Interactive map of water wells in Illinois

The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) is the official repository for the records of existing wells that have been drilled in the state of Illinois. With records for over 700,000 wells, the interactive water wells map allows users to explore a range of information including the location, depth, and bedrock topography for all recorded wells in Illinois. Data for water and related wells exists for private water wells, engineering borings, and stratigraphic borings.

Interactive map of drought conditions across the United States

The U.S. Geological Survey's WaterWatch program maps below-normal 7-day average streamflow, identified through comparison to historical streamflow readings, to produce their DroughtWatch map. The map identifies drought conditions ranging from extreme hydrological droughts to below normal streamflow conditions across the entire U.S.

Click here to use the DroughtWatch interactive map

Source: U.S. Geological Survey WaterWatch

Interactive map of flood conditions across the United States

The U.S. Geological Survey's WaterWatch Flood Map allows you to find areas currently experiencing flood and high flow conditions across the United States. The map is updated daily and provides the option to search flood conditions by state or water-resources region.

Click here to use the WaterWatch flood map.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey WaterWatch

Can floods be predicted?

U.S. Geological Survey FAQs

"Flood predictions require several types of data:

Where can I find up-to-date information about drought conditions in my region?

National Integrated Drought Information System: U.S. Drought Monitor

"The U.S. Drought Monitor is a map released every Thursday, showing parts of the U.S. that are in drought. The map uses five classifications: abnormally dry (D0), showing areas that may be going into or are coming out of drought, and four levels of drought: moderate (D1), severe (D2), extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4).

Can droughts be predicted?

Sometimes. Many droughts can be predicted up to a month in advance,^1,2 and in rare cases it may be possible to predict drought conditions more than a year in advance.² However, the complexity of Earth’s climate makes drought forecasting very difficult.

Executive order creates new flood requirements for federal projects

President Obama signed an executive order on January 30 requiring that federal projects be built two feet higher than the previous standard to protect against floods that may worsen as a result of climate change.

National Research Council reports on priorities in ocean research for next decade

The National Research Council (NRC) issued a report on January 23 detailing eight priorities for the next decade for ocean research and laying out the difficult financial decisions the marine science community faces.

Draft World Ocean Assessment available for review

A draft of the first World Ocean Assessment (WOA) opened for review by registered experts on December 20.

New data measure water losses across the Western U.S.

On December 16, NASA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists released separate studies reporting significant declines in groundwater in the Western U.S.

American Geosciences Institute

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