Quality of Water Flowing into the
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, Kansas

The Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is an enhanced wetlands area located in the Rattlesnake Creek Basin in south-central Kansas and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Established as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1959, the area provides food, water, cover, and protection for many species of birds, wildlife, and fish. Several types of waterfowl take advantage of the refuge in their annual migration, including the endangered Whooping Crane. Since, 1959, the refuge has been enhanced and includes more than 30 marshes and ponds covering about 22,000 acres in Stafford, Reno, and Rice Counties.

The importance of maintaining water supply to preserve valuable waterfowl habitat was recognized early on. A channel was constructed to permit Rattlesnake Creek to flow directly into the Little Salt Marsh, one of two large saline marshes in the refuge. Additional canals and ponds have since been constructed, providing the entire area with a dependable water supply. However, supply is still a problem in dry years, especially during late summer, when the water demands outweigh the water supply, specifically the flow of Rattlesnake Creek into Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. In a cooperative study with the Kansas Geological Survey, the U.S. Geological Survey developed a computer-based water budget model to assist U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in determining the outcome of possible water-management options. The results of this study were published in "Simulation of Canal and Control-Pond Operation at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, South-Central Kansas".

Because of the considerable wildlife benefits offered by the refuge, there is a strong desire to provide a good water-quality supply to the refuge. Streamflow, river stage, and water quality flowing into the National Wildlife Refuge, are being monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey at Rattlesnake Creek near Zenith, Kansas. Temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity are being monitored with a continuously recording water-quality monitor. In addition, both routine quarterly and event-related water-quality samples were collected and analyzed for selected constituents including major ions, total and dissolved metals, nutrients, selected pesticides, and bacteria. The monitoring has identified temporal trends in selected water-quality constituents and is being used to estimate the chemical mass loading into Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

Map of Refuge Area

Highlights of Results

Publications and Presentations

Characterization of Surface-Water Quality Based on Real-Time Monitoring and Regression Analysis, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, South-Central Kansas, December 1998 Through June 2001, Christensen, V.G., 2002, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 01-4248, 28 p.

Monitoring Water-Quantity and Quality to Help Manage Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, Christensen, V.G., Jian, Xiaodong, ziegler, A.C., 2001, Department of Interior Conference on the Environment, Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 13-15, 2001 (4.9 MB)

Real-Time Water-Quality Monitoring for Protection of Wildlife at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, South-Central Kansas, 1999, Christensen, V.G., 1999, U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-182-99, 2 p.

Current Streamflow and Water-Quality Data and estimated concentrations

Rattlesnake Creek near Zenith, Kansas

Historical Streamflow and Water-Quality Data

Rattlesnake Creek near Raymond, Kansas