Highlights of Results

Waterfowl resting at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, May 2001
(photo by T. Bennett, USGS, Wichita, Kansas)

Water-quality standards (criteria) are included below for the purpose of comparison so that viewers can decide whether the water quality is suitable for its intended use. Water-quality standards are established by the State of Kansas with the approval of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Water-quality standards represent water-quality goals to support designated uses of streams, lakes, and wetlands. Segments of Rattlesnake Creek are designated for Special Aquatic Life Support, Primary Contact Recreation, Domestic Water Supply, Food Procurement, Ground Water Recharge, Industrial Water Supply Use, Irrigation Use, and Livestock Watering Use. The Little and Big Salt Marshes in Quivira National Wildlife Refuge are designated for Secondary Contact Recreation, Special Aquatic Life Support, and Food Procurement. More information on designated uses can be found on the Kansas Department of Health and Environment website at http://www.kdhe.state.ks.us/tmdl/.

For some constituents, enforceable standards for the designated use do not exist. Therefore, current water-quality conditions may be compared to proposed criteria or criteria for an alternate use (drinking water, for example).

From December 1998 through June 2001, quarterly and runoff-event samples were collected manually from Rattlesnake Creek near Zenith, Kansas throughout a range of streamflow conditions. Two quality-assurance samples were collected, which indicated an average percent difference of about 2 percent among all constituents analyzed.

Of the 125 constituents analyzed, 10 exceeded existing or proposed water-quality standards in at least one sample. These were pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, dissolved solids, sodium, chloride, phosphorus, total coliform bacteria, E. Coli bacteria, and fecal coliform bacteria.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a Secondary Drinking Water Regulation (SDWR) for pH of 6.5 to 8.5 standard units. The State of Kansas also has established Aquatic Life Support criteria of the same range. The pH range for Rattlesnake Creek near Zenith during the study period was 7.3 to 8.8 standard units.

Turbidities ranged from 5.0 to 480 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), exceeding the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 0.5 to 1.0 NTU. Although no numeric Kansas Aquatic Life Support criteria exist for turbidity, the USEPA has proposed a level of 9.9 NTU for Ecoregion VI in northeast Kansas. The Quivira Refuge is part of Ecoregion V, which has a similar landscape but no established criteria.

Dissolved oxygen is necessary for the survival of fish and other aquatic life, and therefore, the State of Kansas has established an aquatic life (minimum) criteria of 5.0 mg/L. One sample, with a dissolved oxygen concentration of 3.1, did not meet this minimum criteria.

The SDWR for dissolved solids is 500 mg/L. Dissolved solids ranged from 264 to 5,460 milligrams per liter (mg/L). There are no Aquatic Life Support Criteria for dissolved solids.

The EPA has established a Drinking Water Equivalent Level (DWEL) for sodium of 20 mg/L, which was exceeded in all samples from Rattlesnake Creek near Zenith with a range of 50 to 1,880 mg/L. There are no Aquatic Life Support Criteria for sodium.

Chloride has an SDWR of 250 mg/L. The Aquatic Life Support (Acute) Criteria is 860 mg/L. The range in chloride concentrations at Rattlesnake Creek near Zenith was 67 to 3,000 mg/L.

Total phosphorus concentrations ranged from <0.05 to 0.76 mg/L. Although the State of Kansas has no water-quality standards for total phosphorus, one sample did exceed the EPA's proposed Ecoregion VI nutrient criteria of 0.076 mg/L.

Total coliform bacteria densities ranged from 105 to 43,900 col/100mL (colonies per 100 milliliters of water). The USEPA has established a Maximum Contaminent Level Goal (MCLG) of 0 col/100mL for drinking water.

E. Coli bacteria ranged from 13 to 1,830 col/100mL. Five of 17 samples exceeded the USEPA Contact Recreational Criteria of 256 col/100mL.

Fecal coliform bacteria has a summer Primary Contact Recreation criteria of 256 col/100 mL established by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The range for fecal coliform bacteria was 7-20,000 col/100 mL.

Data-collection platform (DCP) at Rattlesnake Creek
near Zenith, March, 1999 (photo by V. Christensen,
USGS, Lawrence, Kansas).

Water-quality sampling at Rattlesnake Creek near
Zenith, March 1999 (photo by T. Bennett, USGS,
Wichita, Kansas).

For additional information, please write or call: Victoria Christensen
U.S. Geological Survey
4821 Quail Crest Place
Lawrence, KS 66049-3839
Telephone: (785) 832-3552
Fax: (785) 832-3500
Email: vglenn@usgs.gov