WATER DATA & STUDIES
DATA CENTER
INFORMATION CENTER
ABOUT KANSAS WSC
USGS IN YOUR STATE
USGS Water Science Centers are located in each state.
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Highlights of Equus Beds Ground-Water
Recharge Project
Gallons of Water Recharged
Through Recharge Basins
RB-1, RB-2, RRW-1, RRW-2, RRW-3,
and RW-1
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Calendar
Year
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Month
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2006
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2007
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2008
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January
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---
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0
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23,359,000
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February
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---
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0
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27,007,300
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March
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---
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36,670,000
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51,928,000
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April
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---
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34,700,000
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58,824,500
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May
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---
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69,010,000
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48,955,400
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June
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---
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64,386,000
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39,416,600
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July
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---
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82,828,300
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11,567,800
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August
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---
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36,488,600
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0
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September
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0
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7,838,100
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---
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October
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0
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18,587,500
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---
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November
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0
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0
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---
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December
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0
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18,265,700
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---
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_________
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__________
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__________
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__________
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Sum
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0
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369 MG
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630 MG
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The following link provides a summary of artificial
recharge activities as part of the Equus Beds Ground-Water Recharge
Demonstration Project. Equus
Beds Ground-Water Recharge Demonstration Project 1997-2002.
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Ground-Water Quantity in the Equus Beds Aquifer
- Significant pumping of the Equus Beds Aquifer began in
September 1940 resulting in a gradual decrease of the aquifer’s water
level. Water-level declines, of up to 40 feet in some areas, occurred in
October of 1992 as a result of increased city and agricultural pumpage and
the 1988-92 drought.
- Between October 1992 and January 2008, water levels recovered by as
much as 20 feet in part of the study area. Decreased city pumpage, because of
increasing reliance by Wichita on Cheney Reservoir as a water-supply source,
as well as normal to wetter-than-normal rainfall conditions, are the primary
reasons for the water-level recoveries. The aquifer’s storage volume
recovered by approximately 55 percent during the same period while water
levels in many wells recovered to levels similar to those in the late 1970s
to early 1980s.
- Since 2007, more than 600 million gallons of water has been recharged
through Phase I recharge facilities in the area near Burrton, Kansas.>
- Click here for more information about Changes in Ground-Water Levels and Storage in the Equus
Beds Aquifer northwest of Wichita, Kansas.
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Real-Time and Historical Ground-Water-level links for the Equus Beds
Aquifer
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- The source water for the Equus beds artificial recharge
project is the Little Arkansas River. During the demonstration phase of the
project, according to permit conditions set by the Kansas Department of
Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, water could be diverted from the
river for recharge under the following conditions:
- At the Halstead Recharge site, from April 1 through
September 30, when streamflow at the USGS stream gage Little Arkansas
River at Highway 50 near Halstead (07143672) exceeded 42 ft3/s
.
- At the Halstead Recharge site, from October 1 through
March 31, when streamflow at the USGS stream gage Little Arkansas River
at Highway 50 near Halstead (07143672) exceeded 20 ft3/s.
- At the Sedgwick Recharge site, throughout the entire
year, when streamflow at the USGS stream gage Little Arkansas River
near Sedgwick, KS (07144100) exceeded 40 ft3/s.
- Permit guidelines for Phase I full scale recharge operations
established by the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water
Resources, in August 2005, require the following conditions for water to be
diverted from the river for recharge:
- At the Halstead Recharge site, from April 1 through
September 30, when streamflow at the USGS stream gage Little Arkansas
River at Highway 50 near Halstead (07143672) exceeds 57 ft3/s.
- At the Halstead Recharge site, from October 1 through
March 31, when streamflow at the USGS stream gage Little Arkansas River
at Highway 50 near Halstead (07143672) exceeds 20 ft3/s.
- At the Sedgwick Recharge site there are currently
(August 2008) no permit regulations established for full scale recharge
operations based on streamflow at the USGS stream gage Little Arkansas
River near Sedgwick, KS (07144100).
- The number of days per year when streamflow exceeded minimum diversion
requirements is tabulated below. For the site Little Arkansas River at
Highway 50 near Halstead, demonstration permit requirements are used from
1995 through 2004 and full scale operation requirements are used from 2005
through September 1, 2008. For the site Little Arkansas River near Sedgwick,
demonstration permit requirements are used for all years.
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- Since 1995, water-quality samples have been collected from more than
10 surface-water sites and more than 100 ground-water sites as a part of the Equus
Beds Ground-Water Recharge Project. More than 6,000 water-quality samples
have been collected and analyzed for more than 400 compounds, including most
of the compounds on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Maximum
Contaminant Level (MCL) List for drinking water. The station names and
numbers for water-quality monitoring sites are listed in the following
link— Equus
Beds Ground-Water Recharge Project water-quality monitoring sites.
- The report “Baseline
Water Quality and Preliminary Effects of Artificial Recharge on Ground Water,
South-Central Kansas, 1995-98” and fact sheet “Effects
of Artificial Recharge on Water Quality in the Equus Beds Aquifer,
South- Central Kansas, 1995-2000” identify the following
constituents to monitor because they frequently (at least 20% of samples
collected during baseline sampling) exceeded their respective water-quality
standards and criteria:
- Sodium, chloride, total coliform bacteria, and atrazine
in surface water
- Nitrite plus nitrate, arsenic, iron, and manganese in
ground water
- The following link is a summary
table of selected data that exceeded their respective water-quality criteria
in surface-water samples collected from February 1995 through December 2007. Data summary for surface-water monitoring sites. The summary includes the
water-quality criteria, number of samples collected, minimum, maximum,
average, median, percentage of detected compounds, percentage of samples
exceeding the water-quality criteria as well as the percentage of replicate
samples exceeding the water-quality criteria for each compound.
- Ground-water quality was monitored at 30 wells throughout the study area before recharge
activities began to establish a baseline comparison for monitoring the
effects of artificial recharge on the Equus Beds aquifer. After 6
years of demonstration artificial recharge activities, the same constituents
were identified as requiring monitoring in the ground-water. The following
link provides average concentrations of selected data before and after
artificial recharge activities. Data
summary for effects of artificial recharge.
- Geochemical
Effects of Induced Stream-Water and Artificial Recharge on the Equus
Beds Aquifer, South Central Kansas, 1995-2004, were defined using simple
mixing, solute-transport, and theoretical geochemical models. Simple mixing
and solute-transport models indicated that about 75% of the water in the
diversion well at Halstead originates from the nearby stream. Geochemical
modeling indicated that if fully oxygenated water is injected in the aquifer,
chemical precipitation of calcite and iron oxyhydroxide are likely and may
reduce the efficiency of the injection wells.
- Data collection from the Areal Index Assessment Network began in November 2001
with two objectives:
- To define general water quality and quantity in the Equus
Beds aquifer
- To monitor changes of both water quality and quantity
in the Equus Beds aquifer due to artificial recharge
- This network of 76 monitoring wells is
located in a 150-square-mile area north of the city of Wichita (study area map). There are 38 locations, positioned every 4 square miles, each with
a shallow and a deep monitoring well. The following link provides a summary
of selected data in samples collected from November 2001 through December
2007. Data
summary for Areal Index Assessment Network.
- Data collection from 10 Aquifer-Storage and Recovery (ASR) Phase I
prototype wells began in December 2002. Data collection from 2 additional ASR
prototype wells began in June 2004. Data from these wells will be used in
conjunction with data collected during the demonstration phase of the project
(1995-2000) along with data that continues to be collected from surface-and
ground-water sites to determine the effects of artificial recharge on water
quality. The following link provides a summary of selected data in samples
collected from December 2002 through December 2007. Data
summary for ASR Phase I prototype wells.
- Concentrations and load estimates for select locations of the Little
Arkansas River indicate that the sources of the loads of chloride and fecal
coliform bacteria are upstream of Highway 50. The concentrations and load
estimates also indicate that atrazine loads are distributed throughout the
basin. For further information refer to “Regression
Analysis and Real-Time Water-Quality Monitoring to Estimate Constituent
Concentrations, Loads, and Yields in the Little Arkansas River, South-Central
Kansas, 1995-99.” In addition, hourly estimates of concentrations
and loads for these sites from 1999 to today are available at http://ks.water.usgs.gov/rtqw/
- The Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR)
Project Phase I began in 2006 “to inject ground water into the Equus
Beds Aquifer for the purpose of storage and later recovery of the ground
water and to form a hydraulic barrier to a known brine plume” (Kansas
Underground Injection Control Area Permit Class V Injection Well, Kansas
Permit No. KS-05-079-001).
The project diverts water from the Little Arkansas River through bank storage
(diversion) wells, completed adjacent to the stream, when flow in the Little
Arkansas River exceeds base flow (base flows can be found in the
“Surface-Water Quantity” section above). The diverted water is
artificially recharged into the Equus Beds aquifer through injection
wells and recharge basins. The following link provides more information on
the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Project Phase I. Equus
Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project Phase 1.
- Click on the following links for complete statistical information on
all sites sampled from February 1995- December 2007 as part of the Equus
Beds Ground-Water Recharge Project:
- Click on the following links for complete data tables on all
sites sampled from August 2006 - March 2008 as part of the Equus Beds
Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Project Phase I:
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