Comparison of Sediment Deposition in Reservoirs 

of Four Kansas Watersheds

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 102–00

August 2000

—David P. Mau and Victoria G. Christensen

Figure 1. Bottom-sediment cores were collected with a gravity 

corer mounted on a pontoon boat. The corer is lowered to a 

designated distance above the sediment and allowed to free 

fall to penetrate through the entire thickness of reservoir 

bottom sediment.

 Reservoirs are a vital source of water 

supply, provide recreational opportunities, 

support diverse aquatic habitat, and 

provide flood protection throughout 

Kansas. Understanding agricultural, 

industrial, and urban effects on reservoirs 

is important not only for maintaining 

acceptable water quality in the reservoirs 

but also for preventing adverse 

environmental effects. Excessive sediment 

can alter the aesthetic qualities of 

reservoirs and affect their water quality 

and useful life. 

Introduction

 Reservoir sediment studies are 

important because of the effect that 

sediment accumulation has on the quality 

of water and useful life of the reservoir. 

Sediment deposition can affect benthic 

organisms and alter the dynamics of the 

aquatic food chain. Reservoir sediment 

studies also are important in relation to 

watershed characteristics. For example, 

large volumes of sediment coming into 

reservoirs from agricultural areas can 

transport and deposit certain agricultural 

chemicals (such as phosphorus from 

fertilizer applications and some pesticides 

used in crop production) that are adsorbed 

to fine sediment particles (Juracek, 1997; 

Pope, 1998). Subsequently, these 

chemicals may be re-released into the 

water column and affect the drinking-water 

supply. 

 In the past, evaluations of sediment 

deposition in reservoirs have consisted of 

statistical analyses of historical data from 

sediment stations on tributaries flowing 

into the reservoirs and mapping of the 

reservoir bottom (bathymetric surveys). 

However, some reservoir watersheds in 

Kansas either lack or have an inadequate 

data base to use a statistical approach. 

Some data from surveys at selected cross 

sections (rangelines) prior to dam closure 

are available for reservoirs in Kansas 

completed by the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE) or the U.S. 

Department of the Interior's Bureau of 

Reclamation (BOR).

 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

began studying reservoir sedimentation in 

Kansas in 1995. Nine 

reservoir studies have been 

carried out in cooperation 

with the Bureau of 

Reclamation, the city of 

Wichita, Johnson County 

Unified Wastewater 

Districts, the Kansas 

Department of Health and 

Environment, and (or) the 

Kansas Water Office. These 

studies were supported in 

part by the Kansas State 

Water Plan Fund and 

evaluated sediment 

deposition along with 

selected chemical 

constituents in sediment 

cores (fig. 1) from 

reservoirs located in 

various climatic, 

topographic, and geologic landscape 

regions throughout Kansas and southern 

Nebraska. Selected results from four of 

the reservoirs studied are summarized in 

this fact sheet—Webster Reservoir, 

Cheney Reservoir, Tuttle Creek Lake, and 

Hillsdale Lake (fig. 2). The four reservoirs 

were sampled between October 1, 1995, 

and September 30, 1999.

This fact sheet describes: 

Total volume and rate of sediment 

deposition in each of the four 

reservoirs since impoundment;

Possible causes for differences in total 

volume and rate of sediment deposition 

and the effects on water-storage 

capacity and useful life of the 

reservoir; and 

A baseline of sediment volume and 

mass with which results of future 

reservoir studies can be compared. 

Reservoir and Watershed 

Characteristics

 Reservoir and watershed characteristics vary among the four reservoirs 

(table 1). For example, long-term, mean 

annual precipitation ranges from about 

24 inches at Webster Reservoir in northcentral Kansas to about 41 inches at 

Hillsdale Lake (as measured 5 miles south 

at Paola in east-central Kansas) (National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

1998). Contributing-drainage areas of the 

reservoirs also differed, ranging from 

144 square miles for Hillsdale Lake to 

9,600 square miles for Tuttle Creek Lake.

 Land use in the Webster Reservoir 

watershed is primarily cropland 

(57 percent) and pastureland (37 percent) 

(Bureau of Reclamation, 1984, p. 9). The 

topography is flat to gently rolling, with 

narrow, shallow valleys and low relief. 

Despite their relatively high potential for 

erosion, soils in the Webster watershed are 

quite productive for small grain crops 

(Bureau of Reclamation, 1984, p. 6).

 The Cheney Reservoir watershed is 

located in parts of five south-central 

Kansas counties. Land use is primarily 

agricultural, with about 52 percent of the 

watershed consisting of cropland and the 

balance (48 percent) consisting of 

pastureland, forest cover, or small urban 

areas. The topography is flat to gently 

rolling. 

 Tuttle Creek Lake has the largest 

contributing-drainage area and surface 

area of the four reservoirs. Approximately 

75 percent of the contributing-drainage 
Topeka

Wilson Lake

Cedar Bluff

Reservoir

Kanopolis

Lake

Waconda

Lake

Kirwin

Reservoir

Milford

Lake

Paola

Pomona

Lake

Melvern Lake

Council

Grove

Lake

Marion

Lake

Clinton

Lake

Perry

Lake

Lovewell

Reservoir

Boundary of contributing-drainage area

EXPLANATION

KANSAS

NEBRASKA

Figure 2. Volume of sediment deposited in four Kansas reservoirs and mean annual sediment yield from contributing-drainage areas vary as a 

result of differences in watershed precipitation, land use, topography, and geology. 

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

Webster Reservoir (1956–98)

Total sediment deposition, in acre-feet

Mean annual sediment yield, 

0

in pounds per square mile per year

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1,800,000

2,000,000

Total sediment

deposition

Mean annual

sediment yield

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

Cheney Reservoir (1965–98)

Total sediment deposition, in acre-feet

Mean annual sediment yield, in pounds per square mile per year

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1,800,000

2,000,000

Total sediment

deposition

Mean annual

sediment yield

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

Hillsdale Lake (1981–96)

Total sediment deposition, in acre-feet

Mean annual sediment yield, 

0

in pounds per square mile per year

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1,800,000

2,000,000

Total sediment

deposition

Mean annual

sediment yield

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

Tuttle Creek Lake (1962–99)

Total sediment deposition, in acre-feet

Mean annual sediment yield, 

0

in pounds per square mile per year

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1,800,000

2,000,000

Total sediment

deposition

Mean annual

sediment yield

Reservoir

or lake

Date of

impoundment

Contributingdrainage area

(square miles)

Original

conservation

pool storage1

(acre-feet)

Percentage

of basin in

pastureland

Land use2

Percentage

of basin in

cropland

Long-term

mean annual

precipitation3

(inches)

Webster

Cheney

Tuttle

Creek

Hillsdale

1956

1965

1962

1981

1,150

933

9,600

144

72,000

152,000

425,000

68,000

37

<48

16

50

57

52

72

35

24

27

32

41

Table 1. Comparison of reservoir and watershed characteristics for Webster Reservoir, Cheney 

Reservoir, Tuttle Creek Lake, and Hillsdale Lake

[<, less than]

 1Conservation pool storage data for Webster Reservoir from Ferrari (1997), for Cheney Reservoir from Putnam and 

others (1999), for Tuttle Creek Lake from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (written commun., 1999) and for Hillsdale Lake 

from Juracek (1997).

 2 Land-use percentages from Nebraska Natural Resources Commission (1983), Bureau of Reclamation (1984), 

Kansas Geological Survey (1993), Kansas Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture (1997), and 

Putnam (1997).

 3 Long-term mean annual precipitation is based on 1961–90 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (1998).

area is located in southeast Nebraska and 

the remainder in northeast Kansas. About 

72 percent of the drainage area is 

cropland, about 16 percent is pastureland, 

10 percent is woodland, and the remainder 

is urban areas. The topography varies 

from smooth plains in the Nebraska 

section of the watershed to areas of greater 

local relief in the Kansas section of the 

watershed (Pope, 1995, p. 4).

 The Hillsdale Lake watershed is 

located in parts of four northeast Kansas 

counties. Eighty-five percent of the land is 

cropland and pastureland, and the 

remaining 15 percent is used for feedlots 

and urban and residential development. 

Gently rolling uplands, with hilly areas 

along the streams, characterize the 

topography. 

Methods

 Bathymetric surveys were done at 

each reservoir along existing rangelines 

established by either the USACE or the 

BOR. Global positioning system (GPS) 

technology was used to record the 

geographic location of the boat on the 

reservoir, and a fathometer system was 

used to determine the depth to the top of 

the sediment. The data were digitally 

recorded and stored on a computer where 

additional processing was done to 

compare the original pre-reservoir 

rangeline data to the most recent 

bathymetric data.

 The total volume and rate of sediment 

deposition in all four reservoirs were 

determined by a comparison of the recent 

(1995–99) reservoir bottom elevation to 

the elevation prior to impoundment. The 

difference in elevations between the two 

periods is primarily the result of sediment 

deposition. Storm runoff transports large 

amounts of sediment into reservoirs 

causing temporal variability in the rates of 

sediment deposition. Because bathymetric 

surveys have been done infrequently 

throughout the life of the four reservoirs, it 
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Webster

Reservoir

(1956–98)

Cheney

Reservoir

(1965–98)

Tuttle

Creek

Lake

(1962–99)

Hillsdale

Lake

(1981–96)

Percentage change in

water-storage capacity

Water

column

Bottom

sediment

Figure 3. Sediment deposition has caused almost a 27-percent 

decrease in water-storage capacity in Tuttle Creek Lake, whereas 

decreases in water-storage capacities in Webster Reservoir, Cheney 

Reservoir, and Hillsdale Lake were 5 percent or less. 

0

Mean annual sediment deposition,

in acre-feet per square mile

Mean annual precipitation, in inches

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

Webster

Reservoir

Cheney

Reservoir

Tuttle

Creek

Lake

Hillsdale

Lake

22

27

32

37

42

47

Mean annual

sediment

deposition

Precipitation

Figure 4. A direct relation is apparent between mean annual sediment 

deposition and long-term, mean annual precipitation at Webster 

Reservoir, Cheney Reservoir, Tuttle Creek Lake, and Hillsdale Lake. 

Long-term, mean annual precipitation is based on 1961–90 data from 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1998).

was not feasible to calculate annual 

volumes and rates of sediment deposition. 

Therefore, a mean annual deposition rate 

for each reservoir was estimated by 

dividing the total accumulated sediment 

volume by the number of years since 

reservoir impoundment. Mean annual 

sediment yield was estimated by dividing 

the mean annual deposition rate by 

watershed area in square miles.

 Dry-mass estimates of sediment 

deposition to the reservoirs required 

determining reservoir bottom-sediment 

bulk density. This was done by collecting 

reservoir bottom sediment using a gravity 

corer (fig. 1). Sediment cores were 

collected from several locations in the 

reservoirs to define sedimentation 

variability. The core samples were 

processed at the USGS laboratory in 

Lawrence, Kansas, and analyzed for 

percentage of sand and silt and (or) clay, 

bulk density, and percentage of moisture, 

according to methods presented in 

Guy (1969).

Comparison of Reservoir Sediment 

Deposition

 Large differences in total sediment 

deposition volume are apparent between 

the four reservoirs (fig. 2). Total sediment 

deposition estimates ranged from 

1,330 acre-feet at Webster Reservoir to 

114,000 acre-feet at Tuttle Creek Lake. 

However, when differences in reservoir 

contributing-drainage area and age of the 

reservoir were accounted for, mean annual 

sediment deposition, in acre-feet per 

square mile of contributing-drainage area, 

was actually largest at Hillsdale Lake 

(0.93 acre-feet per square mile) followed 

by Tuttle Creek Lake (0.31 acre-feet per 

square mile) and Cheney Reservoir 

(0.25 acre-feet per square mile). Webster 

Reservoir had the smallest mean annual 

sediment deposition per square mile of 

contributing-drainage area (0.03 acre-feet 

per square mile). When the mass of 

reservoir sediment was determined using 

reservoir sediment-volume and bulkdensity data, there were also large 

differences. Mean annual sediment yields 

(fig. 2) were smallest from the Webster 

Reservoir watershed (68,100 pounds 

per square mile per year) and largest

from the Hillsdale Lake watershed 

(1,840,000 pounds per square mile per 

year). 

 The four reservoirs provide drinkingwater supplies for many local 

communities, as well as water for 

irrigating cropland. Sediment deposition 

reduces storage volume and the useful life 

of a reservoir. An evaluation of sediment 

deposition for each reservoir described in 

this fact sheet showed 

that deposition was less 

than would be expected 

on the basis of the 

100-year reservoir-design 

life historically used by 

Federal agencies. 

Accordingly, reservoir 

water-storage volumes 

estimated at the time of 

each reservoir study were 

greater than the 

calculated reservoirdesign storage volumes. 

 A decline in water 

supply can have serious 

ramifications for the 

users of that supply. On 

the basis of bathymetric 

surveys and analysis of reservoir bottomsediment cores, the calculated waterstorage capacities in the four reservoirs 

declined from less than 2 percent at 

Webster Reservoir to about 27 percent at 

Tuttle Creek Lake (fig. 3). 

 Several possible reasons exist for 

differences in total volumes and rates of 

sediment deposition among the four 

reservoirs. Because precipitation 

contributes to streamflow and ultimately 

the transport of suspended sediment into 

the reservoir under certain conditions, 

larger volumes of sediment more likely 

would be deposited in reservoirs having 

watersheds that receive more precipitation. On the basis of data for the four 

reservoirs described in this fact sheet, 

sediment deposition increases as 

precipitation increases (fig. 4). 

 However, precipitation alone does not 

account for all the differences in sediment 

deposition. Other variables such as land 

use, topography, soil types, geology, and 

contributing-drainage area, are also 

important in the evaluation of sediment 

transport. The 

Hillsdale Lake 

watershed, for 

instance, may be 

more prone to erosion 

losses on a persquare-mile basis 

when large amounts 

of annual precipitation are combined 

with the large 

percentage of 

cropland, rolling 

topography, and an 

increase in 

urbanization. The 

Webster Reservoir 

watershed has 

significantly less 

precipitation than the 

Hillsdale Lake 

watershed and a more gently sloping 

topography. Erosion losses would be 

expected to be less in that type of 

environment. Also, more than 800 small 

farm ponds in the Webster Reservoir 

watershed act as water and sediment traps, 

reducing the peak streamflows and volume 

of suspended sediment transported into the 

reservoir (Bureau of Reclamation, 1984, 

p. 37). Small watershed impoundments 

may have a substantial effect on the 

transport of sediment to the other 

reservoirs as well. 

 In contrast, differences in mean 

annual sediment yield on a per-squaremile basis between Cheney Reservoir and 

Tuttle Creek Lake watersheds were within 

about 20 percent of each other. The 

generally flat to gently sloping topography 

of the Cheney Reservoir watershed in 

combination with less precipitation and 

soils classified as sand or sandy loam in 

the lowland areas contrasts with the more 

variable topography of the Tuttle Creek 

watershed. Maximum relief of 300 to 

500 feet occurs in the Tuttle Creek 
Tuttle Creek Lake looking north from east side of Randolph 

Bridge showing sediment accumulation (photograph by 

Michael Kemppainen, USGS, Lawrence, Kansas).

For more information on reservoir 

sediment studies in Kansas, visit the

USGS Web site at:

http://ks.water.usgs.gov/Kansas/ressed/

or contact:

District Chief

U.S. Geological Survey

4821 Quail Crest Place

Lawrence, Kansas 66049–3839

(785) 842–9909

email: waucott@usgs.gov

watershed near the reservoir, the tributary 

drainage channels are well incised, and 

the soils are of glacial till origin, 

consisting of silt, clay, sand, and gravel. 

However, mean annual precipitation in 

the Cheney Reservoir and Tuttle Creek 

Lake watersheds (27 and 32 inches, 

respectively) are similar, and land use in 

both watersheds is primarily agricultural, 

with more than 50 percent of each 

watershed being cropland. 

Conclusions and Implications

 Webster Reservoir, Cheney 

Reservoir, Tuttle Creek Lake, and 

Hillsdale Lake showed large differences 

in total sediment deposition estimates, 

ranging from 1,330 acre-feet in Webster 

Reservoir to 114,000 acre-feet in Tuttle 

Creek Lake. However, the Hillsdale Lake 

watershed had the largest mean annual 

sediment yield and exceeded the next 

largest, the Tuttle Creek Lake watershed, 

by a factor of three. Water-storage 

capacity decreased by about 27 percent in 

Tuttle Creek Lake and 5 percent or less in 

Webster Reservoir, Cheney Reservoir, 

and Hillsdale Lake. 

 Long-term, mean annual precipitation 

in Kansas decreases from east to west, 

from about 41 inches at Hillsdale Lake to 

24 inches at Webster Reservoir. Mean 

annual sediment deposition volume in 

reservoirs per square mile of contributingdrainage area showed a direct relation to 

long-term, mean annual precipitation at 

the reservoirs. However, other factors that 

are not as easily quantified are probably 

important contributors to the rate of 

sediment deposition. These factors 

include land use, topography, soil type, 

geology, and the effects of small water 

impoundments. 

 Chemicals that adsorb to fine 

sediment particles, such as phosphorus 

from fertilizer application and some 

pesticides used in crop production, can be 

transported to reservoirs and stored in 

reservoir-bottom sediment. 

The percentage of land in the 

contributing-drainage area 

used for cropland and the 

associated use of fertilizers 

and pesticides also affect the 

concentration and mass of 

pesticides in reservoir bottom 

sediment. These chemicals 

may pose a risk to the 

drinking-water supply or the 

aquatic community. To reduce 

the transport of sediment and 

chemicals into reservoirs and 

to maintain the water quality, 

land-resource bestmanagement practices 

(BMP's) have been 

implemented in several Kansas 

watersheds. Some examples include 

riparian buffer zones near tributary 

streams and creeks, no-till farming in 

lowland areas, land terracing where 

appropriate, and reduction of cropland in 

areas where sediment erosion is extensive. 

 The reservoir sediment studies in 

Kansas have shown how bathymetric 

surveying and reservoir-sediment coring 

can be combined to determine volume and 

rates of sediment deposition in each 

reservoir and to establish a baseline of 

sediment volume and mass with which to 

evaluate future reservoir data. Changes in 

water-storage capacities also may be 

determined, which is a concern for 

sustaining the reservoirs as water-supply 

sources. Additionally, water-resource 

managers in the watersheds can use this 

information and information on the 

chemical composition of the sediment to 

evaluate the effectiveness of implemented 

BMP's so that action may be taken to 

preserve the aesthetic and chemical 

quality and to lengthen the useful life of 

the reservoirs. 

References

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River Basin water management study, 

Kansas: U.S. Department of the Interior, Special Report, April 1984, 88 p.

Christensen, V.G., 1999, Deposition of 

selenium and other constituents in 

reservoir bottom sediment of the 

Solomon River Basin, north-central 

Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey 

Water-Resources Investigations 

Report 99–4230, 46 p. 

Ferrari, R.L., 1997, Webster Reservoir 

1996 sedimentation survey: Denver, 

Colorado, Bureau of Reclamation, 

24 p.

Guy, H.P., 1969, Laboratory theory and 

methods for sediment analysis: U.S. 

Geological Survey Techniques of 

Water-Resources Investigations, 

book 5, chap. C1, 58 p.

Juracek, K.E., 1997, Analysis of bottom 

sediment to estimate nonpoint-source 

phosphorus loads for 1981–96 in 

Hillsdale Lake, northeast Kansas: U.S. 

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Investigations Report 97–4235, 55 p.

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various pagination.

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2000, at URL

http://gisdata.kgs.ukans.edu/dasc/

 metadata/landcov.html

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Administration, 1998, Climatological 

data annual summary—Kansas 1997: 

Ashville, North Carolina, v. 111, 

no. 13, unnumbered pages.

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1983, Digitized landuse by county: 

accessed May 9, 2000, at URL

http://www.nrc.state.ne.us/databank/

 land_doc.html

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assessment of the lower Kansas River 

basin, Kansas and Nebraska—dissolved oxygen and Escherichia coli 

bacteria in streams during low flow, 

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Investigations Report 94–4077, 102 p.

______1998, Watershed trend analysis and 

water-quality assessment using 

bottom-sediment cores from Cheney 

Reservoir, south-central Kansas: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Resources 

Investigations Report 98–4227, 24 p.

Putnam, J.E., 1997, Occurrence of 

phosphorus, other nutrients, and 

triazine herbicides in water from the 

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U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigations 

 Report 97–4019, 66 p.

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D.R., and Carlson, M.D., 1999, Water 

resources data, Kansas, water year 

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