal­ prepares reports of changes in ground- water-resources management agencies to low aquifer. water levels in the Houston area. monitor stormwater runoff in many of the The USGS is assisting the Air Force major urban areas in Texas. These data Plant 4 in Fort Worth in studies involving have been collected for several years in National Water-Quality issues similar to those at Grand Prairie. the Austin, the Dallas-Fort Worth, the Assessment Program Hazardous substances from the Superfund Houston, and the San Antonio metropoli­ site at the installation have contaminated The long-term goals of the National tan areas. Information obtained from parts of the shallow aquifer; the installa­ Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) stormwater monitoring and characteriza­ tion is adjacent to residential areas and a Program are to describe the status and tion studies has been used by the cooper­ reservoir. One of the studies is defining trends in the quality of a large representa­ ating agencies to assess the effectiveness the ground-water-flow system and charac­ tive part of the Nation's surface- and of stormwater-detention structures, to terizing ground-water quality in the resi­ ground-water resources and to identify establish basinwide water-quality ordi­ dential areas adjacent to the plant. the natural and human factors that affect nances, to assess the quality of recharge their quality. The NAWQA Program will water entering the Edwards aquifer in the At the Superfund site at the Pantex produce a wealth of water-quality infor­ Austin and the San Antonio areas, and to Plant near Amarillo, the USGS, in coop­ mation that will be useful to policymakers serve as the basis for permitting stormwa­ eration with the Department of Energy and water managers at local, State, and ter discharges into streams in the Dallas- and the Corps of Engineers, is conducting national levels. Fort Worth and the San Antonio metro­ a study to determine the potential for con­ politan areas. taminants in shallow ground water to Two NAWQA Program studies are migrate downward into water-yielding underway in Texas: the Trinity River The USGS is cooperating with the zones of the High Plains aquifer, which is Basin, which was started in 1991, and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation the major source of water supply in the South-Central Texas, which was started in Board in studies designed to help evaluate Texas Panhandle. 1994 and focuses on the Edwards aquifer the effectiveness of agricultural "best in the San Antonio region (fig. 2). Com­ management practices." A major study is Studies Involving Availability munication and coordination with water- underway in the Seco Creek Basin west of and Management of Ground management, environmental-protection, San Antonio to quantify the effects of Water and other water-resources agencies and farming and ranching best management institutions are key components of the practices on water quality and quantity, Aquifers supply about 60 percent of Program studies. Results of the studies sediment discharge to streams, and rates the freshwater used in Texas. Withdraw­ are presented in a variety of technical and of recharge to the Edwards aquifer. als of ground water from some aquifers at rates exceeding those of natural recharge which are water-quality-sampling sites Colorado River Basin has resulted in have reduced supplies and resulted in (fig. 3). widespread contamination of shallow extensive local water-level declines. For ground-water resources by saline waters. example, the Hueco bolson aquifer, which Because of the long-term, continual Several thousand acres of farmland and supplies the municipal and industrial nature of the data-collection program, the valuable water resources have been needs in the El Paso, Texas-Ciudad USGS is in a unique position to monitor affected by these saline waters. The Juarez, Mexico, area could be depleted in and assess trends in hydrologic condi­ USGS has developed and demonstrated the next century if not managed properly. tions. For example, trends in selected the application of airborne geophysical The USGS, in cooperation with the El water-quality constituents in the Trinity methods for mapping shallow saline Paso Water Utilities-Public Service River downstream of the Dallas-Fort waters. Published reports of studies by the Board, the Texas Water Development Worth metropolitan area since the mid- USGS have generated requests by the Board, and the U.S. Army, has monitored 1970's indicate that improvements in Texas Railroad Commission, the Lower the aquifer since the 1930's and is study­ wastewater treatment facilities have Colorado River Authority, several munic­ ing the water resources in this border improved the quality of water in the Trin­ ipal water districts, and private citizens area. ity River. for assistance in applying this technology to mapping of subsurface saline waters. Competition for ground-water supplies Assessment of Oil and The USGS is evaluating test areas for in the San Antonio region is intense, par­ Gas Resources application of airborne geophysical meth­ ticularly during drought. Withdrawals ods. from the Edwards aquifer to meet increas­ Texas is a major producer of oil and ing water-supply needs in the region are a gas. The USGS has contracted with the In addition, the USGS, in cooperation threat to the continuation of flows at Bureau of Economic Geology at the Uni­ with the Colorado River Municipal Water Comal Springs, which is the largest spring versity of Texas at Austin to help define District, has performed a detailed study of in the Southwest, and San Marcos and assess the potential for future petro­ the water-quality characteristics of Springs. The highly productive Edwards leum production in Texas. streams and aquifers and the processes aquifer is the region's only source of affecting the salinity of water in the upper water. Both springs supply base flow to Studies of Contamination Colorado River Basin. meet downstream water requirements, from Oil and Gas Production sustain federally listed endangered spe­ Assessment of Contamination of soil and surface cies, and are tourist attractions. The Environmental Degradation water by brine, which is a byproduct of USGS has monitored the quality and of Estuaries oil and gas production, occurs locally in quantity of the Edwards aquifer for more various parts of Texas and other oil- and The environmental degradation of than 60 years and is involved in studies to gas-producing States. Remediation efforts Texas estuaries, which are a major fisher­ provide the information needed by the are underway at some of the more con­ ies resource, has prompted a cooperative Edwards Underground Water District, the taminated sites, notable on State-owned program between the USGS, the Texas San Antonio Water System, and other lands scarred by salt from oil and gas pro­ Water Development Board, and the agencies to assess and manage the water duction in West Texas near Big Lake. Bureau of Economic Geology. The pro­ resources of the Edwards aquifer. Studies of geophysical data collected at gram began in three Texas estuarine sys­ the Big Lake site and at other sites in tems in 1993. The goal of the program is Collection of Hydrologic Data Texas show that in addition to salt con­ to develop a historical record of the water tamination, the soils may be contaminated supplied to the estuaries by determining The need for hydrologic information is by radium-bearing compounds. the rate of delta growth. This information fundamental to the design of water- will provide the data base needed to resources and transportation infrastruc­ The production of oil and gas in the develop a water-supply policy. Studies of ture, flood warning and damage mitiga­ the Trinity and Lavaca River Systems are tion, reservoir operation, maintenance of near completion; a study of the third sys­ acceptable water quality, and an under­ tem, the Nueces River, is expected to standing of environmental and human begin in 1995. health issues. A key part of the USGS work in Texas is the collection of hydro- National Coal Resources logic data, which is done in cooperation Data System with more than 60 local agencies, 7 State agencies, and 14 Federal agencies. The USGS, in cooperation with the Bureau of Economic Geology, began a The current surface-water data-collec­ study in 1979 to collect, evaluate, and tion network includes about 300 continu­ correlate drill hole, mine, and outcrop ous streamflow-gaging sites and more data; encode and enter geologic and than 200 water-quality-sampling sites. geochemical data into the National Coal The current ground-water data-collection Resources Data System (NCRDS); and Figure 3. 1995 water-quality network comprises about 700 wells, 97 of data-collection sites in Texas access NCRDS data bases and software to generate new maps, reports, and resource Over the past 24 years, the USGS has Board, the Texas Natural Resource Con­ assessments for each State. The continued had cooperative mapping agreements servation Commission, the General Land data collection and support of the NCRDS with the State of Texas. Initial agreements Office and Bureau of Economic Geology. data bases provide baseline information were for the completion of 1:24,000-scale These agencies and the USGS are devel­ that can be accessed for annual State USGS maps. A number of local and State oping a cooperative water-resources resource updates that can be used to meet agencies use these maps in forest and park project in conjunction with the Mexican many foreseen and unforeseen needs as management, geologic mapping, oil- and government that will serve as a prototype they arise. gas-well monitoring and documentation, for future water studies along the U.S.­ oil-spill-response operations, support of Mexico border. In the National Coal Assessment, the pipeline safety, environmental studies, USGS is working with the Bureau of Eco­ damage assessment after coastal storms, Earth Observation Data nomic Geology to identify the location of land-use studies, portrayal of the State's Through its Earth Resources Observa­ coal resources on public and private general land grid, and as a base for the tion Systems Data Center near Sioux lands, including coal potentially suitable State's transportation system. Agencies Falls, South Dakota, the USGS distributes for the export market. These resources are involved in the cooperative program with a variety of aerial photographs and satel­ identified and characterized with regard to the USGS are: the Texas Parks and Wild­ lite-image data products that cover the quality. Products resulting from the life Department, the Texas Department of entire State. Mapping photographs of National Coal Assessment are useful to Transportation, the Texas Water Develop­ some sites go back at least 40 years. Sat­ regulatory agencies, information agen­ ment Board, the Railroad Commission of ellite images can be used to study changes cies, land-management agencies, and Texas, and the Bureau of Economic Geol­ in regional landscapes since 1972. industrial and academic research teams. ogy. National Mapping Program Cooperative Programs In recent years, the emphasis on coop­ Among the most popular and versatile erative programs has shifted to support Work is pursued in partnership with products of the USGS are its 1:24,000- production of l:24,000-scale computer­ numerous State and local agencies in scale topographic maps (1 inch on the ized (digital) maps. Digital map data are addition to cooperating agencies named map represents 2,000 feet on the ground). used by the State in its geographic infor­ above. Others include the Sabine River These maps depict basic natural and cul­ mation systems (computer systems capa­ Authority; the cities of Austin, Dallas, tural features of the landscape, such as ble of assembling, storing, manipulating, and Corpus Christi; the Brazos River lakes and streams, highways and rail­ and displaying geographically referenced Authority; the Guadalupe-Blanco River roads, boundaries, and geographic names. information) to support the applications Authority; the Tarrant County Water Con­ Topographic contour lines are used to listed above that were originally accom­ trol and Improvement District No. 1; the depict the elevation and shape of terrain. plished by paper maps. North Central Texas Council of Govern­ The entire State of Texas is covered by ments; and the Trinity River Authority. 4,416 maps at this scale. The maps are In 1994, the USGS responded to The USGS provides support to the useful for engineering, land-use planning, requirements from State and Federal Texas Water Resources Institute at Texas natural-resource monitoring, and other agencies for digital map products cover­ A&M University, which conducts a pro­ technical applications, and have long ing areas along the Lower Rio Grande- gram of research, education, and informa­ been favorites with the general public for Rio Bravo Valley in Texas. Agencies tion and technology transfer. outdoor uses, including hiking, camping, requesting the data are: the Bureau of exploring, and back-country fishing expe­ Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ditions. Service, the Texas Water Development

For more information contact any of the following: For water information For geologic information Additional earth science information District Chief Assistant Chief Geologist can be found by accessing the USGS SOllCameronRoad Denver Federal Center, Mail Stop 911 "Home Page" on the World Wide Web at "http://www.usgs.gov". Austin, TX 78754 Denver, Colorado 80225 (512) 873-3002 (303) 236-5438

For map information For more information on all USGS reports Chief, Rocky Mountain Mapping Center and products (including maps, images, and computerized data), call 1-800-USA-MAPS. Denver Federal Center, Mail Stop 510 Denver, Colorado 80225 (303) 236-5825

U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey A U.S GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1994-647-231 Fact Sheet FS-043-95