The U.S. Geological Survey is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior that has been assessing and monitoring New Jersey’s natural resources for over a century. Through cooperative programs with more than 25 federal, state and local agencies, the USGS studies water supply, water quality, floods, droughts, and a variety of other natural resources issues. The research information obtained from the USGS is often the first step in scientific investigations, construction projects and recreational activity planning. The USGS is instrumental in the study of watershed issues statewide through collection, storage and dissemination of data relating to stream flow, groundwater level, and water quality. The USGS monitoring sites include 216 stream flow measurement sites, 173 ground water level measuring sites, 137 surface-water quality monitoring sites and 22 groundwater quality sites throughout the state. Once collected, this information is used by a variety of environmental authorities and regulatory agencies for planning and compliance purposes. For example, the water quality data is used by the NJDEP to enforce the New Jersey Water Quality Planning Act and the Clean Water Act.

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