Reservoir Sediment Studies in Kansas Active
An understanding of the quantity and quality of sediment deposited in a reservoir is necessary for effective reservoir and basin management. Sedimentation affects the useful life of a reservoir for such important purposes as flood control, water supply, and recreation. Sediment quality is an important environmental concern because sediment may act as a sink for various water-quality constituents and as a source of constituents to the overlying water column and biota. An analysis of reservoir bottom sediments can provide historical information on sediment deposition as well as magnitudes and trends for water-quality constituents that are associated with sediment such as phosphorus, trace elements, and some pesticides. Such information can be used to document and understand the effects of various natural and human factors on reservoir conditions.
Reservoir sediment investigations conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey since 1995 have been completed with specific objectives being to:
- Estimate total sediment volume and mass
- Estimate annual sediment deposition and yield from the basin
- Determine the occurrence and trends of constituents
- Estimate annual constituent loads and yields from the basin
- Assess sediment quality
- Assess how reservoir conditions have changed over time and identify possible issues of concern
- Provide a baseline for future assessments
- Methods used include bathymetric surveying, bottom-sediment coring, chemical analysis, and statistical analysis
More publications can be found at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/
Bottom-Sediment Accumulation and Quality in Shawnee Mission Lake, Johnson County, Kansas, 2006
Sediment Quality and Comparison to Historical Water Quality, Little Arkansas River Basin, South-Central Kansas, 2007
Sediment storage and severity of contamination in a shallow reservoir affected by historical lead and zinc mining
Estimation of Sediment Sources Using Selected Chemical Tracers in the Perry Lake and Lake Wabaunsee Basins, Northeast Kansas
A comparison of approaches for estimating bottom-sediment mass in large reservoirs
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
Flood-related, organic-carbon anomalies as possible temporal markers in reservoir bottom sediments
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, other chemical constituents, and diatoms in bottom sediment, Perry Lake, northeast Kansas, 1969–2001
Metals, trace elements, and organochlorine compounds in bottom sediment of Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas, U.S.A.
Significant finding of water-quality studies and implications for Cheney Reservoir watershed, south-central Kansas, 1996-2001
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
An understanding of the quantity and quality of sediment deposited in a reservoir is necessary for effective reservoir and basin management. Sedimentation affects the useful life of a reservoir for such important purposes as flood control, water supply, and recreation. Sediment quality is an important environmental concern because sediment may act as a sink for various water-quality constituents and as a source of constituents to the overlying water column and biota. An analysis of reservoir bottom sediments can provide historical information on sediment deposition as well as magnitudes and trends for water-quality constituents that are associated with sediment such as phosphorus, trace elements, and some pesticides. Such information can be used to document and understand the effects of various natural and human factors on reservoir conditions.
Reservoir sediment investigations conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey since 1995 have been completed with specific objectives being to:
- Estimate total sediment volume and mass
- Estimate annual sediment deposition and yield from the basin
- Determine the occurrence and trends of constituents
- Estimate annual constituent loads and yields from the basin
- Assess sediment quality
- Assess how reservoir conditions have changed over time and identify possible issues of concern
- Provide a baseline for future assessments
- Methods used include bathymetric surveying, bottom-sediment coring, chemical analysis, and statistical analysis
- Publications
More publications can be found at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/
Filter Total Items: 37Bottom-Sediment Accumulation and Quality in Shawnee Mission Lake, Johnson County, Kansas, 2006
Shawnee Mission Lake is an artificial impoundment central to Shawnee Mission Park, the largest public park in Johnson County, Kansas. The Shawnee Mission Lake watershed has remained relatively undeveloped since the completion of the dam in 1962. However, recent (1990?2006) urban development has been a cause for concern regarding the quantity and quality of sediment entering the reservoir. The U.S.AuthorsCasey J. Lee, Kyle E. Juracek, Christopher C. FullerSediment Quality and Comparison to Historical Water Quality, Little Arkansas River Basin, South-Central Kansas, 2007
The spatial and temporal variability in streambed-sediment quality and its relation to historical water quality was assessed to provide guidance for the development of total maximum daily loads and the implementation of best-management practices in the Little Arkansas River Basin, south-central Kansas. Streambed-sediment samples were collected at 26 sites in 2007, sieved to isolate the less than 6AuthorsKyle E. Juracek, Patrick P. RasmussenSediment storage and severity of contamination in a shallow reservoir affected by historical lead and zinc mining
A combination of sediment-thickness measurement and bottom-sediment coring was used to investigate sediment storage and severity of contamination in Empire Lake (Kansas), a shallow reservoir affected by historical Pb and Zn mining. Cd, Pb, and Zn concentrations in the contaminated bottom sediment typically exceeded baseline concentrations by at least an order of magnitude. Moreover, the concentratAuthorsK. E. JuracekEstimation of Sediment Sources Using Selected Chemical Tracers in the Perry Lake and Lake Wabaunsee Basins, Northeast Kansas
In Kansas and nationally, stream and lake sediment is a primary concern as related to several important issues including water quality and reservoir water-storage capacity. The ability to achieve meaningful decreases in sediment loads to reservoirs requires a determination of the relative importance of sediment sources within the contributing basins. To investigate sources of sediment within the PAuthorsKyle E. Juracek, Andrew C. ZieglerA comparison of approaches for estimating bottom-sediment mass in large reservoirs
Estimates of sediment and sediment-associated constituent loads and yields from drainage basins are necessary for the management of reservoir-basin systems to address important issues such as reservoir sedimentation and eutrophication. One method for the estimation of loads and yields requires a determination of the total mass of sediment deposited in a reservoir. This method involves a sediment vAuthorsKyle E. JuracekSedimentation and Occurrence and Trends of Selected Chemical Constituents in Bottom Sediment, Empire Lake, Cherokee County, Kansas, 1905-2005
For about 100 years (1850-1950), the Tri-State Mining District in parts of southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri, and northeast Oklahoma was one of the primary sources of lead and zinc ore in the world. The mining activity in the Tri-State District has resulted in substantial historical and ongoing input of cadmium, lead, and zinc to the environment including Empire Lake in Cherokee County, southeaAuthorsKyle E. JuracekThe legacy of leaded gasoline in bottom sediment of small rural reservoirs
The historical and ongoing lead (Pb) contamination caused by the 20th-century use of leaded gasoline was investigated by an analysis of bottom sediment in eight small rural reservoirs in eastern Kansas, USA. For the reservoirs that were completed before or during the period of maximum Pb emissions from vehicles (i.e., the 1940s through the early 1980s) and that had a major highway in the basin, inAuthorsK. E. Juracek, A. C. ZieglerFlood-related, organic-carbon anomalies as possible temporal markers in reservoir bottom sediments
Results of a study of sediment cores from four reservoirs in the upper Mississippi River Basin, USA, indicated that anomalous organic carbon concentrations associated with flood deposits may provide detectable temporal markers in reservoir bottom sediments. Temporal markers are needed for reservoir sediment studies to date sediment layers deposited between the 1963–64 cesium-137 peak and the preseAuthorsKyle E. JuracekSedimentation and occurrence and trends of selected chemical constituents in bottom sediment of 10 small reservoirs, Eastern Kansas
Many municipalities in Kansas rely on small reservoirs as a source of drinking water and for recreational activities. Because of their significance to the community, management of the reservoirs and the associated basins is important to protect the reservoirs from degradation. Effective reservoir management requires information about water quality, sedimentation, and sediment quality. A combinAuthorsKyle E. JuracekSediment deposition and occurrence of selected nutrients, other chemical constituents, and diatoms in bottom sediment, Perry Lake, northeast Kansas, 1969–2001
A combination of bathymetric surveying and bottom-sediment coring was used to investigate sediment deposition and the occurrence of selected nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), organic and total carbon, 26 metals and trace elements, 15 organochlorine compounds, 1 radionuclide, and diatoms in bottom sediment of Perry Lake, northeast Kansas. The total estimated volume and mass of bottomAuthorsKyle E. JuracekMetals, trace elements, and organochlorine compounds in bottom sediment of Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas, U.S.A.
Bottom-sediment cores were used to investigate the occurrence of 44 metals and trace elements, and 15 organochlorine compounds in Tuttle Creek Lake, a reservoir with an agricultural basin in northeast Kansas, U.S.A. On the basis of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sediment-quality guidelines, concentrations of Ag, As, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn frequently or typically exceeded the threshold-effects leAuthorsK. E. Juracek, D.P. MauSignificant finding of water-quality studies and implications for Cheney Reservoir watershed, south-central Kansas, 1996-2001
No abstract available.AuthorsLarry M. Pope - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.