Publications

Historical lead and zinc mining in the Tri-State Mining District (TSMD), located in parts of southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri, and northeast Oklahoma, has resulted in a substantial ongoing input of lead and zinc to the environment (Juracek, 2006; Juracek and Becker, 2009). In response to concern about the mining-related contamination, southeast Cherokee County, Kansas, was listed on...

No abstract available.

Historical data for nine selected streamgages in southwest and south-central Kansas were used in an assessment of streamflow characteristics and trends. This information is required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to assist with the effective management of Etheostoma cragini (Arkansas darter) habitats and populations in the...

As the Nation’s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey is relied on to collect high-quality data, and produce factual and impartial interpretive reports. This quality-assurance and data-management plan provides guidance for water-quality activities conducted by the Kansas Water Science Center. Policies and...

The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (about 175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial irrigation with groundwater in the aquifer area (about 1950). This report presents water-level...

Anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a, produced by cyanobacteria, are agonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Pinnatoxins, spirolides, and gymnodimines, produced by dinoflagellates, are antagonists of nAChRs. In this study we describe the development and validation of a competitive colorimetric, high throughput functional assay based on the mechanism of action of freshwater and...

This fact sheet describes water-use data collection and quantities of surface water and groundwater diverted for public supply in Kansas for the years 1990 through 2012. Data used in this fact sheet are from the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources and the Kansas Water Office. Water used for public supply represents about 10 percent of all reported water...

Development of the Wichita well field in the Equus Beds aquifer in southwest Harvey County and northwest Sedgwick County began in the 1940s to supply water to the city of Wichita. The decline of water levels in the Equus Beds aquifer was noted soon after the development of the Wichita well field began. Development of irrigation wells began in the 1960s. City and agricultural withdrawals...

The lower Platte River, Nebraska, provides drinking water, irrigation water, and in-stream flows for recreation, wildlife habitat, and vital habitats for several threatened and endangered species. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Lower Platte River Corridor Alliance (LPRCA) developed site-specific regression models for water-quality constituents at four sites...

The central Platte River is an important resource in Nebraska. Its water flows among multiple channels and supports numerous beneficial uses such as drinking water, irrigation for agriculture, groundwater recharge, and recreational activities. The central Platte River valley is an important stopover for migratory waterfowl and cranes, such as the Whooping (Grus americana) and Sandhill...

The Neosho River and its primary tributary, the Cottonwood River, are the primary sources of inflow to the John Redmond Reservoir in east-central Kansas. Sedimentation rate in the John Redmond Reservoir was estimated as 743 acre-feet per year for 1964–2006. This estimated sedimentation rate is more than 80 percent larger than the projected design sedimentation rate of 404 acre-feet per...

Contaminants from point and other urban sources affect stream quality in Indian Creek, which is one of the most urban drainage basins in Johnson County, Kansas. The Johnson County Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin and Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facilities discharge to Indian Creek. Data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Johnson County Wastewater, during...