Groundwater Availability in the Lower Arkansas River Basin

GROUNDWATER AVAILABILITY IN THE LOWER ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN

A proposal prepared for the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resource

Nathan Myers and Cristi Hansen
U.S. Geological Survey
4821 Quail Crest Place
Lawrence, Kansas 66049
December 2, 1999

Contents

Background

Large parts of the lower Arkansas and Walnut River basins in Kansas--an area which includes Wichita, the largest city in Kansas--are experiencing rapid population growth and consequently placing increased demands on surface and groundwater resources. The quantity and quality of water available in the lower Arkansas and Walnut River basins will become crucial if population and water use continue to increase as projected. The population and water use in the area are estimated to have increased by about 19 and 8 percent, respectively, between 1985 and 1995 (population was about 414,000 in 1985 and about 491,000 in 1995; water use was about 26.5 million gallons per year (Mgal/yr) in 1985 and about 28.7 Mgal/yr in 1995 (Joan Kenny, oral commun., November 15, 1999) and are projected to increase by another 13 and 21 percent, respectively, between 1995 and 2010 (Institute for Public Policy and Business Research, accessed October 20, 1999, Kansas Water Office, accessed October 20, 1999, and U.S. Census Bureau, accessed October 20, 1999). Much of the increase in population and water use has and is projected to occur in and near Wichita. This area accounted for, and is projected to continue to account for, about 60-65 percent of the population and about 65-70 percent of the water use in the basin. The Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources (DWR), which is charged with the beneficial allocation of the water resources in Kansas, is concerned about these increased and projected demands because of the limited water resources available in the lower Arkansas and Walnut River basins.

The concerns about water quantity and quality issues in the area that includes the lower Arkansas and Walnut River basins are not new. Important ongoing concerns include (Kansas Water Resources Board, 1960a and 1960b):

• The Ninnescah and Arkansas Rivers are the only streams in the area likely to continue flowing during a severe drought (as occurred in 1952-56), and the streamflows are likely to be insufficient for all the usersó needs.
• Outside of the river valleys, there are no widespread, large-yielding sources of fresh groundwater in the area. Groundwater resources, while not adequate in most areas for large users such as public water suppliers, typically have been adequate during most climate conditions for the demands of domestic-supply wells. However, during a severe drought the groundwater resources will likely be inadequate in some parts of the area even for these small demands--as occurred during the 1952-56 drought. Shortages may also occur if water demands increase due to increases in population or in other sources of demand.
• Poor water quality limits the use of surface water in most streams in the area, especially during periods of low flow. Groundwater use is limited locally by the poor quality of the water. Sources of the poor-quality water (generally large chloride or sulfate content) include natural discharge of water from dissolution of salt or gypsum deposits in the underlying bedrock, surface-water transport from areas upstream and within the lower Arkansas and Walnut River basins, and past oilfield brine disposal practices.

• Interaction of the ground and surface water can strongly influence the quantity and quality of the water available for use. For example, increases in groundwater pumping may reduce the amount of surface water available for use or may induce poorer quality water to flow into an aquifer from either an overlying surface-water source or underlying rocks. Groundwater pits and other man-made areas where the water table has been exposed may act as both areas of recharge and of discharge, depending on the hydrologic and climatic conditions.

DWR has recognized that the currently available hydrologic information for this area is not sufficient for it to effectively apply existing water management and regulatory measures to protect and allocate the limited water resources of the lower Arkansas and Walnut River basins, especially during periods of drought. Information DWR needs includes better delineation of the aquifers in the area, improved estimates of groundwater recharge, a better understanding of the groundwater flow conditions in the area, the interaction of the ground and surface waters, and the effect of these hydrologic conditions on the availability and quality of the surface and groundwaters. Acquisition of this information will also enable DWR to meet the second of the 16 long-range objectives of the Kansas Water Plan endorsed by the Kansas Water Authority (July 8, 1999). The second Kansas Water Plan objective is ôBy 2010, over 95 percent of public water suppliers dependent upon surface water supplies and alluvial aquifers shall have a source of supply sufficient to meet their needs during a drought having a two percent chance of occurrence.Ý

[Title][Background][Objectives][Scope][Approach][benefits][Reports][Project timeline][References]

OBJECTIVES

The objectives for this study are:

1. Delineate aquifers and their characteristics in the study area;

2.  Develop a tool for DWR to compute sustainable yield in upland areas away from the river valleys;

3.  Determine the effects of well pumping, and groundwater pits on ground and surface water supplies; and

4. Determine areas vulnerable to adverse changes in groundwater quality.

[Title][Background][Objectives][Scope][Approach][benefits][Reports][Project timeline][References]

Scope

This study will include parts of the lower Arkansas, Walnut, Ninnescah, and Chikaskia River basins. The study area extends from the southern edge of the Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 to the Oklahoma state line, and includes part or all of Marion, Sedgwick, Butler, Kingman, Sumner, Cowley, and Harper counties.

[Title][Background][Objectives][Scope][Approach][benefits][Reports][Project timeline][References]

APPROACH

1. An inventory will be made of existing data that can be used to define aquifer characteristics and groundwater quality in the study area. The inventory will include published reports, the USGS National Water Information System groundwater (GWSI) and water-quality (QWDATA) data bases, data on file with the U.S. Geological Survey, and WWWC-5 well-driller forms and other data available from the Kansas Geological Survey and the Kansas Depart¦ment of Health and Environment. This data will be used to:

1. Define shallow aquifers and delineate their areal extent in the study area.
2. Determine, to the extent possible from existing data, the hydraulic proper¦ties of these aquifers including hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, satu¦rated thickness, storativity, and porosity. These properties will be obtained from published or publicly available pumping-tests. Transmissivity also can be estimated from the specific capacity pumping tests that are com¦monly conducted on newly-drilled wells.
3. Delineate the general water quality of the these aquifers. This data will be obtained from published reports and QWDATA.
4. Develop a groundwater flow model and aid in model calibration.

2. An inventory of existing public, agricultural, and, where necessary, domestic water wells will be done to identify potential groundwater level measurement and groundwater quality sampling points.

3. Groundwater levels will be measured in a selected set of inventoried wells. Synoptic groundwater level measurements within the anticipated groundwater flow model area will be obtained twice during the study. This data will provide starting and ending sets of water levels for model calibration. Surface- water levels in selected streams and water bodies in the model area will be obtained in conjunction with the synoptic groundwater level measurements.

4. Water-quality samples will be collected from selected wells, streams, and surface-water bodies in the anticipated groundwater flow model area and in the upland areas away from the river valleys. These samples will be analyzed for water properties including temperature, alkalinity, and conductance, and for common ions including chloride, sulfate, sodium, calcium, and magnesium. About 10 surface-water and 30 groundwater samples will be collected.

5. Streamflow data from the Slate Creek at Wellington and Whitewater River at Towanda gaging stations will be used to estimate recharge over their respective basins. Hydrograph separation techniques will be used to determine baseflow at the gages. The annual baseflow volume will be used to represent the volume of annual recharge and a recharge rate per square mile for each basin. A method for areally adjusting recharge rates on the basis of soil type and land use will be investigated. If successful, the recharge rate adjustment method will be used to estimate recharge for areas outside the Slate Creek and Whitewater River basins.

6.  A groundwater flow model will be developed to simulate groundwater flow in the Arkansas River valley alluvium. The model will not simulate ground water flow outside of the Arkansas River valley except as necessary to establish boundary conditions. The model may also extend upstream in tributary valleys for short distances (less than 5 miles) to ensure adequate representation of their groundwater contribution to the modeled area. Particle tracking will be used to show groundwater flow paths and travel times. The simulation results will used to:

A.    Determine recharge over the model area;

B.   Show general patterns of groundwater flow in the aquifer;

C.   Determine the effects of present and hypothetical groundwater pumping on groundwater levels and on streamflow in the Arkansas River;

D.   Delineate areas vulnerable to water quality degradation; and 

E.    Assess the effect of groundwater pits on groundwater availability and quality.

[Title][Background][Objectives][Scope][Approach][benefits][Reports][Project timeline][References]

BENEFITS

Results of this study will be used to more effectively apply water management and regulatory measures to protect water supplies. A map of aquifer extent and a knowledge of aquifer properties will allow for better utilization of existing resources and regulated population growth. A map of mean annual recharge can be used by DWR to compute more accurate sustainable yield values for areas of low recharge potential. The groundwater flow model will allow assessments of the effect of hypothetical management scenarios on ground and surface-water resources. The methods and results of this study will be applicable to similar studies nationwide.

[Title][Background][Objectives][Scope][Approach][benefits][Reports][Project timeline][References]

REPORTS

Reports planned for this study are:

1. A short (30 pages or less) U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report (WRIR) describing the extents shallow aquifers and aquifer properties. This WRIR will include maps showing the extents of aquifers and estimated recharge for areas of low recharge potential.

2. A WRIR describing the groundwater flow model and simulations of the effects of pumping and hypothetical aquifer development on groundwater flow and water quality.

3. A Fact sheet written in laymans terms with a synopsis of study results.

4. Informal written status reports provided to DWR at the end of each State fiscal year (June 30).

   [Title][Background][Objectives][Scope][Approach][benefits][Reports][Project timeline][References]

PROJECT TIMELINE

We anticipate that the tasks proposed for this study will require 4 years to complete. Major tasks are show in the table below.

Timeline of Major Tasks

[Title][Background][Objectives][Scope][Approach][benefits][Reports][Project timeline][References]

REFERENCES CITED

Institute for Public Policy and Business Research, University of Kansas, on-line data: accessed October 20, 1999 at URL http://www.ukans.edu.cwis/units/ IPPBR/ksdata/ksah.html

Kansas Water Office, on-line data: accessed October 20, 1999 at URL http://www.kwo.org/kwo/pop-tables/county_tables.htm

Kansas Water Resources Board, 1960a, Section 4, Lower Arkansas Unit in State Water Plan studies, part A.--preliminary appraisal of Kansas water problems: Topeka, Kansas, 177 p.

Kansas Water Resources Board, 1960b, Section 5, Walnut-Verdigris Unit in State Water Plan studies, part A.--preliminary appraisal of Kansas water problems: Topeka, Kansas, 159 p.

U.S. Census Bureau, on-line data: accessed October 20, 1999 at URL http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts.html

 [Title][Background][Objectives][Scope][Approach][benefits][Reports][Project timeline][References]

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