U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Streamgaging Network: Overview and Issues for Congress
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Streamgaging Network: Overview and Issues for Congress Updated March 2, 2021 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45695 SUMMARY R45695 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Streamgaging March 2, 2021 Network: Overview and Issues for Congress Anna E. Normand Streamgages are fixed structures at streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs that measure water level Analyst in Natural and related streamflow—the amount of water flowing through a water body over time. The U.S. Resources Policy Geological Survey (USGS) in the Department of the Interior operates streamgages in every state, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Puerto Rico and Guam. The USGS Streamgaging Network encompasses 11,340 streamgages, which record water levels or streamflow for at least a portion of the year. Approximately 8,460 of these streamgages measure streamflow year round as part of the National Streamflow Network. The USGS also deploys temporary rapid deployment gages to measure water levels during storm events, and select streamgages measure water quality. Streamgages provide foundational information for diverse applications that affect a variety of constituents. The USGS disseminates streamgage data free to the public and responds to over 887 million requests on streamflows annually. Direct users of streamgage data include a variety of agencies at all levels of government, private companies, scientific institutions, and recreationists. Data from streamgages inform real-time decisionmaking and long-term planning on issues such as water management and energy development, infrastructure design, water compacts, water science research, flood mapping and forecasting, water quality, ecosystem management, and recreational safety. Congress has provided the USGS with authority and appropriations to conduct surveys of streamflow since establishing the first hydrological survey in 1889.
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