Science for Stewardship of California’s Water Resources

• Conducting long-term monitoring of streamflow and water quality.
• Developing new sampling, analytical, and interpretive methods to assess groundwater quality.
• Studying the geology of groundwater systems to help managers protect and optimize supplies.
• Devising new computer models that can play a key role in everything from managing surface- and groundwater supplies to assessing the impact of climate change on individual watersheds.
• Conducting multi-disciplinary ecosystem and watershed research, including large-scale studies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and San Francisco Bay. Read more

Water Question of the Week What is Groundwater? Large amounts of water are stored in the ground. The water is still moving, possibly very slowly, and it is still part of the water cycle. Most of the water in the ground comes from precipitation that infiltrates downward from the land surface. The upper layer of the soil is the unsaturated zone, where water is present in varying amounts that change over time but does not saturate the soil. Below this layer is the saturated zone, where all of the pores, cracks, and spaces between rock particles are saturated with water. The term groundwater is used to describe this area. Another term for groundwater is "aquifer," although this term is usually used to describe water-bearing formations capable of yielding enough water to supply peoples' uses. Aquifers are a huge storehouse of Earth's water and people all over the world depend on groundwater in their daily lives. More Questions CAWSC News New report : Availability of Groundwater Data for California, Water Year 2008 The U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources, in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies, obtains a large amount of data pertaining to the groundwater resources of California each water year (October 1–September 30). These data constitute a valuable database for developing an improved understanding of the water resources of the State. This Fact Sheet serves as an index to groundwater data for water year 2008. The 2-page report contains a map of California showing the number of wells (by county) with available water-level and water-quality data for water year 2008 and instructions for obtaining this and other groundwater information contained in the databases of the U.S. Geological Survey, California Water Science Center. USGS scientists talk to students at Career Day USGS hydrologist Jim Bowers and hydrologic technician Ron Fay recently spent an afternoon at Career Day at Ramona-Allessandro Elementary School in San Bernardino, CA. They talked to fourth- and fifth-grade students about what hydrologists and hydro techs do for a living, and how important it is to study and monitor California’s water resources. School counselor Sue Reynolds arranged the Career Day with great community participation. The photos are by Jim Bowers. Streamflow Conditions in California Photo of the Week Lee Vining Creek pours over a waterfall in Tioga Pass, Yosemite. USGS photo by Jim Nickles

Our scientists span a broad range of research

There are over 130 scientists working in the California Water Science Center and their expertise and interests span a very broad range of disciplinary approaches to modern water management issues. The majority of senior Center scientists have been officially recognized as "Research and Development Scientists" by the USGS for their ongoing scientific contributions, demonstrated excellence in scientific pursuits, leadership, and the impact their work has had on both the development of scientific knowledge and its application to real world management problems.

There are many opportunities to collaborate with researchers at the Center. Many of the projects are conducted by multidisciplinary teams whose members include scientists from other USGS offices, universities, and our partner agencies. Several of the most senior researchers have hosted post-doctoral fellows and hold joint appointments at nearby universities.

Picture above of a device invented by USGS CAWSC scientists for collecting depth-dependent samples from production wells under pumping conditions.