Prepared in cooperation with the City of Wichita, Kansas

Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the 

Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016 HARVEY COUNTY RENO COUNTY SEDGWICK COUNTY RENO COUNTY

Black Kettle Creek

West 

Dry Creek

Middle Emma Creek

Mud Creek

East Emma Creek

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Kisiwa Creek

Gar Creek

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Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5165

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
Cover. Figure 8 from this report.
Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage 

Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near 

Wichita, Kansas, January 2016

By Brian J. Klager

Prepared in cooperation with the City of Wichita, Kansas

Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5165

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2016

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living 

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Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials 

as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Klager, B.J., 2016, Status of groundwater levels and storage volume in the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, 

January 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5165, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/

sir20165165.

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)
iii

Acknowledgments

The author acknowledges the assistance of staff of the city of Wichita and the staff of Equus

Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 for collecting and providing groundwater-level 

data used in this report. 

Technical reviews provided by U.S. Geological Survey employees Virginia McGuire and Brian 

Kelly improved the technical and editorial clarity of this report. 

v

Contents

Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................................iii

Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................3

Description of Study Area ...................................................................................................................3

Previous Studies ...................................................................................................................................3

Methods...........................................................................................................................................................3

Groundwater-Level Measurements...................................................................................................4

Shallow and Deep Parts of the Aquifer.............................................................................................4

Interpolation of Potentiometric Surfaces .........................................................................................5

Estimation of Storage-Volume Change .............................................................................................5

Potentiometric Surface Maps, January 2016............................................................................................5

Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer..................................5

Summary........................................................................................................................................................14

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................14

Figures

1. Map showing location of the study area near Wichita, Kansas ..........................................2

2. Graph showing annual groundwater use in the central Wichita well field area and

the rest of the study area, and average annual precipitation in the study area, 1988

through 2015 ..................................................................................................................................4

3. Map showing potentiometric surface of the shallow part of the Equus Beds aquifer

study area, south-central Kansas, January 2016 ....................................................................6

4. Map showing potentiometric surface of the deep part of the Equus Beds aquifer

study area, south-central Kansas, January 2016 ....................................................................7

5. Map showing groundwater-level change in the shallow part of the Equus Beds

aquifer study area in south-central Kansas, January 2015 to January 2016......................8

6. Graph showing estimates of storage-volume change since predevelopment and

1993 in the Equus Beds aquifer study area ............................................................................10

7. Map showing groundwater-level changes in the Equus Beds aquifer in and around

the Wichita well field in south-central Kansas between predevelopment and the

historic low of 1993.....................................................................................................................11

8. Map showing groundwater-level changes in the shallow part of the Equus Beds

aquifer in and around the Wichita well field in south-central Kansas between 1993

and January 2016........................................................................................................................12

9. Map showing groundwater-level changes in the shallow part of the Equus Beds

aquifer in and around the Wichita well field in south-central Kansas between

predevelopment and January 2016..........................................................................................13

Tables

1. Storage-volume changes in the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, since

predevelopment and since 1993 to January 2016 for the study area, the basin 

storage area, and the central Wichita well field area............................................................9
vi

Conversion Factors

U.S. customary units to International System of Units

Multiply By To obtain

Length

inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm)

inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter (mm)

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

Area

square mile (mi2) 259.0 hectare (ha)

square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer (km2) 

acre 4,046.86 square meter (m2)

acre 0.00404686 square kilometer (km2)

acre 0.404686 hectare (ha)

Volume

acre-foot (acre-ft) 1,233 cubic meter (m3)

acre-foot (acre-ft) 0.325851 million gallons (Mgal)

Flow rate

acre-foot per year (acre-ft/yr) 1,233 cubic meter per year (m3/yr)

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

 °F=(1.8×°C)+32

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) as follows:

 °C=(°F-32)/1.8

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 

(NAVD 88).

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).
Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the 

Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016

By Brian J. Klager

Abstract

The Equus Beds aquifer in south-central Kansas, which 

is part of the High Plains aquifer, serves as a source of water 

for municipal and agricultural users in the area. The city 

of Wichita has used the Equus Beds aquifer as one of its 

primary water sources since the 1940s. The aquifer in and 

around Wichita’s well field reached historically low water 

levels in 1993, prompting the city to adopt new water-use 

and conservation strategies to ensure future water supply 

needs were met. Part of the plan was to initiate a managed 

aquifer recharge program called the Equus Beds Aquifer 

Storage and Recovery project. The goal of the managed 

aquifer recharge program is to artificially recharge the Equus

Beds aquifer with treated water from the Little Arkansas River. As part of the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and 

Recovery project, the city of Wichita and the U.S. Geological 

Survey have partnered in a long-term cooperative study to 

monitor and describe the quantity and quality of the water in 

the Equus Beds aquifer and the Little Arkansas River. 

The city of Wichita, the Equus Beds Groundwater 

Management District No. 2, the Kansas Department of Agriculture–Division of Water Resources, and the U.S. Geological Survey collected groundwater levels in numerous wells 

screened in the Equus Beds aquifer in the area in and around 

Wichita’s well field in January 2016. The measurements were 

used to interpolate potentiometric surfaces for shallow and 

deep parts of the aquifer in the study area. These potentiometric surfaces were compared with potentiometric surfaces 

from previous years to estimate changes in water levels and 

storage volume in the study area.

Groundwater levels were generally higher in January 

2016 than they were in January 2015. On average, in January 

2016, groundwater levels in the shallow part of the aquifer 

were about 3.4 feet higher and groundwater levels in the 

deep part of the aquifer were about 3.8 feet higher than in 

January 2015. The volume of water stored in the study area 

decreased by about 74,000 acre-feet between predevelopment (the time period before substantial pumpage began in 

the 1940s) and January 2016; increased by about 121,000 

acre-feet between the historic low in 1993 and January 2016; 

and increased by about 61,000 acre-feet between January 

2015 and January 2016. About 62 percent of the storage 

volume lost between predevelopment and 1993 has been 

recovered. The increase in storage volume from January 

2015 to January 2016 can probably be attributed to less 

pumping by the city of Wichita and irrigators, more recharge 

due to higher-than-average precipitation, and higher volumes 

of artificial recharge in 2015.

Introduction

The Equus Beds aquifer, which is part of the High 

Plains aquifer, is an important source of water for municipal 

and agricultural users in south-central Kansas (Equus Beds 

Groundwater Management District No. 2, 2008). The U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS) and the city of Wichita, Kansas, 

have been engaged in a long-term cooperative partnership 

to study the quantity and quality of water in the Equus Beds 

aquifer and the Little Arkansas River since city well field 

operations began in the 1940s. The central Wichita well field 

(WWF) (fig. 1) in the Equus Beds aquifer is one of the primary water-supply sources for the city of Wichita. The aquifer reached historically low water levels in 1993, prompting 

the city to adopt the Integrated Local Water Supply Plan 

(ILWSP) (Warren and others, 1995). The ILWSP included 

plans to increase use of surface water from Cheney Reservoir 

and increase water-conservation efforts, as well as a plan to 

help ensure adequate future water supply called the Equus

Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project. The goal 

of the ASR project is to artificially recharge the Equus Beds 

aquifer to increase aquifer storage and to allow for later 

recovery of the groundwater. This is accomplished by withdrawing water from the Little Arkansas River, treating the 

water using drinking-water quality standards as a guideline, 

and then injecting the water through wells or allowing it to 

infiltrate through recharge basins into the aquifer. Increases 

in storage within an area called the basin storage area (BSA) 

(fig. 1) attributable to the ASR project are credited to the 

city of Wichita by the State of Kansas, and those credits can 

be exchanged for the right to pump volumes of water from 

the aquifer greater than the city’s normal annual water right. 

The increases in storage attributable to the ASR project are 
2 Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016

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Little Arkansas River

Black Kettle Creek

West 

Dry Creek

Middle Emma Creek

Mud Creek

Sand Creek

Arkansas River

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ma Creek

Emma Creek

Jester Cr

Kisiwa Creek

Gar Creek

Cowskin Creek

East Emma Creek

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97°50' 97°40' 97°30' 97°20'

38°05'

38°

37°55'

37°50'

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

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 14

0 2 4 6 MILES

0 2 4 6 KILOMETERS

High

Plains

aquifer

EXPLANATION

Study area

Approximate extent of the High Plains aquifer 

(modified from Juracek and Hansen, 1995; 

Stullken and others, 1985)

Basin storage area boundary

Central Wichita well field boundary

Index well cluster and identifier

(Klager, 2016)

P IW01

Map area

Figure 1. Location of the study area near Wichita, Kansas.
Methods 3

estimated using a groundwater-flow model (Kelly and others, 2013). The BSA is divided into 38 index cells and the 

groundwater-flow model is used to calculate the effects of 

ASR project recharge on the flow budget of each cell. Within 

each index cell there is a cluster of two index wells, one shallow and one deep, which are used for monitoring water quantity and quality in the aquifer. Credits accumulated during 

wet years can be used during periods of drought when the 

city’s other primary water source, Cheney Reservoir, might 

not have the available storage to meet the city’s normal 

demand (City of Wichita, [2007?]).

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to present the results of 

numerous groundwater-level measurements from wells 

screened in the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kans., in 

January 2016. Potentiometric surfaces were interpolated 

from the groundwater levels for the shallow and deep parts 

of the aquifer, and maps of the potentiometric surfaces are 

presented in this report. The potentiometric-surface maps 

were used to estimate storage-volume change in the study 

area between predevelopment (the time period before substantial pumpage began in the area, defined in this report as 

before 1940) and January 2016; the historic low in 1993 and 

January 2016; and January 2015 and January 2016. Potentiometric surfaces were used to generate maps showing the 

spatial distributions of estimated groundwater-level change 

between January 2015 and January 2016; predevelopment 

and 1993; and 1993 and January 2016 in the study area, 

which are also presented in this report.

Description of Study Area

The study area (fig. 1) is located in south-central Kansas, northwest of the city of Wichita. The study area is within 

the boundary of the Equus Beds aquifer, which is the easternmost part of the High Plains aquifer in Kansas. The study 

area is located between the Arkansas and Little Arkansas 

Rivers, overlying 189 square miles (mi2) of southwest Harvey and northwest Sedgwick Counties. The WWF is in the 

central part of the study area, with an area of about 55 mi2. 

Most of the BSA is within the study area (the northeast 

corner of the BSA extends outside of the study area), with a 

total area of about 141 mi2.

The study area has a continental climate characterized 

by cold winters and hot summers. In 2015, at a National 

Weather Service weather station at the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita, the maximum recorded 

temperature was 102 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) on September 

7, and the minimum temperature recorded was 0 °F on January 7 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

2016a). In 2015, the average total precipitation across the 

study area was about 41.8 inches (National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 2016b). The 30-year average 

annual precipitation in the study area is about 32.7 inches, 

based on observed precipitation datasets from the National 

Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service 

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016b).

In the study area, the Equus Beds aquifer consists 

mostly of Quaternary-age sand and gravel with some interbedded clay. There are dune sands in the northern part of 

the study area that form a topographic high (Williams and 

Lohman, 1949). The average aquifer thickness is estimated 

to be about 110 feet (ft), with the thickest part of the aquifer 

at about 330 ft (Kelly and others, 2013). Groundwater-flow 

direction is generally west to east, with the Arkansas River 

discharging into the aquifer in the west and the aquifer discharging into the Little Arkansas River in the east. 

Land use is mostly crop production and grasslands. 

Based on data compiled by the Kansas Applied Remote 

Sensing Program (KARS) in 2005, land cover was about 

73 percent cropland and about 20 percent grassland, with the 

remainder split between woodlands, urban lands, water, and 

conservation reserve program lands (Kansas Applied Remote 

Sensing Program, 2010). 

Most groundwater use in the study area is for municipal 

or agricultural purposes. Outside of the WWF, the primary 

use is irrigation; inside the WWF, the primary use is municipal. In the study area, irrigation typically has an inverse 

relationship with precipitation, with higher withdrawals 

in years of lower precipitation (fig. 2). Before 1993, the 

municipal water use in the WWF was about 40,000 acrefeet per year (acre-ft/yr). With the adoption of the ILWSP, 

municipal groundwater use from the WWF decreased to 

about 20,000 acre-ft/yr by the late 1990s. The city of Wichita 

substantially decreased pumping from the WWF during 2014 

and 2015 (fig. 2; Kansas Geological Survey and Kansas 

Department of Agriculture, 2016; Ginger Pugh, Kansas 

Department of Agriculture, written commun., 2016).

Previous Studies

Water levels and storage changes in the study area have 

been documented in previous years (Hansen, 2009, 2011, 

2012; Hansen and Aucott, 2010; Hansen and others, 2013, 

2014; Whisnant and others, 2015). Hansen and others (2013) 

mapped the 1993 historic low water levels. Kelly and others 

(2013) developed a groundwater-flow model of the Equus

Beds aquifer for the purpose of estimating storage changes 

in the BSA attributable to the ASR project artificial recharge. 

Water quality in the study area has been documented by 

Ziegler and others (2010) and Tappa and others (2015). 

Methods

This section describes the methods used to collect 

and process the groundwater-level data used in this report, 

interpolate potentiometric surfaces, and estimate changes in 
4 Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016

aquifer storage volume in the study area. These methods are 

similar to those described in previous reports (Whisnant and 

others, 2015; Hansen and others, 2014; Hansen and others, 

2013).

Groundwater-Level Measurements

Groundwater levels were collected in numerous wells 

screened in the Equus Beds aquifer in and around the study 

area (fig. 1) from January 4 through January 29, 2016. The 

water levels were measured by the city of Wichita, the Equus

Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2 (GMD2), 

the Kansas Department of Agriculture-Division of Water 

Resources (KDA-DWR), and the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Pumping from the WWF was paused in mid-December to 

allow the groundwater levels to recover to static or nearstatic conditions prior to the measurements. Groundwaterlevel measurements were completed following the procedures described in Cunningham and Schalk (2011). The 

groundwater data are stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s 

National Water Information System (NWIS). These data are 

available to the public through the NWIS web interface (U.S. 

Geological Survey, 2016b). A total of 477 measurements collected in and around the study area during January 2016 were 

used for this report. The measurements used were selected 

based on whether the well depth was known and whether 

the well was needed to achieve adequate spatial coverage of 

the study area to perform an interpolation of the head values 

for the potentiometric-surface maps of the shallow and deep 

parts of the aquifer. The point measurements used to perform 

the analyses described in this report are compiled in a data 

release (Klager, 2016).

Shallow and Deep Parts of the Aquifer

The Equus Beds aquifer is thought to be unconfined 

in most of the study area; however, some shallow and deep 

wells that are clustered together have substantial differences in measured water levels, indicating confinement or 

semi-confinement of the deeper zone. Therefore, wells were 

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1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Precipitation, in inches per year 

Annual precipitation

Total groundwater use inside the central Wichita well field area

Groundwater municipal use inside the central Wichita well field area

Total groundwater use in the part of the study area outside of the central Wichita well field area

Groundwater irrigation use in the part of the study area outside of the central Wichita well field area

EXPLANATION

Groundwater use, in acre-feet per year

Figure 2. Annual groundwater use in the central Wichita well field area and the rest of the study area, and average annual 

precipitation in the study area, 1988 through 2015 (Water-use data are from Kansas Geological Survey and Kansas Department of 

Agriculture, 2016; precipitation data are from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016a, 2016b) (modified from 

Hansen and others, 2014; Whisnant and others, 2015).
Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer 5

classified as being screened in the shallow or deep part of the 

aquifer based on two criteria. First, many wells have already 

been assigned to the shallow or deep layer of the aquifer 

and are named accordingly. For instance, each ASR index 

monitoring well cluster has a shallow and deep well, with 

well names ending in “A” or “C,” indicating that they are 

screened in shallow or deep parts of the aquifer, respectively. 

Second, if no indication is given in the well name, wells are 

classified into shallow and deep parts of the aquifer based 

on well depth. Ziegler and others (2010) classified wells 

less than 80 ft deep as shallow wells and wells 80 ft deep 

or deeper as deep wells, and this convention is used in this 

report.

Interpolation of Potentiometric Surfaces

The shallow and deep potentiometric surfaces were 

interpolated using the ArcGIS tool “Topo to Raster” (Esri, 

2014) in a geographic information system (GIS). The initial 

surface interpolations used only the point groundwater-level 

measurements. Because the initial interpolations had some 

features that were unrealistic for the potentiometric surfaces, 

the initial surfaces were contoured, and the contours were 

manually adjusted based on hydrologic expertise. The Topo 

to Raster tool was used to reinterpolate the surfaces using the 

point groundwater-level measurement data and the manually adjusted contours to produce the final potentiometric 

surfaces. The final interpolated rasters and potentiometric 

contour files are available as part of a data release (Klager, 

2016).

Estimation of Storage-Volume Change

Changes in saturated aquifer volume were estimated 

by calculating the groundwater-level change between the 

shallow January 2016 potentiometric surface and past shallow potentiometric surfaces in each raster cell in the GIS. 

Groundwater-level differences were then multiplied by the 

area of the raster cell to calculate the change in saturated 

aquifer volume in each cell. Changes in saturated aquifer 

volume in all cells were summed to calculate the change in 

saturated volume of the aquifer in the study area. Changes 

in storage volume were estimated for predevelopment to 

January 2016, the historic low of 1993 to January 2016, and 

January 2015 to January 2016. The January 2015 potentiometric surface was estimated by Whisnant and others (2015). 

The 1993 and predevelopment potentiometric surfaces were 

estimated by Hansen and others (2013).

To convert a change in saturated aquifer volume to a 

change in volume of water stored in the aquifer, the change 

in saturated volume must be multiplied by a specific yield 

value. Specific yield is the volume of water per unit bulk 

aquifer volume that will drain out under the force of gravity (Meinzer, 1923). Previous studies (Hansen and others, 

2013, 2014; Whisnant and others, 2015) used a specific yield 

value of 0.15, and that value was used in this report. This 

value was determined from calibration of a groundwater-flow 

model of the Equus Beds aquifer by Kelly and others (2013). 

Earlier reports (Hansen and Aucott, 2010; Hansen, 2009, 

2011, 2012) had used a specific yield value of 0.20.

Potentiometric Surface Maps, January 

2016

The potentiometric surfaces produced using the January 

2016 groundwater-level measurement data are presented in 

figures 3 and 4. The groundwater-flow direction, as indicated 

by the head gradients in both shallow and deep maps, is 

west to east. The maximum head in the shallow surface was 

1,475.89 ft, located in the northwestern part of the study area 

near monitoring well IW01A in the northwestern corner of 

the BSA. The minimum head value in the shallow surface 

was 1,325.95 ft in the southeastern corner of the study area 

near the Little Arkansas River. The maximum head value 

in the deep potentiometric surface was 1,443.93 ft at the 

western boundary of the study area south of Burrton. The 

minimum head value in the deep potentiometric surface was 

1,326.38 ft, located in the southeastern corner of the study 

area near the Little Arkansas River.

Groundwater-Level and StorageVolume Changes in the Equus Beds 

Aquifer

Groundwater levels were generally higher in the study 

area in January 2016 than they were in January 2015 (fig. 5). 

Multiple factors contributed to increased levels, including increased precipitation in 2015 and less pumping by 

both agricultural and municipal users in 2015. The average 

groundwater-level increase in the shallow part of the aquifer between January 2015 and January 2016 was 3.37 ft in 

the study area, 3.82 ft in the BSA, and 4.50 ft in the WWF. 

These average groundwater-level changes were calculated by 

averaging the differences between the shallow potentiometric 

surfaces from January 2015 and January 2016 in the GIS. 

The groundwater-level changes in the shallow part of the 

aquifer are used to estimate changes in storage volume.

The volume of water stored in the study area, the BSA, 

and the WWF all increased from January 2015 to January 

2016. The storage volume increased by about 61,000 acrefeet (acre-ft) in the study area, about 51,000 acre-ft in the 

BSA, and about 24,000 acre-ft in the WWF. The storage 

increase can most likely be attributed to lower volumes 

pumped by the city of Wichita (about 7,400 acre-ft in 2015 

compared to about 9,700 acre-ft in 2014) (Ginger Pugh, 

Kansas Department of Agriculture, written commun., 2016) 

Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer
6 Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016

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Little Arkansas River

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Wichita

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873

5B

6B

MR06s 3038

EB145A

P34AA

P32AA

EB56A

P31A

RR2-MW SHALLOW

EB23A

RR2-ME SHALLOW 102

3036 EB16A

EB15A

EB57A

P30AA

P29AA

3035

106

EB54A

EB55A

EB33A

EB52A

EB53A

EB44A

EB43A

119

122

1187

AN131

824

1179

EB146A

120 3033 111

MR11s

3037

MW01S

7B

MR10s 8B MR08s

9B

11B

16B

12B

14B 17B

1186

1190

2084

886 MR14s

15B

1189

MR59s

M 18B R18s

13B

MR13s

MW03S

MR58s MR60s

2088

MR26s 26B

19B MR19s

MW05S

3032

112 21B

22B

MR22s

20B

MR20s

MW06S

MR48s

50B MR50s

49B

1173

MR61s

3002

133 3003

839

MR23s 23B

878

RB1–MN SHALLOW RB1–MS SHALLOW

P28AA 130 RB2–MN SHALLOW 41B

RB2–MS SHALLOW

42B MR42s

108

MR44s

MR43s

MW02S

MR57s

EB19A EB19B

P35AA EB11A

P27AA

109

MR45s

45B

46B

47B

MR47s MW04S

3034 110

891

MR56s

EB1AA EB58A

P26AA

825

1176 124

34B

35B

36B

MW08S MW07S

EB201A 815 SEDGWICK WELL

39B

40B

37B 38B

EB147A

126

810 VALLEY CENTER WELL

33B

27B 28B 25B

840

MR51s 1171

52B

53B

54B

114 MR55s 30B 29B

3030

31B32B

3044

870 842

EB244A

115 EB202A

EB203A 3050R

EB204A

830R

3041 3004 EB243A

834

EB211A

EB212A

838

EB205A

EB206A EB245A

EB39A

EB03AA

EB04AA

EB05AA

97°40' 97°35' 97°30' 97°25'

38°05'

38°

37°55'

37°50'

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 2012, 1:24,000

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 14

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1983

0 1 2 3 4 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Shallow monitoring well and identifier

Shallow index monitoring well and identifier (Klager, 2016)

1,440

IW01A

P

EB10A

Study area

Basin storage area boundary

Central Wichita well field boundary

Potentiometric contour—Shows the altitude at which water would have stood in tightly 

cased wells in the shallow part of the Equus Beds aquifer, January 2016. Contour interval 

of 5 feet. Vertical Datum is North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Groundwater-flow 

direction is perpendicular to potentiometric contours from high to low values

Figure 3. Potentiometric surface of the shallow part of the Equus Beds aquifer study area, south-central Kansas, January 2016.
Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer 7

P P P

P

P P P P

P

P P P P P

P

P

P P P P P

P

P P P P

P

P P P P

P

P P P

P P

P

H

A

RVEY CO

U

NTY

RENO COUNTY

SED

G

WICK CO

U

NTY

REN

O CO

U

NTY

Black Kettle Creek

West 

Dry Creek

Middle Emma Creek

Mud Creek

East Emma Creek

Sand Creek

Arkansas River

Kisiwa Creek

Gar Creek

Cowskin Creek

Jester Creek

Emma Creek

Emma Creek

Little Arkansas River

Burrton

Halstead

Sedgwick

Bentley

Mount

Hope

Newton

Wichita

1,360

1,435

1,365

1,370

1,380

1,430

1,375

1,385

1,425

1,420

1,410

1,410

1,390

1,395

1,405

1,405

1,415

1,400

1,400

1,330

1,335

1,340

1,345

1,355

1,350

1,440

1,360

1,435

1,365

1,370

1,380

1,430

1,375

1,385

1,425

1,420

1,410

1,410

1,390

1,395

1,405

1,405

1,415

1,400

1,400

1,330

1,335

1,340

1,345

1,355

1,350

1,440

IW35C IW36C IW37C

IW38C

IW32C IW30C IW34C IW31C

IW33C

IW28C IW27C

IW29C IW24C IW25C

IW26C

IW19C

IW21C IW22C IW23C

IW20C

IW18C

IW14C

IW17C IW13C IW15C IW16C

IW11C

IW12C IW09C IW10C

IW08C

IW07C

IW04C

IW06C

IW05C

IW03C

IW02C

IW01C

AN150

EB11C

EB108C

AN133A EB107C

EB7C

EB13C EB58B

EB106C

EB2C

EB14C

EB105C EB15C

EB16C EB57B

EB104C

EB56C EB10C EB17C

AN193

EB23C

EB33C

EB39C EB28C

EB206C EB245C

EB205C

EB204C

EB203C EB212C EB244C 3050A

EB202C M40D EB211C

M39D EB210C

M37D M38D

EB201C

DMW-S10

DMW-S14

EB209C MR55d M29 M30 M31 M32 M35 M34 M53 EB243C

M54 M33

M27 M28 MR51d M24 893 M25

MR23d MW06D ASR-P2

EB241C MR50d MR22d M49D M21

MR48d

MR61d MR20d

MW05D ASR-P2

MW04D ASR-P2 MR19d

MR47d

M46D

MR60d MR45d MR26d MR58d

MW03D ASR-P2

MW02D ASR-P2

MR59d

MR57d P26A P35A MR56d

M15 MR18d

MR14d

MR13d

P27A MR44d MR43d M17

M12 MR11d M16 M09 MR42d

RB2–MS DEEP MR08d MR10d RB2–MN DEEP 879 P28A MW01D ASR-P2

M7 RB1–MS DEEP M07D

RB1–MN DEEP MR06d

P29A

M05 EB-145-P-D5 RR4–MS

P30A RR4–ME DEEP

RR4–MW DEEP

DMW–H13

MR04d

RR4–MN M03

MR02d

M01 506 RR3–MS-1

RR3–ME DEEP

RR2–MS

RR2–ME DEEP RR2–MW DEEP

876 RR2–MN

RR1–MS

P32A RR1–MN

P34A

EB21B

EB43C

EB44C

97°40' 97°35' 97°30' 97°25'

38°05'

38°00'

37°55'

37°50'

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 2012, 1:24,000

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 14

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1983

0 1 2 3 4 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Deep monitoring well and identifier

Deep index monitoring well and identifier (Klager, 2016)

1,440

IW01C

P

EB10C

Study area

Basin storage area boundary

Central Wichita well field boundary

Potentiometric contour—Shows the altitude at which water would have stood in tightly 

cased wells in the deep part of the Equus Beds aquifer, January 2016. Contour interval 

of 5 feet. Vertical Datum is North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Groundwater-flow 

direction is perpendicular to potentiometric contours from high to low values

Figure 4. Potentiometric surface of the deep part of the Equus Beds aquifer study area, south-central Kansas, January 2016.

Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer
8 Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016

0

2

2

2

2

2

2

4

4

2

8

0

2

-2

-2 -2

4

4

4

4

2

6

6

2

8

8 6

6

6

6

6

6

4

4

4

8

8 8

6

4

4

6

0

0

8

6

6

6

6

4

4

2

2

2 2

2

2

6

4

4

4

4

10

H

A

RVEY CO

U

NTY

RENO COUNTY SED

G

WICK CO

U

NTY

REN

O CO

U

NTY

Black Kettle Creek

West 

Dry Creek

Middle Emma Creek

Mud Creek

East Emma Creek

Sand Creek

Arkansas River

Kisiwa Creek

Gar Creek

Jester Creek

Emma Creek Emma Creek

Little Arkansas River

Burrton

Halstead

Newton

Sedgwick

Wichita

Bentley

Mount

Hope

Cowskin Creek

97°45' 97°40' 97°35' 97°30' 97°25'

38°05'

38°00'

37°55'

37°50'

EXPLANATION

2

Groundwater-level change in the shallow part 

of the Equus Beds aquifer, January 2015 to 

January 2016 

Decline of 2 to less than 4 feet

Decline of zero to less than 2 feet

Rise of zero to 2 feet

Rise of greater than 2 to 4 feet

Rise of greater than 4 to 6 feet

Rise of greater than 6 to 8 feet

Rise of greater than 8 to 10 feet

Study area

Basin storage area boundary

Central Wichita well field boundary

Contour of equal groundwater-level change, 

January 2015 to January 2016. Contour 

interval, 2 feet

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 2012, 1:24,000

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 14

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1983

0 1 2 3 4 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 KILOMETERS

Figure 5. Groundwater-level change in the shallow part of the Equus Beds aquifer study area in south-central Kansas, January 

2015 to January 2016.
Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer 9

and higher precipitation leading to more recharge of the 

aquifer (about 41.3 inches of precipitation in 2015 compared to about 27.7 inches in 2014, with a 30-year average 

precipitation of 32.7 inches across the study area) (National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016b). There 

was also an increased volume of artificially recharged water 

in 2015. The ASR project recharged about 1,770 acre-ft in 

2015 compared to about 950 acre-ft in 2014 (U.S. Geological Survey, 2016a). The January 2016 storage volume in the 

study area was about 74,000 acre-ft less than the predevelopment storage volume. The storage-volume increase since the 

historic low of 1993 was about 121,000 acre-ft, a 62-percent 

recovery of the storage lost from predevelopment to 1993 

(table 1, figs. 6–9).

Table 1. Storage-volume changes in the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, since 

predevelopment (pre 1940) and since 1993 to January 2016 for the study area, the basin 

storage area, and the central Wichita well field area.

[--, not applicable]

End of time period

Storage-volume changes

Since predevelopment (acre-feet) Since 1993 (acre-feet)

Study area

1993 1-195,000 --

January 2012 1

-125,000 270,000

July 2012 1

-175,000 220,000

January 2013 1

-154,000 241,000

January 2014 1-116,000 2

79,000

January 2015 1-135,000 160,000

January 2016 -74,000 121,000

Basin storage area

1993 1-188,000 --

January 2012 1

-112,000 276,000

July 2012 1

-155,000 233,000

January 2013 1

-134,000 254,000

January 2014 1-108,000 2

80,000

January 2015 1

-119,000 169,000

January 2016 -68,000 120,000

Central Wichita well field area

1993 1-121,000 --

January 2012 1-59,000 2

62,000

July 2012 1

-74,000 247,000

January 2013 1

-69,000 252,000

January 2014 1-63,000 258,000

January 2015 1-65,000 156,000

January 2016 -41,000 80,000

1

Storage-volume change previously reported in Whisnant and others (2015).

2

Storage-volume change previously reported in Hansen and others (2014).

Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer
10 Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016

 

-250,000

-200,000

-150,000

-100,000

-50,000

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

1993 January 2012 July 2012 January 2013 January 2014 January 2015 January 2016

Study area, shallow since 1993

Basin storage area, shallow 

since 1993 

Central Wichita well field area, 

shallow since 1993

EXPLANATION

Study area, shallow since 

predevelopment

Basin storage area, shallow 

since predevelopment

Central Wichita well field area, 

shallow since predevelopment

Storage-volume change, in acre-feet

End of storage-volume change period

Figure 6. Estimates of storage-volume change since predevelopment (before 1940) and 1993 in the Equus Beds aquifer study area.
Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer 11

H

A

RVEY CO

U

NTY

RENO COUNTY SED

G

WICK CO

U

NTY

REN

O CO

U

NTY

Black Kettle Creek

West 

Dry Creek

Middle Emma Creek

Mud Creek

East Emma Creek

Sand Creek

Arkansas River

Kisiwa Creek

Gar Creek

Jester Creek

Emma Creek Emma Creek

Little Arkansas River

Cowskin Creek

97°45' 97°40' 97°35' 97°30' 97°25'

38°05'

38°00'

37°55'

37°50'

0

0

0

0

0

-40

-20

-10

20

0

0

10

-30

-10

0

0

-30

Burrton

Halstead

Newton

Sedgwick

Wichita

Bentley

Mount

Hope

EXPLANATION

20

Study area

Basin storage area boundary

Central Wichita well field boundary

Line of equal groundwater-level change

in the shallow part of the Equus Beds

aquifer between predevelopment and 

1993. Contour interval, 10 feet

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 2012, 1:24,000

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 14

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1983

0 1 2 3 4 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 KILOMETERS

Area of groundwater-level change

Decline of 40 feet or more

Decline of 30 to less than 40 feet

Decline of 20 to less than 30 feet

Decline of 10 to less than 20 feet

Decline of zero to less than 10 feet

Rise of zero to less than 10 feet

Rise of 10 to less than 20 feet

Rise of 20 feet or more

Figure 7. Groundwater-level changes in the Equus Beds aquifer in and around the Wichita well field in south-central Kansas 

between predevelopment (before 1940) and the historic low of 1993.

Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer
12 Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016

H

A

RVEY CO

U

NTY

RENO COUNTY SED

G

WICK CO

U

NTY

REN

O CO

U

NTY

97°45' 97°40' 97°35' 97°30' 97°25'

38°05'

38°00'

37°55'

37°50'

Black Kettle Creek

West 

Dry Creek

Middle Emma Creek

Mud Creek

East Emma Creek

Sand Creek

Arkansas River

Kisiwa Creek

Gar Creek

Jester Creek

Emma Creek Emma Creek

Little Arkansas River

Burrton

Halstead

Newton

Sedgwick

Wichita

Bentley

Mount

Hope

Cowskin Creek

0

0

0

0

5

10

5

-5

20

15

-5

0

-5

5

25

30

0

5

0

-10

0

0

10

0

EXPLANATION

Study area

Basin storage area boundary

Central Wichita well field boundary

Line of equal groundwater-level change 

in the shallow part of the Equus Beds

aquifer between 1993 and January 2016. 

Contour interval, 5 feet 

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 2012, 1:24,000

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 14

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1983

Area of groundwater-level change

Decline of 10 feet or more

Decline of zero to less than 10 feet

Rise of zero to less than 10 feet

Rise of 10 to less than 20 feet

Rise of 20 to less than 30 feet

Rise of 30 feet or more

20

0 1 2 3 4 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 KILOMETERS

Figure 8. Groundwater-level changes in the shallow part of the Equus Beds aquifer in and around the Wichita well field in southcentral Kansas between 1993 and January 2016.
Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer 13

H

A

RVEY CO

U

NTY

RENO COUNTY SED

G

WICK CO

U

NTY

REN

O CO

U

NTY

Black Kettle Creek

West 

Dry Creek

Middle Emma Creek

Mud Creek

East Emma Creek

Sand Creek

Arkansas River

Kisiwa Creek

Gar Creek

Jester Creek

Emma Creek Emma Creek

Little Arkansas River

Cowskin Creek

97°45' 97°40' 97°35' 97°30' 97°25'

38°05'

38°00'

37°55'

37°50'

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

-10

5

0

-10

-15

-20

10

-5

5

25

30

20

15

-5

-5

0

5

0

5

-5

0

-10

0

-10

0

Burrton

Halstead

Newton

Sedgwick

Wichita

Bentley

Mount

Hope

EXPLANATION

Study area

Basin storage area boundary

Central Wichita well field boundary

Line of equal groundwater-level change in the shallow part 

of the Equus Beds aquifer between predevelopment and 

January 2016. Contour interval, 5 feet 

Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data, 2012, 1:24,000

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, zone 14

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1983

0 1 2 3 4 MILES

0 1 2 3 4 KILOMETERS

Area of groundwater-level change:

Decline of 20 feet or more

Decline of 10 to less than 20 feet

Decline of zero to less than 10 feet

Rise of zero to less than 10 feet

Rise of 10 to less than 20 feet

Rise of 20 feet or more

20

Figure 9. Groundwater-level changes in the shallow part of the Equus Beds aquifer in and around the Wichita well field in southcentral Kansas between predevelopment (before 1940) and January 2016.

Groundwater-Level and Storage-Volume Changes in the Equus Beds Aquifer
14 Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016

Summary

The Equus Beds aquifer in south-central Kansas is part 

of the High Plains aquifer that serves as a source of water 

for municipal and agricultural users in the area. The city 

of Wichita has used the Equus Beds aquifer as one of its 

primary water sources since the 1940s. The aquifer in and 

around Wichita’s well field reached historically low water 

levels in 1993, prompting the city to adopt new water-use 

and conservation strategies to ensure that future watersupply needs would be met. Part of the plan was to initiate 

a managed aquifer recharge program called the Equus Beds 

Aquifer Storage and Recovery project. The goal of the managed aquifer recharge program is to artificially recharge the 

Equus Beds aquifer with treated water from the Little Arkansas River. As part of the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and 

Recovery project, the city of Wichita and the U.S. Geological 

Survey have partnered in a long-term cooperative study to 

monitor and describe the quantity and quality of the water in 

the Equus Beds aquifer and the Little Arkansas River. 

In January 2016, the city of Wichita, the Equus Beds 

Groundwater Management District No. 2, the Kansas Department of Agriculture–Division of Water Resources, and the 

U.S. Geological Survey collected numerous groundwater 

levels from wells screened in the Equus Beds aquifer in the 

area in and around Wichita’s well field. The measurements 

were used to interpolate potentiometric surfaces for shallow and deep parts of the aquifer in the study area. These 

potentiometric surfaces were compared with potentiometric 

surfaces from previous years to estimate changes in storage 

volume in the study area.

Groundwater levels were generally higher in January 

2016 than they were in January 2015. On average, groundwater levels in the shallow part of the aquifer were about 

3.4 feet higher and groundwater levels in the deep part of the 

aquifer were about 3.8 feet higher in January 2016 than in 

January 2015. The volume of water stored in the study area 

decreased by about 74,000 acre-feet between predevelopment (before substantial pumpage began in the 1940s) and 

January 2016; increased by about 121,000 acre-feet between 

the historic low in 1993 and January 2016; and increased by 

about 61,000 acre-feet between January 2015 and January 

2016. About 62 percent of the storage volume lost between 

predevelopment and 1993 has been recovered. The increase 

in storage volume from January 2015 to January 2016 can 

probably be attributed to less pumping by the city of Wichita 

and irrigators, more recharge due to higher-than-average precipitation, and higher volumes of artificial recharge in 2015.

References Cited

City of Wichita, [2007?], Wichita area future water supply—

A model program for other municipalities: Wichita, Kans., 

accessed September 19, 2016, at http://www.wichita.gov/

Government/Departments/PWU/UtilitiesDocuments/WICHITA%20AREA%20FUTURE%20WATER%20SUPPLY.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, book 1, 

chap. A1, 151 p., accessed November 9, 2016 at https://

pubs.usgs.gov/tm/1a1/.

Esri, 2014, ArcGIS help 10.2, 10.2.1, and 10.2.2—How topo 

to raster works: Esri, accessed August 11, 2016, at http://

resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.2/index.html#/How_

Topo_to_Raster_works/009z0000007m000000/.

Equus Beds Groundwater Management District No. 2, 2008, 

About us: accessed September 19, 2016, at http://www.

gmd2.org/AboutUs.html.

Hansen, C.V., 2009, 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, 1 sheet.

Hansen, C.V., 2011, 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, 1 sheet.

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.

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 Investigations Report 2010–5231, 

47 p.

Hansen, C.V., Lanning-Rush, J.L., and Ziegler, A.C., 2013, 

Revised shallow and deep water-level and storage-volume 

changes in the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, 

predevelopment to 1993: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

Investigations Report 2013–5170, 18 p.
References Cited 15

Hansen, C.V., Whisnant, J.A., and Lanning-Rush, J.L., 2014, 

Status of groundwater levels and storage volume in the 

Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, 2012 to 2014: 

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 

2014–5185, 39 p.

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, scales 1:500,000 and 

1:1,000,000.

Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program, 2010, 2005 Kansas 

land cover patterns (Level I and Level IV) data: Kansas 

Biological Survey, University of Kansas, accessed July 

18, 2016, at http://kars.ku.edu/research/2005-kansas-landcover-patterns-level-iv/.

Kansas Geological Survey and Kansas Department of Agriculture, 2016, Water Information Management and Analysis 

System (WIMAS) for the Web: Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources database, accessed 

November 9, 2016, at http://hercules.kgs.ku.edu/geohydro/

wimas/index.cfm.

Kelly, B.P., Pickett, L.L., Hansen, C.V., and Ziegler, A.C., 

2013, Simulation of groundwater flow, effects of artificial 

recharge, and storage volume changes in the Equus Beds 

aquifer near the city of Wichita, Kansas well field, 1939–

2008: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations 

Report 2013–5042, 90 p. [Also available at http://pubs.usgs.

gov/sir/2013/5042/.]

Klager, B.J., 2016, Groundwater levels in the Equus Beds 

aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016: U.S. Geological Survey data release, accessed December 2016, January 

2016: U.S. Geological Survey data release accessed December 2016 at https://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7KP809V.

Meinzer, O.E., 1923, Outline of ground-water hydrology, with 

definitions: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 

494, 71 p.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016a, 

Climate data online: Asheville, NC, National Centers for 

Environmental Information, accessed July 18, 2016, at 

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016b, 

Gridded observed precipitation data: National Weather Service, accessed August 3, 2016, at http://water.weather.gov/

precip/download.php.

Stullken, L.E., Watts, K.R., and Lindgren, R.J., 1985, Geohydrology of the High Plains aquifer, western Kansas: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 

85—4198, 86 p. [Also available at http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/

publications/wri854198.]

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Publishing support provided by: 

Rolla Publishing Service Center

For additional information concerning this publication, contact:

Director, USGS Kansas Water Science Center 

4821 Quail Crest Place

Lawrence, KS 66049

(785) 842–9909

Or visit the Kansas Water Science Center Web site at:

http://ks.water.usgs.gov

Klager—Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, January 2016—SIR 2016–5165

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165165