Water Resources of Texas

Spotlight on Texas Projects

The Texas Water Science Center conducts hydrologic projects that address a wide variety of water-resources issues, including water supply, groundwater contamination, nutrient loading in streams, effects of land use on water quality, and basic hydrologic data collection.

All Texas Projects

Featured Project:

Coal-Tar-Based Parking Lot Sealcoat: An Unrecognized Source of PAH to Settled House Dust

Despite much speculation, the principal factors controlling concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in settled house dust (SHD) have not yet been identified. In response to recent reports that dust from pavement with coal-tar-based sealcoat contains extremely high concentrations of PAH, we measured PAH in SHD from 23 apartments and in dust from their associated parking lots, one-half of which had coal-tar-based sealcoat (CT). The median concentration of total PAH (T-PAH) in dust from CT parking lots (4760 μg/g, n = 11) was 530 times higher than that from parking lots with other pavement surface types (asphalt-based sealcoat, unsealed asphalt, concrete [median 9.0 μg/g, n = 12]). T-PAH in SHD from apartments with CT parking lots (median 129 μg/g) was 25 times higher than that in SHD from apartments with parking lots with other pavement surface types (median 5.1 μg/g). Presence or absence of CT on a parking lot explained 48% of the variance in log-transformed T-PAH in SHD. Urban land-use intensity near the residence also had a significant but weaker relation to T-PAH. No other variables tested, including carpeting, frequency of vacuuming, and indoor burning, were significant.

• Environmental Science & Technology Hosted Article
• An interview with USGS scientist Barbara Mahler can be heard in episode 116 of the USGS CoreCast.

Featured Publication

Recent (2008-10) Concentrations and Isotopic Compositions of Nitrate and Concentrations of Wastewater Compounds in the Barton Springs Zone, South-Central Texas, and Their Potential Relation to Urban Development in the Contributing Zone





During 2008–10, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Austin, the City of Dripping Springs, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, the Lower Colorado River Authority, Hays County, and Travis County, collected and analyzed water samples from five streams, two groundwater wells, and the main orifice of Barton Springs in Austin, Texas, with the objective of characterizing concentrations and isotopic compositions of nitrate and concentrations of wastewater compounds in the Barton Springs zone.

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USGS Texas Highlights

2010 Water Data Now Available (Quick look:
Beginning with water year 2006, the annual water data product took on a new format different from the previous report series. The basic product is a Site Data Sheet that serves to publish all data collected during the water year at any given site.

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The 2010 USGS Water Data Report () is now available to provide a snapshot of water conditions for a given year. The report includes text and map interfaces that can be used to identify and access an area of interest, locate sites where water data were collected for various Water Years

Instantaneous Data Archive (IDA) (Quick look:
Since 1889 the United States Geological Survey has collected continuous stage, discharge, and other instantaneous time-series data on the nations rivers and streams. These time-series data have been and are typically recorded at intervals ranging from 5 to 60 minutes. These instantaneous data have been processed into and published as various daily values, such as the daily maximum, minimum, and/or mean. Because the published record are daily values, the original instantaneous data have not historically been officially approved, published, or made widely available. This web site has been established to make available as much historical instantaneous data from USGS data collection stations as possible. Although this site currently serves instantaneous discharge (streamflow) data only, work is planned to extend it to other time-series parameters in the future.

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The Instantaneous Data Archive() makes available as much intra-day streamflow data and historical instantaneous data continuous (measurements from every 5 to every 60 minutes), as possible, often several years' worth of data.