Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2014KS174B

Fate of High Uranium in Saline Arkansas River Water in Southwest Kansas: Distribution in Soils, Crops, and Groundwater

Institute: Kansas
Year Established: 2014 Start Date: 2014-03-01 End Date: 2016-02-29
Total Federal Funds: $28,185 Total Non-Federal Funds: $69,096

Principal Investigators: Donald Whittemore

Project Summary: Determine the fate of high uranium concentration dissolved in saline Arkansas River water that is used for irrigation in the upper Arkansas River corridor in Kearny and Finney counties, southwest Kansas. The results from this project will be valuable for assessing whether high concentrations of uranium in irrigation water in the study area and other areas of the U.S., such as the South Platte River in northeast Colorado and southwest Nebraska, could be preferentially concentrated in soils and crops.