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D.L. Collins, Subdistrict Chief U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Division P.O. Box 2027 Grand Junction, CO 81641 Telephone: (303) 242-073l, X302 Kathleen Wilke, Subdistrict Chief U,S, Geological Survey Water Resources Division Box 25046, Mail Stop 423 Denver Federal Center Lakewood, CO 80225 Telephone: (303) 236-9404 MISSION OF THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY The U.S. Geological Survey was established by an act of Congress on March 3, l879, to answer the need for a permanent government agency at the Federal level to conduct, on a continuing, systematic, and scientific basis, investigations of the "geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. II Although a number of laws and executive orders have expanded and modifi ed the scope of the Survey I s respons i b i 1 it i es duri ng its l07-year history, the Survey has remained principally a scientific and techni- cal investigation agency as contrasted with a developmental or regulatory one. Today the Survey is mandated to assess onshore and offshore energy and mineral resources; to provide information for society to mitigate the impact of floods, earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes, and droughts; to monitor the Nation's ground- and surface-water supplies; to study the impact of man on the Nat i on I s water resources; and to provi de mapped i nformat i on on the Nation IS landscape and land use. The Survey is the principal source of scientific and technical expertise in the earth sciences within the Department of the Interior and the Federal Government. The Surveyl s activities span a wide range of earth science research and services in the fields of geology, hydrology, and cartography, and represent the continuing pursuit of the long- standing scientific missions of the Survey. 1 MISSION OF THE WATER-RESOURCES DIVISION The mission of the Water-Resources Division, which supports the mission of the Geological Survey and the U. S. Department of the Interior, is to develop and disseminate scientific knowledge and understanding of the Nation's water resources, The activities carri ed out by the Water-Resources Di vi s i on fa 11 into three broad categori es: (1) resource assessment; (2) research; and (3) coordinating the activities and cataloging the products of numerous other entities involved in water research, data acquisition, or information trans fer. Resource Assessment. Resource assessment consists of: o Collecting data on the quantity, quality, and use of surface water (rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, and glaciers); the quant ity, and use of ground water (i ncl udi ng water in the unsatu- rated zone); and the quality of precipitation. Storing and disseminating these data. o ISource: Adapted (and updated December 1984) from U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook for Fiscal Year 1983. 2