Overview of Water Resources in and Near 

Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and 

Southeastern Nebraska

By TJ. TROMBLEY, R.J. WOLF, P.R. JORDAN, and LD. BREWER

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Water-Resources Investigations Report 96-4070

Prepared in cooperation with the 

IOWA TRIBE OF KANSAS AND NEBRASKA, the 

KICKAPOO TRIBE OF KANSAS, the PRAIRIE BAND 

OF POTAWATOMI, the SAC AND FOX TRIBE OF 

MISSOURI, and the BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

Lawrence, Kansas 

1996
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Gordon P. Eaton, Director

For additional information write to:

District Chief 

U.S. Geological Survey 

4821 Quail Crest Place 

Lawrence, Kansas 66049-3839

Copies of this report can be purchased from:

U.S. Geological Survey 

Branch of Information Services 

Box 25286 

Denver, CO 80225-0286
CONTENTS

Abstract........................................................................................................................................................^ 1

Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................... 2

Background..................................................................^^ 2

Purpose and Scope....................................................................................................................................................... 2

Previous Investigations................................................................................................................................................ 2

Acknowledgments................................................~^ 3

Historical Overview of Indian Treaty Lands ........................................................................................................................ 4

Physical Setting.............................................................................._ 6

Physiography.................................................................................................................^^ 6

Soils............................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Geology in Relation to Ground Water......................................................................................................................... 9

Climate......................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Land Cover and Land Use........................................................................................................................................... 20

Methods of Investigation ...................................................................................................................................................... 20

Surface-Water Availability .................................................................................................................................................... 25

Variability, Seasonality, and Long-Term Trends.......................................................................................................... 25

Variability.......................................................................................................................................................... 25

Seasonality......................................................................................................................................................... 25

Long-Term Trends............................................................................................................................................. 25

Surface-Water Availability Without Impoundment..................................................................................................... 27

Surface-Water Availability With Impoundment.......................................................................................................... 28

Ground-Water Availability .................................................................................................................................................... 33

Major Aquifers ............................................................................................................................................................ 33

Kansas River Valley Alluvial Aquifer............................................................................................................... 33

Missouri River Valley Alluvial Aquifer............................................................................................................ 36

Minor Aquifers ............................................................................................................................................................ 36

Small Stream-Valley Alluvial Aquifers............................................................................................................. 38

Sand and Gravel Aquifers Buried in Glacial Deposits...................................................................................... 38

Buried Bedrock-Valley Aquifers....................................................................................................................... 39

Bedrock Aquifers............................................................................................................................................... 39

Water Quality......................................................................................................................................................................... 42

pH................................................................................................................................................................................ 43

Major Ions.................................................................................................................................................................... 43

Dissolved Solids .......................................................................................................................................................... 49

Metals.......................................................................................................................................................................... 49

Nutrients ................................................................................................................................................................^ 55

Herbicides...................................................................................................................................................................^ 57

Bacteria..............................................................................................................._^ 60

Suspended Sediment.................................................................................................................................................... 60

Water Use............................................................................................................................................................................... 61

Summary and Conclusions.................................................................................................................................................... 62

References ......................................................................................................................................................................^ 65

FIGURES

1-4. Maps showing:

1. Location of study area, extent of Iowa, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, and Sac and Fox treaty lands, and

hydrologic unit boundaries in northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska............................................... 3

Contents III
FIGURES Continued

2. Physiographic divisions of study area............................................................................................................... 7

3. Hydrologic soil groups in study area ................................................................................................................ 10

4. Geologic structural features in and near study area.......................................................................................... 13

5. East-west geohydrologic section across study area................................................................................................ 14

6. Map showing altitude and configuration of top of Precambrian rocks in study area............................................ 15

7. Map showing upper Paleozoic rocks and Cenozoic deposits present at the surface of the study area................... 18

8-10. Graphs showing:

8. Average monthly precipitation for Horton, Kansas, 1888-1991, and average annual precipitation and

22-year moving average precipitation for Leavenworth, Kansas, 1836-1994................................................. 19

9. Monthly mean maximum, mean, and mean minimum temperatures for Horton, Kansas, 1888-1991............ 21

10. Relation of mean summer precipitation to mean summer temperatures in the Northeast Kansas

Climatic Region................................................................................................................................................ 22

11. Map showing present land cover and land use in study area.................................................................................. 23

12. Diagram showing local well-numbering system used in this report...................................................................... 24

13. Map showing comparative magnitude of mean annual streamflows in and near study area and location of

streamflow-gaging stations referred to in this report.............................................................................................. 26

14-16. Graphs showing:

14. Seasonal distribution of 7-day low flows and monthly mean streamflows for Soldier Creek near

Topeka, Kansas, 1930-32 and 1936-92 ........................................................................................................... 27

15. Annual mean streamflow and 15-year moving average streamflow for Soldier Creek near Topeka,

Kansas, 1936-92............................................................................................................^^ 28

16. Draft-storage curves for 2-percent chance of draft-rate deficiency in study area............................................. 32

17. Map showing altitude and configuration of water table in Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring

1967, and location of wells referred to in this report.............................................................................................. 34

18. Hydrograph showing water levels in well completed in the Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer near

Topeka, Kansas, 1950-91....................................................................................................................................... 35

19. Map showing altitude and configuration of water table in Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer, 1967 and

January 1968................................................................................................................^^ 37

20. Hydrograph showing water levels in well completed in small stream-valley alluvial aquifer in Jackson

County, Kansas, 1948-70....................................................................................................................................... 38

21. Hydrograph showing water levels in well completed in a sand and gravel aquifer buried in glacial deposits

in Jackson County, Kansas, 1972-93 ..................................................................................................................... 39

22. Map showing location of preglacial valleys in study area...................................................................................... 40

23. Hydrograph showing water levels in well completed in a buried bedrock-valley aquifer in Nemaha County,

Kansas, 1984-94 ........................................................................................................_^ 41

24. Hydrograph showing water levels in well completed in an unconfined aquifer of Pennsylvanian-age

limestone in Browrr County, Kansas, 1960-68....................................................................................................... 42

25-36. Boxplots showing distribution of:

25. pH values in surface water and ground water of study area ............................................................................. 44

26. Calcium concentrations in surface water and ground water of study area........................................................ 45

27. Magnesium concentrations in surface water and ground water of study area.................................................. 46

28. Sodium concentrations in surface water and ground water of study area......................................................... 47

29. Potassium concentrations in surface water and ground water of study area..................................................... 48

30. Bicarbonate concentrations in surface water and ground water of study area.................................................. 50

31. Chloride concentrations in surface water and ground water of study area....................................................... 51

32. Sulfate concentrations in surface water and ground water of study area.......................................................... 52

33. Dissolved-solids concentrations in surface water and ground water of study area........................................... 53

34. Total iron concentrations in surface water and ground water of study area...................................................... 54

35. Total manganese concentrations in surface water of study area....................................................................... 55

36. Nitrite plus nitrate concentrations in surface water from selected surface-water-quality sampling sites in

study area.......................................................................................................................................................... 56

37. Map showing location of selected surface-water-quality sampling sites in study area.......................................... 58

IV Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
FIGURES Continued

38. Boxplots showing distribution of phosphorus concentrations in surface water from selected surface-waterquality sampling sites in study area........................................................................................................................ 59

39. Graphs showing water use in 1990 by drainage basin............................................................................................ 63

TABLES

1. Hydrologic characteristics of soils in the study area.............................................................................................. 11

2. Geohydrologic systems and associated water-bearing characteristics in and near the study area ......................... 16

3. Magnitude and frequency of low flows at selected streamflow-gaging stations in and near the study area.......... 29

4. Selected surface-water-quality sampling sites referred to in this study.................................................................. 57

Contents V
CONVERSION FACTORS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND VERTICAL DATUM____________

Multiply By To obtain

acre 4,047 square meter

acre 0.4047 square hectometer

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

acre-foot per square mile (acre-ft/mi2) 476.1 cubic meter per square kilometer

cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second

cubic foot per second per square 0.01093 cubic meter per second per

mile [(ft /s)/mi2 ] square kilometer

degree Fahrenheit (°F) °C = (°F-32)/l .8 degree Celsius (°C)

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter

foot per year (ft/yr) 0.3048 meter per year

foot squared per day 1 (ft2/d) 0.09290 meter squared per day

gallon 3.785 liter

gallon per minute (gal/min) 0.06309 liter per second

inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer

million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 0.04381 cubic meter per second 

____________square mile (mi2)________2.590_________square kilometer__________

'The standard unit for transmissivity (T) is cubic foot per day per square foot times foot of aquifer thickness or [(ft3/d)/ft2]ft. 

This mathematical expression reduces to foot squared per day (ft2/d), which is used in this report.

Abbreviations

colonies per 100 milliliters col/100 mL

Health Advisory Level HAL

Maximum Contaminant Level MCL

microgram per liter Hg/L

milligram per liter rng/L

Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level SMCL

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency USEPA

Vertical Datum

Sea level: In this report, "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 a geodetic datum 

derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea 

Level Datum of 1929.

VI Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands 

in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska

ByT.J. Trombley, R.J. Wolf, P.P. Jordan, andL.D. Brewer

Abstract

An overview of water resources is provided 

for a 4,005-square-mile area of northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska that includes the 

treaty lands for the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and 

Nebraska, the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi, and the Sac and Fox 

Tribe of Missouri.

The only plentiful supplies of surface water 

are available from the Missouri and Kansas Rivers. The smallest mean streamflows for 4 consecutive months occur in November through 

February for most streams in the area. The smallest flows for 7 consecutive days in a year occur 

most often in August, September, or October.

The typical seasonal distribution of streamflows indicates a pattern favorable for the sameyear use of small surface-water impoundments for 

low-flow augmentation; large flows that could be 

impounded typically occur in the month shortly 

before augmentation is most needed. However, 

droughts of 2 or more consecutive years are common and would largely negate the advantage of 

using small impoundments except for very small 

water-supply needs.

Alluvial deposits along the Kansas and Missouri Rivers provide the largest well yields in the 

study area, but these deposits are limited in areal 

extent. The Kansas River alluvium reaches a maximum saturated thickness of about 70 feet, and the 

Missouri River alluvium reaches a maximum 

thickness of 120 feet. Well yields in the Kansas 

River generally range from 300 to 1,000 gallons 

per minute (gal/min) but may be as large as

2,500 gal/min. Well yields in the Missouri River 

alluvium generally range from 150 to 

2,500 gal/min but may be as large as 

3,000 gal/min. Although generally capable only 

of small sustained yields to wells, minor aquifers 

are important because they are available throughout most of the study area. Within the thick, 

mostly fine-grained glacial deposits, isolated sand 

and gravel layers may yield adequate supplies for 

stock-watering or domestic use.

Sodium concentrations exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level of 20 milligrams per liter most often in the middle Kansas 

and Delaware Basins. Total iron and manganese 

concentrations in water generally exceed the 

USEPA Secondary Maximum Contaminant Levels of 50 micrograms per liter for iron and 300 

micrograms per liter for manganese. Atrazine 

concentrations in surface water, primarily from 

post-application runoff, commonly exceed the 

USEPA Maximum Contaminant Level of 3.0 

micrograms per liter during the months of May, 

June, and July. Most of the erosion and about onehalf of the total sediment yield in parts of the 

study area may result from sheet and rill erosion 

and gullying on cultivated cropland.

A total of 3.13 million gallons per day 

(Mgal/d) of water was used in 1990 in the Big 

Nemaha River Basin, 74 percent of which was 

derived from ground water. In the Wolf River 

Basin, 1.29 Mgal/d were used, 71 percent derived 

from ground water. The Middle Kansas River 

Basin had the highest water use, 83.01 Mgal/d, 

67 percent of which was from surface water. A

Abstract 1
total of 4.37 Mgal/d was used in the Delaware 

River Basin, 55 percent from ground water.

INTRODUCTION

Background

Increasing demand for and degradation of water 

supplies has increased concern about water-resources 

issues during the past few years. As a result, the Iowa 

Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, the Kickapoo Tribe of 

Kansas, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi, and the Sac 

and Fox Tribe of Missouri are interested in prudent 

development of the water resources in and near their 

respective treaty lands. The Tribes would like their 

interests included in the State Water Plan developed 

by the Kansas Legislature. Therefore, in 1988, the 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with 

the four tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), 

began a reconnaissance study to provide an overview 

of the availability and quality of water resources in 

and near Indian treaty lands in northeastern Kansas 

and southeastern Nebraska.

The study-area boundaries (fig. 1), with the exception of the northern boundary (a township line), are 

hydrologic and include the treaty lands for the four 

tribes. For presentation purposes, the 4,005-mi2 study 

area is divided into four major drainage basins on the 

basis of standardized USGS hydrologic units (Seaber 

and others, 1987). The Big Nemaha River Basin 

(hydrologic unit 10240008) drains the Iowa and Sac 

and Fox Reservations. The Wolf River Basin (hydrologic unit 10240005) drains part of the Iowa and Kickapoo Reservations within the 1854 treaty boundary. 

The middle Kansas River Basin (hydrologic unit 

10270102) drains most of the Potawatomi Reservation. Finally, the Delaware River Basin (hydrologic 

unit 10270103) drains the northeast corner of the Potawatomi Reservation and most of the Kickapoo 

Reservation.

Purpose and Scope

This report presents the results of an overview of 

water resources in and near Indian lands in northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska and is intended 

as comprehensive background information for those 

readers who may be interested in pursuing inclusion of

Indian treaty lands in the Kansas State Water Plan. The 

primary objective of the overview was to describe surface- and ground-water availability, water quality, and 

water use in the study area. These objectives were 

accomplished by: (1) compilation and analysis of 

available water data (Brewer and others, 1994); (2) 

presentation of maps of physical and hydrologic features in the study area, such as geology, soils, land use, 

surface drainage, aquifer boundaries, and location of 

recent (1990) water appropriations using geographic 

information system (GIS) technology; (3) generation 

of maps using GIS technology to group water data for 

comparison and analysis; (4) definition of flow and 

water quality in streams; and (5) definition of water 

availability and quality in aquifers. The study did not 

include the collection of any new water-resources 

data.

Previous Investigations

Many studies relating to water resources in the 

study area have been completed. In a study of the 

water resources of the 1862 Kickapoo treaty lands, 

Van Doren-Hazard-Stallings (1981) indicate that 

(1) water suppliers in the area surrounding the reservation experience supply shortages or have problems 

with the quality of raw water; (2) economic development on the reservation has been slow due in part to 

insufficiently developed water resources; and (3) there 

is a potential for the construction of five surface-water 

impoundments on the reservation with a total storage 

capacity of 4,500 acre-ft.

In studies of the Kansas River and its associated 

alluvium, Beck (1959) described the geology and 

ground-water resources of the Kansas River between 

Wamego and Topeka, Kansas. Fader (1974) described 

ground-water availability in the Kansas River Valley 

from Junction City to Kansas City, Kansas. Winslow 

and Nuzman (1966) described ground-water availability in the Topeka area for 1950. Wolf and Helgesen 

(1993) used a finite-element computer model to simulate hypothetical flows and water levels in the Kansas 

River Valley from Wamego to Topeka for 8-year periods of below-average, near-average, and aboveaverage streamflow and precipitation, with various 

hypothetical pumpage options.

In the Missouri River Basin, Emmett and Jeffery 

(1969) completed a ground-water reconnaissance of 

the Missouri River alluvium between Kansas City, 

Missouri, and the Iowa border. Hedman and Jorgensen

Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
INGTON | MARSHALL^ 

RILEY

Area of 

enlargemem

IWABAUNSEE \

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

digital data, 1:100,000,1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45'

30 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

_J2S721P£». Hydrologic unit boundary and number Number

is hydrologic unit code from Seaber and others (1987)

Boundary of study area

_. . . Boundary of Indian treaty lands Boundaries are from

U.S. Geological Survey 7V2-minute topographic quadrangles

Figure 1. Location of study area, extent of Iowa, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, and Sac and Fox treaty lands, and hydrologic unit 

boundaries in northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska.

(1990) evaluated the interaction of surface and ground 

water in the Missouri River alluvium.

Jane Denne and others (Kansas Geological 

Survey, written commun., 1991) evaluated the hydrology and geochemistry of glacial deposits in northeastern Kansas. A number of geohydrology and groundwater resources reports were completed for counties in 

the study area including Atchison (Frey, 1941; Ward, 

1973), Brown (Bayne and Schoewe, 1967), Doniphan 

(Bayne, 1973), Douglas (O'Connor, 1960), Jackson

(Walters, 1953), Jefferson (Winslow, 1972), Nemaha 

(Ward, 1974), and Shawnee (Johnson and others, 

1967) in Kansas, and Richardson County (Emery, 

1964) in Nebraska.

Acknowledgments

The authors express their appreciation to Robert 

Delk, BIA, Billings, Montana; P.J. Workman,

Introduction
John Baggs, and Michael Reed, BIA, Anadarko, Oklahoma; the Horton Agency, BIA, Horton, Kansas; and 

to the four Kansas tribes the Iowa Tribe of Kansas 

and Nebraska, the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi, and the Sac and Fox Tribe of 

Missouri for their assistance and guidance in this 

study.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF INDIAN 

TREATY LANDS

An understanding of the historical presence and 

distribution of the various tribes in Kansas, prior to 

and after the European settlement, may have an effect 

on the various tribes' water-rights claims. Before 

1840, Kansas was home to many native, nomadic, and 

emigrant Indian tribes. Today (1996), the Iowa Tribe 

of Kansas and Nebraska (Iowa), the Kickapoo Tribe of 

Kansas (Kickapoo), the Prairie Band of Potawatomi 

(Potawatomi), and the Sac and Fox Tribe of Missouri 

(Sac and Fox) are the only tribes that have treaty lands 

in Kansas. These four Indian tribes originally were 

from areas around the Great Lakes and were relocated 

to Kansas by pressure of non-native settlement.

The native Indian tribes of Kansas, prior to 1825, 

included the village builders the Kansas, Osage, 

Pawnee, and Wichita. The nomadic Indian tribes who 

hunted in Kansas were the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Commanche, and Kiowa. The emigrant Indian tribes associated with the early history of Kansas included the 

Cayuga, Cherokee, Chippewa, Delaware, Fox, Iowa, 

Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Miami, Munsee, Oneida, Onondaga, Ottawa, Peoria, Piankanshaw, Potawatomi, Quapaw, Sac, Seneca, Shawnee, Stockbridge, Wea, and 

Wyandotte. All of these tribes with the exception of 

the Iowa, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, and Sac and Fox 

subsequently were removed from Kansas (Brenda 

Shadwick, Bureau of Indian Affairs, written commun., 

1991).

The Iowa Tribe originally came from the present 

states of Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri (Brenda 

Shadwick, Bureau of Indian Affairs, written commun., 

1991), where several rivers including the Des Moines, 

Cedar, and Iowa and numerous lakes and smaller 

streams provided water supplies and transportation. 

Treaties signed August 4, 1824, August 19, 1825, 

July 15, 1830, and November 23, 1837, ceded land 

claims in Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri. A reservation in northeastern Kansas was assigned to the Iowa 

Tribe by a treaty in September 17, 1836. The Iowa

Reservation was located along the Great Nemaha 

River in present Brown County, Kansas, and Richardson County, Nebraska; but this reservation was 

reduced by the treaty of May 17, 1854. The reservation was again reduced by a treaty signed on March 6, 

1861, which provided for the cession of certain Iowa 

tribal land in Kansas to the United States for the Sac 

and Fox Tribe (Blaine, 1979, p. 272). After an agreement in 1890, a part of the Iowa Tribe moved to central Oklahoma for land that was allotted to them in 

severally, the surplus lands being opened to settlement 

(Brenda Shadwick, Bureau of Indian Affairs, written 

commun., 1991).

Today, the Iowa Reservation borders the Sac and 

Fox Reservation on the east in Brown County, Kansas, 

and Richardson County, Nebraska (fig. 1). There are 

416 acres of allotted land and 1,026 acres of tribal land 

within the Iowa Reservation (Brenda Shadwick, 

Bureau of Indian Affairs, written commun., 1991). 

The allotted land resulted from the passing of the General Allotment Act in 1887, which is discussed at the 

end of this section. Tribal land is land owned by 

the tribe.

About 1667, the Kickapoo Tribe was located 

between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers in southern 

Wisconsin. A few years later they moved to the Sangamon River in central Illinois, then to the Vermillion 

River in eastern Illinois, and along the Wabash River 

in western Indiana (Brenda Shadwick, Bureau of 

Indian Affairs, written commun., 1991).

The Treaty of Fort Wayne on September 30, 1809, 

and at Fort Harrison on August 30, 1819, ceded the 

Kickapoo lands in Illinois for lands near the Osage 

River in Missouri. In July 1820, an amendment to the 

1819 treaty called for a reservation in northeast Kansas instead of the lands in Missouri. However, not until 

another treaty was signed on October 24, 1832, did the 

relocation seriously get underway. The new reservation in northeast Kansas was in the present counties of 

Atchison, Brown, and Jackson.

The lands beyond the Missouri River including 

Kansas once were considered part of the "Great American Desert." When migration to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Oregon increased settlements west of the 

Rocky Mountains, lands in Kansas became more 

familiar to the non-native American settlers. Once 

immigrating settlers realized that the lands were fertile, they wanted the lands opened for settlement. The 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs then negotiated treaties with the Kickapoo resulting in a reduction of their

Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
lands in 1854 and a further reduction in 1862 (Herring, 

1988, p. 129). Today, the Kickapoo Reservation is situated in southwestern Brown County, Kansas, far 

from any large stream (fig. 1). It consists of 

3,154 acres of allotted land and 4,000 acres of tribal 

land (Brenda Shadwick, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

written commun., 1991).

The Potawatomi Tribe originally was one tribe 

with the Chippewa and the Ottawa. By the time of the 

first recorded European contact (with a French 

explorer in 1634), the Potawatomi were roaming the 

Great Lakes area. In the late 17th or early 18th century, the Potawatomi, Chippewa, and Ottawa traveled 

west to Lake Huron in search of new hunting grounds. 

At Mackinac Straits the tribe divided, and the Potawatomi migrated into Michigan's lower peninsula. 

The Iroquois with their guns pushed the Potawatomi 

from Michigan's lower peninsula to the present area of 

Wisconsin. This displacement was the start of many 

movements westward for the Potawatomi (Mitchell, 

1994, p. 3).

The Chicago Treaty of 1833 forced the Potawatomi from near Lake Michigan to move west to the 

Platte River area in northwestern Missouri. In 1837, 

the Potawatomi were moved out of the Platte River 

area because of the pressures of settlement and State 

officials who wanted to annex the land to the State of 

Missouri. This part of the Potawatomi Tribe was relocated to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Also in 1837 and in 

1838, large numbers of Potawatomi from northern 

Indiana were forced to live near the Marais des Cygne 

River in Linn County, Kansas. The group that went to 

Iowa eventually became the majority of the "Prairie 

Band of Potawatomi" (Prairie Band), whereas the 

other group that settled in east-central Kansas became 

the "Citizen Band of Potawatomi" (Citizen Band).

The Potawatomi in Iowa and east-central Kansas 

stayed in their respective areas for about 10 years. A 

treaty was signed in 1846 ceding their lands in 

exchange for a consolidated 900-mi2 reservation, 

including the Kansas River west of present-day 

Topeka, west to Wabaunsee and Pottawatomie Counties and north to Jackson County (fig. 1). The consolidation and relocation to the new reservation started in 

1847 (Mitchell, 1994, p. 23).

Shortly after the Potawatomi were relocated on 

lands in northeastern Kansas, the problems associated 

with pressures from settlers resurfaced. The Potawatomi were once again in the way of expansion, so 

some of the tribe was removed to Indian Territory in

Oklahoma. In 1861, a treaty opened up the Potawatomi lands for development as the Santa Fe Railroad acquired surplus acreages after allotments were 

made to tribal members (Kappler, 1972, p. 824). The 

tribal members who received allotments became 

known as the Citizen Band. The remaining Potawatomi became known as the Prairie Band. Today, the 

Prairie Band's reservation is separated from the 

Kansas River, in Jackson County, Kansas (fig. 1). 

After individual land sales, there were 18,459 acres of 

allotted land and 2,939.43 acres of tribal land (Brenda 

Shadwick, Bureau of Indian Affairs, written commun., 

1991).

The present Sac and Fox Tribe originally was two 

distinct tribes. The Sacs came from the Upper Michigan Peninsula and the Fox from the south shore of 

Lake Superior (Brenda Shadwick, Bureau of Indian 

Affairs, written commun., 1991). In 1667, when the 

first recorded non-native contact was made with the 

two tribes, the Iroquois and French pressure on the 

Sacs and Chippewa pressure on the Fox pushed both 

groups to the vicinity of present-day Green Bay, Wisconsin. In the early 18th century, French attacks on the 

Sac and Fox drove both tribes to a close confederation 

(Hagan, 1958, p. 5). Forced to migrate south, those 

bands that stayed near the Mississippi River were 

called "Sac and Fox of the Mississippi" (Mississippi 

Band) to distinguish them from the "Sac and Fox of 

the Missouri" (Missouri Band), who migrated farther 

south and west to the Missouri River.

By the 1830's the Missouri Band was living in the 

northwest corner of Missouri with the Iowa Tribe. In 

1836, the Missouri Band and the Iowa Tribe signed 

away their lands and settled for lands near the Great 

Nemaha River called the Great Nemaha Reservation 

in Doniphan and Brown Counties in Kansas and Richardson County in Nebraska (Sandra Keo, Sac and Fox 

Tribe, written commun., 1991). The Great Nemaha 

Reservation again was reduced by the Treaty of May 

17, 1854. On March 6, 1861, a treaty between the 

United States and the Iowa Tribe ceded certain Iowa 

lands to the Sac and Fox Tribe. Today, the Sac and Fox 

Reservation is located west of the Iowa Reservation in 

Brown County, Kansas, and Richardson County, 

Nebraska (fig. 1) with 44.6 acres of allotted land and 

509 acres of tribal land (Brenda Shadwick, Bureau of 

Indian Affairs, written commun., 1991).

The General Allotment Act of 1887, sometimes 

referred to as the Dawes Act, called for 160-acre plots 

of reservation land to be parceled out to the head of

Historical Overview of Indian Treaty Lands
each Indian family. Eighty-acre and 40-acre plots of 

reservation lands also were parceled out to individual 

Indians. After the land was divided among the Indians, 

left-over or "surplus" lands were purchased by the 

U.S. Government. The purchase money was kept in 

trust for the Indian tribes and their members and 

appropriated for the purpose of educating and civilizing the tribe. The "surplus" lands then were sold to 

settlers and other interested groups, such as private 

land speculators, timber companies, and railroads. 

Later, the Indians were encouraged to sell their allotted land enabling settlers and other interested groups 

access to more Indian land (Cohen, 1982, p. 130-131). 

As a result, Indian reservations today are checkerboarded with Indian and non-Indian allotted lands.

PHYSICAL SETTING

Physiography

According to the major physical divisions of the 

United States defined by Fenneman (1938) and Fenneman and Johnson (1946), the study area is located in 

the Central Lowland Province of the Interior Plains. 

Schoewe (1949) further divided the Central Lowland 

Province in Kansas such that the study area lies mostly 

within the Dissected Till Plains Section but also 

includes a small area of the Osage Plains Section. 

These sections were divided further or modified by 

Schoewe (1949) into the Osage Cuestas, the Flint Hills 

Upland, the Kansas Drift Plains, and the Attenuated 

Drift Border (fig. 2). A discussion of these subdivisions as they relate to the study area follows.

The Osage Cuestas comprise the area south of the 

Kansas River as far west as Wabaunsee County and, in 

eastern Kansas, consist of at least 18 southwest-tonortheast irregularly trending east-facing escarpments 

between which are flat to gently rolling plains 

(Schoewe, 1949). The crest of each escarpment, ranging in height from less than 50 ft to more than 200 ft, 

is capped by a resistant limestone underlain by weaker 

shale or sandstone.

The Flint Hills Upland is a north-south trending 

physiographic unit extending across the entire State; 

its eastern limit is generally defined by outcrops of 

flint-bearing limestone bedrock of Permian age. The 

Flint Hills Upland only occurs in the southwestern part 

of the study area. The surficial features, geologic 

structure, and erosional history of the upland are

mostly the same as the topographically lower Osage 

Cuestas to the east.

The Dissected Till Plains, which covers most of 

the study area, occurs north of the Kansas River and is 

a northward extension of the Osage Plains because the 

underlying bedrock of both sections is identical. The 

basic difference between the two sections is that the 

Dissected Till Plains have been glaciated, but the 

Osage Plains have not. In the Dissected Till Plains, a 

mantle of drift conceals or covers the cuesta-type 

topography, which prevails in the Osage Cuestas to the 

south. Bedrock-controlled topography does not occur 

in the Dissected Till Plains except near its southern 

edge along the Kansas River Valley and on the west 

along the Big Blue River. This part of the Dissected 

Till Plains Section has been designated by Schoewe 

(1949) as the Attenuated Drift Border, and the rest of 

the section in Kansas is known as the Kansas Drift 

Plains.

Although the Attenuated Drift Border subdivision 

along the Big Blue, Little Blue, and Kansas River Valleys is glaciated and included in the Dissected Till 

Plains Section, the area has a bedrock-controlled type 

of topography and is mostly like the Flint Hills Upland 

and Osage Cuestas to the south. The area differs in that 

it has been glaciated and covered by isolated deposits 

of till, outwash, and erratics of ice-transported boulders, cobbles, and pebbles.

The topography of the Kansas Drift Plains reflects 

a gently undulating, drift-controlled, erosional surface. 

Distant from major streams, the broad, smooth, wellrounded, interstream areas are remnants of the uneroded original ground moraine deposited by the last 

retreating ice sheet. Beneath this surface lie glacial 

deposits of boulder till, sand and gravel, silt, and clay. 

The bedrock valleys with preglacial dendritic drainage 

patterns lie deeply buried by as much as 400 ft of glacial deposits. Near larger stream valleys, the land surface becomes more dissected and is reduced to gentle 

slopes and broad and open valleys. Next to the larger 

stream valleys, the surface is very dissected, rough, 

and hilly, with steep valley walls of limestone and 

shale. The greatest topographic relief (300 ft) in the 

Kansas Drift Plains occurs in a narrow strip a few 

miles wide along the bluffs of the Missouri River 

where the upland surface is deeply incised into a very 

rugged region of hills between steep-sided valleys and 

ravines. Most drainage in the Kansas Drift Plains is to 

the Big Blue, Big Nemaha, Missouri, and 

Kansas Rivers.

Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
95°

Topeka I 

'SHAWNEE rT~ ^"^

96°30' 

1' x-7 

DISSECTED TILI/PLAPTC *

Physiography from Fenneman (1938), Fenneman and 

Johnson (1946), and Schoewe (1949)

30 MILES

30 KILOMETERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

digital data, 1:100,000,1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45°

EXPLANATION

Boundary of physiographic section

 Boundary of subdivisions of physiographic 

sections

Boundary of study area

 Boundary of Indian treaty lands Boundaries 

are from U.S. Geological Survey 7 V2-rninute 

topographic quadrangles

Figure 2. Physiographic divisions of study area.

Physical Setting
The extreme northeastern part of the study area 

(Richardson County in Nebraska and parts of Brown 

and Doniphan Counties in Kansas) lies in the flood 

plain and terrace system associated with the Missouri 

River. The flood plain and low terraces of the Kansas 

River trend east-west in the southern part of the study 

area. Other areas of flood plains and low terraces 

occur along some of the larger tributaries of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers and include (1) Walnut Creek 

and the Wolf River in the Missouri River Basin and 

(2) Soldier Creek, Cross Creek, Mill Creek, Vermillion Creek, Rock Creek, and the Delaware River and 

its tributaries in the Kansas River Basin. Flood plains 

and terraces also may extend a short distance up the 

valleys of many of the smaller streams that are directly 

tributary to the Missouri and Kansas Rivers.

Soils

Certain physical characteristics of soils have a definite effect on the water resources of an area because 

they affect the rate at which precipitation infiltrates or 

is transmitted through the soil and thus help determine 

the rates of both ground-water recharge and surfacewater runoff.

Soil formation is a continuing process affected by 

environmental factors, including climate and biota, 

especially natural vegetation. Materials from which 

the soil is formed have a substantial effect on certain 

primary characteristics of the soil, such as texture, but 

climate, biotic factors, topographic position, and time 

determine the final character of the soil. The degree of 

weathering of the parent materials dictates the depth of 

soil development and the prevalence of clay and 

organic materials.

Typical parent materials for soils of the study area 

are loess, glacial till, alluvium, colluvium, eolian sand, 

shale, and limestone. Some physical characteristics, 

particularly average profile permeability and available 

water capacity of well-developed soils, reflect the parent materials on which the soils developed. The rate of 

soil development is affected by the nature of the parent 

materials. Consolidated sedimentary and crystalline 

bedrock usually weathers more slowly than unconsolidated materials, such as alluvium or loess, which 

already have certain characteristics similar to 

mature soils.

Climatic variations substantially affect soil development. The climate in the study area is a subhumid 

continental type where soils have developed at an

intermediate rate. In the moister parts of the study 

area, many soils have clay accumulations that limit the 

soil permeability, thus restricting downward water 

movement.

Natural vegetation in the study area is diverse and 

related to the climate. The amount of organic matter in 

the soil is largely dependent on the decay of root systems. Grasslands, particularly tall-grass prairie, add 

large amounts of organic matter to the soil. Short-grass 

prairie produces less organic material; therefore, soils 

are lighter in color. Woodland soils usually have only a 

thin surface layer of organic matter, mostly from leaf 

decay; because root decay is much less under woodland conditions than under grassland conditions. 

Under warm, moist conditions leaching prevents the 

accumulation of organic matter in the upper 

soil horizons.

Topographic position of the soil is an important 

but passive factor in soil-forming process. Steep 

slopes tend to promote rapid runoff precipitation, 

decreasing the time available for infiltration, thus limiting the amount of water available for weathering of 

parent materials. Also, steep slopes tend to erode easily, thus resulting in thin, mostly undeveloped soils. 

The degree to which topographic position affects soil 

development is inversely dependent on the degree of 

the slope. In the study area, topography ranges from 

nearly flat, relatively large, continuous areas along and 

near divides or in the valley bottoms to steep slopes in 

the highly dissected bluff areas adjacent to the large 

river valleys.

The degree of soil development also depends 

partly on the length of time that geologic parent materials have been exposed to the climatic elements and to 

the intensity of weathering. It is nearly impossible to 

date the length of the soil-forming process at any particular place because of continuous addition of windor water-transported material or organic matter to the 

soil surface. The age of soils in the study area ranges 

from very young for flood-plain soils to very mature 

for soils long exposed on relatively flat uplands. The 

more mature soils are the most deeply developed with 

accumulations of clayey materials defined by leaching 

and redeposition.

Six soil characteristics that indicate the relation 

between soil and water were used by Dugan (1986) to 

evaluate the hydrologic responses of soil. Those six 

characteristics are: (1) average soil-profile permeability, (2) permeability of the least-permeable soil horizon, (3) average available water capacity, (4) soil

8 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
slope, (5) depth to seasonal high water table, and 

(6) thickness of the soil profile. A brief discussion of 

each of the six soil characteristics follows:

(1) Average permeability of the soil profile is the average vertical permeability of the individual soil 

horizons weighted by their thicknesses. Permeability is a measure of the rate at which water 

moves down through the saturated soil profile; it 

is affected by soil texture, structure, and porosity.

(2) Permeability of the least-permeable soil horizon 

within a particular soil profile is a measure of the 

degree by which vertical water movement is 

restricted within the soil. Existence of a restrictive layer is usually obscured by the average profile permeability.

(3) Average available water capacity of the soil profile 

is the difference between the quantity of water at 

field capacity (quantity of water held by unsaturated soil against the pull of gravity) and the 

quantity of water at the wilting point (point at 

which the water content of the soil becomes too 

low to prevent the permanent wilting of plants).

(4) Soil slope is the difference in elevation of the soil 

surface within a given horizontal distance 

expressed as a percentage. Dugan (1986) determined the slope value from the maximum slope 

of the range of slopes for a particular soil on the 

premise that in a particular area runoff is more a 

function of the greater rather than the lesser 

slopes.

(5) Depth to the seasonal high water table is the normal annual minimum depth to the water table 

and does not include any perched water tables. 

This factor is important in determining rates of 

evapotranspiration from certain soils. Long periods of saturation can change the structure of 

soils, which in turn, can affect other hydrologic 

soil characteristics, such as available water 

capacity and permeability.

(6) Thickness of the soil profile is used to distinguish 

between relatively thin soils (less than 60 in. 

thick) forming a veneer over bedrock and thicker 

soils (more than 60 in. thick) overlying unconsolidated or weakly consolidated parent material 

that is easily weathered. This soil characteristic 

can indicate the volume of water stored within 

the soil profile and its rate of movement out of or 

through this profile. 

The discussion of soils in this report is based

mostly on a study of the hydrologic characteristics of

soils in parts or all of nine states in the central Midwest area of the United States (Dugan, 1986). The 

study was designed to provide data for the hydrologic 

characteristics of the region's soils to be used as input 

for a soil-moisture model that can be used to obtain 

estimates of actual evapotranspiration from and 

recharge to the regional aquifer system. The study has 

additional broad application for surface-water hydrology or for addressing hydrologic problems relating to 

agriculture. The data, however, are not detailed 

enough to make interpretations for an entire county or 

for smaller areas. For more detailed soil information, 

published large-scale (1:20,000), detailed county soilsurvey maps are available from the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service for counties 

in the study area (see Bidwell and others, 1960; Eikleberry and Templin, 1960; Jantz and others, 1975; 

Campbell and others, 1979; Sallee, 1980; Kutnink and 

others, 1982; Sallee and Watts, 1984; Horsch and 

others, 1987).

A regional map of hydrologic characteristics of 

soils (Dugan, 1986) was compiled by generalizing the 

more detailed published soil-survey maps according to 

the range in hydrologic responses of each soil series. 

The soils then were grouped according to their hydrologic responses into 62 regional hydrologic soil 

groups, of which 10 occur in the study area (fig. 3, 

table I). The method used for grouping the soils is 

described by Dugan (1984).

Geology in Relation to Ground Water

The ground-water hydrology of an area is dependent on the geology of that area. Knowledge of the 

geology, including the stratigraphy and geologic structure, leads to an improved understanding of the occurrence and availability of ground water. A brief 

description of the geology of the study area, as it 

relates to ground water, follows.

The study area lies within the stable interior of the 

North American continent. Since Precambrian time 

(about 600 million years ago), most of this part of the 

continent has undergone gentle deformation with 

upwarp and downwarp of the Earth's crust over large 

areas. Structurally, this part of the continent is characterized by broad basins and arches, with subtle folding 

of sedimentary rocks and few major fault zones 

(Jorgensen and others, 1993, p. B12 and fig. 15). The 

eastern and southern part of the study area lies in the 

Forest City Basin, separated from the Nemaha Uplift

Physical Setting
232 232 30'

NEBRASKA 

KANSAS

95°

Soil groups from Dugan (1986)

30 MILES 

i

0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

digital data, 1:100,000,1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45°

EXPLANATION

Soil groups 

| 100s

| 200s 

300s 

Open water

21 1 Hydrologic soil group number From 

Dugan (1986)

 Contact between soil groups

Figure 3. Hydrologic soil groups in study area.

 Boundary of study area

 Boundary of Indian treaty lands 

Boundaries are from U.S. Geological 

Survey TVz-minute topographic quadrangles

1

10 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansaa and Southeastern Nebraska
Table 1 . Hydrologic characteristics of soils in the study area

[Data from Dugan (1986). >, greater than]

Hydrologic soil

group

number

(shown in

fig. 3)

Average

profile permeability

(inch per

hour)

Permeability of

the ieastpermeable

horizon

(inch per

hour)

Average

profile

available

water

capacity

(inch per

inch)

Average

maximum

slope

(percent)

Depth to

seasonally high

water

table (feet)

Soil

profile

thickness

(inches) Description

121 0.15 0.07 0.17

122 .30 .20 .16 >6

60 Chiefly clay derived from weathered shale, 

clayey glacial till, high clay-content loess, or 

clayey alluvium. Average permeabilities are 

very slight; available water capacities are 

moderate to low. Nearly level to steeply sloping. Occur on some flood plains and terraces. 

Water table lies near the land surface seasonally or in all seasons because of significant 

ground-water recharge.

65 Mostly clay derived from weathered shale, 

clayey glacial till, high clay-content loess, or 

clayey alluvium. Very slight permeabilities; 

moderate to low available water capacities. 

Nearly level to steeply sloping. Occur on terraces and tablelands. Permanent water table 

lies much below the land surface in all sea132 .29 .18 .14 11 >6 64 Clay derived from weathered shale, clayey

glacial till, high clay-content loess, or clayey 

alluvium. Very slight permeabilities; moderate to low available water capacities. Very 

gentle to moderately steep slopes. Occur on 

terraces or rolling uplands. Permanent water 

table lies much below the land surface in all 

seasons.

142 .26 .21 .15 19 >6 60 Mainly clay derived from shale, clayey glacial till, high clay-content loess, or clayey 

alluvium. Very slight permeabilities; low to 

moderate available water capacities. Gently 

to steeply sloping. Occur on dissected or 

eroded uplands. Permanent water table is 

much below the land surface in all seasons.

211 .94 .86 .18 2 5 61 Silty clay loam to silt loam derived mostly

from silty loess or silty alluvium. Slight permeabilities; moderate to high available water 

capacities. Level to very gently sloping. 

Occur on the flood plains and terraces of the 

Missouri River and its tributaries, and along 

tributaries of the Kansas River. Water table 

lies near the land surface seasonally or in all 

seasons because of significant ground-water 

recharge.

Physical Setting 11
Table 1 . Hydrologic characteristics of soils in the study area Continued

Hydrologic soil

group

number

(shown in

fig. 3)

Average

profile permeability

(inch per

hour)

Permeability of

the leastpermeable

horizon

(inch per

hour)

Average

profile

available

water

capacity

(inch per

inch)

Average

maximum

slope

(percent)

Depth to

seasonally high

water

table (feet)

Soil

profile

thickness

(inches) Description

232 0.96 0.77 0.18 12 >6 62 Silty clay loam to silt loam derived from silty

loess or silty alluvium. Slight permeabilities; 

moderate to high available water capacities. 

Very gentle to moderately steep slopes. Occur 

on terraces or rolling uplands. Permanent 

water table lies well below the land surface in 

all seasons.

242 1.02 .82 .16 23

242S .94 .87

252 1.25 1.22

.16 22

.19 40

311 2.13 .88 .18

>6 64 Silty clay loam to silt loam derived from silty 

loess or silty alluvium. Slight permeabilities; 

moderate to high available water capacities. 

Gently to steeply sloping. Occur on dissected 

or eroded uplands. Permanent water table lies 

well below the land surface in all seasons.

>6 46 Similar to soil group 242 except soils are 

shallow; directly overlie slightly weathered 

or resistant bedrock.

>6 63 Silty clay loam to silt loam derived from silty 

loess or silty alluvium. Slight permeabilities; 

moderate to high available water capacities. 

Gentle to very steep slopes. Occur on highly 

dissected uplands. Permanent water table lies 

well below the land surface in all seasons.

2 63 Silty clay to loam derived from silty sandy

loess and silty sandy alluvium. Moderate permeabilities; moderate to high available water 

capacities. Level to very gently sloping. 

Occur on flood plains and terraces along the 

Kansas River. Permanent water table lies near 

or at the land surface seasonally or in all seasons on the flood plain or on the terraces.

12 Overview of Water Resources In and Near Indian Landa In Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
in the western part of the area (fig. 4) by an approximately 2,000-ft-vertical offset fault zone (fig. 5).

Undifferentiated Precambrian igneous and metamorphic basement rocks lie deeply buried in the study 

area (fig. 6) beneath approximately 500 to 3,500 ft of 

Paleozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks (Merriam, 

1963). As shown in the east-west geohydrologic section (fig. 5). the Precambrian basement confining unit 

underlies Mississippian through Cambrian rocks 

(Western Interior Plains aquifer system) deep in the 

Forest City Basin, but directly underlie Permian and 

Pennsylvanian rocks (Western Interior Plains confining system) over the Nemaha Anticline. Because the 

surface of the Precambrian basement confining unit 

has been faulted, deeply weathered, and eroded, the 

rocks commonly are fractured and covered by residual 

material. The sedimentary rocks that overlie the Precambrian basement confining unit range from 

Cambrian to Quaternary in age and are summarized in 

table 2.

Paleozoic rocks in the study area unconformably 

overlie the Precambrian basement rocks and include 

rocks of Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, 

Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian age, 

including shale, limestone, dolostone, sandstone, coal, 

and evaporite beds (Merriam, 1963). The study area 

was above sea level from the end of the Precambrian 

to Late Cambrian time, and an uneven erosional surface had developed on the fractured crystalline Precambrian rocks. Beginning in late Cambrian time, the 

seas advanced over the area repeatedly, resulting in a 

thick sequence of strata. The lower part of these rocks 

has been designated by Jorgensen and others (1993) as 

the Western Interior Plains aquifer system, which 

includes mostly carbonate rocks of Cambrian through 

Mississippian age. The upper part of the Paleozoic 

sequence, designated the Western Interior Plains 

confining system, includes mostly shale and siltstone, 

with minor sandstone, limestone, coal, and evaporite 

deposits of upper Mississippian through Permian age. 

Some of these rocks are present at land surface in

102° 100°

Central Nebraska 

(Salina) Basin

NEBRASKA

Ah

EXPLANATION

Boundary of structural feature

HA' Trace of section shown in figure 5

Structural features from 

Jorgensen and others (1993)

50 100 MILES

50 100 KILOMETERS

Figure 4. Geologic structural features in and near study area.

Physical Setting 13
A

FEET

2500- 

2000- 

1500- 

1000-

500- 

SEA LEVEL500- 

1000- 

1500- 

2000- 

2500- 

3000- 

3500-

4000-

Central Nebreske 

(Selina) Basin

Nemaha Uplift I Fores 

I I Study a)

irest City Basin

LUVIAL AND GLACIAL-DRIFT AQUIFER £ 

\GREAT PLAINS AQUIFER SYSTEM

WESTERN INTERIOR PLAINS 

CONFINING SYSTEM

BASEMENT CONFINING 

UNIT

A1

FEET

r2500

-2000

-1500 

1000

-500

-SEA LEVEL

-500

-1000

-1500

-2000

-2500

-3000

-3500

VERTICAL SCALE GREATLY EXAGGERATED 

TRACE OF SECTION SHOWN IN FIGURE 4

Geohydrology modified from Wolf and others (199D)

4000

50 1 DO KILOMETERS

50 100 KILOMETERS

Figure 5. East-west geohydrologic section across study area.

much of the southern part of the study area and 

beneath the alluvial, eolian, and glacial deposits in the 

rest of the study area (fig. 7).

Rocks of Mesozoic age are absent in the study 

area because land in this area was emergent during 

most of the Mesozoic. Although there was some deposition that occurred during the Mesozoic, the deposits 

were subsequently eroded before deposition of 

younger Cenozoic sediments (Jorgensen and others, 

1993).

Unconsolidated alluvial, eolian, and glacial deposits of Quaternary age unconformably overlie the erosional surface of the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. 

Quaternary deposits include sediments of both Pleistocene and Holocene age but were not differentiated in 

this study. The Quarternary deposits are present 

throughout much of the northern part of the study area 

(fig. 7), except in small areas, such as along some 

stream embankments, steep hillsides, or roadcuts, 

where the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks crop out. In the 

southern part of the study area, the Quaternary deposits occur mainly as alluviam in the valleys and as glacial deposits in some interstream areas. The lithology 

of the Quaternary deposits is variable vertically and 

horizontally and ranges from fine-grained sediments 

of till, silt, and clay to coarse-grained sediments of 

sand, gravel, pebbles, cobbles, and boulders.

Climate

Located in the Interior Plains (Fenneman, 1938), 

northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska have a 

typical continental climate that is characterized by 

large variations in temperature and precipitation 

throughout the year and from year to year. This part of 

the Interior Plains is classified as moist subhumid by 

Thornthwaite (1941) but can range from semiarid to 

humid for any given year (Eagleman, 1975). Daily 

precipitation often exceeds daily evapotranspiration in 

this area, with the excess either becoming runoff or 

entering the soil to become ground water. During 

intervals of precipitation deficiency and high temperatures, evapotranspiration can remove large quantities 

of surface water and shallow soil water resulting in 

drought conditions.

The long-term average annual precipitation 

(1888-1991) for Horton, Kansas, of 34.23 in. 

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

1992-94) is representative of the study area. Slightly 

more than 70 percent of the annual precipitation 

comes during the April-to-September growing season 

(fig. 8A). One year out of four will have less than 

28 in. of precipitation, and one out of four will have 

more than 40 in. The driest year on record was 1988 

when only 19.31 in. of precipitation fell, and the wettest year was 1951 with 62.64 in. of precipitation. The

14 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
95"

,00°| 'Topeka I \ '* JSHAWNEE r'T^-^

Geology modified from Wolf and others (1990) as modified from Cole (1976)

10

i

20

20 

I

30 MILES 

_J

30 KILOMETERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

digital data, 1:100,000,1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45° EXPLANATION

 2000 Basement contour Shows altitude of top of Precambrian rocks. 

Contour interval 500 and 1,000 feet. Datum is sea level

U

 Fault U, upthrown side; D, downthrown side

Boundary of study area

 Boundary of Indian treaty lands Boundaries are from U.S. 

Geological Survey 7V2-minute topographic quadrangles

Figure 6. Altitude and configuration of top of Precambrian rocks in study area.

Physlcsl Setting 15
Table 2. Geohydrologic systems and associated water-bearing characteristics in and near the study area

[gal/min, gallons per minute]

Era

(geologic

time

scale)1

Geologic 

system

Geohydrologic 

system2

Character and 

distribution

Water-bearing 

characteristics

I

.^ 8 

o ^

II

Alluvial and

glacial-drift

aquifer

system

Alluvial deposits:

Includes sand, gravel, silt, and clay. 

These deposits are most continuous 

and thickest beneath flood plains 

and terraces of major streams. 

Along the smaller stream valleys, 

alluvial deposits are mostly silt and 

clay but may contain coarser basal 

deposits capable of yielding moderate water supplies. In the upland 

areas, discontinuous alluvial deposits are variable.

Eolian deposits:

Mostly loess deposits consisting of 

silt and clayey silt that make up the 

surficial materials in the upland 

areas and are thickest near the 

larger streams.

Glacial deposits:

Till deposits consisting of poorly 

sorted silt, clay, and broken pieces 

of shale, as well as pebbles and 

fragments of sandstone, limestone, 

quartzite, and other rock types. 

Only occur in upland part of the 

study area.

Kansas River Valley alluvial 

aquifer well yields generally are 

300 to 2,500 gal/min. Restricted to 

deposits underlying the flood plain 

and terraces along the Kansas River. 

Missouri River Valley alluvial 

aquifer well yields generally are 

150 to 3,000 gal/min. Restricted to 

deposits underlying the flood plain 

and terraces along the Missoun 

River. In smaller stream-valley alluvial aquifers well yields are generally 

less than 300 gal/min.

Surface deposits that are usually 

above the water table and serve as a 

transmission medium for precipitation to percolate as recharge to the 

water table. Note: Not usually saturated.

Nearly impermeable deposits that 

locally may be a semiconfining layer 

for underlying and interfingering 

alluvial sand and gravel deposits. 

May yield as much as 900 gal/min, 

but less than 500 gal/min is more 

common.

Absent in study area Absent in study area.

g£ o "

o 

m

U

Great Plains 

aquifer 

system

16 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
Table 2. Geohydrologic systems and associated water-bearing characteristics in and near the study 

area Continued

Era 

(gaologic 

time 

scale)1

Paleozoic 

(230-600 million ag) years 

Precambrian 

(600-2,500+ million ag) years 

Geologic 

aystem

Permian

Pennsylvanian

Mississippian

Devonian

Silurian

Ordovician

Cambrian

Undifferentiated

Geohydrologic 

system2

Western 

Interior 

Plains 

confining 

system

Western 

Interior 

Plains 

aquifer 

system 

(WIPAS)

Basement 

confining 

unit

Character and 

distribution

Predominately shale and siltstone, 

with minor sandstone, limestone, 

coal, and evaporite deposits.

Dense, massive limestone and 

dolostone alternating with thick 

beds of shale.

Dense, impermeable shale.

Predominately massive limestone 

and dolostone, with some shale and 

siltstone.

Undifferentiated igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Water-bearing 

characteristics

Nearly impermeable bedrock confining system, with some minor aquifers 

present. Near bedrock surface and 

where water is fresh, these minor 

aquifers are important for small supplies. Serves as confining system to 

underlying saline-water aquifer system.

Upper aquifer unit of WIPAS consisting of carbonate rock; yields only 

highly mineralized water in study 

areas, so presently unused.

Confining unit.

Lower aquifer units of WIPAS that 

contain highly mineralized water in 

study area. Extensively used for oilfield-brine disposal at great depths.

Basement confining unit. Impermeable rocks.

Geologic time scale from Holmes (1959). 

2Modified from Wolf and others (1990).

Physical Setting 17
NEBRASKA

40° 

KANSAS

Geology modified from Ross (1991)

30 MILES 

I

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

digital data. 1:100,000.1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45°

30 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION 

GEOLOGIC UNITS - Boundary of study area

 Boundary of Indian treaty

lands Boundaries are from

U.S. Geological Survey 7VS-minute

topographic quadrangles

Alluvium 

Eolian deposits 

Glacial deposits 

Permian System 

Pennsylvanian System

j Open water

Figure 7. Upper Paleozoic rocks and Cenozoic deposits present at the surface of the study area.

18 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nabraska
CD

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A Horton, Kansas 1888-1991

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

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30

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B. Leavenworth, Kansas 1836-1994

Average annual

22-year moving average

10

1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

Figure 8. Average monthly precipitation for (A) Horton, Kansas, 1888-1991, and (B) average annual precipitation 

and 22-year moving average precipitation for Leavenworth, Kansas, 1836-1994 (data from National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, 1992-94).

Physical Setting 19
precipitation record at Horton is quite similar to that 

for Leavenworth, Kansas (east of study area, fig. 1), 

which extends back to 1836. Smoothed precipitation 

data using a 22-year moving average for annual precipitation at Leavenworth went from a low in the 

1840's to a peak in the 1870's and back to another low 

in the 1930's (fig. 8fi). By the 1980's, the 22-year 

moving average for Leavenworth increased again, surpassing the 1880 peak. Year-to-year precipitation variability was high during the 1860's, lowest during the 

1920's, and high again after 1950 (fig. SB).

Temperatures for Horton, Kansas, also are representative of the study area, with the monthly mean 

maximum temperatures ranging from 35.7 °F in 

January to 90.3 °F in July (fig. 9). Monthly mean minimum temperatures range from 13.6 °F in January to 

66.2 °F in July. The lowest monthly mean temperature 

for the period of record (1988-1991) was 10.9 °F in 

January 1940, and the highest monthly mean temperature occurred in July 1934 with 87.4 °F.

There is a relation between mean summer 

(June-August) precipitation and mean summer temperatures (fig. 10), and this relation is common to the 

central part of the United States (U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1968, p. 63). A negative correlation coefficient of-0.68, significant at the 1-percent level, 

shows that hot summers usually have less rainfall. 

This relation explains the likelihood of drought conditions developing during hot summers because warmer 

temperatures increase evapotranspiration. Average 

free water-surface evaporation for northeast Kansas is 

approximately 33 in. from May to October and about 

45 in. for the year.

Land Cover and Land Use

Present land cover in the study area is very different from the original vegetative cover that existed 

prior to the influx of native tribes relocated from the 

east in the early to middle 1800's followed by the 

influx of non-native settlers in the middle 19th century. 

These changes in land cover were due to: (1) massive 

conversion of native vegetative cover to agricultural 

uses, (2) wildfire suppression, which favored more 

woodland cover over prairie cover, and (3) the 

introduction of exotic (non-native) plant and animal 

species to the region (Dickey and others, 1977).

Wyandotte County, located just two counties east 

of the study area on the eastern boundary of Kansas, 

was about 50-percent forestland prior to settlement,

although it was the most forested county in the State. 

Midway across Kansas and farther west, more than 

97 percent of the land was prairie, with forested areas 

restricted to riparian corridors along the stream 

courses. Jefferson County, Kansas, which is on the 

eastern side of the study area, was originally about 15- 

to 20-percent forestland (Dickey and others, 1977). 

The original vegetation on the uplands was mostly 

very diverse, tall-grass prairie. The original vegetation 

on the bottom land and along small drainageways was 

a lowland plains hardwood association, and in some 

poorly drained areas, water-tolerant tall-grass prairie 

species thrived.

Present land use in the study area (fig. 11) is dominantly agricultural (mostly cropland or pastureland, 

but includes orchards, nurseries, confined feeding 

operations, and other agricultural use). Forestland, 

which occurs mostly in the eastern half of the study 

area, is minor but is the second most important land 

cover in this part of the study area. Forestlands may 

have been more widespread than that before extensive 

settlement. In the study area, the largest forestland 

areas are along the Missouri River and around Perry 

Lake. Other smaller forestland areas are found scattered throughout the eastern part of the study area, 

mostly as riparian forestlands along rivers and 

streams, and as individual shelterbelt, fence-row, or 

woodlot areas.

In the western half of the study area, rangeland is 

the second most prevalent land use, after agricultural 

land. In the southwestern part of the study area, especially in the area south of the Kansas River, rangeland 

is the dominant land use. Minor urban areas (towns) 

are scattered throughout the study area. One major 

urban area, the city of Topeka and the surrounding 

suburban area, occurs in the southern part of the study 

area. One major reservoir, Perry Lake on the Delaware 

River, occurs within the study area. A major wetland 

area, Squaw Creek Wildlife Refuge, lies just across the 

Missouri River northeast of the study area. Most wetland areas within the study area have been drained by 

ditching and tiling to provide agriculture fields for 

crops.

METHODS OF INVESTIGATION

Existing data from the USGS, the Kansas 

Geological Survey, and other agencies provided the 

basis for this water-resource overview of the study 

area. Seasonal trends in low streamflows were

20 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
100

90

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50

CD

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Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Figure 9. Monthly mean maximum, mean, and mean minimum temperatures for Horton, Kansas, 1888-1991 

(data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1992-94).

determined using the months of occurrence of the 7- 

day low flow. Long-term trends in streamflow were 

determined using moving averages of monthly streamflows.

Ground-water availability was defined by describing aquifer location, extent, geometry, geology, and 

potentiometric surfaces. Hydraulic properties of the 

aquifers were estimated using published results of 

aquifer tests. Where water-level data were available, 

hydrograph comparison and analysis afforded a 

method to evaluate long-term effects of withdrawals 

from the aquifers. Results of previous ground-waterflow modeling of a segment of the Kansas River 

Valley illustrate the effects of proposed increased 

withdrawals from the Kansas River Valley aquifer.

Each data-collection site in this report, whether a 

stream site or well, has been assigned a unique identification number. The number usually is assigned when 

a site is first established and is retained for that site 

indefinitely. The systems used by the USGS to assign 

identification numbers for surface-water sites and for 

ground-water well sites differ, but both are based on 

geographic location. The downstream-order system is 

used for surface-water sites, and the latitude-longitude 

and local well-numbering systems are used for wells.

Since October 1,1950, the order of listing surfacewater site records in USGS reports is in a downstream 

direction along the main stream. All sites on a tributary entering upstream from a main-stream site are 

listed before that site. A site on a tributary that enters 

between two main-stream sites is listed between them. 

A similar order is followed in listing sites on first rank, 

second rank, and other ranks of tributaries.

The site-identification number for a surface-water 

site is assigned according to the downstream order. 

The complete eight-digit number for each site, such as 

06815000, which appears to the left of the site name in 

table 4 of this report, includes the two-digit part number "06" plus the six-digit downstream-order number 

"815000." The part number designates the major river 

basin; part "06" is the Missouri River Basin.

The identification number for miscellaneous surface-water sites and for wells is a 15-character number 

containing no blanks or alphabetic characters. It is 

used primarily as an internal control number. 

Although the site-identification number is formed initially from the latitude and longitude of a point 

believed to represent the location of the site, the number is an identifier and not a locator. It is used as a pure

Methods of Investigation 21
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Precipitation = -1.23 temperature + 106.5 

Correlation coefficient (Fr) = -0.68, p = 0.01

68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82

Mean summer (June-August) temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit

84 86

Figure 10. Relation of mean summer precipitation to mean summer temperatures in the Northeast Kansas 

Climatic Region (data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1992-94).

number and has no locational significance (Mathey, 

1990, p. 2-10).

Local well numbers are assigned according to a 

modification of the Bureau of Land Management's 

system of land subdivision. In this system (fig. 12), the 

first set of digits in the well number refers to the township north (N) or south (S) of the Kansas-Nebraska 

State line; the second set or refers to the range east (E) 

or west (W) of the sixth principal meridian; and the 

third set refers to the section in which the well is 

located. The terminal letters refer to the 160-acre, 

40-acre, and 10-acre tracts within the section. The letters A, B, C, or D are assigned in a counterclockwise 

direction beginning in the northeast quadrant. The 

final two digits are sequence numbers beginning with 

01. For example, local well number 05S 17E 18ADD 

01 indicates the first well located in the southeast 

quarter of the southeast quarter of the northeast 

quarter of sec. 18, T. 5 S., R.17 E. (fig. 12).

Data from about 90 stream sites and 550 wells 

(Trombley and Kenny, 1992; Brewer and others, 1994) 

were used to describe water quality in the study area. 

This report presents areal characterization of water 

quality by drainage basin using summary statistics and 

graphical methods for: (1) pH, (2) major ion concentrations, (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium,

chloride, and sulfate), (3) dissolved-solids concentrations, (4) major metals concentrations (iron and manganese), (5) nutrient concentrations (nitrite plus nitrate 

as nitrogen and orthophosphate as phosphorus), 

(6) herbicide concentrations (atrazine), (7) bacteria 

concentrations (fecal coliform and fecal streptococcus), and (8) suspended-sediment concentrations. 

Other water-quality data are available in Brewer and 

others (1994); however, there were not enough data to 

facilitate adequate analysis in this report.

Standard boxplots were used to provide an overview of the concentration distributions within each of 

the four major drainage basins. Boxplots are a useful 

method for comparing the statistical characteristics of 

several data sets (Helsel and Hirsch, 1992, p. 24-26). 

Median values, the center line on the boxplot, represent approximate overall water quality within each 

basin. The length of the box, the distance between the 

75th and 25th percentiles of the data, gives an indication of the variation in values. Relative skewness of 

the data is indicated by the difference between the 

sizes of the box parts and the lengths of the "whiskers" 

above and below the box. The presence or absence of 

unusual values is indicated by plotting extreme values 

individually. "Outside" values, which are plotted as 

"x", are present in less than 1 of 100 values that are

22 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
30'

NEBRASKA

alls City N >

KANSAS

/^abetha

95°

30 MILES 

j

30 KILOMETERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

digital data, 1:100,000,1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45°

EXPLANATION

Urban or built-up area 

Agricultural land 

Rangeland 

I____ Forestland 

Water

Wetlands 

Transitional 

Boundary of study area

 Boundary of Indian treaty lands 

Boundaries are from U.S. Geological 

Survey 7 Va-minute topographic quadrangles

Figure 11. Present (1995) land cover and land use in study area.

Methods of Investigation 23
R. 19 E. R.21E.

\

ATCHISON COUNTY

6

7

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\1 K

30

3,\

5

8

17N

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c ptoq I c i p.

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05S17E18ADD01

Figure 12. Local well-numbering system used in this report.

normally distributed. "Far outside" values, plotted as 

an "o" are present in less than 1 of 10,000 values that 

are normally distributed. The term "typical range" 

(interquartile range) is used throughout this report to 

indicate where one-half of the values lie, between the 

75th and 25th percentiles.

Boxplots illustrating areal distribution of waterquality constituents within the study area were calculated using one value for each site within the drainage

basin to eliminate biasing by sites with a large number 

of analyses. For sites with one analysis, the value for 

that analysis was used. For sites with multiple analyses, the median value for that site was used. Waterquality trends through time were not evaluated 

because the analysis requires a minimum of about 

10 years of incremental data. Very few sites meet these 

requirements; therefore, time trends throughout the 

study area could not be determined.

24 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
SURFACE-WATER AVAILABILITY

The only plentiful supplies of surface water are 

located on and near the margins of the study area. As 

figure 13 shows, the Missouri River and the Kansas 

River have much larger mean annual streamflows than 

do other streams in and adjoining the study area. Relative to the most recent treaty lands, only the Iowa 

treaty land has direct access to large streamflow (the 

Missouri River). The Sac and Fox land borders the Big 

Nernaha River, which has medium streamflow relative 

to other streams in the study area. The most recent 

Kickapoo and Potawatomi treaty lands have access to 

streams having small mean streamflows.

Variability, Seasonally, and Long-Term 

Trends

Variability

Variability of streamflow is affected principally by 

variability of precipitation, by the amount of groundwater contribution (which has less variability than that 

of surface runoff), and by reservoirs if they are 

present. Information on variability of streamflow at 18 

gaging stations in the study area has been compiled 

and illustrated for annual mean values and for daily 

values in Brewer and others (1994, figs. 5 and 6). 

Daily values varied from zero to more than 5,000 ft3/s 

for many of the small streams and from less than 

1,000 to more than 50,000 ft3/s for the Kansas River 

(Brewer and others, 1994, fig. 6). Annual mean values 

showed as much as a 50-fold variation for small 

streams and a 22-fold variation for the Kansas River 

(calculated from figure 5 of Brewer and others, 1994). 

These degrees of variability may have a great effect on 

planning and design for surface-water supplies.

Seasonality

Seasonal patterns of streamflow were examined 

for a typical small stream in the study area, Soldier 

Creek near Topeka, Kansas (site 15, fig. 13). Sixty 

years of record, 1930-32 and 1936-92, were used to 

determine the seasonal patterns of mean streamflows 

and low flows. The largest monthly streamflows 

occurred in March through June, with 55 percent of 

the mean annual streamflow volume occurring during

those 4 months (fig. 14). The smallest streamflow for 

4 consecutive months was for November through February, with only 17 percent of the mean annual volume 

occurring during those 4 months. The smallest flow 

for 7 consecutive days in a year occurred most often in 

August, September, or October, with 59 percent of the 

occurrences during those 3 months. The least-frequent 

7-day low flow in 3 consecutive months was in April 

through June, with only 6 percent of the occurrences 

during those 3 months.

The typical seasonal distribution of streamflows 

indicates a pattern favorable for the short-term (less 

than 1 year) use of impoundments for water supply or 

low-flow augmentation; typically large flows in March 

through June could be impounded for use during 

August through October when natural flows typically 

are small. However, droughts of 2 or more consecutive 

years are common and would largely negate this 

advantage except for very small water-supply needs.

Long-Term Trends

Available records of streamflow in the study area 

are not adequate for study of time trends for more than 

a few decades. Records are completely inadequate for 

study of trends that may have resulted from the largest 

changes to have occurred in the area, those of land 

cover and land use before the 20th century.

The longest record of streamflow that includes 

runoff from the study area is for the streamflowgaging station on the Kansas River at DeSoto, Kansas 

(site 19, fig. 13). Although the station is outside the 

study area, it receives streamflow from much of the 

study area. In a previous report (Jordan^ 1986, fig. 2), a 

graph showing 15-year moving averages of discharge 

(streamflow) at DeSoto for 1917-85 appeared to show 

an increasing trend.

Because the longest available records for streamflow in and near the study area are considerably 

shorter than the longest available records of precipitation, the use of an averaging period of 15 years for 

streamflow, compared with the 22 years used for 

precipitation at Leavenworth, Kansas, in this report, is 

justified. Soldier Creek near Topeka, Kansas, has a 

continuous record of streamflow within the study area 

since 1936 and has not been affected substantially by 

impoundments or diversions of flow. The annual mean 

streamflows for 1936-92 and the 15-year moving

Surface-Water Availability 25
96°30' 96° 30'

NEBRASKA /O" 

KANSAS- / ""

DON1PHAN

BROWN fl

?ATCHISON 

X Atchison

BUCHANAN_\ __ 

PLATTE

I Manhattan 

MILFORD \<

IWYANDOTTE

1 Kansas

39

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

digital data, 1:100,000,1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45°

EXPLANATION

20 30 MILES

MEAN ANNUAL STREAMFLOWIn cubic feet per second 

I Less than 50 or not determined

20 30 KILOMETERS

 - Boundary of study area

Scale is not linear; width is proportional 

to square root of streamflow value

 Boundary of Indian treaty lands Boundaries 

are from U.S. Geological Survey 71/2-minute 

topographic quadrangles

A Streamflow-gaging station and 

site number

Figure 13. Comparative magnitude of mean annual streamflows in and near study area and location of streamflow-gaging 

stations referred to in this report.

average are shown in figure 15. A notable feature of 

this illustration is the substantial variability of the 

annual streamflows from which the moving average 

was calculated. The moving average gives the appearance of a trend of larger flows during the later years. 

This apparent trend is affected by the fact that the 

record begins during a sequence of drought years and 

that another sequence of drought years occurred during the 1950's.

Because of the typically large variability of 

streamflow from year to year, information on barely 

detectable long-term trends may not be helpful for 

water-supply design consideration. As noted by 

Matalas 1990, p. 140),

'Trend in mean would need to be quite 

pronounced (say relative to the coefficient of 

variation of the mean) to override the uncertainty in design introduced by the variance."

26 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
30

25

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Number of years in which the annual 7-day 

low flow occurred in indicated month, as 

a percentage of total number of occurrences 

including tied values

Mean flow volume for indicated month, as a 

percentage of mean annual flow volume I

i i I ,

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Figure 14. Seasonal distribution of 7-day low flows and monthly mean streamflows for Soldier Creek near 

Topeka, Kansas (site number 15, fig. 13), 1930-32 and 1936-92.

Surface-Water Availability Without 

Impoundment

Availability of surface water without impoundment may be evaluated by the occurrence frequency of 

extreme low flows lasting for short periods of time. 

Because public water-supply systems generally store a 

few days supply in standpipes, tanks, or towers, a 

practical measure of the availability of streamflow is 

the lowest mean streamflow for 3 or 7 consecutive 

days.

Table 3 shows 3-day, 7-day, and 30-day low flows 

for selected recurrence intervals at several streamflowgaging stations in the study area. For the Kansas and 

Missouri Rivers, each affected by several reservoirs 

and streamflow diversions, the values were calculated 

from streamflow records representing 1995 levels of 

storage and diversions.

For streams not affected by large reservoirs or 

diversions, even though they may have small watershed district structures and diversions, the low-flow 

values shown in table 3 are as determined by Jordan

(1983). Those determinations included results 

obtained by extending records less than 25 years using 

the relation of low flows to those at one or more 

nearby stations having additional records (Jordan, 

1983, p. 9).

Information in table 3 also can be used for estimation of low-flow magnitudes for ungaged sites in either 

of two categories: (1) for an ungaged site that is 

between two of the stations on the same stream in 

table 3 (the Kansas River, Soldier Creek, or Delaware 

River), low-flow magnitudes can be estimated by 

interpolation; and (2) for other ungaged sites on one of 

the streams included in table 3, the low-flow magnitude at a gaging station may be used as the estimate if 

the ungaged site is within a few miles of the gaging 

station and no major tributaries intervene. Consideration should be given to changes in geologic conditions affecting base flow, such as bedrock aquifers, 

glacial drift, or streamside alluvium. Interpolation or 

extrapolation of low-flow magnitudes will not be reliable if such conditions change appreciably between 

the ungaged site and the gaging station.

Surface-Water Availability 27
500

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Annual mean streamflow

15-year moving 

average streamflow

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995

Figure 15. Annual mean streamflow and 15-year moving average streamflow for Soldier Creek near Topeka, Kansas 

(site number 15, fig. 13), 1936-92.

Legal and practical considerations prevent a user 

from withdrawing the entire flow of a stream for water 

supply. From the data in table 3, only a few streams 

may be judged to have flows adequate for substantial 

water-supply development. As an example, the 3-day 

low flow for a 20-year recurrence interval exceeds 

1 ft3/s (450 gal/min) only in the Missouri River, Big 

Nemaha River, Muddy Creek, and Kansas River. The 

fact that these streams are on the margins of the study 

area leaves little opportunity for developing surfacewater supplies without impoundments within the 

study area.

Surface-Water Availability With 

Impoundment

Storage requirements to sustain gross reservoir 

outflow at sites in the study area having drainage areas 

larger than 100 mi2 can be estimated by a method 

reported by Furness (1962). However, construction of 

new surface-water impoundments within or adjacent

to the study area for water supply probably is not practical for streams having drainage areas larger than

/^

about 300 mi owing to topography and the cost factors related to topography. Potential sites for impoundments for drainage areas larger than 200 mi2 on 

Vermillion Creek, Soldier Creek, and the Delaware 

River have been studied by Federal agencies for use in 

flood control and water supply (Missouri River Basin 

Commission, 1976, p. 123-153, 247-286); only the 

Delaware River impoundment (Perry Lake) was 

judged to be adequately cost effective, and it has been 

in use since 1969.

For stream sites having drainage areas smaller 

than 300 mi2 in the study area, storage requirements 

can be estimated by a method reported by Carswell 

(1982). Draft-storage information is useful in making 

preliminary estimates for potential development and in 

comparing the development possibilities of different 

streams, although the draft estimates by the method 

cited do not account for the reduction of water supplies by evaporation, seepage, and sediment deposition. Regional draft-storage curves for 2-, 5-, and

28 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
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ooo ooo ooo ... ... ^ ^^^j

O\ Os i i

T 1

cor-o cor-o cor-o cor-o cor-o cor-o cor-o

o

Os

JL,

g; ffl ffl ffl ffl ffl ffl

^

1/3 («

1/3 S Sc Si/3 S>5 S'j S

'SC C- C^ Cc C " C MH C 

v.k'j ^4 C JX* ^^ /XiT ^aj1 ^<C OJ ^H OJ c^ dJ * flj ^c QJ * ^ flJ i.^ OJ rt

> , OJ k> U <£^ D ^ U r72 D D flj K^

2 J2 U,- u£ cjfe Uu UU U -? U fc O "~! i 3 ra

c§cii DO ojS D' ' Dii ^o?? u "53

c [2 ^O "3ffl "3w "5u "3 *3 Q

.^ "o "o "o 'o "o "o

W CO CO C/2 CO C/2 C/2

OO Os ^^ '"H 01 CO ^"

30 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
Table 3. Magnitude and frequency of low flows at selected streamflow-gaging stations in and near the study area Continued

Site 

number 

(fig. 13) Station name

Average streamflow (ft3/s) for indicated recurrence interval2

Source of Consecutive 

data1 days 2 years 5 years 10 years 20 years 50 years

Middle Kansas River Basin Continued

15 Soldier Creek near

Topeka, Kans.

B 3

7 

30

2.7

3.5 

7.0

0

.2 .9

00 0

00 0

00 

0

Delaware River Basin

16 Delaware River near

Muscotah, Kans.

1 7 Delaware River at

Valley Falls, Kans.

1 8 Kansas River at

Lecompton, Kans.

A, 1971-90 3

7 

30

B 3

7 

30

A, 1972-90 3

7 

30

4.9

5.3 9.36.4

7.0 

16

1,1001,100 

1,300

.8

1.0

2.5

1.4

2.1 

4.1

780

800 

880

.2

.3 

1.2

.6.9 

1.9

690700 770

.08.1 .6.3.4 

1.0

640650 700

.02.03.3.09.1.4

590600 650

'A, from log-Pearson Type III curves (Harry H. Bames, Jr., U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1979) fitted to data for years indicated. B, from Jordan (1983, table 1). C, minimum 7-day 

discharge for 1958-92.

2 Recurrence interval is estimated average time between occurrences and does not imply uniformity of times.
10-percent chances of draft-rate deficiency are presented by Carswell (1982) as plots of draft rate against 

mean annual runoff for selected levels of storage. 

These curves can be used to estimate storage 

requirements at sites where long records of streamflow 

are not available.

Draft-storage curves for a 2-percent chance of 

draft-rate deficiency from Carswell's report (1982, 

fig. 4) are shown in figure 16; the range of mean 

annual runoff for the study area also is shown. 

Figure 16 can be used for calculating a first approximation of the draft rate available from storage at a site 

where the volume of storage available by impoundment has been determined from the topography of the 

site, the mean annual runoff has been estimated from 

figure 12 of Carswell (1982), and the land area

draining to the site has been determined from a topographic map. For example, suppose a site being evaluated has mean annual runoff of 5.0 in., the area

r\

draining to the site is 40 mi , and an impoundment at 

the site could store 4,000 acre-ft. That volume of storr\

age is 100 acre-ft/mi , and in figure 16 mean annual

/}

runoff of 5.0 in. intersects storage of 100 acre-ft/mi at 

a draft rate of 0.11 (ft3/s)/mi2. Thus, a draft rate of

o

approximately 4.4 ft /s could be developed from the

r\

40 mi of drainage area, with a 2-percent chance of 

deficiency. Figure 16 is the starting point from which 

draft-storage relations can be estimated for other 

chances of deficiency and can be adjusted further for 

the effect of serial correlation of annual flows 

(Carswell, 1982, figs. 5-11, fig. 17).

1.0

(D 

Q.

-o

C 

O

o

(D 

V)

1

 4 «

(D 

(D 4-

(D i-i 

CD

CDi_

Q

0.01 I i i

Range of mean annual 

runoff in study area

j__i iii

0.07 0.1 1.0 10 20

Mean annual runoff, in inches

Figure 16. Draft-storage curves for 2-percent chance of draft-rate deficiency in study area (modified from Carswell, 

1982, fig. 4).

32 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
GROUND-WATER AVAILABILITY

The availability of ground water can be considered 

in two categories on the basis of well capacities. In 

this study, major aquifers are those that are capable of 

sustaining pumping rates of more than 300 gal/min to 

individual wells, such as those required for irrigation, 

large industrial, or municipal uses. Conversely, minor 

aquifers are those capable of sustaining pumping rates 

of less than 300 gal/min. The minor aquifers can be 

divided further into those that yield less than 

50 gal/min to individual wells (enough to sustain 

domestic, farm, and stock uses) and those capable of 

yielding from 50 to 300 gal/min to wells (such as those 

required by small industries, towns, and rural water 

districts).

Both the major and minor aquifers are important 

for different reasons. Although the major aquifers provide large yields to wells, they are limited in areal 

extent, namely only along the Kansas River and Missouri River Valleys. The minor aquifers, although 

capable of only small yields to wells, are important 

because at least one of the four minor aquifer types are 

available nearly everywhere in the study area for those 

users that require small but reliable amounts of water.

Major Aquifers

Only two major aquifers occur in the study 

area the Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer and the 

Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer. The Kansas 

River Valley alluvial aquifer is used extensively for 

irrigation as well as for industrial and municipal purposes, especially near population centers, but the Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer is not used 

extensively in the study area.

Kansas River Valley Alluvial Aquifer

The Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer, which 

occurs along the flood plain and terraces of the Kansas 

River near the southern part of the study area, offers 

great potential for large-capacity wells. The aquifer 

coincides with hydrologic soil group 311 (fig. 3), 

which occurs between the bluffs along the Kansas 

River. Variations in aquifer lithology, which consist of 

Quarternary-age sand, gravel, silt, and clay, directly 

affects water availability from the aquifer. Thicknesses 

of the saturated alluvial material generally range from 

less than 1 ft near the valley edges to about 70 ft in the

deepest part of the buried channel (Wolf and Helgesen, 

1993).

Reported well yields from the alluvial aquifer in 

Shawnee County, Kansas, were as large as 

2,500 gal/min (I.E. Denne and others, Kansas Geological Survey, written commun., 1991). According to 

Fader (1974), well yields greater than 1,000 gal/min 

are common in areas of more than 40 ft of saturated 

thickness. Well yields range from 300 to 1,000 gal/min 

where saturated thickness is 20 to 40 ft, and yields as 

much as 500 gal/min are locally possible even where 

saturated thickness is less than 20 ft.

The quantity of water that the aquifer will yield 

depends on the properties of the alluvial material; 

Fader (1974) reported results of 18 aquifer tests in the 

Kansas River alluvial aquifer from Riley County to 

Wyandotte County, Kansas. Transmissivities (a measure of the capacity of an aquifer to transmit water) 

ranged from 5,300 to 48,000 ft2/d. Storage coefficients 

(the volume of water that an aquifer releases from or 

takes into storage per unit of aquifer surface area per 

unit change in hydraulic head) ranged from 0.0005 to 

0.20. Transmissivities reported from aquifer tests in 

the Kansas River alluvial aquifer from Shawnee to 

Wyandotte Counties ranged from 6,700 to 80,200 ft2/d 

(I.E. Denne and others, Kansas Geological Survey, 

written commun., 1991). Transmissivities from aquifer tests using various pumping rates and durations for 

wells in the alluvial aquifer at an industrial facility in 

Topeka ranged from 46,800 to 89,600 ft2/d; the storage coefficient was 0.03 (I.E. Denne and others, Kansas Geological Survey, written commun., 1991).

Water-table maps of the Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer have been published for the entire length 

of the valley from Junction City, Kansas, to the Missouri River for spring 1967 (Fader, 1974); from 

Wamego to just west of Topeka for spring 1956 (Beck, 

1959); from Wamego to Topeka for spring 1987 (Wolf 

and Helgesen, 1993); and for the Topeka area for 1950 

(Winslow and Nuzman, 1966). These maps can be 

used to assess spatial differences in aquifer water levels at a particular point in time and can be useful in 

determining the direction of ground-water flow and 

hydraulic gradients. The water-table map for 

spring 1967 (Fader, 1974) in the study area (fig. 17) 

shows water-level contours that bend upstream, indicating that the water-table gradient is toward the river 

and the alluvial aquifer was discharging to the Kansas 

River. For periods of drought when little or no 

recharge from precipitation occurs and the stream and

Ground-Water Availability 33
aquifer water levels are lower, contours would cross 

the river farther upstream in the valley; conversely, for 

times of plentiful precipitation when ample recharge 

occurs, contours would cross the stream farther downstream.

Notable exceptions to the general slope of the 

water table toward the river occur as temporary

reversals when the river rises rapidly due to runoff 

from precipitation or reservoir releases. These rapid 

river rises cause a temporary reversal of the hydraulic 

gradient toward the aquifer. Other reversals occur as 

persistent cones of depression in the water table 

around industrial pumping centers, such as in the 

Topeka area. Here, the direction of flow is locally

96-30'

39°10'

39°

96°30'

39

Base from 'J S. Geological Survey 

digital data. 1.2,000,000, 1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33C and 45'

JEFFERSON 

Oskaloosa *

Boundary of 

study area

C\ DOUGLAS

20 MILES

20 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION |___ 

 965 Water-table contour Shows altitude ° 1C 

of water table, spring 1967. Contour interval 

5 feet. Datum is sea level

 Well and map number Hydrographs 

shown in figures 18. 20-21, 23-24

Figure 17. Altitude and configuration of water table in Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer, spring 1967 (modified from 

Fader, 1974), and location of weHs referred to in this report.

34 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
reversed toward the nearly constant pumping of industrial wells. Where the cone of depression reaches the 

river, recharge from streamflow is induced by the gradient away from the river and may decrease normal 

streamflow (Wolf and Helgesen, 1993). Water levels in 

or near industrial and municipal wells fluctuate seasonally and even daily in direct response to withdrawals. Around areas with a large number of irrigation 

wells, some seasonal cones of depression in the water 

table develop during the growing season, but the water 

levels usually recover during the winter months.

Water-level measurements have been made periodically at various observation wells in the Kansas 

River Valley. Water-level data (on file with the USGS 

in Lawrence, Kansas) for the Kansas River Valley are 

available for more than 1,000 wells with one-time 

only measurements and 230 wells with multiple measurements. Of the 230 multiple-measurement wells, 

there are 43 with 4 years or more of record in the 

Wamego-Topeka area (Wolf and Helgesen, 1993). 

When plotted as hydrographs (water levels versus 

time), these measurements are useful to assess temporal differences in water levels during their period of 

record at a particular location in the aquifer.

Inspection of the hydrographs for wells completed 

in the Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer indicates 

that for the available periods of record (since the early 

1950's) water levels have fluctuated cyclically in 

response to cyclical patterns of precipitation. Water 

levels generally rose in response to spring snowmelt or 

rainfall and to large summer rainfalls that exceeded 

soil-moisture deficiency, such as in July 1951. There 

do not appear to be substantial long-term declining 

water-level trends, which indicates that recharge to the 

alluvial aquifer approximates discharge from the aquifer, including well withdrawals.

A hydrograph (fig. 18) for a well completed in the 

Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer and located about 

1 mi west of Topeka, Kansas, was drawn from 

2,041 water levels read every 5th day from water-level 

recorder charts available for 1950-91. The 

hydrograph, considered representative of much of the 

aquifer, shows a general 2- to 8-ft annual cyclical 

recharge- and discharge-response pattern, but little or 

no long-term net change in water level. This 

hydrograph also marks the rapid rise in aquifer water 

levels to less than 10 ft below land surface due to the 

1951 flood, followed by the decline of water levels to

tn

10

^ 15

_o

(U 

.Q

8 20

03

IS 25 

o

Q) 30 

Q

35

Well 11S 15E 16DCA01

Shawnee County, Kansas

(site number 5)

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

Figure 18. Water levels in well completed in the Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer near Topeka, 

Kansas, 1950-91. Well location shown in figure 17.

Ground-Water Availability 35
more than 30 ft below land surface during the mid1950's drought.

To evaluate the Kansas River and associated alluvial aquifer system and the effects of ground-water 

development between Wamego and Topeka, Wolf and 

Helgesen (1993) used a finite-element computer 

model to simulate transient flow and water-level conditions for the 40-year period, 1948-87, and to implement thirteen 8-year simulations of below-average, 

near-average, and above-average streamflow and precipitation coupled with various hypothetical pumping 

options. Model results show average simulated waterlevel rises of about 2 to 4 ft for above-average streamflow and precipitation conditions, declines of about 

2 to 4 ft for near-average conditions, and declines of 

about 6 to 10 ft for below-average conditions.

The simulation of below-average streamflow and 

precipitation conditions was the basis for simulated 

10-day upstream reservoir releases of 50, 100, and 

500 ft3/s during severe drought conditions. Model 

results indicated that on the first day of simulated reservoir releases under these conditions the river would 

be a losing stream (flow from the river to the aquifer) 

along most of its length. The simulations show that 

1.8 percent of the water released was lost to the aquifer on the first day, about 1.6 percent was lost on the 

5th day, and about 1.2 percent was lost on the 10th day 

(Wolf and Helgesen, 1993).

Missouri River Valley Alluvial Aquifer

The Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer, which 

is restricted to the flood plains and terraces along the 

Missouri River, also offers one of the greatest potentials in the study area for development of large-capacity wells because of the relatively large hydraulic 

conductivity (a measurement of how quickly water 

moves through the aquifer) of the sediments, abundant 

precipitation available for recharge, and the possibility 

of induced recharge from the Missouri River if wells 

are located near the river. The aquifer coincides with 

hydrologic soil group 211 (fig. 3), which occurs in the 

Missouri River Valley on the flood plain and terraces 

between the Missouri River and its bluffs. Water availability from the aquifer is affected directly by variations in aquifer lithology, which consists of 

Quarternary-age sand, gravel, silt, and clay. 

Thicknesses of the sediments range from zero at the 

valley walls to as much as 120 ft in the deepest part of 

the buried channel (Emmett and Jeffery, 1969; Bayne, 

1973). Aquifer-test results for wells in the alluvial

aquifer in Doniphan, Atchison, and Leavenworth 

Counties, Kansas, indicated transmissivities that 

ranged from 26,800 to 80,400 ft2/d and storage coefficients that ranged from 0.0004 to 0.001 (J.E. Denne 

and others, Kansas Geological Survey, written commun., 1991). Well yields as high as 3,000 gal/min may 

be obtained from coarse-grained sediments in the alluvium (J.E. Denne and others, Kansas Geological Survey, written commun., 1991); however, the largest 

reported well yields from the alluvial aquifer in 

Doniphan County, Kansas, ranged from 150 to 

250 gal/min.

Water levels have been published for the alluvial 

aquifer in the Missouri River Valley and principal tributary valleys in Doniphan County on the Kansas side 

for 1967 (Bayne, 1973). A water-level map also was 

published for the Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer on the Missouri side between Kansas City, Missouri, and the Iowa border for January 1968 (Emmett 

and Jeffery, 1969). The part of these maps covering 

the study area (fig. 19) shows that water-level contours 

crossing the river bend upstream, indicating that the 

water-table gradient was toward the river and the alluvial aquifer discharged to the Missouri River. Hydrographs showing water-level fluctuations are not 

presented because multiple water-level measurements 

for wells in the Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer 

in the study area were not available for this study.

The Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer in the 

study area is not used extensively; however, potential 

problems exist for making use of the ample water supplies. Because much of the aquifer lies in the floodprone area of the flood plain, wells and pumps should 

be elevated or otherwise protected from flooding. 

Flood-insurance study maps depicting the areas subject to flooding are available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Kansas City, Missouri) 

for most cities and counties along the Missouri River.

Minor Aquifers

Minor aquifers that occur throughout the study 

area include small stream-valley alluvial aquifers, 

sand and gravel aquifers buried in glacial deposits, 

buried bedrock-valleys aquifers, and bedrock aquifers.

36 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
95°30'

Boundary of 

study area

_ ..[MARSHALL _ _ 

IRILEY " "TporrAWAfOMIE r

( f 

\ {

jJACKSON

Potawat6mi

Bass frorr U S Geological Survey 

digital data, 12,000.000, 1972 

Lambert Conlormal Come projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45°

10 20 30 MILES

HOLT

EXPLANATION

- -840- - Water-table contour Shows 

altitude of water table in 1967 

Contour interval 10 feet. Datum 

is sea level

 840 Water-table contour Shows

altitude of water table, January 

1968. Contour interval 10 feet. 

Datum is sea level

1810

<' 

f \Boundaryof

r _ / studv area fSt. Joseph

39°45' 

Base from Emmett and Jeffrey, 1969 Water levels from Emmett and Jeffery (1969) and Bayne (1973) 

0 5 10 MILES

10 KILOMETERS

Figure 19. Altitude and configuration of water table in Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer, 

1967 and January 1968.

Ground-Water Availability 37
Small Stream-Valley Alluvial Aquifers

In this report, small stream valleys refer to all 

stream valleys except the Kansas River and Missouri 

River Valleys. Although most of the small stream valleys in the study area generally contain clayey or silty 

alluvium, the alluvial deposits commonly have some 

coarser material near the bottom of the valley capable 

of yielding small water supplies (less than 

300 gal/min) to wells. Test drilling is necessary to 

delineate the deeper part of the valley where the 

coarser materials are commonly found. Figure 7 

shows the location and extent of alluvial deposits but 

not their water-yielding capacity. Transmissivities 

determined from aquifer tests for wells 45 to 64 ft in 

depth in the Delaware River alluvial aquifer ranged 

from 670 to 1,070 ft2/d, and storage coefficients were 

about 0.0004 (I.E. Denne and others, Kansas Geological Survey, written commun., 1991). A hydrograph 

(fig. 20) of water levels in an unused, 6-in. diameter, 

17-ft deep well near Holton, Kansas, completed in the 

alluvial deposits of Elk Creek probably reflects fluctuations of water levels in the stream. The hydrograph 

shows a water-level fluctuation of about 4 ft for the 

35 periodic water-level measurements made from 

1948-70.

Sand and Gravel Aquifers Buried in Glacial 

Deposits

Isolated deposits of sand and gravel of various but 

usually limited areal extent occur within the thick, 

mostly fine-grained glacial deposits in the study area 

(fig. 7) These isolated deposits are important as 

sources of water for individual households, farms, or 

stock wells and as supplies for some towns or rural 

water districts. Test-hole drilling is the most reliable 

method of locating these buried aquifers. Generally, 

the thicker the glacial deposits, the better the chance of 

finding a reliable ground-water source.

Recharge to the small isolated aquifers is very 

slow because of the small hydraulic conductivity of 

the surrounding clayey till deposits. Initial well yields 

may be large but may quickly decrease with sustained 

pumping as withdrawals exceed the very small 

recharge amounts coming through the surrounding till 

deposits. Thus, sustained pumping at relatively large 

rates can cause a steady decline in water levels of 

these aquifers. An example hydrograph (fig. 21) of 

local water-level declines illustrates the results of such 

a withdrawal and recharge relation. The 60 periodic 

water-level measurements made from 1972-93 are 

from an observation well located in Jackson County,

-^ 7

CD

-Q

4 >

CD 

CD

_- 8

CD

Q. 

CO 

Q

10

Measured 

water level

Well07S 15E03CA01

Jackson County, Kansas

(site number 4)

1948 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970

Figure 20. Water levels in well completed in a small stream-valley alluvial aquifer in Jackson County, 

Kansas, 1948-70. Well location shown in figure 17.

38 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
76

03 78 o ' °

CD

80

82

86

88

D. 

CD 

Q

90

92

Measured 

water level

Well06S 15E27BAB01

Jackson County, Kansas

(site numbers)

1972 1975 1980 1985 1990 1993

Figure 21. Water levels in well completed in a sand and gravel aquifer buried in glacial deposits in 

Jackson County, Kansas, 1972-93. Well location shown in figure 17.

Kansas, near a rural water district well field of three 

public-supply wells. In addition to small periodic or 

seasonal fluctuations, the hydrograph shows a generalized trend of water-level decline totaling about 14 ft 

from 1972 to 1993 (averaging about 0.7 ft/yr).

Buried Bedrock-Valley Aquifers

Buried sand and gravel deposits present in preglacial bedrock valleys are referred to in this report as 

buried bedrock-valley aquifers. Preglacial valleys in 

the study area (fig. 22) were mapped by Dreeszen and 

Burchett (1971). One major buried valley, which 

trends eastward across Nemaha, Jackson, and Atchison Counties, Kansas (fig. 22), may be as much as 

3 mi wide, 400 ft deep, and as much as 75 mi long 

(I.E. Denne and others, Kansas Geological Survey, 

written commun., 1991). Tributary valleys join the 

main stem of the major buried valley to form a typical 

dendritic drainage pattern; other buried valleys trend 

southward into the Kansas River Valley and northward 

into Nebraska or eastward into Missouri.

The bedrock valleys generally are filled with 

clayey glacial deposits, but most contain some sand 

and gravel capable of yielding adequate water supplies 

for domestic or stock uses, or small industries or

towns. Wells completed in the coarsest sand and 

gravel may yield as much as 900 gal/min, but less than 

500 gal/min is more common (I.E. Denne and others, 

Kansas Geological Survey, written commun., 1991). 

Aquifer-test results for wells completed in the major 

buried valley extending from Nemaha County to Atchison County, Kansas, indicate tranmissivities of 335 to 

3,430 ft2/d and storage coefficients of 0.00002 to 

0.002 (I.E. Denne and others, Kansas Geological 

Survey, written commun., 1991).

A hydrograph (fig. 23) of water levels for a 284-ftdeep well completed in glacial deposits in a buried 

bedrock-valley aquifer in Nemaha County, Kansas, 

considered representative of such aquifers in the area, 

shows an overall range of about 17 ft for the 36 periodic measurements made from 1984-94. The periodic 

or seasonal fluctuations shown may be from the effects 

of pumpage from the aquifer, but there is no general 

decline in water levels, which would indicate that such 

pumpage is not exceeding recharge to the aquifer.

Bedrock Aquifers

Because only the uppermost part of the Precambrian crystalline basement rocks commonly are

Ground-Water Availability 39
95°

39° -/

* 

/WABAUNSEE

li/ \ />

u

Location of preglacial valleys modified 

from Dreeszen and Burchett (1971)

20 30 MILES

30 KILOMETERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

digital data, 1:100,000.1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45°

EXPLANATION

Major preglacial drainage 

Minor preglacial drainage

 Boundary of study area

 Boundary of Indian treaty lands Boundaries 

are from U.S. Geological Survey 7 V^-minute 

topographic quadrangles

Figure 22. Location of preglacial valleys in study area.

fractured and covered by residual material, very small 

amounts of water may occur only in this upper part. 

Therefore, the basement rocks are not considered to be 

a usable source of water, and the Precambrian rock 

surface essentially represents the base of all waterbearing rocks in the area. Above this surface, the deep 

saline water-bearing bedrock aquifers are used for disposal of oilfield brines or are unused, and the shallow 

freshwater-bearing bedrock aquifers are used for 

minor water supplies.

40 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
~O

c

65

t 70

Q. 

CD

Q

75

03 

CD M 

f. 80

CD

03

O

85

90

Measured 

water level

WeM05S 11E 10ADB01

Nemaha County, Kansas

(site number 2)

1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994

Figure 23. Water levels in well completed in a buried bedrock-valley aquifer in Nemaha County, Kansas, 

1984-94. Well location shown in figure 17.

Deeply buried rocks of Late Cambrian through 

Late Mississippian age in Kansas have been defined 

by Jorgensen and others (1993) as the Western Interior 

Plains aquifer system and further divided into the 

lower aquifer units, confining unit, and an upper aquifer unit. Rocks of this aquifer system extend throughout the study area immediately above the crystalline 

basement rocks, except over part of the Nemaha Uplift 

where they are absent (figs. 4 and 5).

The lower aquifer units of the Western Interior 

Plains aquifer system consist of a thick series of 

mostly carbonate rocks of Late Cambrian through 

Early Devonian age comprised of limestone, dolostone, sandstone, and shale. Thicknesses of the lower 

units range from zero over the Nemaha Uplift to about 

1,200 ft in the Forest City Basin area. Just above the 

basement confining unit, rocks of Late Cambrian 

through Early Ordovician age are mostly dolomite 

with minor sandstone and chert. Most of the permeability attributed to these rocks is related to the unconformable surfaces where erosion and dissolution took 

place and water now moves through sinks and caverns 

in the karst-like zones beneath the buried surfaces. 

The water is too mineralized for most uses in the study 

area. However, these rocks are used extensively

throughout Kansas, including the study area, to dispose of large quantities of oilfield brines by injection. 

Rocks of Middle Ordovician through Early Devonian 

age are comprised of dense limestone and dolostone 

alternating with thick beds of shale. Although some 

water may occur in fractures or solution channels, the 

rocks are not commonly used as a source of water 

because they are deeply buried and the water too 

mineralized.

The water in the lower aquifer units of the Western 

Interior Plains aquifer system is confined above by a 

non-water-yielding sequence of fine-grained, mostly 

clayey to silty shale deposits of Late Devonian to 

Early Mississippian age reaching as much as 300 ft 

thick in the Forest City Basin part of the study area. 

The upper aquifer unit of the aquifer system consists 

of all the carbonate rocks of Mississippian age. Permeable zones in these rocks were formed by fracturing 

and dissolution of the dense limestones and dolostones, especially associated with erosional surfaces 

beneath unconformities. The top of this upper aquifer 

unit lies from about 300 to more than 1,000 ft below 

sea level in the Forest City Basin of the study area, and 

the water is too mineralized for most uses.

Ground-Water Availability 41
Above the deeply buried Western Interior Plains 

aquifer system and extending locally to the land surface, rocks of Late Mississippian through Permian age 

in the study area have been designated as the Western 

Interior Plains confining system (Jorgensen and others, 

1993). These rocks mostly consist of non-water-yielding shale and evaporite deposits, with minor aquifers 

of limestone, sandstone, and coal, and range from several hundred feet thick over the Nemaha Uplift to 

about 2,000 ft thick in the deeper part of the Forest 

City Basin.

Most wells in the study area derive their water 

from relatively permeable unconsolidated deposits, 

but where unconsolidated deposits are thin, absent, or 

too fine grained, wells may be completed in bedrock 

aquifers. Most bedrock wells in the study area are finished in limestone, but occasionally they are finished 

in sandstone, coal, or fractured shale beds in Pennsylvanian- and Permian-age rocks. Generally, these wells 

yield small quantities of water (less than 1 to 

10 gal/min) to wells and are capable of supplying 

water only for domestic, farm, or stock uses. A 

hydrograph (fig. 24) of water levels in a 75-ft-deep 

small-town supply well in Brown County, Kansas,

completed in Pennsylvanian-age limestone shows an 

overall water-level fluctuation of about 10 ft for the 

19 periodic measurements made from 1960-68 and is 

considered representative of bedrock-aquifer wells.

WATER QUALITY

Principal factors affecting the water quality in the 

study area include geology, agricultural practices, and 

oil and gas activities. Dissolution of carbonate rocks 

and sediments in northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska, which consist primarily of limestone 

and dolomite, cause calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate to be the dominant dissolved constituents in 

water. Exposure of water to evaporite deposits can 

increase the concentrations of sodium and chloride. In 

addition, sulfate concentrations in water may be high 

near dolomite or coal deposits. Glacial silt and clay 

deposits coupled with agricultural practices may cause 

increased suspended-sediment concentrations. Other 

agricultural practices may result in elevated pesticide 

and fecal bacteria concentrations in surface runoff.

52

54

56b

Q) 

_Q

60

o*->

.c

64

Measured 

water level

WellOSS 17E31BBB01

Brown County, Kansas

(site number 1)

1960 1962 1964 1966 1968

Figure 24. Water levels in well completed in an unconfined aquifer of Pennsylvanian-age limestone in 

Brown County, Kansas, 1960-68. Well location shown in figure 17.

42 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
PH

Hydrogen activity of water is measured by the pH. 

According to Hem (1985, p. 64), the pH of river water 

in areas not affected by pollution generally ranges 

from 6.5 to 8.5 standard units. Where photosynthesis 

by aquatic organisms takes up carbon dioxide during 

daylight and releases carbon dioxide at night, pH fluctuations may occur, and the maximum pH value may 

reach as high as 9.0. In contrast, other factors such as 

oxidation of dissolved ferrous iron, lower the pH. The 

USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

1986) recommends a pH range of 6.5 to 8.5 (limits of 

SMCL) for drinking-water supplies because, within 

that range, the pH can be adjusted easily by treatment 

processes.

On the basis of available water-quality analyses, 

values of pH in surface water in the study area 

(fig. 25A) typically are between about 7.5 and 8.4 standard units. Surface water in the Wolf River Basin has 

relatively high values of pH from about 8.0 to 8.4 standard units. Surface water pH in the Big Nemaha, middle Kansas, and Delaware River Basins shares 

common values from about 7.5 to 8.0 standard units. 

In ground water (data from all aquifers combined), pH 

(fig. 25B) generally is lower because bicarbonate concentration in the water is the determining factor rather 

than photosynthesis. The pH of ground water is nearly 

identical in all four basins, with values typically from 

7.1 to 7.5 standard units.

Major Ions

Calcium is a major constituent of carbonate rocks 

(Hem, 1985, p. 85), such as limestone and dolomite, 

and it dissolves readily in water; therefore, the calcium 

concentration in water from areas with carbonate 

rocks and sediments tends to be higher than in other 

areas. Calcium concentrations in surface water of the 

study area result primarily from the dissolution of carbonate rocks and typically are between about 50 and 

120 mg/L (fig. 26A). Calcium concentrations in 

ground water (fig. 26B) are similar to those in surface 

water; however, there are several extreme concentrations, as high as 600 mg/L.

Magnesium is a common alkaline-earth metal and 

is essential in plant and animal nutrition (Hem, 1985, 

p. 96-97). The principal sources for magnesium in the 

study area are carbonate rocks such as dolomite and 

limestone. Magnesium concentrations in surface water

of the study area typically are between about 10 and 

30 mg/L (fig. 27A), or from 20 to 30 percent of the calcium concentration. This is consistent with the dissolution of carbonate rocks. There is nothing in 

figures 26A and 27A to suggest any major differences 

between calcium and magnesium concentrations in 

any of the four major drainage basins within the study 

area. As with calcium, magnesium concentrations in 

ground water (fig. 275) are similar to those in surface 

water. Concentrations in ground water typically are a 

little higher, from about 10 to 40 mg/L, with several 

extreme concentrations as high as 180 mg/L.

Sodium is the most abundant member of the 

alkali-metal group of elements, and when dissolved, it 

tends to remain in solution (Hem, 1985, p. 100). Natural sources include the weathering of plagioclase feldspar and the dissolution of sodium salts from 

sedimentary rocks. Human-related sources include 

septic systems and as a byproduct of water treatment 

(it is discharged by water softeners and reverse-osmosis units). The USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1986) established an HAL of 20 mg/L for 

people who are on very restricted sodium diets.

Sodium concentrations in surface water of the 

study area typically range from about 12 to 50 mg/L 

(fig. 28A). The median concentrations in surface water 

from all four major drainage basins are either at or 

greater than the 20-mg/L HAL. The probable cause is 

primarily the dissolution of sodium salts from sedimentary rocks. Sodium concentrations in ground 

water (fig. 285) typically range from about 10 to 

60 mg/L. The median value for ground water from the 

Wolf River Basin is about 11 mg/L, which is less than 

the 20-mg/L HAL. Median concentrations in ground 

water from the Big Nemaha, middle Kansas, and Delaware River Basins equal or exceed the 20-mg/L HAL. 

Extreme concentrations range to as much as 

3,000 mg/L and probably result from the dissolution 

of sodium salts in the rock formations.

Potassium concentrations generally are much 

lower than sodium concentrations in most natural 

water (Hem, 1985, p. 105). Where the sodium concentration substantially exceeds 10 mg/L, the potassium 

concentration commonly is one-half to a one-tenth that 

of sodium. Potassium concentrations in surface water 

in the study area typically are from about 3 to 8 mg/L 

(fig. 29A). Median concentrations in all four major 

drainage basins typically are between 4 and 5 mg/L, 

which is approximately 20 percent of the median concentrations for sodium. With the exception of the

Water Quality 43
9.0

8.5

8.0

7.5

7.0

6.5

6.0

9.0

I

Q.

8.5

8.0

7.5

7.0

6.5

6.0

A. Surface water

(4) (47) 

Upper limit of Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level

(11)

Lower limit of Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level

B. Ground water

(178)

Upper limit of Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level

(18) 

x (53)

x (105)

X X

X X

Lower limit of Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level

EXPLANATION

(47) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

75th percentile i

Interquartile 

range

Median

25th percentile '

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Big Nemaha Wolf Middle Kansas Delaware

(10240008) (10240005) (10270102) (10270103)

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

Figure 25. Distribution of pH values in (A) surface water and (B) ground water of study area.

44 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
1,000

500

200

100

50

20

10

ai 5.0

Q.

c

~ 1,000

500

E

~ 200

O

100

50

20

10

5.0

2.0 

1.0

A. Surface water

(48)

(4)

B. Ground water

(238)

o

(119)

o

EXPLANATION

(10) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

Interquartile 

range

75th percentile i

Median

25th percentile 

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Big Nemaha Wolf Middle Kansas Delaware

(10240008) (10240005) (10270102) (10270103)

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

Figure 26. Distribution of calcium concentrations in (A) surface water and (B) ground water of study area.

Water Quality 45
50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

| 15

QJ°- 10

«

E

CD

.5> 5.0

0

250

200

150

100

50

A Surface water

(48)

(4)

B. Ground water

(242)

o

(124)

o

Big Nemaha

(10240008)

Wolf

(10240005)

Middle Kansas

(10270102)

Delaware

(10270103)

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

EXPLANATION

(10) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

Interquartile 

range

75th percentile .

Median

25th percentile I

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Figure 27. Distribution of magnesium concentrations in (A) surface water and (6) ground water of study area.

46 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
10,000

1,000

o

£ 10,000

100

1,000

100

10

1.0

B. Ground water

(55)

(218)

o

(119)

Health Advisory Level

Big Nemaha

(10240008)

Wolf

(10240005)

Middle Kansas Delaware

(10270102) (10270103)

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

EXPLANATION

(10) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

75th percentile i

Interquartile 

range

Median

25th percentile 

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Figure 28. Distribution of sodium concentrations in (A) surface water and (B) ground water of study area.

Water Quality 47
30

25

20

15

^ 10

CD

5.0

E

.E 0

c 

o

A. Surface water

(33)

o

i; Ju

c

CD

o

c

0

CJ

E 525 ZD

"w

w

03

O

o_

20

15

10

5.0

0 

B. Ground water (179)

o

- (109)

o o

o

X

o

X

x

o

- (49) x -

X

M X

(22) 

x

i ' 1

i

Big Nemaha Wolf Middle Kansas Delaware

(10240008) (10240005) (10270102) (10270103)

EXPLANATION

(10) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

75th percentile i

Interquartile 

range

Median

25th percentile 

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

Figure 29. Distribution of potassium concentrations in (A) surface water and (B) ground water of study area.

48 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
middle Kansas River Basin, potassium concentrations 

in ground water (fig. 29B) tend to be lower than in surface water. Concentrations in ground water from the 

Big Nemaha, Wolf, and Delaware Basins typically are 

from about 1 mg/L to a little more than 3 mg/L. 

Potassium concentrations in ground water typically 

are from 2 to about 7 mg/L in the middle Kansas 

Basin. Some ground water in the middle Kansas and 

Delaware Basins contains extreme concentrations to 

about 27 mg/L.

Bicarbonate concentrations in water are calculated 

by dividing alkalinity by 0.8202 (Hem, 1985, p. 55, 

57). Alkalinity is defined as the capacity of a solute to 

neutralize acid (Hem, 1985, p. 106-109) and is 

expressed as milligrams per liter of calcium carbonate 

(CaCO3). The primary source for bicarbonate in the 

study area is the dissolution of carbonate rocks and 

sediments. Bicarbonate concentrations in surface 

water (fig. 30A) in the study area typically are from 

about 160 to 340 mg/L, generally proportional to the 

concentrations of calcium and magnesium in surface 

water. Bicarbonate concentrations in ground water 

(fig. 30B) generally are higher than in surface water 

because ground water in contact with carbonate rocks 

and sediments is less likely to be diluted by water from 

other sources. Bicarbonate concentrations in ground 

water of the study area typically are from about 200 to 

about 440 mg/L, with extreme concentrations to about 

900 mg/L.

Chloride is present in all natural water, but the 

concentrations generally are low (Hem, 1985, 

p. 118-119). The most important natural source in the 

study area is dissolution of halite from sedimentary 

rocks. On the basis of taste, an SMCL of 250 mg/L in 

drinking-water supplies was established for chloride 

by the USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1986, 1994). Chloride concentrations in surface water (fig. 3 IA) in the study area typically are 

from about 9 to 60 mg/L. Median chloride concentrations in ground water (fig. 3 IB) are approximately the 

same as in surface water, typically from about 6 to 

60 mg/L. About 3 percent of the analyses (12) equal or 

exceed the 250-mg/L SMCL.

Natural sources of sulfate (Hem, 1985, 

p. 112-117) in water include the weathering of sulfurbearing minerals, such as pyrite and gypsum, volcanic 

discharges to the atmosphere, and biologic and biochemical processes. Human-related sources include 

industrial discharges to both streams and the atmosphere and the combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal

and gasoline. The USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1986, 1994) established an SMCL of 

250 mg/L in drinking water to prevent laxative effects. 

Sulfate concentrations in surface water of the study 

area (fig. 32A) typically are from about 30 to 170 

mg/L. Three analyses, one in the middle Kansas River 

Basin and two in the Delaware River Basin, have 

concentrations that exceed the 250-mg/L SMCL. Sulfate concentrations in ground water (fig. 32B) generally are less than in surface water, typically from about 

15 to 140 mg/L. Extreme concentrations in the Big 

Nemaha, middle Kansas, and Delaware River Basins 

were as large as 1,700 mg/L.

Dissolved Solids

Dissolved solids in natural water consist primarily 

of the cations calcium, magnesium, sodium, and 

potassium and the anions bicarbonate, chloride, and 

sulfate. According to the USEPA (U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1986), excess dissolved solids are 

objectionable in drinking water because of possible 

physiological effects, unpalatable mineral tastes, and 

higher costs because of corrosion or the necessity for 

additional treatment. The SMCL for dissolved solids 

is 500 mg/L.

The typical range for dissolved solids in surface 

water (fig. 33A) in the study area is from about 270 to 

550 mg/L. Several samples have concentrations 

exceeding the 500-mg/L SMCL. Concentrations of 

dissolved solids in ground water of the study area 

(fig. 33B) generally are greater than in surface water, 

typically from about 270 to 700 mg/L. High concentrations generally are less than 3,500 mg/L. One 

ground-water sample has a dissolved-solids concentration of 9,000 mg/L, which results from dissolution of 

sodium chloride from the surrounding rocks.

Metals

The USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1986, 1994) has established a SMCL of 

300 Jlg/L for iron. If iron is present in water in excessive amounts, it forms a red iron-oxide precipitate that 

stains laundry and plumbing fixtures and, therefore, is 

an objectionable constituent in domestic and industrial 

water supplies (Hem 1985, p. 77). Very few analyses 

are available for surface water. Total iron concentrations in surface water (fig. 34A) within the study area

Water Quality 49
I,UUU

900

800

700

600

500

400

oj 300

i_

CD

°- 200

w

E

co

TO 100

E

.E 0 

c

o

£ 1,000

c

CD

g 900

0

CD

g 800

o

.Q 

CD

.a 700

CO

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

A. Surface water :

-

:

:

'-

'-

: (J>) (35) (6) 

i (3) :

i 

-

B. Ground

water (41) :

X

_

(208)

X

: x x (80) :

X

r x :

: (26) "

'- :

_

X X

: x x -

X

Big Nemaha Wolf Middle Kansas Delaware

(10240008) (10240005) (10270102) (10270103)

EXPLANATION

(35) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

Interquartile 

range

75th percentile i

Median

25th percentile 

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

Figure 30. Distribution of bicarbonate concentrations in (A) surface water and (B) ground water of study area.

50 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
10,000

1,000

100

10

1.0

s 10,000

I 1,000

o

100

10

1.0

A. Surf ace water

Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level

(4)

B. Ground water

Secondary Maximum 

Contaminant Level

(56)

(121)

o

(172)

o

Big Nemaha

(10240008)

Wolf

(10240005)

Middle Kansas Delaware

(10270102) (10270103)

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

EXPLANATION

(10) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

Interquartile 

range

75th percentile i

Median

25th percentile 

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Figure 31 . Distribution of chloride concentrations in (A) surface and (B) ground water of study area.

Water Quality 51
10,000

1,000

100

10

1.0

0.10

 10,000

a 1,000

100

10

1.0

0.10

A. Surface water

Secondary Maximum 

Contaminant Level

(48)

(10) 

x 

x

-(11)-

(4)

B. Ground water

(24)

° Secondary Maximum 

Contaminant Level

(240) (120)

 (54)-

Big Nemaha

(10240008)

Wolf

(10240005)

Middle Kansas

(10270102)

Delaware

(10270103)

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

EXPLANATION

(10) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

A

Interquartile 

range

75th percentile i

Median

25th percentile '

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Detection limit

Figure 32. Distribution of sulfate concentrations in (A) surface water and (B) ground water of study area.

52 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
IU,UUU

5,000

2,000 

1,000

500

200 

100

10,000 

5,000

2,000 

1,000

500

200 

100

A. Surface water

(10)

X

' Secondary Maximum (29) ~ 

Contaminant Level v

/ (11) /

i / 1 ' r

(4)

-

 ' , (82)o B. Ground water

(215)

(26) o

8 o

8 

(40) 8 ^

° 1 " 

X |

| |

/

'

-

Secondary Maximum 

" Contaminant Level

Big Nemaha Wolf Middle Kansas Delaware

(10240008) (10240005) (10270102) (10270103)

EXPLANATION

(10) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

75th percentile i

Interquartile 

range

Median

25th percentile 

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

Figure 33. Distribution of dissolved-solids concentrations in (A) surface water and (B) ground water of the study area.

Water Quality 53
100,000

10,000

1,000

100

10

.2 100,000

 - 10,000

1,000

100

10

A. Surface water

Secondary Maximum 

Contaminant Level

B. Ground water

(14)

Secondary Maximum 

Contaminant Level

(34)

o

o

X

(5)

(147)

o

(51)

Big Nemaha

(10240008)

Wolf

(10240005)

Middle Kansas

(10270102)

Delaware

(10270103)

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

EXPLANATION

(34) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

75th percentile i

Interquartile 

range

Median

25th percentile I

Smallest concentration greater than 

or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

Figure 34. Distribution of total iron concentrations in (A) surface water and (B) ground water of study area.

54 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
typically are from 300 to about 5,000 jig/L, with one 

concentration from the middle Kansas River Basin 

exceeding 20,000 jug/L. Surface water in all of the four 

major drainage basins, therefore generally exceeds the 

300-jng/L SMCL. These limits are for drinking water 

that has been treated. If source water contains iron 

concentrations that are higher than 300 jug/L, the iron 

generally will be removed during the treatment process. Total iron concentrations in ground water 

(fig. 345) typically are from about 45 to 5,000 jug/L, 

with some concentrations as high as about 

60,000 Jig/L in the middle Kansas River Basin. High 

concentrations of iron in ground water are generally 

caused by reducing conditions where there is little or 

no dissolved oxygen.

As with iron, manganese forms a staining precipitate (black). The SMCL for manganese is 50 jug/L 

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1986, 1994). 

Total manganese concentrations in surface water typically are between 70 and 400 |Lig/L in all four major 

drainage basins (fig. 35), exceeding the SMCL. Not 

enough data are available to evaluate manganese concentrations in ground water of the study area.

Lead is a minor constituent in water throughout 

the study area, with concentrations generally less than

or near the detection limit of 10 jlg/L. The MCL for 

lead in treated water is 15 jug/L (U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1986, 1994). In a study of urban 

runoff in Topeka, Kansas, Pope and Bevans (1986) 

found total lead concentrations from less than the 

detection limit to 800 jug/L. By correlating total lead 

concentration to streamflow, they determined that the 

largest concentrations occurred during storm streamflow from the more urban basins.

Nutrients

Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential nutrients 

for plant growth. Dense algal growths or blooms 

sometimes occur in lakes and streams that periodically 

receive increased concentrations of nitrogen or phosphorus. These growths cause problems with other 

aquatic life when the water body becomes overloaded 

with oxidizable debris resulting from sudden dieback 

of algae (Hem, 1985, p. 128).

Nitrate is formed by complete oxidation of ammonium ions by soil or water microorganisms, and nitrite 

is formed from the nitrate or ammonium ions by 

microorganisms found in soil, water, sewage, and the

10,000

1,000

 100

10

1.0

(35)

o

(3)

Secondary Maximum 

Contaminant Level

A

EXPLANATION

(35) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

75th percentile i

Big Nemaha

(10240008)

Wolf

(10240005)

Middle Kansas

(10270102)

Delaware

(10270103)

Drainage basin 

(hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

Median

25th percentile I

Interquartile 

range

Smallest concentration greater than 

~ or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

x Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

o Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

A Detection limit for sample

Figure 35. Distribution of total manganese concentrations in surface water of study area.

Water Quality 55
digestive tract (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1986). Major point sources for nitrogen entry 

into water are municipal and industrial wastewater, 

septic tanks, feedlot discharges, and leachate from 

waste disposal in dumps or sanitary landfills. Diffuse 

sources include farm-site fertilizer and animal wastes 

and lawn fertilizer. An MCL of 10 mg/L was 

established by the USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1986) for nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen because of possible toxic effects to infants. 

Ammonia concentrations are not discussed in this 

report because ammonia oxidizes to nitrite and nitrate 

and because it is more volatile than nitrite and nitrate 

in escaping into the atmosphere.

Nitrite plus nitrate concentrations in surface water 

from selected surface-water-quality sampling sites in 

the study area generally are from less than 0.10 to 

about 2.5 mg/L (fig. 36). The sampling sites are listed 

in table 4 and shown in figure 37. Maximum concentrations generally are less than 5 mg/L. Of the 

950 anaylses used to construct figure 36, one

concentration, from the South Branch of Shunganunga 

Creek at Southwest 37th Street, Topeka, Kansas (site 

13), exceeded the 10-mg/L MCL. There were not 

enough analyses available to evaluate nitrite plus 

nitrate concentration in ground water.

The USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1986) SMCL for total phosphate (as phosphorus) is 0.10 mg/L for aquatic life. Higher concentrations may interfere with coagulation in watertreatment plants. To prevent excessive algal growth, 

the concentration should not exceed 0.05 mg/L in any 

stream at the point where it enters a lake or reservoir 

nor should it exceed 0.025 mg/L within the lake or 

reservoir (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

1986).

Phosphorous concentrations in streams of the 

study area (fig. 38) typically are from about 0.020 to 

about 0.20 mg/L. Most of the available analyses had 

concentrations that exceed the 0.025-mg/L SMCL for 

lakes and reservoirs (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1986). All but three of the median

IUU

<£

OJ 

Q.

M

1 10

gi

1

_c

c 

o

1 i.o

c CD o

c

o

o

o

CD

'i o-io

3

Q.

i

Z

0.01

11111111

(77)

o

1 ;

.

;

Maximum Contaminant Level

 (90) '

o

-

(57 > ,. . 8 ("4) (87) (132) (214) ; 

1 \^oy $6 Q OR} O i

vx I 1 1 [ | 1 1 

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(52)

11

A ':

~

: A A :

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 A

1 4 6 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

A

22

Big Middle Kansas Delaware

Nemaha (10270102) (10270103)

(10240008)

EXPLANATION

(52) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than or 

equal to 75th percentile plus 1.5 

times the interquartile range

75th percentile ,

Sampling-site map number and drainage basin 

(fig. 37 and table 4; hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

Median

25th percentile '

Interquartile 

range

Smallest concentration greater than 

 - or equal to 25th percentile minus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

x Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the interquartile range

o Far outside concentration Concentration greater than 3.0 times interquartile range

A Detection limit for sample

Figure 36. Distribution of nitrite plus nitrate concentrations in surface water from selected surface-water-quality 

sampling sites in study area.

56 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
Table 4. Selected surface-water-quality sampling sites referred to in this study

Site

number 

(fig. 37)

Site-identification 

number Site name

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

06815000

06887500

06888000

06888500

06888705

06889000

06889200

06889500

390056095420100

390056095420101

390056095420102

06889580

06889610

06889635

06889640

06889690

06889700

06890100

392823095362800

06890400

06890500

06890900

Big Nemaha River Basin 

Big Nemaha River at Falls City, Nebraska

Middle Kansas River Basin 

Kansas River at Wamego, Kansas 

Vermillion Creek near Wamego, Kansas 

Mill Creek near Paxico, Kansas 

Kansas River at Willard, Kansas 

Kansas River at Topeka, Kansas

Soldier Creek near Delia, Kansas 

Soldier Creek near Topeka, Kansas 

Detention basin outflow, Topeka, Kansas 

Detention basin east inflow, Topeka, Kansas 

Detention basin west inflow, Topeka, Kansas

Shunganunga Creek at Southwest 29th Street, Topeka, Kansas 

South Branch Shunganunga Creek at Southwest 37th Street,

Topeka, Kansas

Butcher Creek at Kansas Place, Topeka, Kansas 

Shunganunga Creek at Southwest 15th Street, Topeka, Kansas 

Deer Creek at Southeast 6th Street, Topeka, Kansas

Shunganunga Creek at Rice Road, Topeka, Kansas

Delaware River Basin

Delaware River near Muscotah, Kansas 

Elk Creek near Larkinburg, Kansas 

Delaware River near Arlington, Kansas 

Delaware River at Valley Falls, Kansas 

Delaware River below Perry Dam, Kansas

phosphorous concentrations exceed the 0.05-mg/L 

SMCL for streams, and one-half of the analyses have 

phosphorous concentrations that equal or exceed the 

0.10-mg/L SMCL for water treatment. These results 

suggest there may be a problem with excessive phosphorous at these sites. High phosphorus concentrations are a concern in small impoundments where 

algal blooms may cause fish kills and taste and odor 

problems in the water. The sources of the phosphorous 

probably are fertilizers or geologic materials.

Herbicides

Several studies relating to herbicide use have been 

conducted during the past few years. Atrazine is the 

major herbicide of interest in northeastern Kansas and 

southeastern Nebraska because it has been used since 

the late 1950's in the production of corn and grain sorghum. It is the most frequently detected herbicide in 

surface water (Stamer and Zelt, 1994).

The USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1994) established an MCL of 3.0 |lg/L for

Water Quality 57
95°

10 20 30 KILOMETERS

Base from U.S. Geological Survey 

digital data, 1:100,000,1972 

Lambert Conformal Conic projection 

Standard parallels 33° and 45°

EXPLANATION

 Boundary of study area

 Boundary of Indian treaty lands Boundaries 

are from U.S. Geological Survey 7 V2-minute 

topographic quadrangles

7 V Surface-water-quality sampling

site Number corresponds to 

that in table 4

Figure 37. Location of selected surface-water-quality sampling sites in study area.

58 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
0-10

o

.C 

Q_

0.001

EXPLANATION

(12) Number of analyses

Largest concentration less than 

or equal to 75th percentile plus 

1.5 times the interquartile range

SMCL for water 

treatment 

SMCL for 

streams

SMCL for lakes 

and reservoirs

o 0.01 r

Interquartile 

range

6789 

Middle Kansas

(10270102)

11 18 19 20 21 

Delaware

(10270103)

22

Sampling-site map number and drainage basin 

(fig. 37 and table 4; hydrologic unit code, fig. 1)

A 

SMCL

75th percentile i

Median

25th percentile 

Smallest concentration greater 

than or equal to 25th percentile 

minus 1.5 times the interquartile range

Outside concentration Concentration 1.5 to 3.0 times the 

interquartile range

Far outside concentration 

Concentration greater than 3.0 

times interquartile range

Detection limit for sample

Secondary Maximum 

Contaminant Level

Figure 38. Distribution of phosphorus concentrations in surface water from selected surface-water-quality sampling sites in 

study area.

atrazine in finished drinking-water supplies. This 

MCL refers to the annual average of at least four samples for drinking-water supplies, not to a single-sample concentration. Because of concerns that some 

surface-water supply sources in northeastern Kansas 

and southeastern Nebraska may exceed the MCL, the 

Kansas Department of Agriculture initiated a study of 

potential atrazine contamination in 1990 (Pope, 

1995a). The Delaware River Basin was of particular 

interest because about 85 percent of the basin is used 

for agriculture, with about 40 percent in row crops 

such as corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, and wheat 

(Stamer and others, 1995).

In March 1992, the Kansas Department of Agriculture established the Nation's first inland surfacewater pesticide management area in the Delaware 

River Basin (Pope, 1995a). A monitoring network 

consisting of 11 sampling sites was established to: 

(1) verify or invalidate the perception of a long-term 

atrazine problem in the basin, (2) determine areas of 

the basin where educational or outreach activities may 

be required for atrazine users, and (3) evaluate the

effectiveness of land management and agricultural 

practices.

Water samples for analysis of atrazine were collected at the Delaware Basin stream sites and at the 

outlet of Perry Lake during storm runoff and low-flow 

periods to compute daily mean concentration (Pope, 

1995a). Atrazine concentrations were determined 

using immunoassay procedures (Baum, 1991), which 

are not totally specific to atrazine; therefore, other triazine compounds such as ametryn, cyanazine, prometon, prometryn, propazine, and simazine may have 

been detected and reported as atrazine using this procedure. Results of sampling from July 1992 through 

December 1994 suggest that daily mean triazine 

concentrations in streams of the Delaware River Basin 

commonly exceeded the MCL for atrazine at some 

times during the months of May, June, and July. Daily 

mean concentrations at or greater than 30 (ig/L were 

not uncommon. However, daily mean concentrations 

greater than the MCL were rare at other times of the 

year, and were generally less than 1.0 (ig/L between 

August and April. The daily mean concentration at the

Water Quality 59
Perry Lake outflow was affected largely by the timing 

and magnitude of the inflow (Pope, 1995a).

In a study of the distribution, transport and relative 

age of atrazine and selected metabolites in Perry Lake, 

Fallon (1994) described the effects of precipitation, 

reservoir-residence time, and herbicide application. 

Runoff occurring immediately after atrazine application increases atrazine concentrations in the lake. 

Atrazine concentrations in the lake remain high 

(greater than 3.0 |Lig/L) throughout the year if late- and 

post-growing season runoff is below average. If lateand post-growing season runoff is above average, atrazine concentrations quickly decrease to less than 

2.0 (ig/L (Fallon, 1994, p. 84). In small impoundments, atrazine concentrations may reach higher levels 

than in Perry Lake.

Bacteria

Fecal coliform and fecal streptococcus bacteria are 

used as indicators of fecal contamination in water. 

Wastewater-treatment plants and feedlots are major 

point sources for contamination. Nonpoint sources 

include leachate from domestic septic systems, runoff 

and seepage from livestock areas such as pastures and 

from wildlife populations.

The USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1986) established a single-sample maximum 

allowable density of 576 col/100 mL for Escherichia 

coli (E. coli), a member of the fecal coliform group of 

bacteria, for infrequently used full-contact recreation. 

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment 

established a criterion for fecal coliform of 

2,000 col/100 mL for those streams available for all 

beneficial uses other than full-contact recreation 

(Fromm and Wilk, 1988). Because the fecal coliform 

group may contain bacteria other than E. coli, the 

2,000-col/lOO mL criterion, if applied to E. coli, may 

result in more than 2,000 fecal coliform col/100 mL. 

However, because few streams in the lower Kansas 

River Basin, which includes a major part of the study 

area, are classified for full-body contact, Pope (1995b, 

p. 47-48) used both criteria in a study to evaluate the 

density of E. coli in the lower Kansas River Basin during periods of low flow.

Very few regional data were available to describe 

bacteria distribution throughout the study area. Two 

surface-water-quality sampling sites have more than 

10 fecal coliform analyses available; one also has fecal 

streptococcus data available. On the basis of 40

analyses, the Big Nemaha River at Falls City, 

Nebraska (table 4, sampling site 1), has a typical fecal 

coliform count of about 2,200 to 8,700 col/100 mL, 

with a median count of 4,100 and a maximum count of 

53,000 col/100 mL. On the basis of 50 analyses, the 

typical range for fecal streptococcus at this site is from 

about 600 to 7,000 col/100 mL, with a median count 

of 1,165 and a maximum count of 

500,000 col/100 mL. On the basis of 41 analyses, the 

typical range for fecal coliform bacteria in samples 

from the Kansas River at Willard, Kansas (table 4, 

sampling site 5), is from about 80 to 2,300 col/100 

mL, with a median of 410 and a maximum of 

480,000 col/100 mL. Many fecal coliform concentrations at these two sampling sites exceeded both the 

576- and 2,000-col/lOO mL criteria.

Pope's (1995b) results for the Kansas River Basin 

between Manhattan, Kansas, and Kansas City, Kansas, 

show that the median E. coli concentration during 

low-flow periods was 88 col/100 mL (23 sampling 

sites, 15 of which are in this study area), with a range 

of less than 1 to 1,000 col/100 mL. Only one site, Elk 

Creek near Larkinburg, Kansas (table 4, site 19), 

exceeded the 576-col/lOO mL criterion.

Available data for the Big Nemaha River at Falls 

City, Nebraska, and the Kansas River at Willard, Kansas, and the results from Pope (1995b) show substantial variability in fecal bacteria concentrations. During 

periods of low flow when streamflow is derived primarily from ground water, fecal bacteria concentrations 

are probably lowest. As streamflow and surface runoff 

increase, so do fecal bacteria concentrations. The typical range at sampling sites 1 and 4 in the study area 

exceeded the 576-col/lOO mL and 2,000-col/lOO mL 

criteria, which suggests that possible problems with 

fecal bacteria contamination exist in the study area.

Suspended Sediment

Few data are available to describe the regional distribution of suspended sediment throughout the study 

area. Most data are associated with studies related to 

specific types of sites and streamflow conditions.

As part of the USGS's National Water-Quality 

Assessment Program, Jordan (1995) summarized suspended-sediment concentrations for about 40 samples 

at each of four sampling sites (table 4, sampling sites 

4, 6, 18, and 22) in the study area. Mill Creek near 

Paxico, Kansas (table 4, site 4), had a median suspended-sediment concentration of 28 mg/L and a

60 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
90 -percentile concentration (value equals or exceeds 

90 percent of samples) of 280 mg/L. The Kansas River 

at Topeka, Kansas (table 4, sampling site 6), with the 

highest observed single-sample concentration, had a 

median concentration of 550 mg/L. Suspended-sediment concentrations from the Kansas River at Topeka 

are consistent with other sampling sites on the Kansas 

River in spite of inflow from streams with lower concentrations. Jordan (1995) attributed these higher concentrations to streambed and bank erosion. The 

Delaware River near Muscotah, Kansas (table 4, sampling site 18) drains an area with a high density of 

cropland. Sampling sites like this typically have relatively high suspended-sediment concentrations due to 

runoff from cultivated cropland. The median suspended-sediment concentration for the Delaware 

River near Muscotah was 34 mg/L, and the 90th-percentile concentration was 240 mg/L. These values 

were lower than expected, probably due to belownormal streamflow at the time of sampling. The Delaware River below Perry Dam (table 4, sampling 

site 22) had the lowest suspended-sediment concentrations of the four sites. The median concentration was 

13 mg/L; the 90th-percentile concentration was 

58 mg/L. Samples were collected downstream from 

Perry Lake, a large reservoir, which causes most of the 

suspended sediment to settle out of the water. In small 

impoundments, high sediment inflow and subsequent 

deposition within the reservoir may result in the need 

for periodic dredging of the impoundment.

In a study of erosion and sediment yield, the U.S. 

Soil Conservation Service (1992) evaluated sources of 

suspended sediment in the study area. Seventy to 

80 percent of the Big Nemaha River Basin in northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska is cropland. 

Sheet and rill erosion and ephemeral gullying account 

for 80 percent of the erosion and 40 to 60 percent of 

the total sediment yield.

The Wolf River Basin is 70-percent cropland. 

Sheet and rill erosion accounts for 63 percent of the 

erosion and 30 percent of the total sediment yield. 

Classical and ephemeral gullying account for 27 percent of the erosion and 48 percent of the sediment 

yield. Forty-four percent of the total sediment yield is 

from cultivated cropland, (U.S. Soil Conservation 

Service, 1992).

The Delaware River Basin is 57-percent cropland, 

37 percent of which is unprotected. Sheet and rill erosion accounts for 74 percent of the total erosion and 

42 percent of the total sediment yield. Ephemeral and

classical gullying account for 22 percent of the erosion 

and 47 percent of the total sediment yield. Sheet and 

rill erosion and ephemeral gullying account for 46 percent of the total sediment yield (U.S. Soil 

Conservation Service, 1992).

WATER USE

Water use within each of the four major drainage 

basins in the study area is illustrated in figure 39. 

Annual amounts of surface and ground water used for 

public supply, rural domestic, stockwatering, irrigation, industrial and mining, and thermoelectric power 

generation are shown in units of millions of gallons 

per day (Mgal/d). This information was derived from 

the most recent comprehensive summary of water use 

(Solley and others, 1993), which was based on 1990 

data. The sources for these data vary among different 

States and types of use. In Kansas, water use for public 

supply (that is, cities and rural water districts), irrigation, industry, mining, and thermoelectric power generation is reported to the Kansas Department of 

Agriculture, Division of Water Resources. In 

Nebraska, information on water rights and pumping 

allocations, obtained from the Nebraska Department 

of Water Resources and the Nebraska Natural 

Resources Commission, was used to estimate withdrawals for public supply and irrigation use. Water use 

for livestock, which includes animals on farms as well 

as in feedlots, was estimated using agricultural statistics for each State and coefficients of water use per 

head. Water use by rural populations (for the rural 

domestic category) and for the Kickapoo Reservation 

(included in public supply) were estimated using census population counts and per-capita use coefficients. 

Further investigation of actual water demands on reservations is warranted to determine future needs.

A total of 3.13 Mgal/d was used in the Big Nemaha River Basin during 1990. Of this amount, 74 percent was supplied by ground-water sources. The 

largest use of water in this basin, 62 percent, was for 

public supply, all of which was from ground water. 

Stockwatering represented 19 percent of the total use 

in the basin and was supplied by both surface- and 

ground-water sources. Industrial and mining water use 

in the Big Nemaha River Basin was 12 percent of the 

total and was supplied entirely by surface-water 

sources.

A total of 1.29 Mgal/d was used in the Wolf River 

Basin during 1990. Of this amount, 71 percent was

Water Use 61
derived from ground-water sources. Water use for 

public supply represented 39 percent of the total and 

was derived entirely from ground water. Stockwater 

was derived from both ground and surface sources and 

represented 51 percent of the total water use, the largest single use of water in the Wolf River Basin.

A total of 83.01 Mgal/d was used in the middle 

Kansas River Basin during 1990 (note the scale 

change in figure 39). Of this amount, 67 percent was 

derived from surface-water sources. Public supply was 

the largest use in this populous basin, and 92 percent 

of this use was supplied by surface water, primarily 

from the Kansas River. Stockwatering was 

3.19 Mgal/d and represented almost 4 percent of the 

total use in the basin. Irrigation use totalled 

15.18 Mgal/d, of which 89 percent was from surface 

water. Industrial and mining water use was supplied 

almost entirely from ground water and totalled 

6.18 Mgal/d. Thermoelectric power generation is a 

major use of water in the middle Kansas River Basin, 

representing 31 percent of the total use. Most of the 

water used for power generation (89 percent) is from 

surface water and consists of cooling water used at 

several powerplants and then released back to the 

river.

A total of 4.37 Mgal/d was used in the Delaware 

River Basin during 1990. Of this amount, 55 percent 

was derived from ground water. About two-thirds of 

the public-supply water use was supplied from 

ground-water sources. Stockwatering totalled 

1.98 Mgal/d and was supplied by both surface and 

ground water.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Water availability and quality are a major concern 

to the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, the Prairie Band of Potawatomi, 

and the Sac and Fox Tribe of Missouri. An overview 

of the surface- and ground-water resources in and near 

their treaty lands evolved from the tribes' desire to 

develop their water resources prudently and to have 

their interests included in the Kansas State Water Plan.

O

The 4,005-mi study area is divided into four major 

drainage basins on the basis of standard hydrologic 

units and includes the treaty lands for all four tribes. 

The only plentiful supplies of surface water are 

available from the Missouri and Kansas Rivers near 

the margins of the study area. The Iowa Reservation 

has direct access to the Missouri River. The Sac and

Fox Reservation borders the Big Nemaha River that is 

of medium size relative to other streams in the study 

area. The Kickapoo and Potawatomi Reservations 

have access to streams having small mean streamflow. 

The smallest mean flows for 4 consecutive months 

occur in November through February. The smallest 

flows for 7 consecutive days in a year occur most often 

in August, September, or October.

The typical seasonal distribution of streamflows 

indicates a pattern favorable for the same-year use of 

small surface-water impoundments for low-flow augmentation; large flows that could be impounded typically occur in the months shortly before augmentation 

is most needed. However, droughts of 2 or more 

consecutive years are common and would largely 

negate the advantage of using small impoundments 

except for very small water-supply needs.

Construction of new surface-water impoundments 

within or adjacent to the study area for water supply 

probably is not practical for streams having drainage 

areas larger than 300 mi2 owing to topography and 

cost factors related to topography. Draft-storage 

curves would be useful in making preliminary estimates of potential development of surface-water supplies by impoundment and in comparing the 

development possibilities of different streams in the 

study area with drainage areas less than 300 mi .

Availability of ground water in the study area is 

divided into two categories on the basis of aquifers 

generally capable of sustaining individual-well pumping rates greater than 300 gal/min (major aquifers) and 

those generally capable of sustaining rates of less than 

300 gal/min (minor aquifers). Both the major and 

minor aquifers are important in the study area for different reasons. The major aquifers provide large yields 

to wells but are limited in areal extent to the Kansas 

River and Missouri River Valleys. The minor aquifers, 

although capable of only small yields to wells and 

sometimes poorer quality water, are available 

throughtout most of the study area.

There are only two major aquifers that occur in the 

study area, namely the Kansas River Valley alluvial 

aquifer and the Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer. 

The Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer is used 

extensively for irrigation as well as for industrial and 

municipal purposes, especially near the population 

centers, but the Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer 

is not used extensively.

The Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer offers 

great potential for large-capacity wells. Thicknesses of

62 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
Public supply

Rural domestic

Stock watering

Irrigation

Industrial and mining 

Thermoelectric Big Nemaha River Basin

1

Public supply

Rural domestic

Stock watering

Irrigation

Industrial and mining 

Thermoelectric Wolf River Basin

i i , , , i

Public supply 

Rural domestic 

Stock watering

Irrigation

Commercial, industrial, 

and mining

Thermoelectric Middle Kansas River Basin

i , , i , i , , i , , , , i i i i i i , , , i

5 5 10 15 20 25 30

Public supply

Rural domestic

Stock watering

Irrigation

Industrial and mining 

Thermoelectric Delaware River Basin

321012

i i , , , i

Water use, in millions of gallons per day 

Ground water Surface water

Figure 39. Water use in 1990 by drainage basin (data from Solley and others, 1993).

Summary and Conclusions 63
the saturated alluvial material range from less than 1 ft 

near the valley edges to about 70 ft in the deepest part 

of the buried channel. Reported well yields from the 

alluvial aquifer in Shawnee County, Kansas, are as 

large as 2,500 gal/min. Well yields greater than 

1,000 gal/min are common in areas with more than 

40 ft of saturated thickness. Well yields range from 

300 to 1,000 gal/min where saturated thickness is 

20 to 40 ft, and yields of as much as 500 gal/min are 

locally possible even where saturated thickness is less 

than 20 ft. Results of various aquifer tests from wells 

in the Kansas River Valley alluvial aquifer from Riley 

County to Wyandotte County, Kansas, showed 

transmissivities that ranged from 5,300 to 89,600 ft2/d. 

Storage coefficients ranged from 0.0005 to 0.20.

The Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer also 

offers one of the greatest potentials in the study area 

for large-capacity wells because of the relatively large 

hydraulic conductivity of the sediments, abundant precipitation available for recharge, and the possibility of 

induced recharge from the Missouri River if wells are 

located near the river. Thicknesses of the sediments 

range from zero at the valley walls to as much as 

120 ft in the deepest part of the buried channel. Aquifer tests for the Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer 

in Doniphan, Atchison, and Leavenworth Counties, 

Kansas, had transmissivities that ranged from 

26,800 to 80,400 ft2/d and storage coefficients that 

ranged from 0.0004 to 0.001. Reported well yields 

from the alluvial aquifer in Doniphan County ranged 

from 150 to 250 gal/min, but as much as 3,000 gal/min 

may be obtained from coarse-grained sediments in the 

alluvium. Water-level maps were published for the 

Missouri River Valley alluvial aquifer for Doniphan 

County, Kansas, for 1967 and for the Missouri side 

between Kansas City, Missouri, and the Iowa border 

for January 1968.

Minor aquifers that occur throughout the study 

area include small stream-valley alluvial aquifers, 

sand and gravel aquifers buried in glacial deposits, 

buried bedrock-valley aquifers, and bedrock aquifers.

Although most of the small stream valleys in the 

study area generally contain clayey or silty alluvium, 

the alluvial deposits generally have some coarser 

material near the bottom of the valley. Data are not 

available for most of the small stream-valley alluvial 

aquifers; however transmissivities determined from 

aquifer tests for wells 45 to 64 ft deep in the Delaware 

River alluvial aquifer were mainly from 670 to

1,070 ft2/d, with storage coefficients of 0.0004; the 

largest transmissivity value was 3,430 ft2/d.

Within the thick, mostly fine-grained glacial sediments there are isolated deposits of buried sand and 

gravel of various but usually limited sizes capable of 

supplying sources of water for individual house, farm, 

or stock wells. Initial well yields may be large, but 

quickly decrease with sustained pumping as withdrawals exceed the very small recharge amounts coming 

through the surrounding small-hydraulic-conductivity 

deposits. Test-hole drilling is the most reliable method 

of locating these buried aquifers; generally the thicker 

the glacial deposits, the better the chance of finding a 

reliable ground-water source.

The buried bedrock valleys generally are filled 

with clayey glacial deposits, but most valleys contain 

some sand and gravel. The largest buried valley, which 

trends eastward across Nemaha, Jackson, and Atchison Counties, Kansas, may be as much as 3 mi wide, 

400 ft deep, and as much as 75 mi long; tributary valleys join the main stem of the buried valley to form a 

typical dendritic drainage pattern. Wells completed in 

the coarsest sand and gravel may yield as much as 

900 gal/min, but less than 500 gal/min is more common. Aquifer tests for wells completed in the major 

buried valley extending from Nemaha County to Atchison County, Kansas, had tranmissivities of 335 to 

3,430 ft2/d and storage coefficients of 0.00002 to 

0.002.

Where the alluvial and glacial deposits are thin or 

absent, the underlying bedrock is the only other source 

of water to wells. The surface of the Precambrian crystalline basement rock surface essentially represents the 

base of all water-bearing rocks in the area. Above this 

surface, deep saline water-bearing bedrock aquifers 

are mostly unused, except for disposal of oilfield 

brines; shallow water-bearing bedrock aquifers may 

contain either saline or freshwater and locally are used 

for minor water supplies where the water is fresh.

Calcium, magnesium, sodium, bicarbonate, and 

chloride are the major dissolved constituents in both 

surface and ground water in the study area. Sodium 

concentrations exceeding the USEPA SMCL of 

20 mg/L occur in all four major drainage basins. Water 

from the middle Kansas and Delaware Basins exceed 

the SMCL most often. Chloride concentrations do not 

generally exceed the USEPA SMCL of 250 mg/L.

Sulfate concentrations in surface water generally 

are not a problem; water from only three surfacewater-quality sampling sites exceeded the

64 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska
USEPA SMCL of 250 mg/L. There may be a problem 

with sulfate concentrations in some wells in the Big 

Nemaha, middle Kansas, and Delaware Basins. Potential sources include dissolution of sulfate minerals 

such as gypsum and pyrite.

Total iron and manganese concentrations throughout the study area tend to be high. The typical range 

for total iron in surface water of about 300 to 

5,000 ng/L exceeds the USEPA SMCL of 300 jiig/L. 

Reducing conditions in ground water where there is no 

dissolved oxygen allow iron concentrations to reach as 

high as 60,000 jiig/L. Available analyses for manganese typically exceeded the SMCL of 50 M-g/L.

Nitrite plus nitrate concentrations in surface water 

from the study area typically range from less than 

0.10 to about 2.5 mg/L. Maximum concentrations generally are less than 5.0 mg/L, one-half of the 10-mg/L 

MCL. The typical range of phosphorus concentrations 

in the study area is from about 0.02 to 0.20 mg/L. 

Most analyses exceeded the 0.025-mg/L SMCL for 

lakes and reservoirs. Median concentrations generally 

exceed the 0.05-mg/L SMCL for streams. High phosphorus concentrations may cause algal blooms and 

taste and odor problems in the water.

Potential water-quality problems in the study area 

result from agricultural practices. Atrazine concentrations in the Delaware River Basin, primarily from 

post-application runoff, commonly exceed the MCL 

(3.0 jiig/L) during the months of May, June, and July. 

Daily mean concentrations may exceed 30 jiig/L. Most 

of the erosion and about one-half of the total sediment 

yield in parts of the study area may be derived from 

sheet and rill erosion and gullying on cultivated 

cropland.

A total of 3.13 Mgal/d of water was used in the 

Big Nemaha River Basin during 1990, 74 percent supplied by ground-water sources. In the Wolf River 

Basin, 1.29 Mgal/d were used, 71 percent derived 

from ground water. The middle Kansas River Basin 

had the highest water use, 83.01 Mgal/d, 67 percent 

derived from surface water. Thermoelectric power 

generation accounted for 31 percent of the total water 

use in the middle Kansas River Basin; water is used at 

several powerplants and then released back to the 

river. A total of 4.37 Mgal/d was used in the Delaware 

River Basin, 55 percent derived from ground water.

REFERENCES

Baum, E.J., 1991, The advantages of field-portable enzyme 

immunoassays: Environmental Lab, On-Site News, 

December/January 1991/1992, unnumbered pages.

Bayne, C.K., 1973, Geohydrology of Doniphan County, 

northeastern Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-462, 1 sheet, 

scale 1:62,500.

Bayne, C.K., and Schoewe, W.H., 1967, Geology and 

ground-water resources of Brown County, Kansas: 

Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 186, 68 p.

Beck, H.V., 1959, Geology and ground-water resources of 

Kansas River Valley between Wamego and Topeka, 

Kansas vicinity: Kansas Geological Survey 

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68 Overview of Water Resources in and Near Indian Lands in Northeastern Kansas and Southeastern Nebraska

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