NWDTW 2026

This Show and Tell session provides an introductory tour of the modernized USGS Water Data for the Nation interface and tools available at waterdata.usgs.gov.

An expanded overview of key Water Data for the Nation tools—USGS Explore, State Pages, and the National Water Dashboard.

Submersible pressure transducers such as Onset HOBO and Van Essen Diver data loggers can provide valuable stage data when compensated with barometric pressure readings. However, when submersible transducers are deployed in the air, they often prove unreliable as verification for stage records within set uncertainty limits. This unreliability comes from overlapping uncertainties of air pressure readings made by both the absolute and barometric pressure sensors. This talk proposes implementing a new computational method and tool during the compensation process involving the average misalignment between air readings made by both pressure sensors and adjusting all readings within a file by that misalignment. Preliminary results have been promising with most of the affected data aligning closer to verification stage records. This method will enable air-deployment of submersible pressure transducers to be more reliable as a method for peak-stage verification as well as increase the accuracy of air-deployed submersible pressure transducers without secondary data sources, such as tidal records and temporary gage deployments. To streamline the processing of data collected by submersible pressure transducers, we have developed a shiny app that implements this proposed new method automatically when processing air deployments in addition to allowing the processing of submersible pressure transducers via existing methods. This application is intended to produce more accurate data records by using a consistent compensation method between different sensor models while reducing the workload of the user processing the data.

WaterMAP (https://apps.usgs.gov/watermap) is an interactive web application that brings together comprehensive views of surface water conditions in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, everywhere in the US. The application allows users to explore water conditions over time using both satellite observations and onsite measurements. We will demonstrate best practices to leverage and integrate each data catalog while highlighting the interactive mapping and visualization capabilities, as well as data search/filter/download functionalities. Live demos will present use cases to improve workflows for USGS hydrologic technicians and scientists. Data product owners and the development team will be available to answer questions.

Cableways are essential facilities for obtaining streamflow measurements and water quality samples at many USGS streamgages. This presentation will give an overview of the primary components of cableways and discuss best practices for cableway maintenance and safe operation.

Join us to learn more about USGS signage! An USGS team is working on a new line of standardized, field ruggedized signage designed specifically for Monitoring Locations, with production coordinated through the Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF). The goal is to allow Water Science Centers to order signs. The initial design concept includes a sign sized approximately 12 by 18 inches. Centers will be able to tailor their signs through a range of construction options—including aluminum or vinyl signs, pre-drilled mounting configurations, acrylic protective covers, and optional aluminum back plates.

This session focuses on the quality assurance programs conducted at the USGS Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility. This overview will include the ADCPs, Flowtrackers, mechanical meters, and groundwater tapes, as well as other water quality and quantity monitoring instruments. The new testing procedures used at the HIF will be presented, including the criteria used to evaluate the instruments. The results provided for each unit will be explained to facilitate understanding and application. Quality Assurance program results from recent years will also be presented.

The HIF is modernizing its business software, including key user-facing features of the OneStop platform. This talk will share up-to-date information about the plans for modernization such as target timelines, known feature changes, and plans for user communications in advance of any changes.

Standard streamgaging methods to compute discharge rely on placing equipment and personnel in water and integrating velocities and depths at multiple verticals at a channel cross section (25 to 30 to hundreds of hydroacoustic ensembles). However, a paradigm change has occurred with the advent of non-contact platforms such as fixed‑mount and portable velocity radars and drone‑based cameras. The benefits of coupling these platforms and novel algorithms are clear – enhanced safety and increased efficiency.

Continuous water-quality data need careful review and often require drift or fouling corrections to ensure accuracy. This session explains when and how to correct records, describes manual and automatic methods in Aquarius Time Series, and discusses percent versus multi-point corrections. The session also addresses data censoring. Participants will examine how to apply corrections for various continuous water-quality parameters and field conditions.

Do you use water-quality monitors and want to learn more about troubleshooting? This course will look at common problems with water-quality monitors and will demonstrate how to identify problems and fix them.

An Innovative, Tiered, Multi‑Platform Framework for High‑Resolution Water‑Quality Monitoring and Mapping (NWDTW 2026)

Theresa Armijo, Hydrologic Technician, Colorado Water Science Center
Matt Burgess, Geographer, National Uncrewed Systems Office
Matt Gyves, Physical Scientist, Pennsylvania Water Science Center
Tyler King, Research Hydrologist, Hydrologic Remote Sensing Branch

Effective assessment of water-quality conditions requires strategies that capture spatial and temporal variability and complexities of biogeochemical processes. In this talk we present and seek feedback on a tiered, multi-platform monitoring framework that integrates satellite observations, Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS)-based hyperspectral imaging, boat-based discrete sampling, in-situ water-quality measurements, and micro-sized autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs; Jaia Robotics JaiaBot BIO) measurements. Together, these platforms form a scalable and adaptive system for characterizing water-quality dynamics across broad spatial and temporal scales.
This approach will be piloted in August 2026 to characterize conditions in two Colorado reservoirs affected by harmful algal blooms (HABs). Integrating sampling and monitoring technologies within a tiered and multi-platform framework enhances the resolution of water-quality assessments and supports early event detection. This allows for targeted sampling campaigns, and improved mapping of spatially complex environments—including reservoirs, river networks, and estuarine systems.
The multi-platform framework provides an efficient path toward cost-effective, repeatable monitoring, scalable and transferable platforms that can be tailored to diverse management objectives such as site-specific studies to basin-wide or regional initiatives. With this approach, we aim to characterize conditions at increasingly fine resolution.

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