WAVES™ Education Program Resource Data Base:

Table of contents

• E.P.A Details What We Need To Do:

• USGS Programs Managed By Water Resources Discipline:

• Pollution Locator

 

The E.P.A details things we need to do to keep our water sustainable

 

The E.P.A provides information on how you can get involved including ways to protect human health and the environment by raising awareness about potential threats to your drinking water, local rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands , the fish and shellfish ;you eat, and aquatic ecosystems.

 

Adopt Your Watershed – This program challenges you to serve your community by taking part in activities to protect and restore your local watershed.

 

After the Storm – Weather – Weather emergencies such as flooding can introduce pollutants to your water supply. Learn how to protect your source of water and find out what to do in the event that your drinking water is compromised.

 

Emergency Preparedness – identify some of the issues you may face preparing for, during and after an event that can directly threaten your health and the health of your family.

 

Good Samaritan – An Agency-wide initiative to accelerate restoration of watersheds and fisheries threatened by abandoned hard rock mine runoff. The Good Samaritan initiative encourages voluntary cleanups by parties that are not responsible for the property in question.

 

Nonpoint Source Toolbox – Contains a variety of resources for the development of an effective outreach campaign to educate the public on nonpoint source pollution or storm water runoff.

 

Pollution Prevention – Water pollution and control measures are critical to improving water quality and lessening the need for costly wastewater and drinking water treatment. Find information on a variety of water pollution prevention and control measures.

 

Protect Your Health – Offers information on how to protect yourself from water-related health risks such as microbes in tap water and in water bodies used for swimming, and contaminants in fish and shellfish.

 

Protecting Drinking Water – People who travel abroad know the familiar problem with unsafe drinking water. At home, we scarcely give it a thought. Usually, we are right. But the sources of our drinking water are constantly under siege from naturally occurring events and human activities that can pollute our sources of drinking water.

 

Volunteer Monitoring

Water Efficiency – Efficient use of water helps reduce the demands on our water supplies, as well as on both drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, as using less water means moving and treating less water.

 

USGS Programs

Managed by the Water Resources Discipline

Courtesy of USGS Water Resources Programs

Cooperative Water Program

 

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.

 

National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP)
Implements the USGS plan to ensure reliable and consistent acquisition and delivery of streamflow information at key sites.

 

National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)
Provides an understanding of water-quality of the Nation’s surface water and groundwater and how those conditions may vary locally, regionally, and nationally; whether conditions are getting better or worse over time; and how water quality is affected by natural features and human activities.

 

Toxic Substances Hydrology (Toxics) Program
Provides unbiased earth science information on the behavior of toxic substances in surface water and groundwater.

 

Groundwater Resources Program
Provides research and information for groundwater sustainability and ties to human and environmental needs.

 

Hydrologic Research and Development
Conducts basic and problem-oriented research into varied and complex hydrologic processes that are not well understood.

 

State Water Resources Research Institute 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.

 

Hydrologic Networks and Analysis (HNA)
Includes the Federal core of the USGS water-quality networks, a variety of research and investigations, and a portion of USGS information storage, coordination, and dissemination efforts, including the National Water Information System.

 

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.

 

Drinking-Water Research Topics
Conducts a wide range of monitoring, assessment, and research activities in collaboration with Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies to help understand and protect the quality of drinking-water resources.

 

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.

 

USGS Environmental Affairs Program
Provides estimates of the Nation’s water use since 1950.

 

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

 

POLLUTION LOCATOR

Toxic Chemical Releases
To get a report for your community, go GoodGuide to search for reports on specific areas.