Surface-water quantity and quality in the lower Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

New information on stream discharge and quality were collected over a 2-year period in the lower Kenai Peninsula. This new information improved understanding of the area 's surface-water hydrology. Average annual runoff ranges from 11 inches in the lowland portions of the peninsula to 100 inches in the Seldovia area. For drainage basins in the Kenai Lowland, maximum flood runoff rates range from about 10 to 82 cubic feet per second per square mile. In the Seldovia area maximum peak discharges range from about 65 to 280 cubic feet per second per square mile. Low-flow discharges are higher in the Seldovia area than on the lower peninsula. Calcium and bicarbonate ions dominate the water in streams draining the study area; the water is soft and has a low dissolved-solids content. Measured stream water temperatures range from 0 to 23 degrees Celsius in the Kenai Lowland and from 0 to 11.5 degrees Celsius in the Seldovia area. (USGS)