In Kansas and nationally, sediment is a concern for both physical and chemical reasons. Physically, problems caused by excessive sediment may include degraded water quality, degraded aquatic habitat, increased water-treatment costs, decreased channel capacity, clogged water intakes, and loss of water-storage capacity in reservoirs. Chemically, sediment serves as a carrier for various contaminants and, under certain conditions, as a source of contaminants to water and biota.

Sediment-associated contaminants include nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus), trace elements, certain pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Nationally, sediment has been identified as the most important contaminant of concern by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In Kansas, concern about sediment is evidenced, in part, by the fact that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has developed total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) to reduce sediment loads to several reservoirs in the State. Effective management of sediment requires an understanding of sediment erosion, transport, deposition, and quality and how such processes and characteristics vary spatially and temporally in response to various natural and human factors.
Below are publications associated with this project.
The aging of America's reservoirs: In-reservoir and downstream physical changes and habitat implications
Suspended-sediment loads and reservoir sediment trap efficiency for Clinton Lake, Kansas, 2010-12
Sediment transport to and from small impoundments in northeast Kansas, March 2009 through September 2011
Transport and sources of suspended sediment in the Mill Creek Watershed, Johnson County, Northeast Kansas, 2006-07
Estimation of sediment sources using selected chemical tracers in the Perry lake basin, Kansas, USA
Characterization of Suspended-Sediment Loading to and from John Redmond Reservoir, East-Central Kansas, 2007-2008
Estimation of Sediment Sources Using Selected Chemical Tracers in the Perry Lake and Lake Wabaunsee Basins, Northeast Kansas
Sedimentation and Occurrence and Trends of Selected Chemical Constituents in Bottom Sediment, Empire Lake, Cherokee County, Kansas, 1905-2005
The legacy of leaded gasoline in bottom sediment of small rural reservoirs
Estimation of constituent concentrations, densities, loads, and yields in lower Kansas River, northeast Kansas, using regression models and continuous water-quality monitoring, January 2000 through December 2003
Assessment of contaminated streambed sediment in the Kansas part of the historic Tri-State Lead and Zinc Mining District, Cherokee County, 2004
Historical channel-bed elevation change as a result of multiple disturbances, Soldier Creek, Kansas
In Kansas and nationally, sediment is a concern for both physical and chemical reasons. Physically, problems caused by excessive sediment may include degraded water quality, degraded aquatic habitat, increased water-treatment costs, decreased channel capacity, clogged water intakes, and loss of water-storage capacity in reservoirs. Chemically, sediment serves as a carrier for various contaminants and, under certain conditions, as a source of contaminants to water and biota.

Sediment-associated contaminants include nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus), trace elements, certain pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Nationally, sediment has been identified as the most important contaminant of concern by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In Kansas, concern about sediment is evidenced, in part, by the fact that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has developed total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) to reduce sediment loads to several reservoirs in the State. Effective management of sediment requires an understanding of sediment erosion, transport, deposition, and quality and how such processes and characteristics vary spatially and temporally in response to various natural and human factors.
Below are publications associated with this project.