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Organic Geochemistry Research Lab

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Surface Water Quality

See stream quality from all over Kansas

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Equus Recharge Project

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Kansas Water Science Center

Our Kansas Water Science Center priority is to continue the important work of the Department of the Interior and the USGS, while also maintaining the health and safety of our employees and community.  Based on guidance from the White House, the CDC, and state and local authorities, we are shifting our operations to a virtual mode and have minimal staffing within our office

WaterWatch Drought Data

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Drought Information from WaterWatch

Drought Conditions

Current Water Conditions

Water-Dashboard Map of Kansas Water Conditions(groundwater, surfacewater, water-quality

Streamflow Conditions from The Water Dashboard

Streamflow Condition

New Science Challenges Old Assumptions about Harmful Algal Blooms

Map of the 48 contiguous states showing Microcystin concentrations

First-of-its-kind survey shows that algal toxins are found nationwide

HAB News Article

News

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Kansas Water Science Center Presents: Science Seminar Series - December 2023

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KSWSC Quarterly Newsletter - October 2023

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Media Alert: The USGS is calling all dead butterflies and moths in six states

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Publications

Long-term water-quality constituent trends in the Little Arkansas River, south-central Kansas, 1995–2021

The Equus Beds aquifer and Cheney Reservoir are primary sources for the city of Wichita’s current (2023) water supply. The Equus Beds aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) project was developed by the city of Wichita in the early 1990s to meet future water demands using the Little Arkansas River as an artificial aquifer recharge water source during above-base-flow conditions. Little Arkansas River wa
Authors
Mandy L. Stone, Brian J. Klager
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Kansas Water Science Center

Streamflow—Water year 2022

The maps and graphs describe national streamflow conditions for water year 2022 (October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022) in the context of streamflow ranks relative to the 93-year period of water years 1930–2022. Annual runoff in the Nation’s rivers and streams during water year 2022 (8.97 inches) was a slighter smaller than the long-term (1930–2022) mean annual runoff of 9.39 inches for the conti
Authors
Xiaodong Jian, David M. Wolock, Harry F. Lins, Ronald J. Henderson, Steven J. Brady
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Kansas Water Science Center

Tire-derived transformation product 6PPD-quinone induces mortality and transcriptionally disrupts vascular permeability pathways in developing coho salmon

Urban stormwater runoff frequently contains the car tire transformation product 6PPD-quinone, which is highly toxic to juvenile and adult coho salmon (Onchorychus kisutch). However, it is currently unclear if embryonic stages are impacted. We addressed this by exposing developing coho salmon embryos starting at the eyed stage to three concentrations of 6PPD-quinone twice weekly until hatch. Impact
Authors
Justin Blaine Greer, Ellie Maureen Dalsky, Rachael F. Lane, John Hansen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Kansas Water Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Fish Health Program (FHP)
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Science

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Big Blue River with riverbank

Effect of Water-Injection Dredging (WID) Operations on Water Quality Downstream from Tuttle Creek Reservoir

USGS continuous water-quality monitoring and discrete sampling is an integral component for understanding pre-, during, and post-WID water-quality conditions and the impacts on the surrounding ecosystems.
By
Kansas Water Science Center
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Effect of Water-Injection Dredging (WID) Operations on Water Quality Downstream from Tuttle Creek Reservoir

USGS continuous water-quality monitoring and discrete sampling is an integral component for understanding pre-, during, and post-WID water-quality conditions and the impacts on the surrounding ecosystems.
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Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Project

The water supply for the city of Wichita, south-central Kansas, currently comes from the Equus Beds aquifer and Cheney Reservoir. Because these sources are not expected to meet projected city water needs into the 21st century (Warren and others, 1995), artificial recharge of the Equus Beds aquifer was investigated as one alternative to meet future water-supply demands. An additional potential...
By
Kansas Water Science Center
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Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Project

The water supply for the city of Wichita, south-central Kansas, currently comes from the Equus Beds aquifer and Cheney Reservoir. Because these sources are not expected to meet projected city water needs into the 21st century (Warren and others, 1995), artificial recharge of the Equus Beds aquifer was investigated as one alternative to meet future water-supply demands. An additional potential...
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Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Effects of Soil Health Best Management Practices on Water‐Quality and Soil-Moisture in Soldier Creek, Nemaha County Kansas

In October 2020, The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), began long‐term in‐stream monitoring downstream from the headwaters of Soldier Creek, a KDHE identified basin with a high probability of large‐scale implementation (more than 50% of area) of soil health best management practices (BPMs) to quantify potential changes in streamflow...
By
Kansas Water Science Center
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Effects of Soil Health Best Management Practices on Water‐Quality and Soil-Moisture in Soldier Creek, Nemaha County Kansas

In October 2020, The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), began long‐term in‐stream monitoring downstream from the headwaters of Soldier Creek, a KDHE identified basin with a high probability of large‐scale implementation (more than 50% of area) of soil health best management practices (BPMs) to quantify potential changes in streamflow...
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