USGS Water Services Scraper

Overview

Access real-time and historical water data from USGS including streamflow, water levels, groundwater, precipitation, and water temperature. Filter by location, date range, and parameter type. No authentication required.

Features

• Search by keywords to find specific results
• Filter results by category or type
• Export data in JSON, CSV, or Excel formats
• Includes location and address data
• Control output volume with configurable result limits
• Built-in proxy support for reliable data collection

Use Cases

• Track - Track federal government data releases and updates
• Build - Build datasets for policy research and analysis
• Monitor - Monitor regulatory changes and compliance requirements
• Aggregate - Aggregate public government data for transparency projects

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
dataType	string	Type of water data to retrieve. Real-time (iv) returns the last few hours of ...	iv
siteNumbers	string	USGS site number(s), comma-separated. Example: '01646500' for Potomac River a...
stateCd	string	Two-letter US state code to get all sites in a state (e.g., 'CA', 'TX'). Warn...
parameter	string	Type of water measurement to retrieve.	streamflow
customParameterCd	string	Custom USGS parameter code (overrides the Parameter select above). See https:...
siteType	string	Filter by type of monitoring station.	``
startDate	string	Start date in YYYY-MM-DD format. For real-time (iv), defaults to most recent ...
endDate	string	End date in YYYY-MM-DD format.
period	string	ISO 8601 duration as an alternative to start/end dates. Examples: 'P7D' (7 da...
boundingBox	string	Geographic bounding box as west,south,east,north (longitude,latitude). Exampl...
maxItems	integer	Maximum number of data records to return. Each time-step measurement counts a...	1000
proxyConfiguration	object	Optional proxy configuration. Not typically needed since the USGS API is public.

Output Example

Each result contains structured data like this:

{
  "siteName": "USGS Water Services Sample Item",
  "siteCode": "Sample siteCode",
  "parameter": "Sample parameter",
  "value": 50000,
  "unit": "Sample unit",
  "dateTime": "2025-01-15",
  "latitude": "Sample latitude",
  "longitude": "Sample longitude"
}

Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-result pricing:

• $0.001 per result
• $1.00 per 1,000 results

No monthly fees. You only pay for what you scrape. Apify Free plan includes $5/month in platform credits.

How to Run

Apify Console

1. Go to the USGS Water Services Scraper actor page
2. Configure your input parameters
3. Click Start and wait for the results
4. Download data in JSON, CSV, or Excel format

API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fortuitous_pirate~usgs-water-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"maxItems": 10}'

Python SDK

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("fortuitous_pirate/usgs-water-scraper").call(
    run_input={"maxItems": 10}
)

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

Integration

Connect USGS Water Services Scraper with your existing tools and workflows:

• API access - Programmatic access via Apify API
• Webhooks - Get notified when scraping completes
• Scheduling - Set up recurring runs on any schedule
• Zapier / Make - Connect with 5,000+ apps via Apify integrations
• Python / Node.js SDKs - Native client libraries for easy integration