Current activities for Fiscal Year 2006

Major Aquifer Study: Nebraska Sand Hills region - northern High Plains (cont.)

Irrigated Agricultural Land-Use Study: Plio-pleistocene deposits - northern High Plains (cont.)

Unsaturated-Zone Study - northern High Plains (cont.)

• Borehole Tracer Study (focused flow): Ogallala Formation - northern High Plains (cont.)

Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants Study: Plio-pleistocene deposits - northern High Plains (Small-area effort cont.)

Ground-Water Vulnerability Study (cont.)

Current activities for Fiscal Year 2005

Major Aquifer Study: Nebraska Sand Hills region - northern High Plains (cont.)

Irrigated Agricultural Land-Use Study: Plio-pleistocene deposits - northern High Plains (cont.)

Unsaturated-Zone Study - northern High Plains (cont.)

• Borehole Tracer Study (focused flow): Ogallala Formation - northern High Plains (cont.)

Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants Study: Plio-pleistocene deposits - northern High Plains (Small-area effort cont.)

Ground-Water Vulnerability Study (cont.)

Current activities for Fiscal Year 2004

Major Aquifer Study: Nebraska Sand Hills region - northern High Plains

Irrigated Agricultural Land-Use Study: Plio-pleistocene deposits - northern High Plains

Unsaturated-Zone Study - northern High Plains (cont.)

• Borehole Tracer Study: Ogallala Formation - northern High Plains

Source-water Quality Assessment: Plio-pleistocene deposits - northern High Plains (cont.)

Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants Study: Quaternary deposits - northern High Plains (Small-area effort cont.)

Ground-Water Vulnerability Study (cont.)

Activities for Fiscal Year 2003

Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants Study: Plio-pleistocene deposits - northern High Plains (Small-area effort)

Major Aquifer Study: Ogallala Formation - northern High Plains (cont.)

Unsaturated-Zone Study - northern High Plains (cont.)

Regional Transect Study - northern High Plains (cont.)

Irrigated Agriculture Land-Use Study: Ogallala Formation - southern High Plains (cont.)

Ground-Water Vulnerability Study (cont.)

Activities for Fiscal Year 2002

Major Aquifer Study: Ogallala Formation - northern High Plains

Unsaturated-Zone Study - northern High Plains

Regional Transect Study - northern High Plains

Irrigated Agriculture Land-Use Study: Ogallala Formation - southern High Plains

Ground-Water Vulnerability Study

Activities for Fiscal Year 2001

Unsaturated-Zone Study - southern High Plains

Regional Transect Study - southern High Plains

Irrigated Lands Mapping

Activities for Fiscal Year 2000

Urban Land-Use Study: Arkansas River alluvium - Wichita, Kansas metropolitan area

Unsaturated-Zone Study - central High Plains

Activities for Fiscal Year 1999

Regional Transect Study - central High Plains

Public Water-Supply Sampling - central High Plains

Literature Search: The first activity of the High Plains Regional Ground Water Study is to conduct a combination electronic and manual literature search of available water-related information across the study area. The collection of references will include published reports and books, unpublished Master's theses and doctoral dissertations, conference proceedings, and journal articles. Furthermore, the bibliography will include a co-author and subject indexes.

Retrospective Data Analysis: Compile and analyze historical water-quality and ancillary data sets from the eight States within the High Plains area. Ancillary data sets include water-quality data, land-use data, water-use data, hydrogeologic data, and other relevant environmental data sets.

GIS Database Creation: Compile, process, document, and review for public release, GIS (Geographic Information System) data sets for the High Plains aquifer area. Initial data sets in process are: 1) Extent of the Ogallala Formation in the High Plains area; 2) hydrogeologic units; and 3) digitized/attributed well locations from well-permit files for selected wells in SW Kansas and the Oklahoma pan-handle region.

Reconnaissance Sampling--Ground-Water Age Dating: One goal of the ground-water investigation of the High Plains NAWQA is to determine the occurrence and distribution of water-quality constituents in recently recharged ground water. Within the NAWQA program, this is done by conducting a Land-Use Study in which monitoring wells are drilled and completed near the water table. Samples of recently recharged ground water (<50 years old) are collected and analyzed to examine if land-use affects from significant land-use activities (urban or agricultural) can be detected. Because of the depth to water in the Ogallala Formation aquifer can be highly variable(70-300 ft.), a reconnaissance sampling effort will be conducted to determine if recently recharged water exists at the water table. Five wells will be installed and these wells will be sampled and analyzed for a suite of anthropogenic compounds and several ground-water age-dating indicators.