Drought Watch -- USGS State Information on Drought

Drought Watch -- USGS State Information on Drought

Map of below normal 7-day average streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the day of year (United States)

This map shows the 7-day average streamflow conditions in hydrologic units of the United States and Puerto Rico for the day of year. The colors represent 7-day average streamflow percentiles based on historical streamflow for the day of the year.

The Importance of  Landscaping and Streamflow

Streams feed and pull from the groundwater supply, the water table.  When streams in a region are low, landscaping  is also vulnerable to drought conditions.  Some regions are more susceptible to low streamflow conditions on a seasonal basis, but some areas have increasing population stresses put on a normally healthy ecosystem.  Landscaping professionals and conscientious landowners can play an important role in the health of their ecosystem and their longterm water supply by applying conservation practices in selection of plant species that require  minimal water, and using protective devices such as cisterns, swales and  raingardens to protect the groundwater system from contaminants and pollution.