USGS Monthly Groundwater News and Highlights: August 1, 2016

Featured Product: Effects of aquifer storage and recovery activities on water quality

Water quality on the Little Arkansas River and in the Equus Beds aquifer has not substantially changed since 2007 recharge activities began in the Equus Beds aquifer, according to a new USGS study in cooperation with the City of Wichita, Kansas.

The Equus Beds aquifer is one of the primary water-supply sources for the city of Wichita. Groundwater pumping for municipal and irrigation needs and sporadic drought conditions have caused water-level declines that led to concerns about the adequacy of the future water supply for Wichita. For this reason, the City of Wichita developed the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project.

Scientists with the USGS looked at water-quality characteristics two years before (January 2011 through April 2013) and two years after (May 2013 through December 2014) Phase II of the aquifer recovery activities started. Researchers examined water chemistry, biology and habitat health on the Little Arkansas River, as well as the water quality of groundwater in the Equus Beds aquifer. Findings showed that the ASR did not substantially impact water quality.

Learn more:

News Release: Water Quality Nearly Unchanged by Artificial Recharge Activities in Wichita (July 18, 2016)

Report: Effects of aquifer storage and recovery activities on water quality in the Little Arkansas River and Equus Beds Aquifer, south-central Kansas, 2011-14

Project Web Site: Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project

USGS Groundwater-Related Press Releases

Groundwater Discharge to Upper Colorado River Basin Varies in Response to Drought (July 20, 2016)

Water Quality Nearly Unchanged by Artificial Recharge Activities in Wichita (July 18, 2016)

New Study Shows High Potential for Groundwater to be Corrosive in Half of U.S. States (July 13, 2016)

Cape Cod susceptible to potential effects of sea-level rise (July 12, 2016)

USGS to Discuss New Study on Potential for Groundwater to be Corrosive-Press Conference (July 11, 2016)

 

USGS Groundwater-Related Publications

Budgets and Chemical Characterization of Groundwater for the Diamond Valley Flow System, Central Nevada, 2011-12

Hydrogeologic investigations of the Miocene Nogales Formation in the Nogales Area, Upper Santa Cruz Basin, Arizona

Agricultural irrigated land-use inventory for the counties in the Suwannee River Water Management District in Florida, 2015

Water resources of Livingston Parish, Louisiana

Water resources of St. Helena Parish, Louisiana

Water resources of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

Streamflow and estimated loads of phosphorus and dissolved and suspended solids from selected tributaries to Lake Ontario, New York, water years 2012-14

Time-varying land subsidence detected by radar altimetry: California, Taiwan and north China

Effects of aquifer storage and recovery activities on water quality in the Little Arkansas River and Equus Beds Aquifer, south-central Kansas, 2011-14

Contrasting nitrogen fate in watersheds using agricultural and water quality information

Potential corrosivity of untreated groundwater in the United States

Structure of the 1906 near-surface rupture zone of the San Andreas Fault, San Francisco Peninsula segment, near Woodside, California

Geologic context of recurring slope lineae in Melas and Coprates Chasmata, Mars

Groundwater-derived nutrient and trace element transport to a nearshore Kona coral ecosystem: Experimental mixing model results

Understanding the hydrologic impacts of wastewater treatment plant discharge to shallow groundwater: before and after plant shutdown

Baseline assessment of groundwater quality in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, 2014

Completion summary for boreholes TAN-2271 and TAN-2272 at Test Area North, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Effects of groundwater pumping on agricultural drains in the Tule Lake subbasin, Oregon and California

 

USGS Groundwater-Related Software Updates and New Releases

MODFLOW-NWT v.1.1.1

MODFLOW-NWT v.1.1.0

SeriesSEE v1.2

Field Photo: Seepage Meters

Did you know that in many places, groundwater flows into streams? One tool scientists use to measure this discharge of groundwater into a stream is called a seepage meter. In this photo, USGS hydrologist Don Rosenberry is removing a seepage meter from a stream. Rosenberry, along with USGS hydrologist Geoff Delin (also pictured) were teaching a training class of other USGS hydrologists how to properly use the tool.

A seepage meter consists of a bottomless cylinder formed from an inverted drum or bucket connected to a collection bag by a length of tubing. The device is pushed into the bed of a lake or stream, and a collection bag with a known volume of water is attached. The collection bag is then removed after a period of elapsed time, and the rate of vertical groundwater flux through the area enclosed by the seepage meter is calculated from the increase or decrease in the initial volume of water, the length of time elapsed, and the area of the seepage meter, yielding flux rates in units of length/time. An increase in the initial volume indicates a positive vertical flux rate (groundwater to surface water), and a decrease in initial volume indicates a negative vertical flux rate (surface water to groundwater). (Source: USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5216)

Archive of Past Highlights:

Past monthly summaries are available online.