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Selected Water-Quality Characteristics in the Lake Olathe WatershedBy David P. Mau AbstractThe Lake Olathe watershed, located in northeast Kansas, USA, was investigated to determine sediment deposition rates, yields, loads, and trends in selected water-quality constituents and diatom community composition in reservoir sediment cores. Industrial and residential land use in the watershed has increased from 1980 to present. Approximately 417,000 m3 of sediment have been deposited in Cedar Lake, located upstream from Lake Olathe, since dam closure at Cedar Lake in 1938, and 391,000 m3 have been deposited in Lake Olathe since dam closure in 1956. Estimated mean annual phosphorus yield to Cedar Lake was 4.2 (kg/yr)/ha and 1.0 (kg/yr)/ha to Lake Olathe. Trend analysis of phosphorus concentration with depth of sediment showed that phosphorus concentrations in sediment in Lake Olathe have been increasing over time and indicate lake eutrophication. The herbicides alachlor and metolachlor were detected in sediment in both reservoirs, with larger concentrations corresponding to more recent deposition, suggesting increased use of agricultural herbicides over time. Diatom species in reservoir bottom sediment were identified and used as indicators of reservoir eutrophication. The diatom Cyclotella bodanica, an indicator of low organic-enriched water, and Cyclotella meneghiniana, an indicator of organic-enriched water, both were identified at differenct depths in the sediment profile from Lake Olathe. The presence of both of these diatoms suggests varying periods of low and high eutrophication in Lake Olathe from 1956 to 2000. Additional information about the Lake Olathe Nutrient Study in Kansas can be found at: http://ks.water.usgs.gov/studies/qw/olathe/Mau, D.P., 2002, Selected water-quality characteristics in the Lake Olathe watershed [abst.], in Proceedings of the 11th Annual Kansas Hydrology Seminar, November 22, 2002, Manhattan, Kansas: American Institude of Hydrology--Kansas Section and Association of Engineering Geologists--Kansas City/Omaha Section, 1 p. To request a paper copy of this proceedings, email: dpmau@usgs.gov |
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: /pubs/abstracts/dpm.112202.html
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The USGS has collected hydrologic information in Kansas since 1895 with the first USGS Cooperative
Water Program funding agreement for 6 streamflow gages with the Kansas Water Board. USGS collects streamflow
and gage-height data; reservoir content; water-quality and water-quantity data; suspended-sediment data;
and groundwater levels. Hydrologic studies are conducted on national, regional, statewide, and local levels.
The USGS in Kansas works cooperatively with 31 Federal, State, and local agencies, such as the Kansas Water Office, the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, and the City of Wichita