Abstract

The part of the Equus Beds aquifer in southwestern Harvey County and northwestern Sedgwick County was developed to supply water to the city of Wichita and 

for irrigation in south-central Kansas. The 165 square-mile study area represents about 

12 percent of the 1,400 square-mile Equus Beds aquifer and accounts for about onethird of the withdrawals from the aquifer. Water-level and storage-volume decreases 

that began with the development of the aquifer in the 1940s reached record to nearrecord lows in January 1993. Since 1993, generally higher water levels and partial 

storage-volume recoveries have been recorded in the aquifer. 

Potentiometric maps of the shallow and deep layers of the aquifer show flow in 

both aquifer layers is generally from west to east. The July 2011 water-level altitudes 

in the shallow aquifer layer ranged from a high of about 1,470 feet in the northwest 

corner of the study area to a low of about 1,330 feet in the southeast corner of the 

study area; water-level altitudes in the deep aquifer layer ranged from a high of about 

1,445 feet on the west edge of the study area to a low of about 1,340 feet in the southeast corner of the study area. In the northwest part of the study area, water-levels can 

be more than 60 feet higher in the shallow layer than in the deep layer of the Equus 

Beds aquifer. Measured water-level changes for August 1940 to July 2011 ranged from 

a decline of 43.22 feet to a decline of 0.17 feet and averaged 12.45 feet. The largest August 1940 to July 2011 water-level changes of 30 feet or more occurred in the 

northern part of the study area centered about 2 and 4 miles east of Burrton, Kansas.

The change in storage volume from August 1940 to July 2011 in the study area 

was a decrease of about 209,000 acre-feet. This volume represents a recovery of 

about 46,000 acre-feet, or only about 18 percent of the storage volume previously lost 

between August 1940 and January 1993. The largest post-1993 storage-volume recovery to date in the study area was about 161,300 acre-feet in July 2010. The approximately 115,000 acre-feet decrease in storage volume from July 2010 to July 2011 in 

the study area represents a depletion of about 71 percent of storage volume previously 

recovered from January 1993 to July 2010; about 105,000 acre-feet of this decrease 

occurred between January and July 2011. Most of this depletion probably is because 

of decreased recharge from precipitation that at 9.26 inches for January through July 

2011 was less than one-half of normal and increased irrigation pumpage associated 

with less-than-normal precipitation; city pumpage probably was less than average. For 

the study area, irrigation pumpage for 2011 was estimated at about 42,700 acre-feet 

and 2011 city pumpage was estimated at about 21,400 acre-feet. 

The approximately 29,900 acre-feet decrease in storage volume from July 2010 

to July 2011 in the central part of the study area represents a depletion of about 

31 percent of the storage volume previously recovered from January 1993 to July 

2010. A major factor in the greater percentage retention of the January 1993 to July 

2010 recovery in the central part of the study area is the decreased city pumpage as 

part of Wichita’s Integrated Local Water Supply Plan. 

Introduction

Beginning in the 1940s, the Wichita well field was developed in the Equus Beds 

aquifer in southwestern Harvey County and northwestern Sedgwick County to supply water to the city of Wichita, which has been the largest city in Kansas since the 

mid-1940s (Williams and Lohman, 1949; Gibson, 1998; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). 

In addition to supplying drinking water for Wichita, the other primary use of water 

from the Equus Beds aquifer is crop irrigation in this agriculturally dominated part 

of south-central Kansas (Rich Eubank, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division 

of Water Resources, oral commun., 2008). The decline of water levels in the aquifer 

was noted soon after the development of the Wichita well field began (Williams and 

Lohman, 1949). As water levels in the aquifer decline, the volume of water stored in 

the aquifer decreases and less water is available to supply future needs. Since 1940, 

the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the city of Wichita, has monitored changes in water levels and the resulting changes in storage volume in the Equus

Beds aquifer as part of Wichita’s effort to effectively manage this resource; this report 

documents these changes to July 2011. 

In 1993, the city of Wichita adopted the Integrated Local Water Supply Plan 

(ILWSP) to ensure an adequate water supply for the city through 2050 and as part 

of its effort to effectively manage the part of the Equus Beds aquifer it uses (City of 

Wichita, [2007] and 2008; Warren and others, 1995). ILWSP uses several strategies 

to do this including (a) greater reliance on other sources of water from outside the 

study area (for example, the Bentley Wellfield south of the Arkansas River, Cheney 

Reservoir on the North Fork of the Ninnescah River, and the Wichita’s Local Wellfield at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers), (b) encouraging 

conservation, and (c) developing the Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project 

with an artificial-recharge capacity of as much as 100 million gallons a day. The ASR 

project also is designed to help protect the part of the aquifer used by the city from 

the encroachment of oilfield brines near Burrton and saline water from the Arkansas 

River. In 2007, the city of Wichita began using Phase 1 of the Equus Beds ASR project 

to increase the long-term sustainability of the Equus Beds aquifer through large-scale 

artificial recharge (City of Wichita, [2007]). The ASR project uses water from the 

Little Arkansas River—either pumped from the river directly or from wells in the riverbank that obtain their water from the river by induced infiltration—as the source of 

artificial recharge to the Equus Beds aquifer (City of Wichita, [2007]). For Phase 1, the 

water pumped directly from the Little Arkansas River is treated to reduce sediment and 

remove atrazine before being recharged to the aquifer through recharge basins; water 

pumped from wells in the riverbank does not receive additional treatment before being 

recharged to the aquifer through recharge wells (Debra Ary, city of Wichita, written 

commun., 2012). 

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to describe the status of the groundwater levels and 

storage volume in a part of the Equus Beds aquifer northwest of Wichita in July 2011 

as compared with predevelopment (before large-scale withdrawals began in September 

1940) groundwater levels and to update changes in aquifer storage since 1940. Maps 

of related groundwater-level measurements and water-level changes are presented. 

Two hydrographs of groundwater levels were selected to show historical water-level 

variations. Information in this report can be used to document and improve understanding of the effects of climate, water use, and water-resource management practices 

on water supplies in the Equus Beds aquifer, an important source of water for the city 

of Wichita and the surrounding area.

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges the invaluable assistance of Debra Ary of the city 

of Wichita and Tim Boese of Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 

(GMD2). Their technical reviews contributed to improved technical and editorial clarity of the report. Appreciation also is expressed to the city of Wichita for the waterlevel measurements at the Equus Beds historic monitoring wells. 

Technical reviews by USGS employees Donald Wilkison and Walter Aucott contributed to improved technical and editorial clarity of the report. 

Hydrogeology of the Study Area

The approximately 165 square-mile (mi2) study area is located northwest of 

Wichita, Kansas in Harvey and Sedgwick Counties (fig. 1). It is bounded on the southwest by the Arkansas River and on the northeast by the Little Arkansas River. The 

land surface in the study area typically slopes gently toward the major streams from an 

altitude of about 1,495 feet (ft) in the northwest to a low of about 1,295 ft in the southeast. The study area represents about 12 percent of the 1,400 mi2 Equus Beds aquifer 

and about one-third of the pumpage from the aquifer occurs in the study area (Kansas 

Department of Agriculture, 2011). Pumpage from the Equus Beds aquifer in the study 

area is dominated by irrigation and city use. Total pumpage from the study area in 

2010 (latest year for which data are available) was about 51,700 acre-feet (acre-ft), of 

which about 31,100 acre-ft was for irrigation, about 20,100 acre-ft was Wichita city 

pumpage, and about 500 acre-ft was for other uses (Kansas Department of Agriculture, 

Division of Water Resources, unpub. data, 2011)

The central part of the study area (fig. 1), which covers about 55 mi2 or about 

one-third of the study area, is the historic center of pumping in the study area. The central part of the study area includes wells used to supply water to the city of Wichita and 

many wells used for irrigation (Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water 

Resources, unpub. data, 2011). Total pumpage from the central part of the study area 

in 2010 (latest year for which data are available) was about 29,000 acre-ft, of which 

about 8,700 acre-ft was for irrigation, about 20,100 acre-ft was Wichita city pumpage, 

and about 200 acre-ft was for other uses (Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division 

of Water Resources, unpub. data, 2011).

The Equus Beds aquifer is the easternmost extension of the High Plains aquifer in 

Kansas (Stullken and others, 1985; Hansen and Aucott, 2001). The Equus Beds aquifer 

covers about 1,400 mi2 in Kansas, or about 5 percent of the approximately 30,900 mi2

covered by the High Plains aquifer in Kansas (fig. 1). The Equus Beds aquifer is an 

important source of water because of the generally shallow depth to the water table, 

the large saturated thickness, and generally good water quality. 

The Equus Beds aquifer primarily consists of Quaternary-age alluvial deposits, 

locally known as the Equus beds, with some dune sand and loess (Myers and others, 

1996). The alluvial deposits are as much as 250 ft thick in the study area (Leonard and 

Kleinschmidt, 1976). The Equus beds primarily consist of sand and gravel interbedded 

with clay or silt, but locally may consist primarily of clay with thin sand and gravel 

layers (Lane and Miller, 1965a; Myers and others, 1996). The middle part of the Equus

beds generally has more fine-grained material than the lower and upper parts (Lane 

and Miller, 1965b, Myers and others, 1996). The approximately 700-ft-thick Permianage Wellington Formation underlies the Equus beds in the study area and forms the 

bedrock confining unit below them (Bayne, 1956; Myers and others, 1996). Storage 

volume (the amount of water available for use) of the Equus Beds aquifer in the study 

area in 2006 was estimated at about 2,100,000 acre-ft (Hansen, 2007).

Near the Arkansas River and in the western part of the study area, the water table 

in the Equus Beds aquifer can be less than 10 ft below land surface. Farther from the 

Arkansas River and near the Little Arkansas River, the water table can be at a greater 

depth (about 50 ft below land surface in July 2011), depending on the altitude of the 

land surface and the amount of water-level decline that has been caused by groundwater withdrawals. The saturated thickness of the Equus Beds aquifer within the study 

area ranges from about 75 ft near the Little Arkansas River to almost 250 ft near the 

Arkansas River where the lowest areas of the underlying bedrock surface occur (Spinazola and others, 1985). The Equus Beds aquifer is considered to be an unconfined 

aquifer, but the presence of clay layers has resulted in semiconfined conditions in some 

areas (Spinazola and others, 1985; Stramel, 1967). These semiconfined conditions may 

have resulted in the substantial water-level and water-quality differences seen between 

the shallow and deep parts of the Equus Beds aquifer in some parts of the study area 

(Stramel, 1956; Ziegler and others, 2010). These substantial differences, along with a 

need to monitor the effects of artificial recharge on the shallow and deep parts of the 

aquifer, led to the construction for this report of separate potentiometric-surface maps 

of the shallow and deep layers of the aquifer. 

Methods

Aquifer Layers

For the purposes of this report, wells completed and screened in the Equus Beds 

aquifer were assigned to either the shallow or deep aquifer layer. These layer assignments were based on Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 (GMD2) 

aquifer zone designations and on well completion and screen depths. GMD2 has 

identified up to four aquifer zones (designated AA, A, B, and C, in order of increasing 

depth) within the Equus Beds aquifer where there are competent clay layers separating them (Tim Boese, Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2, written 

commun., 2009). The A, B, and C zones are similar to the upper, middle, and lower 

aquifer units defined by Myers and others (1996) and previously discussed in the 

“Hydrogeology of the Study Area” section. GMD2 monitoring wells generally are in 

clusters (closely spaced wells screened to different depths) with each well screened 

in a different aquifer zone. For this report, wells designated by GMD2 as completed 

in zones A or C were assigned to the shallow or deep aquifer layers, respectively; no 

wells designated as completed in zones AA or B were used in this study. The city of 

Wichita monitors clusters of historic and index monitoring wells. The shallower well 

in each historic or index well cluster was assumed to be in and assigned to the shallow aquifer layer; the deeper well in each cluster was assumed to be in and assigned to 

the deep aquifer layer. Ziegler and others (2010) used a depth of 80 ft as the dividing 

point between the shallow and deep parts of the Equus Beds aquifer. An analysis of 

the GMD2 and city of Wichita well clusters in the study area shows about 90 percent 

of the GMD2 zone A wells and shallower historic and index wells were completed and 

screened to a depth of 80 ft or less, and about 90 percent of the GMD2 C zone wells 

and deeper historic and index wells were completed and screened to a depth of greater 

than 80 ft. This indicates that the use of the 80-ft depth as the dividing point between 

aquifer layers was reasonable when assigning the city of Wichita historic monitoring 

wells not in clusters into either the shallow or deep layer of the Equus Beds aquifer 

and no other information was available.

Water Levels

Groundwater levels were measured from July 8 through August 1, 2011, at 

156 historic monitoring wells, 76 index wells, 49 GMD2 monitoring wells, and 

2 ASR Phase 1 monitoring wells. The historic monitoring wells have been used by the 

city of Wichita for monitoring water levels in the Equus Beds aquifer for years, many 

since the 1940s (Stramel, 1956). The index wells were installed in 2001 and 2002 to 

monitor the effects of artificial recharge on the water quality and water levels in the 

Equus Beds aquifer and to determine if there are water-quality differences between the 

shallow and deep layers of the aquifer (Andrew Ziegler, U.S. Geological Survey, oral 

commun., September 2003). The GMD2 monitoring wells were installed for GMD2 or 

are existing wells used by GMD2 to monitor the Equus Beds aquifer. The ASR Phase 1 

monitoring wells were installed to monitor the effects of recharge around the six ASR 

Phase 1 artificial recharge sites; only two of the wells around recharge site RB1 were 

measured in July 2011. 

Water levels in the historic monitoring wells were measured by city of Wichita 

personnel; water levels in the index wells and GMD2 monitoring wells were measured 

by GMD2 personnel. Water levels in the Phase 1 monitoring wells are collected by 

the USGS using multi-sensor monitors that continuously collect physical properties, including water-level altitude. Water levels in the other monitoring wells were 

measured by GMD2. All agencies used standard water-level measurement techniques 

that are similar to USGS methods described in Cunningham and Schalk (2011). The 

historic monitoring well data are on file, in paper and electronic form, with the city of 

Wichita’s Public Works and Utilities Department in Wichita, Kansas; the index and 

GMD2 monitoring well data collected by GMD2 are stored in the Kansas Geological 

Survey’s (KGS’s) Water Information and Storage and Retrieval Database (WIZARD) 

(Kansas Geological Survey, 2011); and well data collected by the USGS are stored in 

the USGS’s National Water Information System (NWIS) database (U.S. Geological 

Survey, 2011b). All the water-level data used in this report also are stored in NWIS. 

The quality of the water-level data for each well was evaluated by examining hydrographs of all the water levels available for the well. Where the July 2011 data looked 

questionable, the data provider was questioned about the values and any corrections 

provided were applied. The measured water levels can be affected by pumping at 

nearby wells; as a result, the interpretation made using these water levels also will 

show the effects of these nearby pumping wells.

Water-Level Altitudes

The July 2011 water-level altitudes depicted in the potentiometric-surface maps 

of the shallow and deep layers of the Equus Beds aquifer were calculated by subtracting the depth to water below land surface in a well from the altitude of land surface at 

the well. Land-surface altitudes are those stored for the wells in NWIS or WIZARD 

or determined from the National Elevation Dataset (U.S. Geological Survey, 2009). 

Monitoring wells used in this report were divided into two groups to describe differences between the water levels in the shallow and deep layers of the aquifer. The well 

was assigned to the shallow or deep layer of the Equus Beds aquifer based on the layer 

in which the bottom of the well’s casing or screened interval occurred (as described 

in the “Aquifer Layers” section). The 196 wells assigned to the shallow layer of the 

aquifer range in depth from 7 to 101 ft in depth, with about 96 percent of the wells 

80 ft or less in depth. The 87 wells assigned to the deep layer of the aquifer range in 

depth from 76 to 285 ft in depth with about 97 percent of the wells greater than 80 ft 

in depth. 

Average daily surface-water-altitude measurements from data collected by sensors at six USGS streamflow-gaging stations on the Arkansas and Little Arkansas 

Rivers (fig. 1) were used to estimate the surface-water altitude along these streams. 

These measurements were used along with the groundwater-level measurements in the 

construction of the potentiomentric-surface map of the shallow Equus Beds aquifer 

layer created for this report. Because the groundwater-level measurements used for 

the shallow aquifer layer were collected over several weeks, each streamflow-gaging 

station’s average surface-water altitude for the day at the midpoint of the groundwaterlevel measurement period was used (U.S. Geological Survey, 2011b).

The July 2011 surface-water and groundwater-level altitudes were plotted on the 

potentiometric-surface map of their assigned aquifer layer and manually contoured. 

Where well clusters exist, the difference between water levels in the shallow and deep 

aquifer layers commonly was less than 2 ft (less than one-half of the 5-ft contour interval used for the potentiometric maps) in the same well cluster. Therefore, where waterlevel data did not exist for one layer but did exist for the other layer and the surrounding well clusters indicated the water-level differences between the shallow and deep 

layers were small, the data from the other aquifer layer were used as supplemental data 

to guide the placement of the potentiometric-surface contours. The locations 

of points of groundwater diversions and the 2010 water-use associated with these 

points (Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, unpub. data, 

May 2011) also were used to guide the location of the contours. 

Water-Level Change

The water-level change at a well since August 1940 was determined by subtracting the depth to water below land surface in July 2011 from the depth to water below 

land surface at the same well in August 1940. All wells used for the water-level change 

maps were historic monitoring wells or index wells. Of the 148 wells used for the 

water-level change map, 135 are in the shallow layer of the aquifer. Only 37 of the 148 

wells used for the water-level change map had measured water levels for August 1940. 

If an August 1940 water-level measurement did not exist for a well in the study area, 

one was estimated from the August 1940 water-level altitude map of Stramel (1956) 

as modified by Aucott and Myers (1998). The August 1940 to July 2011 water-levelchange values for the measured wells were plotted on the map and manually contoured. 

Storage-Volume Change

Change in storage volume for the purposes of this report is defined as the change 

in saturated aquifer volume multiplied by the specific yield of the aquifer. Specific 

yield is the ratio of (1) the volume of water a rock or soil will yield by gravity to 

(2) the volume of rock or soil (Lohman and others, 1972). A specific yield of 0.2 has 

been used to compute the changes in storage volume in the Equus Beds aquifer since 

Stramel (1956) first computed storage volume for the aquifer. The use of a specific 

yield of 0.2 was retained in this report because, as noted by Hansen and Aucott (2001), 

it is within the range of most estimates of specific yield, has been the basis of many 

historical computations, and because there is no general agreement on an average 

value of specific yield for the Equus Beds aquifer in the study area. 

The change in storage volume from August 1940 to July 2011 was computed 

using computer-generated Thiessen polygons (Thiessen, 1911) that were based on the 

measured water-level changes at wells and the manually drawn lines of equal waterlevel change. Thiessen polygons apportion the water-level change at each well and the 

estimated value at points representing the lines of equal water-level change to the area 

around the wells and points. The volume of storage change was computed by summing 

the area of each Thiessen polygon multiplied by the water-level-change value associated with the Thiessen polygon, and then multiplied by the specific yield. To determine 

the storage-volume change since August 1940 in the whole study area and in the central part of the study area, the computation was done for the Thiessen polygons within 

each of these areas. 

Changes in storage volume for periods that do not begin with August 1940 were 

calculated as the difference between changes in storage volume for August 1940 to the 

beginning of the selected time period, and for August 1940 to the end of the selected 

time period. For example, the change in storage volume for January 1993 to July 2011 

was calculated as the change in storage volume for August 1940 to July 2011 minus 

the change in storage volume for August 1940 to January 1993. 

Precipitation

Precipitation for the study area for 2010 and 2011 was estimated as the arithmetic 

average of precipitation for the five Cooperative weather stations in or near Halstead, 

Hutchinson, Mount Hope, Newton, and Wichita (station numbers 143366, 143930, 

145539, 145744, and 148830, respectively; fig. 1). Values for normal precipitation currently (2011) used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

are the averages for 1981–2010 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

2011c). Standard normal (annual or monthly) precipitation data for weather stations 

in or near Hutchinson, Mount Hope, Newton, and Wichita, the representative normal 

precipitation data for the weather station near Sedgwick (Cooperative station number 147313; fig. 1), and the pseudonormal precipitation data for the weather station 

near Halstead reported by NOAA were averaged to determine the normal precipitation for the study area. Standard normal precipitation values were not available for 

either the Sedgwick or Halstead weather station because collection of precipitation 

data at Sedgwick was discontinued in 2004 and precipitation data were not collected 

at Halstead before 2001. As described by NOAA, a representative normal is “scaled 

or based on filled values to be representative of the full period of record” for stations 

where the observed record is incomplete (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011d). A pseudonormal is based on linear combinations of the normals from 

neighboring stations and is used where the station’s record is missing data, commonly 

because the station did not begin until after the start of the normal period (National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011b). Normal annual precipitation for 

the study area is about 32.14 inches (in.). This is similar to the long-term (1940–2010) 

average annual precipitation of 31.52 in. that was estimated for the study area by 

Hansen and Aucott (2010). Average study-area precipitation for January through July 

2011 was about 9.26 in. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011e, 

2011f, and 2011g; Kansas State Research and Extension, 2011; and Mary Knapp, State 

Climatologist, written commun., August 11, 2011), which was less than one-half of the 

January through July study-area normal of 20.43 in. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011c).

Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume

Groundwater-level declines can result from a combination of factors, with the 

primary factors in the study area being pumpage and decreased recharge resulting from 

less-than-normal precipitation. Droughts and other periods of less-than-normal precipitation tend to decrease the amount of recharge available and increase demand for, and 

thus pumpage of, groundwater, resulting in increased water-level declines. Periods 

of greater-than-normal rainfall tend to increase the amount of recharge available and 

decrease the demand for, and thus pumpage of, groundwater, resulting in water-level 

rises. If the water-level declines or rises are large enough, they may locally alter the 

direction of groundwater flow. An annual cycle of water-level declines and rises generally occurs in the study area. Typically, the largest water-level declines occur during 

the summer or fall when agricultural-irrigation and city pumpage are greatest (Aucott 

and Myers, 1998). This cycle of annual water-level declines and rises is reflected in 

the annual fluctuations in the water levels in wells shown in figure 2. The consistently 

large seasonal water-level fluctuations (commonly from 5 to 20 ft) in well 104 probably are caused by nearby agricultural-irrigation pumpage. 

Record to near-record water-level declines in the Equus Beds aquifer occurred 

in October 1992 and January 1993 (Aucott and Myers, 1998; Hansen and Aucott, 

2001). Although the maximum recorded decline in storage volume in the Equus Beds 

aquifer occurred in October 1992, the January 1993 storage-volume decline is used for 

comparison purposes to minimize the effect of seasonal factors (Hansen and Aucott, 

2001). Recent reports have indicated that from January 1993 to January 2011, higher 

water levels have been recorded in the Equus Beds aquifer because of near-normal 

to greater-than-normal precipitation and decreased city pumpage (Aucott and Myers, 

1998; Hansen and Aucott, 2001, 2004, 2010; Hansen, 2007, 2009a, 2009b, 2011a, 

2011b). City pumpage from the aquifer in the study area during 1993 through 2010 

averaged about 23,300 acre-ft per year compared to an average of 32,100 acre-ft per 

year for 1965 (when Wichita began supplementing water from the Equus Beds aquifer 

with water from Cheney Reservoir) through 1992 (Hansen and Aucott, 2010; Kansas 

Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, unpub. data, 2011). Pumpage for agricultural irrigation, which averaged about 30,100 acre-ft per year for 1993 

through 2010 and can vary as much as 40 percent from year to year, tended to decrease 

in years of greater-than-normal precipitation and increase in years of normal to lessthan-normal precipitation (Hansen, 2007; Hansen and Aucott, 2010); thus, decreased 

pumpage for agricultural irrigation likely contributed to the higher water levels only in 

years of greater-than-normal precipitation. Large-scale artificial recharge by the city 

of Wichita, which began in 2007, probably contributed to the continuation of these 

higher water levels near the recharge sites (Hansen, 2011b) through January 2011. 

Phase 1 artificial recharge through July 2011 totaled about 2,900 acre-ft (U.S. Geological Survey, 2011a).

Potentiometric Surfaces of the Shallow and Deep Aquifer Layers, 

July 2011

The potentiometric-surface contours of the shallow and deep layers of the Equus

Beds aquifer (figs. 3 and 4, respectively) indicate movement of water in the aquifer is 

generally from west to east across the area. Hachured areas indicate cones of depression that likely are related to pumping wells and present exceptions to the generally 

easterly flow pattern. Water-level altitudes in the shallow aquifer layer range from a 

high of about 1,470 ft in the northwest corner of the study area to a low of about 

1,330 ft in the southeast corner of the study area. Water-level altitudes in the deep 

aquifer layer range from a high of about 1,445 ft on the west edge of the study area to 

a low of about 1,340 ft near the southeast corner of the study area. Where the potentiometric-surface contours bow out to the west (for example, in the middle of T. 24 S. 

R. 2 W. on fig. 3) or are hachured (for example, near wells 4B, 21B, and IW23A on 

fig. 3 and near wells 42D, 46D, and 50D on fig. 4), they indicate areas where the water 

levels are lower than in the surrounding area, probably because of pumping at nearby 

wells. Potentiometric contours in the northwest part of the study area are oriented 

differently in the shallow (fig. 3) and deep (fig. 4) layers of the aquifer and the waterlevel altitudes in the shallow layer are up to 60 ft higher than those in the deep layer 

of the aquifer. These differences probably are caused by thicker clay layers in this area 

reducing the hydraulic connection between the shallow and deep layers of the aquifer. 

No obvious effects of artificial recharge can be seen on the potentiometric surfaces of 

either of the shallow or deep aquifer layers (figs. 3 and 4), probably because no artificial recharge had occurred at any of the ASR Phase 1 sites since November 2010 

(U.S. Geological Survey, 2011a). 

Where water-levels in the shallower wells differ from those in the deeper wells in 

the same cluster, they indicate there is a vertical component of flow within the aquifer. 

A downward vertical gradient is indicated where the water levels are higher in the 

shallower wells than in the deeper wells within a cluster; an upward vertical gradient 

is indicated where the water levels are lower in the shallower wells than in the deeper 

wells within a cluster. Within 19 of the 81 clusters in the study area, the water-level 

differences in July 2011 between the shallower and deeper wells were 1 ft or less and 

probably do not indicate a substantial vertical component of flow; within 3 of the 

81 clusters, the July 2011 water levels in the shallower wells were from 1 to 2 ft lower 

than those in the deeper wells. However, within 59 of the 81 clusters in the study area, 

the water levels in the shallower wells were more than 1 ft higher than those in the 

deeper wells, indicating that a downward component of flow in the aquifer may have 

been common during July 2011. In 32 of the 81 clusters in the study area, the water 

levels ranged from about 6 to about 61 ft higher in the shallower wells than in the 

deeper wells in July 2011. These larger differences indicate that at these clusters the 

two aquifer layers probably are not well connected. If nearby wells pump from only 

one aquifer layer, the water-level differences between wells within a cluster may be 

greater than if the nearby wells were not pumping.

Water-Level Changes, August 1940 to July 2011

Water-level changes from August 1940 to July 2011 are shown in figure 5. Water 

levels were measured in the historic monitoring wells by city of Wichita personnel 

from July 25 through 27, 2011, and on August 1, 2011; water levels were measured 

in the index wells by GMD2 personnel on July 21 and 22, 2011. Water-level changes 

from August 1940 to July 2011 ranged from a decline of 43.22 ft at well 1B in the central part of the study area to a decline of 0.17 ft at well P27A near the west edge of the 

study area of the study area (fig. 5). The average August 1940 to July 2011 water-level 

change for the wells shown in figure 5 was a decline of about 12.45 ft (table 1). No 

obvious effects of artificial recharge are documented at the Phase 1 sites in this report, 

probably because before July 2011, artificial recharge last occurred in November 2010 

(U.S. Geological Survey, 2011a). Water-level declines of 10 ft or more occurred in 

much of the central part of the study area and in T. 24 S. R. 1 W.; declines of 30 ft or 

more occurred in the northern part of the of the study area centered about 2 miles (mi) 

northeast and 4 mi east of Burrton, Kansas (fig. 5). These declines likely were caused 

by reduced recharge from decreased precipitation and by pumping in the area. 

Precipitation during January 2011 through July 2011 at the five weather stations 

in and near the study area (Halstead, Hutchinson, Mount Hope, Newton, and Wichita; 

fig. 1) ranged from about 6.66 in. at Hutchinson to about 12.65 in. at Wichita and 

averaged about 9.26 in. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011e, 

2011f, and 2011g; Kansas State Research and Extension, 2011; and Mary Knapp, State 

Climatologist, written commun., August 11, 2011). Average precipitation in the study 

area for January 2011 through July 2011 was 9.26 in., less than one-half of the studyarea normal of 20.43 in. for January through July (National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, 2011c). In addition, July 2011 precipitation in the study area, 

which averaged 0.74 in., only was about 21 percent of the July study-area normal 

of 3.56 in.; precipitation in July ranged from 0.18 in. at Hutchinson to 1.45 in. at 

Wichita (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011c, 2011e, and 2011f; 

Mary Knapp, State Climatologist, written commun., August 11, 2011). 

Pumpage in the part of the study area outside the central part of the study area 

tends to be dominated by irrigation, whereas city pumpage tends to dominate the central part of the study area (Hansen and Aucott, 2010). For example, in the part of the 

study area outside the central part of the study area in 2010, the latest year for which 

pumpage data were available, irrigation pumpage was about 22,300 acre-ft, no city 

pumpage occurred, and pumpage for other uses totaled about 500 acre-ft; within the 

central part of the study area in 2010, irrigation pumpage was about 8,700 acre-ft, city 

pumpage about 20,100 acre-ft, and pumpage for other uses totaled about 200 acre-ft. 

In figure 5, therefore, the area of decline of 30 ft or more that is centered outside the 

central part of the study area likely was caused by irrigation pumpage and the area 

of decline of 30 ft or more within the central part of the study probably was mostly 

caused by city pumpage.

Table 1 includes average water-level changes for the wells used to make the 

water-level change maps associated with the storage-volume changes that are also 

shown in table 1. Water-level changes since August 1940 are larger declines in the 

central part of the study area than in the whole study area (table 1). However, the 

changes since January 1993, January 2007, January 2010, and January 2011 shown in 

table 1 are larger rises or smaller declines in the central part of the study area than in 

the whole study area. The comparison of the August 1940 to July 2010 average waterlevel changes to those for August 1940 to January 2011 and August 1940 to July 2011 

indicate that much of the water-level decline since July 2010 occurred during January 

2011 to July 2011 (table 1).

Storage-Volume Change, July 2011

Storage-volume change is greatly affected by irrigation and city pumpage. Commonly, only about one-third of irrigation pumpage from the Equus Beds aquifer in 

the study area occurs within the central part of the study area and the other two-thirds 

occurs outside of it; all city pumpage from the Equus Beds aquifer generally occurs 

within the central part of the study area (Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division 

of Water Resources, unpub. data, 2011). Therefore, changes in city pumpage have 

more effect in the central part of the study area and changes in irrigation pumpage 

have more effect in the rest of the study area.

Study Area

The storage volume of water in the Equus Beds aquifer decreased in the study 

area from August 1940 to July 2011 by about 209,000 acre-ft (fig. 2, table 1). The storage volume in the study area in July 2011 was about 115,000 acre-ft less than in July 

2010, and about 105,000 acre-ft less than in January 2011 (table 1), indicating about 

90 percent of the storage-volume decrease from July 2010 to July 2011 occurred in 

2011 (table 1). Storage-volume generally decreases from January to July; however the 

January 2011 to July 2011 decrease is almost an order of magnitude larger than 

the 1997 through 2010 January to July average storage-volume change of about 

13,000 acre-ft. Storage-volume amounts in July 2011 were similar to those seen in the 

mid-1980s and mid-1990s (fig. 2). 

From August 1940 (just before Wichita began pumping water from the study 

area) to January 1993 (when near-record low water levels and storage volumes 

occurred in the study area because of a combination of drought conditions and 

increased usage), storage volume decreased by about 255,000 acre-ft in the study 

area (Aucott and Myers, 1998). The change in storage volume from January 1993 to 

July 2011 represents a recovery of 46,000 acre-ft (table 1) or only about 18 percent of 

storage volume lost between August 1940 and January 1993. Between January 1993 

and July 2010, when the largest post-1993 recorded recovery to date occurred, about 

161,300 acre-ft of storage volume had been recovered in the study area (table 1); this 

represents a recovery of about 63 percent of the storage volume lost between August 

1940 and January 1993. These recoveries were attributed by Hansen and Aucott (2010) 

and Hansen (2011) to the approximately 50 percent decrease in city pumpage as a part 

of Wichita’s ILWSP and to decreased irrigation pumpage and increased recharge 

associated with greater than normal precipitation in most years. The approximately 

2,800 acre-ft of water that was artificially recharged to the aquifer by the city of 

Wichita through the six Phase 1 recharge sites (fig. 3) from March 2007 to July 2010 

was only a minor factor in the January 1993 to July 2010 storage-volume recovery 

(U.S. Geological Survey, 2011a).

The approximately 115,000 acre-ft decrease in storage volume in the study 

area from July 2010 to July 2011 represents a depletion of about 71 percent of storage 

volume previously recovered from January 1993 to July 2010, with about 105,000 

acre-ft of that depletion occurring from January 2011 through July 2011 (table 1). 

The approximately 100 acre-ft of water artificially recharged to the aquifer at the 

Phase 1 sites (fig. 3) by the city of Wichita from July 2010 to July 2011, none of 

which occurred in January through July 2011, was too small to counteract these large 

storage-volume depletions (U.S. Geological Survey, 2011a). Major factors in the July 

2010 to July 2011 and January 2011 to July 2011 storage-volume depletions in the 

study area probably are reduced recharge associated with less-than-normal precipitation and greater-than-average irrigation pumpage that was about 30,100 acre-ft in 

2010, the last year for which pumpage data are available (Kansas Department of 

Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, unpub. data, 2011), and was expected to 

be the greatest on record in 2011 (Tim Boese, GMD2, written commun., 2011). Lessthan-average city pumpage, which was about 20,100 acre-ft in 2010 and estimated 

to be similar in 2011 (Debra Ary, city of Wichita, written commun., January 2012) , 

while contributing to the depletion, probably was not as important a factor. Irrigation 

pumpage in 2011 in the study area probably was substantially more than the 1993 

through 2010 annual average of about 30,100 acre-ft and probably was a larger part 

of the decrease in storage volume than in past years. In 2011, about 

46,000 acre-ft of irrigation was permitted in the study area and about 70 droughtterm applications were made for as much as an additional 17,700 acre-ft (Doug 

Schemm, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, written 

commun., January 2012). GMD2 expects 2011 irrigation pumpage in the study area 

to be the largest on record (Tim Boese, GMD2, written commun., 2012); about 

90 percent of irrigation pumpage in the study area commonly occurs in May through 

July (Andrew Lyon, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, 

written commun., July 2010). Irrigation pumpage in the study area in 2011 was 

estimated at about 42,700 acre-ft, assuming pumpage from previously authorized 

irrigation permits was equal to the record of 39,200 acre-ft in 2003 (Hansen and 

Aucott, 2010; Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, 

unpub. data, 2011), plus an estimated additional 3,500 acre-ft of pumpage from 

irrigation drought-term permits (Tim Boese, GMD2, written commun., 2012). This 

estimate of irrigation pumpage does not seem unreasonable as average precipitation 

in the study area for January through July was only about 9.26 in. for 2011 compared to 16.70 in. for 2003 (Kansas State Research and Extension, 2011; National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011a, 2011e, 2011f, and 2011g). The city 

of Wichita pumpage from the study area for January through July 2011 was about 

12,000 acre-ft, (Shelly Bloesser, city of Wichita, written commun., September, 2011); 

this would be equivalent to an annual pumpage of about 21,400 acre-ft, assuming 

56 percent of the annual pumpage occurred during January through July as it has in 

past years (Megan Schmeltz, city of Wichita, written commun., 2009). If true, city 

pumpage would be more than the 20,100 acre-ft pumped in 2010 and less than the 

1993 through 2010 annual average of 23,300 acre-ft (Hansen and Aucott, 2010, and 

Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, unpub. data, 2011), 

indicating city pumpage probably had less of an effect on the January through July 

2011 storage-volume depletion than did irrigation pumpage and reduced recharge 

from precipitation.

Central Part of Study Area

The change in storage volume in the Equus Beds aquifer in the central part of 

the study area (where Wichita city wells are located) from August 1940 to July 2011 

was a decrease of about 85,900 acre-ft (fig. 2, table 1). Storage volume in the central 

part of the study area in July 2011 was about 28,800 acre-ft less than in January 2011 

and about 29,900 acre-ft less than in July 2010 (table 1). From January 1993 to 

July 2011, storage volume in the central part of the study area increased by about 

68,100 acre-ft (table 1) or about 44 percent of the storage volume previously lost 

from August 1940 to January 1993. From January 2007 (just before large-scale artificial recharge began) to July 2011, storage volume in the central part of the study area 

decreased by about 3,000 acre-ft (table 1). About 68,000 acre-ft of storage volume 

was recovered in the central part of the study area between January 1993 (when near 

record low storage volumes occurred) and July 2011, which is more than the 

46,000 acre-ft of recovery in the whole study area. 

Between January 1993 and July 2010 (when the largest recorded recovery to 

date occurred) about 98,000 acre-ft of storage volume was recovered in the central 

part of the study area (table 1). The approximately 29,900 acre-ft decrease in storage 

volume from July 2010 to July 2011 represents a depletion of about 31 percent of 

the storage volume previously recovered from January 1993 to July 2010. As noted 

previously in the “Study Area” section, irrigation pumpage during 2011 likely was 

greater than the 1993 through 2010 annual average, while city pumpage was probably less than its 1993 through 2010 annual average. The decreases in city pumpage 

that are part of Wichita’s ILWSP (City of Wichita, 2008; Hansen and Aucott, 2010; 

Warren and others, 1995) probably are a major factor in the larger percentage retention of the January 1993 to July 2010 recovery in the central part of the study area 

(where city pumpage is concentrated) than in the whole study area. 

References Cited

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in the Wichita well field area, south-central Kansas, 1940–98: U.S. Geological 

Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 98–4141, 20 p.

Aucott, W.R., Myers, N.C., and Dague, B.J., 1998, Status of ground-water levels 

and storage in the Wichita well field area, south-central Kansas, 1997: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 98–4095, 15 p.

Bayne, C.K., 1956, Geology and ground-water resources of Reno County, Kansas: 

Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 120, 130 p. (Also available at http://www.kgs.

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other municipalities: Wichita, Kansas, accessed March 24, 2009, at http://www.

wichita.gov/CityOffices/WaterAndSewer/ProductionAndPumping/ASR/FutureWaterSupply.htm.

City of Wichita, 2008, City of Wichita, KS meeting the demands of a growing community: Transformations, Alliance for Innovation newsletter, v. 2, no. 3, 

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5BF37227-3B18-4092-A72A-6DE7A27CC4D2/0/AllianceforInnovationNewsletter.pdf

Cunningham, W.L., and Schalk, C.W., comps., 2011, Groundwater technical procedures of the U.S. Geological Survey: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and 

Methods, 1–A1, 151 p.

Gibson, Campbell, 1998, Population of the 100 largest cities and other urban places 

in the United States—1790–1990: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division 

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population/www/documentation/twps0027.html.

Hansen, C.V., 2007, Status of ground-water levels and storage volume in the Equus

Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2003–January 2006: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5321, 34 p. (Also available at 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2006/5321/.)

Hansen, C.V., 2009a, Status of ground-water levels and storage volume in the Equus

Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, July 2008: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

Investigations Map 3075, map scale 1:84,480. (Also available at: http://pubs.

usgs.gov/sim/3075/.)

Hansen, C.V., 2009b, Status of groundwater levels and storage volume in the Equus

Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2009: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3087, map scale 1:84,480. (Also available at http://pubs.

usgs.gov/sim/3087/.)

Hansen, C.V., 2011a, Status of groundwater levels and storage volume in the Equus

Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, July 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

Investigations Map 3159, map scale 1:84,480. (Also available at http://pubs.usgs.

gov/sim/3159/.)

Hansen, C.V., 2011b, Status of groundwater levels and storage volume in the Equus

Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2011: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3192, map scale 1:84,480. (Also available at http://pubs.

usgs.gov/sim/3192.)

Hansen, C.V., and Aucott, W.R., 2001, Status of ground-water levels and storage 

volume in the Wichita well field area, south-central Kansas, 1998–2000: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 00–4267, 27 p.

Hansen, C.V., and Aucott, W.R., 2004, Status of ground-water levels and storage 

volume in the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2000–January 

2003: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 03–4298, 

36 p. (Also available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/wrir034298/.)

Hansen, C.V., and Aucott, W.R., 2010, Status of groundwater levels and storage 

volume in the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2006 to January 

2010: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Information Report 2010–5231, 42 p. 

(Also available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5231/.)

Juracek, K.E., and Hansen, C.V., 1995, Digital maps of the extent, base, top, and 

1991 potentiometric surface of the High Plains aquifer in Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95–758, map scales 1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000.

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levels: DWR Currents, April 14, 2011, unnumbered pages, accessed February 13, 

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University Weather Data Library, accessed July 19, 2011, at http://www.ksre.ksu.

edu/wdl/precipdata.htm.

Lane, C.W., and Miller, D.E., 1965a, Geohydrology of Sedgwick County, Kansas: 

Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 176, 100 p. (Also available at http://www.kgs.

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Lane, C.W., and Miller, D.E., 1965b, Logs of wells and test holes in Sedgwick 

County, Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey Special Distribution Publication 22, 

175 p.

Leonard, R.B., and Kleinschmidt, M.K., 1976, Saline water in the Little Arkansas 

River Basin area, south-central Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey Chemical 

Quality Series 3, 24 p.

Lohman, S.W., and others, 1972, Definitions of selected ground-water terms—Revisions and conceptual refinements: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 

1988, 21 p. (Also available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/wsp_1988/.)

Myers, N.C., Hargadine, G.D., and Gillespie, J.B., 1996, Hydrologic and chemical 

interaction of the Arkansas River and the Equus Beds aquifer between Hutchinson and Wichita, south-central Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources 

Investigations Report 95–4191, 100 p. (Also available at http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/

publication/wri954191.)

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annual summary, Kansas, 2010: Asheville, North Carolina, v. 124, no. 13, 41 p.

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averages for western South Dakota and Wyoming: Rapid City, South Dakota, 

National Weather Service Weather Forecasting Office, accessed October 31, 2011, 

at http://www.crh.noaa.gov/unr/?n=precipitation_averages.

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July 6, 2011, at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/normals/usnormals.html.

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1981–2010 climate normal: Asheville, North Carolina, National Climatic Data 

Center, accessed October 13, 2011, at http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/1981-2010/readme.txt.

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Center, accessed August 10, 2011, at http://www7.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/coop/coop.

html.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011f, Quality controlled local 

climatological data: Asheville, North Carolina, National Climatic Data Center, 

accessed August 10, 2011, at http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/qclcd/QCLCD?prior=N.

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publications: Asheville, North Carolina, National Climatic Data Center, accessed 

August 10, 2011, at http://www7.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/cd/cd.html.

Spinazola, J.M., Gillespie, J.B., and Hart, R.J., 1985, Ground-water flow and solute 

transport in the Equus beds area, south-central Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey 

Water-Resources Investigations Report 85–4336, 68 p. (Also available at http://

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beds area, Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 119, part 1, 59 p.

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beds area, Kansas 1966: Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 187, part 2, 27 p.

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Plains aquifer, western Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 85–4198, 86 p. (Also available at http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/wri854198.)

Thiessen, A.H., 1911, Precipitation averages for large areas: Monthly Weather 

Review, v. 39, p. 1,082–1,084.

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incorporated places in Kansas, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009 (SUB–EST2009–

04–20): U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, accessed January 27, 2010, at 

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South Dakota, U.S. Geological Survey Earth Observation and Science (EROS) 

Center, accessed March 9, 2011, at http://nationalmap.gov/elevation.html.

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Project: U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center, Lawrence, 

Kansas, accessed November 11, 2011, at http://ks.water.usgs.gov/studies/equus/

equus_hilites.html#HDR1.

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U.S. Geological Survey database accessed April 13, 2011, at http://waterdata.

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Warren, D.R., Blain, G.T., Shorney, F.L., and Klein, L.J., 1995, IRP—A case study 

from Kansas: Journal of the American Water Works Association, v. 87, no. 6, 

p. 57–71.

Williams, C.C., and Lohman, S.W., 1949, Geology and ground-water resources of 

a part of south-central Kansas, with special reference to the Wichita municipal 

water supply: Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 79, 455 p.

Ziegler, A.C., Hansen, C.V., and Finn, D.A., 2010, Water quality in the Equus Beds 

aquifer and the Little Arkansas River before implementation of large-scale artificial recharge, south-central Kansas, 1995–2005: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5023, 143 p. (Also available at http://pubs.usgs.

gov/sir/2010/5023/.)

Figure 1. Location of study area near Wichita, south-central Kansas (modified from Aucott 

and Myers, 1998).

#

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"

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)

)

Marion

County

Harvey

County

Sedgwick

County

Kingman

County

McPherson

County

Rice

County

Reno

County

West Emma Creek

Middle Emma Creek

East Emma Creek

Sand Creek

Emma

Creek

Cheney Reservoir

Arkansas River

Little

Little

Arkansas

North Fork Ninnescah

River

Turkey Creek

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Kisiwa Creek

Arkansas River

River

143930

145539

145744

147313

143366

148830

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Wichita

Hutchinson Newton

Park City

Hesston

Bel Aire

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Halstead

Sedgwick

Mount 

Hope

Burrton

Andale

Bentley

Bentley

Wellfield

Local

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07144200

07144100

07143672

07143665

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07143330

104

RB1 886

97°45' 97°30' 97°15'

38°15'

38°

37°45'

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1983, 1:100,000

Universal Transverse Mercator

Zone 14 North

0 2 4 6 8 10 MILES

0 2 4 6 8 10 KILOMETERS EXPLANATION

)

"

#

Study area

Approximate boundary of Equus Beds 

 aquifer—Queried where uncertain. 

 (modified from Juracek and Hansen, 1995; 

 Stullken and others, 1985; Stramel, 1967)

Precipitation station and identifier

Demonstration project artificial recharge site

Phase 1 artificial recharge site

U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging 

 station and identifier

Well hydrograph shown in figure 2

07143375

Approximate extent of 

High Plains aquifer in 

Kansas (from Juracek 

and Hansen, 1995)

Index map

KANSAS

98°

Boundary of 

central part 

of study area Figure 2. Water-level altitudes in monitoring wells 104 and 886 and Equus Beds aquifer 

storage-volume change in the study area and the central part of the study area (waterlevel-altitude data are from Stramel (1956, 1967) and data collected by city of Wichita that 

are on file with U.S. Geological Survey in Lawrence, Kansas; storage-volume changes are 

from Stramel (1956, 1967), Aucott and Myers (1998), Aucott and others (1998), Hansen and 

Aucott (2010), Hansen (2011a, 2011b), and unpublished data on file with U.S. Geological 

Survey in Lawrence, Kansas). Locations of monitoring wells are shown in figures 1 and 5. 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2012

1,300

1,440

1,310

1,320

1,330

1,340

1,350

1,360

1,370

1,380

1,390

1,400

1,410

1,420

1,430

Water-level altitude, in feet above North 

American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88)

-300,000

400,000

-200,000

-100,000

100,000

0

200,000

300,000

Storage-volume change, in acre-feet

Storage-volume 

change in study area

Water-level altitude

in well 104

Water-level altitude in well 886

Storage-volume change

in central part of study area

Figure 3. Potentiometric surface of the shallow layer of the Equus Beds aquifer, July 2011. Figure 4. Potentiometric surface of the deep layer of the Equus Beds aquifer, July 2011. Figure 5. Water-level changes in the Equus Beds aquifer in the study area, August 1940 to July 2011.

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1,460

1,455

1,450

1,445

1,440

1,440

1,435

1,435

1,430

1,430

1,425

1,425

1,420

1,420

1,415

1,415

1,410

1,410

1,405

1,400

1,395

1,390

1,385

1,380

1,375

1,370

1,370

1,380

1,375

1,380

1,365

1,365

1,355

1,360

1,355

1,350

1,345

1,340

1,335

1,330

1,405

1,4301,425

1,400

1,405

1,400 1,395

1,390

1,380

1,380

1,375

1,375

1,375

1,370

1,370

1,365

1,465

1,420

1,415

12B

11B

T.

25

S.

T.

24

S.

T.

23

S.

R. 3 W. R. 2 W. R. 1 W.

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:100,000, 1983 

Universal Transverse Mercator projection 

Zone 14

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American

 Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 KILOMETERS

Little

Arkansas

River

Emma

Emma

West

Creek

Creek

Creek

Sand

Mount

Hope

Burrton

Bentley

Sedgwick

P32

P30

P29

3005 118

P35

3034

891

47B

109

EB19A

130

EB12A

EB18A

EB243A

EB11A

EB7A

41B

18B

26B

1189

1173

1175

113

15B

19B 20B

133

29B

3041

P28

3035

3001

RB1-MS 

SHALLOW

103

101

EB22A

EB57A

EB4A

EB3A 3B

4B

2B

7B

878

886

5B

6B 3038

3037

8B

9B 16B

1190 853

17B

2084 2088

833

50B

49B

48B

45B

Patterson

3002

110 21B

112 22B

23B

839

24B

25B

28B

54B

55B

114

53B

51B

3003 1171

842

840 30B

128D

32B

34B 35B

33B 307

124

1176

1179 1174

115

3044

3045

EB202A

EB142A

EB147A

EB141

EB203A

3030 816

38B

37B

39B

40B

117

815

126

810

3050R

Arkansas

River

102

1194

Kisiwa

1B

3004

870

Creek

13B

27B

P27

10B

46B

14B

120

31B

108

P31A

105

3032

HARVEY COUNTY

SEDGWICK COUNTY

IW01A

IW02A

IW08A

IW09A

IW14A

IW13A

IW18A

IW19A

IW24A

IW25A

IW30A IW31A

IW35A

IW33A

IW34A 

IW38A

IW36A

IW27A

IW28A

IW20A IW21A

IW22A

IW23A

IW10A

IW15A

IW16A IW17A

IW11A

IW06A

IW12A

IW05A

IW03A

IW26A

IW04A

Valley

Center

42B

IW07A

Halstead

1187

1186

IW37A

IW29A

122

RB-1

RB-2

RRW-2

RRW-4

RRW-3

EB56A

107

52B

EB5A

EB10A

Boundary of 

study area

Boundary of central 

part of study area

Boundary of central 

Boundary of part of study area

study area

97°37'30" 30' 97°22'30"

38°

37°52'30"

1,375

RRW-1

IW12A

1,366.30

107

1,367.35

EXPLANATION

"

Study area

Potentiometric contour—Shows altitude at 

which water level would have stood in 

tightly cased wells in the shallow layer of 

the Equus Beds aquifer, July 2011. Dashed 

where approximately located. Hachures 

indicate depression. Contour interval 5 feet. 

Datum is NAVD 88

U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging 

station—Station identifier shown above; 

water level, in feet above datum, shown 

below. Datum is NAVD 88

Approximate direction of groundwater flow

Phase 1 artificial recharge site and identifier

Monitoring wells in shallow layer of Equus

Beds aquifer—Well identifier shown 

above; water level, in feet above datum, 

shown below. Datum is NAVD 88

Historic or other monitoring well

Index monitoring well

 Well hydrograpgh shown in figure 2

Groundwater usage in 2010, in acre-feet

Less than 50

50 to less than 100

100 to less than 250

250 to less than 500

500 or greater

07143672

1,375.39

Water-level measurements made by city of Wichita or Equus Beds 

Groundwater Management District No. 2 personnel, or collected by 

U.S. Geological Survey.

Groundwater usage data from Kansas Department of Agriculture, 

Division of Water Resources. "

"

RRW-1

1,331.11

1,327.45

1,372.16

1,357.37

1,360.92

1,339.99

1,379.39 1,342.02

1,363.98

1,353.36 1,373.80

1,351.86

1,366.36

1,380.69

1,348.97

1,354.90

1,354.84

1,388.17

1,394.06

1,344.39

EB201A

1,357.27

1,360.72

EB146A

1,364.70

1,374.55

36B

1,357.05

1,364.12 1,359.43 1,370.99 1,366.36 1,393.43

EB209A

1,408.98 1,348.67

1,380.92 1,357.45 1,355.10 1,356.07 1,388.76

1,389.21

1,399.37

1,412.15

1,425.10 1,388.54 1,365.36 1,357.65

1,392.78 1,361.17

1,365.98 1,364.91 1,381.64

1,395.00

EB208A

1,411.82

1,365.62 1,360.12

1,402.73 1,391.26

1,427.30

1,350.65

1,363.52

1,365.04

1,351.47

1,361.48

1,365.95

1,364.55 1,379.85

1,377.77

1,399.42

1,409.57

1,425.09

1,380.24

1,369.90 1,358.73

1,385.08

1,362.15

1,368.83

1,373.26

1,419.12 1,405.90 1,399.03

1,408.31

1,378.39

1,354.13 1,378.25

1,422.57 1,371.81

1,370.23

1,388.23 1,436.45 1,433.33

1,378.24 1,422.44 1,385.42

1,357.55

1,372.43

1,372.63

1,379.92 1,390.28

1,443.59

1,389.73 1,380.81 1,426.86

1,375.70

1,381.18 1,432.58

1,372.80 1,410.77 1,393.42

1,393.37

1,393.75

1,412.89 1,427.04 1,420.20 1,359.95

111

1,366.20

1,438.88 1,400.83

1,367.35

1,397.59

1,413.76

817

1,390.96 1,366.62

1,389.31 1,365.51

873

1,391.96 1,418.91

EB14A

1,420.44

1,436.39

1,390.90

EB8A

1,428.31 EB145A

1,372.07

EB20A

1,432.03 1,405.91

1,383.32 1,371.88

1,360.70 1,370.30 1,407.49

EB15A

1,419.34

1,447.57

EB9A 1,370.34

1,426.44

1,369.75

1,449.16 EB16A

1,411.92

1,443.88

1,394.52

1,432.23

EB17A 1,381.87

1,438.77

1,451.87 1,436.91

1,410.82

EB144

1,372.22

1,374.38

877

1,440.27 1,442.55

1,386.37

1,454.57

1,470.55

1,364.69 1,375.57

1,354.23

1,343.21

IW32A 1,366.63

1,387.23

1,347.24

1,380.73

1,354.30

1,364.42

1,379.84

1,355.72 1,409.18 1,418.88

1,396.95

1,405.77

1,350.15

1,365.19 1,381.38 1,390.74

1,422.35

1,406.56

1,362.10 1,378.31

1,388.25

1,425.20

1,367.42

1,366.30

1,415.50

1,395.01

1,426.33

1,366.06

1,430.18

1,376.79

1,395.83

1,387.32

1,437.01

1,468.59

07143672 1,375.39

07144100 1,342.59

07144200 1,326.66

"

"

"

"

"

"

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

T.

25

S.

T.

24

S.

T.

23

S.

R. 3 W. R. 2 W. R. 1 W.

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:100,000, 1983 

Universal Transverse Mercator projection 

Zone 14

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American

 Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 KILOMETERS

Little

Arkansas

River

Emma

Emma

West

Creek

Creek

Creek

Sand

Mount

Hope

Burrton

Bentley

Sedgwick

RB1-MS 

DEEP

Patterson

Arkansas

River

Kisiwa

Creek

HARVEY COUNTY

SEDGWICK COUNTY

IW01C

Valley

Center

Halstead RB-1

RB-2

RRW-2

RRW-1

RRW-4

RRW-3

51D

!

EB204C 1,340.83

EB203C 1,340.03

3050A 1,359.22

EB202C 1,354.78

40D1,342.43

39D 1,350.46 EB210C 1,408.82

38D 1,346.20 37D 1,353.66

EB201C 1,356.46

36D 1,346.11

EB209C 1,406.71

EB243C 1,424.04

1,388.11

EB208C 1,407.25

893 1,426.64

49D 1,381.44

50D 1,362.68

48D

1,374.26

47D 1,393.91

46D 1,389.98

EB18C 1,418.58

45D 1,395.90

EB11C 1,431.89

P35A 1,434.63

EB108C 1,350.57

887 1,379.04 P27A 1,444.76

EB12C 1,422.32

EB7C 1,432.21

42D 1,349.58

10D 1,390.44

41D

1,412.03 879 1,391.58

P28A 1,440.28

7D

1,370.84 1,396.87

874

EB14C 1,381.88

P29A 1,398.57

1,434.78

EB8C 1,416.83

P30A 1,431.43

EB15C 1,408.52

EB9C 1,407.93

506 1,371.15 EB16C 1,400.43

104 1,393.18

EB17C 1,395.09 EB56C 1,423.29

EB10C 1,397.18

876 1,418.47

889 1,379.11

"

"

IW36C

IW35C 1,352.69

1,367.97

IW37C

1,354.08

IW38C

1,343.12

IW32C

1,362.88

IW30C

1,388.91

IW34C

1,347.23

IW31C

1,354.72

IW33C

1,354.03

IW28C

1,352.04

IW27C

1,373.70

IW29C

1,353.74

IW25C

1,408.02

IW24C

1,415.86

IW26C

1,373.35

IW19C

1,405.79

IW23C

1,350.24 IW22C

1,365.07

IW21C

1,377.19

IW20C

1,385.10

IW18C

1,422.91

IW14C

1,401.96

IW17C

1,358.86

IW16C

1,376.45

IW15C

1,385.92

IW13C

1,425.13

IW11C

1,367.15

IW12C

1,366.00

IW09C

1,398.28

IW10C

1,392.26

IW08C

1,424.91

IW07C

1,364.31

IW04C

1,408.49

IW06C

1,373.87

1,396.12

IW05C

IW03C

1,380.46

IW02C

1,392.57

1,404.98

1,425

1,425

1,420

1,420

1,415

1,415

1,410

1,410

1,405

1,400

1,395

1,390

1,385

1,380

1,375

1,370

1,365

1,360

1,355

1,355

1,350

1,345

1,350

1,405

1,400

1,395

1,390

1,385

1,380

1,375

1,375

1,370

1,365

1,360

1,355

1,350

1,345

1,375

1,370

1,370

1,380

1,410

1,400

1,390

1,380 1,370

1,360

1,350

1,390

1,380

1,360

1,375

1,355

1,345

1,365 1,370

1,375

1,365

1,430

1,430

1,435

1,440

1,445

Boundary of 

study area

Boundary of central 

part of study area

Boundary of central 

Boundary of part of study area

study area

97°37'30" 30' 97°22'30"

38°

37°52'30"

1,375

RRW-1

IW12C

1,366.00

506

1,371.15

EXPLANATION

"

Study area

Potentiometric contour—Shows altitude at 

which water level would have stood in 

tightly cased wells in the deep layer of the 

Equus Beds aquifer, July 2011. Dashed 

where approximately located. Hachures 

indicate depression. Contour interval 5 and 

10 feet. Datum is NAVD 88

Approximate direction of groundwater flow

Phase 1 artificial recharge site and identifier

Monitoring wells in deep layer of Equus

Beds aquifer—Well identifier shown 

above; water level, in feet above datum, 

shown below. Datum is NAVD 88

Historic or other monitoring well

Index monitoring well

Well hydrogragh shown in figure 2

Groundwater usage in 2010, in acre-feet

Less than 50

50 to less than 100

100 to less than 250

250 to less than 500

500 or greater

Water-level measurements made by city of Wichita or Equus Beds 

Groundwater Management District No. 2 personnel, or collected by 

U.S. Geological Survey.

Groundwater usage data from Kansas Department of Agriculture, 

Division of Water Resources.

T.

25

S.

T.

24

S.

T.

23

S.

R. 3 W. R. 2 W. R. 1 W.

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 1:100,000, 1983 

Universal Transverse Mercator projection 

Zone 14

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American

 Datum of 1983 (NAD 83)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 KILOMETERS

Little

Arkansas

River

Emma

Emma

West

Creek

Creek

Creek

Sand

Mount

Hope

Burrton

Bentley

Sedgwick

Patterson

Arkansas

River

Kisiwa

Creek

HARVEY COUNTY

SEDGWICK COUNTY

Valley

Center

Halstead RB-1

RB-2

RRW-2

RRW-1

RRW-4

RRW-3

!

P35A

P27A

P28A

P29A

P30A

506

104

"

"

IW09A

IW08A

IW04C IW05A

IW02C

6B

-24.07

11B -25.85

10B -16.20

878 -13.91

1173 -10.94

1189 -12.79

2084 -14.80

15B -15.28

17B -14.67

816 -8.60

102 -26.39

103

-20.95

105 -30.97

108 -5.36

110 -3.93

111 -9.33

112 -9.00

114 -4.04

115 -4.55

118 -0.54

120 -5.20

122 -5.63

124 -4.55

126 -6.05

130 -2.49

133 -4.82

1175 -13.37

1176 -6.15

1179 -3.71

1186 -3.54 1187 -9.82

1190 -15.48

3002 -5.69

3004 -6.33

3033 -18.60

3034 -2.11

3038 -28.90

3041 -2.74

3044 -4.96

3050R -6.03

26B -14.50

27B -16.55

28B -15.56

29B -10.97

32B -13.82

34B -13.39

35B -14.17

36B -12.66

37B -10.65 38B -6.80

39B

-9.20

40B -7.86

41B -7.55

45B -9.42

46B -10.86

47B -14.96

48B -11.37

49B -10.99

50B -16.72

51B -6.07

52B -8.79

53B -9.12

54B -9.21

55B -7.56

-0.17

-3.13

3035 -7.10

3001 -12.33

101 -23.22

42B -8.99

30B -11.14 31B -11.78

33B -14.30

7B -17.59

-4.44

-1.02

-3.98

P32A -21.53

-5.15

-10.66

810 -3.46

815 -8.12

833 -9.65

839 -11.58

840 -7.41

2B

3B -38.81

-38.12 4B

-41.78

5B

-22.61

9B -15.83 12B -26.97

14B -14.75

18B -15.81

19B -15.90

20B -14.74

21B -17.82

23B -12.56

24B -12.78

25B -13.20

22B -14.66

8B

-16.20

16B -22.07

13B -14.83

1B

-43.22

842 -2.48 870 -2.61

892 -4.02

3032 -7.88

-33.45

886 -18.83

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

" "

"

"

"

" "

"

"

"

"

"

P31A

IW01C

-18.89

-24.76

IW03A -14.45

-23.24 -30.11

IW06A -36.41

IW07A -29.48

-5.18

-6.38

IW10A -19.35

IW11A -22.86

IW12A -4.20

IW13A -5.71

IW14A -10.90

IW15A -19.16

IW16A -20.42 IW17A -14.78

IW18A -4.14

IW19A -8.78

IW20A -14.24

IW21A -11.94 IW22A -9.78

IW23A -11.92

IW24A -2.89

IW25A -3.76

IW26A -4.63

IW27A -9.99

IW28A -13.86

IW29A -10.85

IW30A -8.44

IW31A -4.79 IW32A -6.82

IW33A -7.36

IW34A

-2.39

IW35A -3.94

IW36A -6.21

IW37A

-6.11

IW38A-7.25

-2

-2

-2

-2

-2

-2

-4

-4

-4

-6

-6

-6

-8

-8

-8

-8

0

0

0

-2

0

-4

-4

-4

-6

-6

-8

-8

-10

-10

-10

-10

-10

-12

-12

-12

-12

-12

-12

-14

-14

-14

-14

-14

-14

-16

-16

-16

-16

-16

-8

-18

-18

-20

-20

-22

-22

-24

-24

-26

-26

-28

-28

-28

-30

-30

-32

-32

-34

-36

-40

-24 -26

-42

-38

Boundary of 

study area

Boundary of central 

part of study area

Boundary of central 

part of study area

Boundary of 

study area

97°37'30" 30' 97°22'30"

38°

37°52'30"

-10

RRW-1

IW-12A -4.20

111

-9.33

EXPLANATION

"

Water-level measurements made by city of Wichita or Equus Beds 

Groundwater Management District No. 2 personnel, or collected by 

U.S. Geological Survey.

Change in storage volume in study area between August 1940 and 

July 2011 is -209,000 acre-feet.

Area of water-level decline:

Less than 10 feet

10 to less than 20 feet

20 to less than 30 feet

30 to less than 40 feet

40 to less than 50 feet

Line of equal water-level change—Dashed 

where approximately located. Contour 

interval 2 feet

Phase 1 artificial recharge site and identifier

Monitoring well in Equus Beds Aquifer— 

Well number shown above; water-level 

change, in feet, shown below

Historic or other monitoring well

Index monitoring well

 Well hydrograph shown in figure 2

Table 1. Storage-volume changes and average water-level changes in the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, south-central Kansas, August 1940 to 

July 2011. 

[Data on file with U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas]

Time period

Study area Central part of study area Proportion of storage-volume 

change in the study area that 

occurred in the central part of 

the study area (percent)

Storage-volume 

changes (acre-feet)

Average waterlevel change (feet)Storage-volume 

changes (acre-feet)

Average waterlevel change (feet)

August 1940 to January 1993 1-255,000 -16.07 1-154,000 -24.09 60

August 1940 to January 2007 2-167,000 -10.42 2-82,900 -13.78 50

August 1940 to July 2010 3-93,700 -6.72 3-56,000 -10.13 60

August 1940 to January 2011 4-104,000 -6.99 4-57,100 -9.80 55

August 1940 to July 2011 -209,000 -12.45 -85,900 -14.62 41

January 1993 to January 2007 2+88,000 6.90 2+71,100 11.08 81

January 1993 to July 2010 3+161,300 10.20 3+98,000 14.19 61

January 1993 to July 2011 +46,000 5.00 +68,100 9.84 148

January 2007 to July 2010 3+73,300 3.83 3+26,900 3.61 37

January 2007 to January 2011 4+63,000 3.52 4+25,800 3.98 41

January 2007 to July 2011 -42,000 -1.91 -3,000 -0.84 7

July 2010 to July 2011 -115,300 -5.73 -29,900 -4.35 26

January 2011 to July 2011 -105,000 -5.20 -28,800 -4.83 27

1

 Storage-volume change previously reported by Aucott and Myers (1998).

2

 Storage-volume change previously reported by Hansen and Aucott (2010).

3

 Storage-volume change previously reported by Hansen (2011a).

4

 Storage-volume change previously reported by Hansen (2011b).

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Or visit the Kansas Water Science Center Web Site at:

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Suggested citation:

Hansen, C.V., 2012, Status of groundwater levels and storage volume in the Equus

Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, July 2011: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

Investigations Map 3208, 1 sheet.

For more information about USGS and its products:

Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS

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Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus

Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, July 2011

By Cristi V. Hansen, 2012

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CITY OF WICHITA, KANSAS

Status of groundwater levels and storage volume in the Equus Beds aquifer

Hansen, C.V., 2012, Status of groundwater levels and storage 

volume in the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, July 201