Water Resources of West Virginia

Welcome to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Web page for the water resources of West Virginia; this is your direct link to all kinds of water-resource information. Here you'll find information on West Virginia's rivers and streams. You'll also find information about groundwater, water quality, and many other topics. The USGS operates the most extensive satellite network of stream-gaging stations in the state, many of which form the backbone of flood-warning systems.

The USGS provides current ("real-time") stream stage and streamflow, water-quality, and groundwater levels for over 200 sites in West Virginia.

USGS West Virginia Highlights

The Most Current West Virginia Water Data Report Now Available

The USGS Water Data Report is now available online and improves on the previous online reports with a new interactive feature designed to make site data retrieval easier and more convenient.

The new report includes a national map interface that can be used to identify an area of interest, locate sites where water data were collected for Water Year, and access most of that data. The annual Water Data Report provides a snapshot of water conditions for a given year. Access the Water Data Report using a text () or map () interface.

Hydrologic Tools Now Available

USGS StreaMail

USGS StreaMail is a system for accessing real-time river stage and streamflow from hand-held wireless devices, such as cell phones and Blackberries. All you have to do is send an email or text message to "streamail@usgs.gov" and use a USGS station number in the "Subject" line. In a few minutes you'll get back an email with the most recent stage and streamflow.

Instantaneous Data Archive (IDA)

The USGS collects continuous (measurements from every5 to every 60 minutes) stage, discharge, and other instantaneous time-series data on the Nation's rivers and streams. The Instantaneous Data Archive makes available as much intra-day streamflow data and historical instantaneous data, as possible, often several years' worth of data.

National Water Information System: Mapper

The new NWIS Mapper provides an interactive map interface to all USGS water data (historical and current). (Note: To access data, zoom in on the map to level 11 or greater to make the individual sites clickable.)

USGS Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a format to provide content feeds from web sites that contain article headlines, summaries and links back to the full article from that web site. RSS is an easy way for you to be alerted when content that interests you appears on your favorite websites.  Podcast/RSS

Highlighted Publications

The West Virginia Water Science Center produces publications about water resources.

Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5048 Assessment of hydrogeologic terrains, well-construction characteristics, groundwater hydraulics, and water-quality and microbial data for determination of surface-water-influenced groundwater supplies in West Virginia

Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5106 Hydrologic budget and conditions of Permian, Pennsylvanian, and Mississippian aquifers in the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province

U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 944 Annual and average estimates of water-budget components based on hydrograph separation and PRISM precipitation for gaged basins in the Applachian Plateaus Region, 1900-2011

Journal Article Temporal changes in taxonomic and functional diversity of fish assemblages downstream from mountaintop mining

Journal Article Determination of (4-methylcyclohexyl)methanol isomers by heated purge-and-trap GC/MS in water samples from the 2014 Elk River, West Virginia, Chemical Spill

Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5182 Estimation of Traveltime and Longitudinal Dispersion in Streams in West Virginia

Open-File Report 2013-1137 Water Resources and Shale Gas/Oil Production in the Appalachian Basin-Critical Issues and Evolving Developments

Bulletin B-46  Hydrogeology, Groundwater Flow, and Groundwater Quality of an Abandoned Underground Coal-Mine Aquifer, Elkhorn Area, West Virginia

Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5233 Water Quality of Groundwater and Stream Base Flow in the Marcellus Shale Gas Field of the Monongahela River Basin, WV, 2011-12

Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5186  Groundwater Quality in West Virginia, 1993-2008 

Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5121  Comparison of Base Flows to Selected Streamflow Statistics Representative of 1930-2002 in West Virginia

Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5185  Estimation of Selected Seasonal Streamflow Statistics Representative of 1930-2002 in West Virginia

Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5033  Estimation of Flood-Frequency Discharges for Rural, Unregulated Streams in West Virginia

Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5242  Regional Curves for Bankfull Channel Characteristics in the Appalachian Plateaus, West Virginia

Report Series 2009-5145
Hydrogeologic Factors Affecting Base-Flow Yields in the Jefferson County Area, West Virginia, October-November 2007

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