Dam impact/disturbance metrics for the conterminous United States, 1800 to 2018

Publication Date

2021-01-15

Start Date

1800

End Date

2015

Wieczorek, M.E., Wolock, D.M., and McCarthy, P.M., 2021, Dam impact/disturbance metrics for the conterminous United States, 1800 to 2018: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P92S9ZX6.

Type: Citation Type: Related Primary Publication

Reservoir storage and operations have a significant impact on streamflow and, in some cases, these impacts are well documented. However, there are thousands of reservoirs that have limited documentation or records of operations and there has been limited research based on systematic approaches to understand the broad impact of damson streamflow characteristics in the conterminous United States. Furthermore, the cumulative effect of dams on streamflows, ecological flows, water rights, and flood risks has not been thoroughly evaluated. This data set is an attempt to quantify the impact that dams may have on streamflow at a national scale using the 2.6 million river reaches in the NHDPlusv2 dataset and the US Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams (NID, 2015). While the NID is inclusive of a majority of the larger dams and reservoirs in the CONUS it does not incorporate many of the smaller stock ponds that do not qualify for inclusion in the NID. This data set was created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Project (NAWQA) which is part of the USGS National Water Quality Program (NWQP). This effort was undertaken to estimate the impact of reservoir storage on NHDPlusV2 flowline catchments and upstream river networks to support statistical analyses, map display, and model parameterization.

• USGS Data Release Products
• USGS Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia Water Science Center