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.
Sedimentation and occurrence and trends of selected chemical constituents in bottom sediment of 10 small reservoirs, Eastern Kansas
Sediment deposition and occurrence of selected nutrients and other chemical constituents in bottom sediment, Tuttle Creek Lake, Northeast Kansas, 1962–99
Historic channel change along Soldier Creek, northeast Kansas
Sediment deposition and trends and transport of phosphorus and other chemical constituents, Cheney Reservoir watershed, south-central Kansas
Channel stability downstream from a dam assessed using aerial photographs and stream-gage information
Deposition of selenium and other constituents in reservoir bottom sediment of the Solomon River Basin, north-central Kansas
Similar rates of decrease of persistent, hydrophobic and particle-reactive contaminants in riverine systems
Analysis of bottom sediment to estimate nonpoint-source phosphorus loads for 1981-96 in Hillsdale Lake, northeast Kansas
Downstream effects of dams on alluvial rivers
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.