Kansas Water Science Center
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Continuous Real-Time Water-Quality Monitoring of Kansas StreamsBy Victoria G. Christensen, Andrew C. Ziegler, Patrick P. Rasmussen, and Xiaodong Jian AbstractA continuous, real-time water-quality monitoring system was developed for 13
stream sites in Kansas that eliminates the waiting time inherent in chemical
analyses reported by a laboratory and provides estimates of constituent concentrations
and loads. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitoring system is described,
and its effectiveness in characterizing water quality is evaluated using discrete
water-quality samples collected from 1995 through 2002 and continuous water-quality
monitor data from the first 4 years of operation with examples from two stream
sites on the Little Arkansas River in south-central Kansas. Because sensor technology
currently is not available to directly measure many chemicals of interest in
a stream, regression models are developed to relate constituents in laboratory-analyzed
samples with in-stream continuous-sensor measurements. Concentration estimates
traditionally have used continuous streamflow data only; however, most constituents
are more accurately estimated with continuous specific conductance or turbidity
measurements. As the hourly sensor measurements are transmitted from the stream
sites to the USGS computers in Lawrence, Kansas, the models are applied, and
the computed estimates displayed on a Web page at http://ks.water.usgs.gov/rtqw/.
Currently, continuous estimated concentrations and loads of sediment, major
ions, selected nutrients, atrazine, and indicator bacteria, and uncertainty
of the estimates are displayed. Information from this system is used by water
suppliers to modify treatment of water, by State and local agencies in total
maximum daily load (TMDL) programs, and to alert recreational water users of
potential health risks. Christensen, V.G., Ziegler, A.C., Rasmussen, P.P., and Jian, Xiaodong, 2003, Continuous real-time water-quality monitoring of Kansas streams, in Proceedings of 2003 Spring Specialty Conference on Agricultural Hydrology and Water Quality, May 12-14, 2003, Kansas City, Missouri: Middleburg, Virginia, American Water Resources Association, AWRA Technical Publication Series No. TPS-03-1, compact disc. Additional information about real-time water-quality monitoring of Kansas streams can be found at:
For additional information contact: Andrew Ziegler |
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: /pubs/abstracts/awra.tps031-vgc.htm
Page Contact Information: GS-W-KS_info@usgs.gov
Page Last Modified:Thursday, 05-Jan-2012 16:11:38 CST
The USGS has collected hydrologic information in Kansas since 1895 with the first USGS Cooperative
Water Program funding agreement for 6 streamflow gages with the Kansas Water Board. USGS collects streamflow
and gage-height data; reservoir content; water-quality and water-quantity data; suspended-sediment data;
and groundwater levels. Hydrologic studies are conducted on national, regional, statewide, and local levels.
The USGS in Kansas works cooperatively with 31 Federal, State, and local agencies, such as the Kansas Water Office, the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, and the City of Wichita