Oregon Water Science Center
U.S Geological Survey
Oregon Water Science Center 2130 SW 5th Ave Portland, OR 97201 Phone: (503) 251-3200 Fax: (503) 251-3470 E-mail: info-or@usgs.gov ABOUT THE OREGON WSC
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INFORMATION CENTER
ABOUT THE USGSUSGS IN YOUR STATEUSGS Water Science Centers are located in each state and territory. 
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Water Resources of OregonThe mission of the U.S. Geological Survey is to serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. The USGS Oregon Water Science Center provides water data and interpretation of data to Federal, State, and local agencies; Tribes; and the public. Our data and study results are widely used to manage Oregon's water resources for the benefit of both people and our environment. This Website is your gateway to a wealth of information on surface water, groundwater, and water quality in Oregon and the Nation. Streamflow Conditions in Oregon
USGS Oregon WSC HighlightsUSGS Study Assesses Gravel Transport and Availability in the Chetco River of Southwestern Oregon The Chetco River is a steep, gravel-bed river in southwestern Oregon that drains 914 square kilometers (353 square miles) of the rugged Klamath Mountains before entering the Pacific Ocean just north of the California–Oregon State line. The Chetco River is like many rivers in the western United States for which issues of fish habitat, water quality, climate change, and changing land use have motivated new efforts to manage rivers and flood plains for multiple resources. Downstream of river kilometer 18 (river mile 11), several large gravel bars have been mined as a source of aggregate since the early 20th century. Ongoing permitting actions have prompted concern about the effects from such mining on physical channel conditions, prompting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in conjunction with regulatory agencies and stakeholder groups, to ask the USGS to perform a measurement and analysis program to evaluate transport rates of bed material and to assess changes in channels and flood plains for the lower 18 kilometers of the river. To document these changes, the USGS study produced broadscale maps of flood-plain geomorphology and general vegetation along the flood plain flanking the lower river corridor. The lower 18 kilometers forms a convenient analysis segment because the upstream end approximately corresponds to the location of the USGS streamflow-gaging station for the Chetco River, which is about 17 kilometers (10.6 miles) upstream from the mouth and encompasses the extent of commercial gravel extraction. These maps and the results of the analysis of gravel transport rates will be used by the regulatory agencies as supporting information for future permitting decisions for instream gravel extraction along the Chetco River.
New Interactive Map Allows Users To Find the Approximate Depth to the Water Table At Any Location in the Portland Area A new interactive map developed by the USGS allows users to find the approximate depth to the water table in the Portland area simply by clicking a point on the map or entering an address. The map is a product of a study to determine the configuration of the water table in the Portland Basin. The study resulted from the need to address concerns about various water-resource issues, especially with regard to potential effects from stormwater injection systems such as "drywells" and other UIC (underground injection control) systems that are either existing or planned. Read more about the study at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5059/. USGS Studies in the Klamath Basin, Oregon Upper Klamath Lake is a large, shallow lake in southern Oregon. The lake is the source of the Klamath River, which flows through California into the Pacific Ocean. Because of high natural levels of phosphorus, Upper Klamath Lake has probably been naturally eutrophic since before settlement of the basin by non-Native Americans. A eutrophic lake contains a high level of nutrients, which can result in occasional algal blooms, but generally such lakes can support diverse plant and animal communities. During the 20th century, however, Upper Klamath Lake has become hypereutrophic, which means that its nutrient levels are high enough to cause annual, extensive blue-green algae blooms that have occurred each summer since the 1930s. (Excessive blue-green algae production is an indicator of hypereutrophic conditions.) Water-quality problems that coincide with the blooms and subsequent decay of dead algae include foul odors, pH of 8.5 and higher, dissolved oxygen concentrations that fluctuate from supersaturation to depletion, elevated ammonia concentrations, and occasionally extensive fish kills. The degraded water quality has been proposed as a contributing factor in the decline in populations of the shortnose sucker, Chasmistes brevirostris, and the Lost River sucker, Deltistes luxatus, both listed as Federally Endangered Species. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, began studies in 1992 to determine possible causes for the change in trophic status of Upper Klamath Lake. Since that time, the areas of study have expanded to include groundwater, geomorphology, streamflow forecasting, and fish ecology. The various studies have generated several publications, most of which can be accessed online. Please visit the USGS Klamath Basin Studies Website to learn more. USGS Science Featured in Podcasts and on TwitterThe Oregon Water Science Center and the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center have launched the USGS Oregon Science Podcast. Each podcast episode will provide insightful interviews with USGS scientists on topics in the areas of hydrology, geology, biology, or geography. To stay abreast of the the latest news and information from the USGS in Oregon, follow us on Twitter. The USGS is a world leader in the natural sciences. To access the wealth of science information readily available to you, in formats from podcasts to publications, visit the USGS home page and start clicking. USGS Study of the Tualatin River Basin in Portland Monitors and Models Water Quality
Tualatin River at Lee Falls (Photograph by Stewart Rounds, USGS) The Tualatin River drains a 712 square-mile basin on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area in northwestern Oregon. Home to more than 500,000 people, the basin supports a wide range of urban, agricultural, and forest-derived activities. The lower reaches of the Tualatin River sometimes have low dissolved oxygen concentrations because of low flow, slow oxygen exchange with the atmosphere, and a large amount of decomposing organic material in its sediments. Algal growth can also be an important driver of water quality in the lower Tualatin River. To address these and other water-quality issues, the Tualatin River was the first river in the Nation to receive protections under the Total Maximum Daily Load provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act in 1988. Since 1990, the USGS has been studying water quality in the Tualatin River and its tributaries in collaboration with Clean Water Services, which is the primary wastewater and stormwater management utility for the urban areas of Washington County, Oregon. This scientific collaboration has provided an excellent framework for research into a variety of important water-quality issues with direct ties to resource management, such as:
Recent Publications
Of Current InterestUSGS Repeat Photography Project Documents Retreating Glaciers in Glacier National ParkGlacier National Park’s namesake glaciers have receded rapidly since the park’s establishment in 1910, primarily due to long-term changes in regional and global climate. In the last century, the 5 warmest years have occurred in the last 8 years - in this order: 2005, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004 (NASA). These changes include warming, particularly of daily minimum temperatures, and persistent droughts. This warming is ongoing and the loss of the Park’s glaciers continues, with the park’s glaciers predicted to disappear by 2030.
Climate change research in Glacier National Park, Montana entails many methods of documenting the landscape change, including the decline of the park’s namesake glaciers. While less quantitative than other high-tech methods of recording glacial mass, depth, and rate of retreat, repeat photography has become a valuable tool for communicating effects of global warming. With evidence of worldwide glacial recession and modeled predictions that all of the park’s glaciers will melt by the year 2030, USGS scientists have begun the task of documenting glacial decline through photography. The striking images created by pairing historic images with contemporary photos has given “global warming” a face and made “climate change” a relevant issue to viewers. The images are an effective visual means to help viewers understand that climate change contributes to the dynamic landscape changes so evident in Glacier National Park.
Receive instant, customized updates about water conditions by subscribing to WaterAlert The U.S. Geological Survey WaterAlert service sends e-mail or cell phone text messages when certain parameters measured by a USGS data-collection station exceed user-definable thresholds. The development and maintenance of the WaterAlert system is supported through the USGS Cooperative Water Program, the USGS National Streamflow Information Program, and by USGS data-collection partners, including numerous federal, state, and local agencies. WaterAlert subscribers can customize the message for a variety of water-related scenarios, from floods, droughts, and water-quality disturances to planning for the perfect canoeing and fishing conditions. WaterAlert can be set to send notices hourly or once a day and can be configured to be greater than or less than a threshold, or within a specified range. This service is available for all real-time hydrologic monitoring sites for surface water, groundwater, or water-quality parameters. Real-time data from USGS gages are transmitted via satellite or other telemetry to USGS offices at various intervals; in most cases, once every 1 or 4 hours. Emergency transmissions, such as during floods, may be more frequent. Notifications will be based on the data received at these site-dependent intervals.
Just What Is a 100-Year Flood Anyway?
Almost everyone has heard the term "100-year flood", but not everyone knows what it really means. A common question is, "we just had a 100-year flood a few years ago, why are we having another one so soon?" The USGS Office of Surface Water has released a poster that attempts to explain the concept, probabilistic nature, and inherent uncertainties of a 100-year flood for a lay audience. The poster, entitled “100-Year Flood—It’s All About Chance,” can be found at http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/106/. No hard copies will be formally distributed; however, a high resolution PDF suitable for printing on a large format plotter is available at the Web site. Fish and Wildlife Face Significant Risks as the Climate Changes
Our nation’s fish and wildlife are expected to be significantly impacted now and in the future as the climate continues to fluctuate. New research will help understand future climate conditions and impacts to species and their habitats. Projects include studies of alterations in Florida’s ecosystems, potential impacts on Great Lakes’ fish, sea-level rise impacts on San Francisco Bay marshes, and the effects of melting glaciers on Alaska’s freshwater coastal systems. “The U.S. Geological Survey has funded 17 new projects through the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center,” said USGS Associate Director for Biology Susan Haseltine. “Our future holds new climate conditions and new habitat responses, and managers need projections based on sound science to assess how our landscapes may change and to develop effective response strategies for species survival.” Descriptions of these projects can be found on the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center Web site. |
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
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Page Last Modified: Tuesday, 17-Aug-2010 20:11:11 EDT
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