EFFECTS OF EPHEMERAL FLOW ON BANK STORAGE, AQUIFER RECHARGE, AND WATER CHEMISTRY IN WESTERN KANSAS STREAMS

The availability of surface-water flow information in agricultural regions like western Kansas is important for water resource managers, producers, and researchers. The development of an inexpensive method to characterize streams that are impractical for a full-time streamgage due to ephemeral flows in that arid climate environment can aid in studies of agriculture, land-use change, land management, water availability, recharge, and climate change. Due to climate oscillations, recharge from ephemeral streams should be analyzed on a long-term scale as well as monitored for changes in geochemical and water reservation characteristics. By monitoring temperature, precipitation, groundwater-level, infiltration, and groundwater and surface-water geochemical data, and collecting surface-water presence data, it is possible to characterize ephemeral flow events and analyze how they affect bank storage, aquifer recharge, and water chemistry. This collaborative study between the University of Kansas, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) will be conducted at two sites in western Kansas, on the Pawnee River near the town of Burdett and on the Arkansas River near the town of Larned. Each site will have a HOBO TidbiT pressure transducer, two HOBO level loggers, and a trail camera. Preliminary pressure transducer data indicates that the HOBO level logger data compares well with USGS streamgage data on the Pawnee River near Burdett. Information from this study may be used in models to better understand the effects of ephemeral flow on bank storage, aquifer recharge, and water chemistry for stream systems in water-limited regions.