Fresh Water Studies Commons^™

Expansion Potential For Irrigation Within The Mississippi Delta Region, Robert N. Shulstad, Ralph D. May, Jon Mark Erstine, Blake N. Phillips, Billy E. Herrington Jr.

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

17.6 million acres, or 73 percent, of the Mississippi Delta Region is currently cropland and possesses the physical characteristics of slope, texture and soil type which are recommended for irrigation. Economic feasibility of expanding irrigation by flood, furrow and center pivot methods were examined under 24 scenarios representing two sets of crop prices, yield levels, production costs, opportunity costs and six crop rotations. Irrigation was economically feasible for 56 to 100 percent of the cropland across all scenarios. Approximately 88 percent of the cropland can be economically irrigated with flood or furrow in its present form, 8 percent yield highest …

The Costs And Benefits Of Soil Erosion Control In The North Lake Chicot Watershed, Robert N. Shulstad, C. Tim Osborn, Alan D. Mcqueen

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Lake Chicot is divided by a levee into two basins, the high quality northern basin and the extremely polluted southern basin. Water quality in the northern basin of Lake Chicot is diminishing due to soil erosion. Costs for alternative control programs for the seventeen fare, 11,470 acre northern watershed were estimated. Twenty-nine combinations of rotations and best management practices were evaluated. Soil loss can be reduced almost 25 percent from 4.2 tons per acre to 3.2 tons per acre, while increasing net returns to farmers from $83.94 per acre to $107.28 per acre by altering present cropping patterns. A prohibition …

Nutrients And Acid In The Rain And Dry Fallout At Fayetteville, Arkansas (1980-1982), George H. Wagner, Kenneth F. Steele

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Wet and dry fallout at Fayetteville, Arkansas have been collected separately and analyzed since April, 1980. The precipitation-weighted-average pH for two yearly periods of rainfall were 4.72 (6/80-5/81) and 4.75 (6/81-5/82). This corresponds to a concentration of the acid ion, H+, of about 18 parts per billion (ppb). Pure water in equilibrium with the CO2 of the air would have a pH of 5.65 (2.2 ppb of H+). The range of pH during this two year period was 3.86-7.74(140-0 ppb H+) for the rainfall. Aqueous extracts of the dry fallout were always in the 6.75-7.87 pH range, i.e., neutral to …

Monitoring Of Groundwater Levels For Real-Time Conjunctive Water Management, Richard C. Peralta, Vince Mazure, Paul Dutram

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Water users in the Arkansas Grand Prairie wish to maintain sufficient groundwater levels to: insure adequate groundwater reserves for time of drought, protect themselves from litigation caused by wells going dry, and insure a sustained yield. Achievement of these goals requires regular measurement of groundwater levels. Review of monitoring practice and technology indicates that spring and fall measurements taken over the entire area using steel tape and acoustic device is preferred for most long range planning. Continuous monitoring is indicated for critical parts of the region where saturated thicknesses are small. Desirable attributes of a data collection/transmission system for such …

A Survey Of Soils Irrigated With Arkansas River Water, John T. Gilmour, H. D. Scott, R. E. Baser

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Interest in the use of Arkansas River water for irrigation has increased recently as land adjacent to the river is converted to crop production and river water is considered as an alternative to depleted underground supplies. Since the Arkansas River can contain elevated concentrations of sodium chloride, this study was designed to determine if soil conditions adverse to crop growth were developing where river water has been used. The impact of river water on sites where river water was used as either the sole source for up to 3 years or as a supplement to another surface source for up …

The Effects Of Forest Harvest On Water Quality And Aquatic Life (Phase I), Edmond J. Bacon

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

A long term study on the effects of clearcut forest harvest and regeneration was conducted in a representative watershed of the Ouachita National Forest. Fourteen water quality parameters were analyzed to characterize baseline water quality. Water quality was classified as excellent. A total of 350 quantitative benthic samples and 15 ultraviolet light trap samples yielded 173 species of macroinvertebrates. Mean densities of macroinvertebrates ranged from 4,800/m2 to 23,040/m2 and averaged 12,499/m2 in the upper Little Missouri River. Twenty-two quantitative collections of fishes were made at representative riffles and pools. The average biomass estimates for riffles and pools were 5.69 kg/ha …

Fisheries Report No 59 - Potential Fisheries Capability Of The Ord In The Short, Medium And Long Terms, Dr N. Morrissy

Fisheries Research Reports

This report examines the history, future and problems of various methods for development and exploitation of the fisheries resources of the Ord.

The primary resource is the array of native fish and crustacean species, with the possible introduction of other desirable or noxious species being a subject for consideration.

Water resources, supporting these species, are the remaining natural Ord River downstream from the Diversion Dam at Kununurra, the stillwaters of Lake Kununurra and Lake Argyle, and, for aquaculture, the controlled distribution of water supply over the flat land of the irrigation system (Fig. 1). Another recognized resource is the climatic …

Report No 58 - 1982 - Review Of Rainfall And Wetlands In The South-West Of Western Australia, J. A.K. Lane, D. R. Munro

Fisheries Research Reports

An account is given of involved the biological principles in decisions concerning duck-shooting seasons in the south-west of western Australia.

Conditions for waterfowl during 1982 are described through the use of rainfall statistics and data obtained from the Department's wetland monitoring programme.

1982 was characterized by exceptionally high rainfall in January and well-below average from February to October.

1982 was the seventh consecutive year of below-average rainfall in all five Meteorological of the south-west. 1976 to 1982 has thus been the south-west's driest seven-year period for more than seventy years.

The record-breaking rains of January caused widespread flooding in the …

The Effects Of Limited Food Availability On The Striped Bass Fishery In Lake Mead, John R. Baker, Larry J. Paulson

Publications (WR)

The original range of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) was along the Atlantic Coast. They were introduced into the lower Sacramento River in 1879 and are now also found along the Pacific Coast. A landlocked striped bass fishery was established in Santee-Cooper Reservoir, South Carolina, in 1954, and they have since been introduced into numerous other reservoirs, including Lake Havasu, Lake Mead and Lake Powell on the Colorado River. Striped bass were introduced into Lake Mead in 1969 in response to declines in the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fishery that occurred during the 1960s and in order to further utilize the …

The Effects Of Impoundments On Salinity In The Colorado River, Larry J. Paulson, John R. Baker

Publications (WR)

The increase in salinity of our western rivers has been identified as one of the most serious water quality problems in the nation. This is of special concern in the Colorado River where salinity has increased from pristine levels estimated at 380 mg/1 to present-day levels of 825 mg/1 at Imperial Dam. Flow depletions, associated with decreased runoff and increased evaporation and diversions, coupled with high salt loading from natural and man-created sources are considered the primary causes for rising salinity in the river. The urban and agricultural development projected to occur in the basin through this century could deplete …

Historical Patterns Of Phytoplankton Productivity In Lake Mead, Richard T. Prentki, Larry J. Paulson

Publications (WR)

Lake Mead was impounded in 1935 by the construction of Hoover Dam. The Colorado River was unregulated prior to then and therefore was subjected to extreme variations in flows and suspended sediment loads. Hoover Dam stabilized flows and reduced suspended sediment loads downstream, but Lake Mead still received silt-laden inflows from the upper Colorado River Basin. The Colorado River contributed 97% of the suspended sediment inputs to Lake Mead, and up to 140 x 1O⁶ metric tons (t) entered the reservoir in years of high runoff. Most of the sediments were deposited in the river channel and formed an …

The Influence Of Lake Powell On The Suspended Sediment-Phosphorus Dynamics Of The Colorado River Inflow To Lake Mead, T. D. Evans, Larry J. Paulson

Publications (WR)

The Colorado River has been successively modified by the construction of several reservoirs, beginning in 1935 with the formation of Lake Mead by Hoover Dam. These reservoirs are located in a chain, and each one has an influence on the nutrient dynamics and productivity of the river and downstream reservoir. Lake Mead derives 98% of its annual inflow from the Colorado River. Historically, the Colorado River inflow was unregulated into Lake Mead. Regulation occurred in 1963, when Lake Powell was impounded by the construction of Glen Canyon Dam, approximately 450 km upstream. The formation of Lake Powell drastically altered the …

Raw Water Quality In The New Charleston, Illinois Pump Storage Reservoir, Kevin G. Lookis

Masters Theses

Charleston, Illinois, a city located in east-central Illinois, recently implemented a new concept in a raw water system. Due to storage capacity-sedimentation problems in the old Lake Charleston-Embarras River raw water supply, the Charleston Pump Storage Reservoir was constructed. The new system involved building a dike separating the Lake Charleston impoundment from the Embarras River. Water to increase the storage capacity of the reservoir can now be selectively pumped into the impoundment from the river.

Raw water quality in the reservoir was monitored on a weekly basis for a full year from August, 1981 to August, 1982. The levels of …

The Application Of Laser Intracavity Absorption Detector To Gas Chromatography Of Trace Organic Pollutants In Water, Robert B. Green

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

A helium-neon (HeNe) laser operating simultaneously at 3.39 um (infrared) and 0.63 um (visible) has been used as a selective detector for hydrocarbons in the effluent of a gas chromatograph. The infrared and visible laser transitions originate at the same energy level and are competitive. When a hydrocarbon enters the laser's resonant cavity, the 3.39 um energy is absorbed due to the C-H stretching vibration and the visible emission is enhanced. The visible laser emission is monitored with a photodiode as a quantitative measure of the concentration of the absorbing molecule. The minimum detectable concentration for propane using the double-beam …

Effects Of Wastewater Discharges On Periphyton Growth In Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, Marsha Korb Morris

Publications (WR)

A study of the effects of secondary-treated wastewater on periphyton growth in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona was conducted from September 1979 to December 1980. Periphyton ash-free dry weight, chlorophyll-a, dominant species composition, and alkaline phosphatase activity were measured on fiberglass substrates. Substrates were incubated for two to four weeks in littoral and limnetic habitats. Physical and chemical variables and phytoplankton chlorophyll-a were measured concurrently.

Transparency increased with increasing distance from the discharge. Secchi depth ranged from 0.75 m at the discharge confluence (station 2) in August, to greater than 20 m at the most distant stations (stations 9 and 10) in …

A Faunal And Seasonal Study Of The Aquatic Insects In Two Water Ecosystems In South Arkansas: Degray Reservoir And The Upper Cadda River, Robert T. Allen

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The impounding of the lower Caddo River to create DeGray Reservoir radically changed the water habitats in that portion of the Caddo River. A number of new and different habitats were created by the lake. The objective of this study was to determine what, if any, differences existed between the aquatic insect biotas of DeGray Reservoir and the upper Caddo River. Four collecting stations along the shore of DeGray Reservoir and four stations along the upper Caddo River were selected as sampling sites. Collections were made at one month (March, April, Oct., Nov.) intervals or at two week intervals (May, …

Effects Of Water On The Fate Of Herbicides In Irrigated Soils, Terry L. Lavy

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The wide use of soil-applied herbicides necessitates an understanding of their fate in soil if we are to use them in the most beneficial manner. All herbicides have some degree of water solubility and the field performance of many are dependent on ample, timely availability of soil moisture. It is important that different aspects of soil-herbicide-water interactions be thoroughly investigated. An excess use of water for irrigation purposes can result in the downward movement of herbicides in the soil profile. Subsoils are less adsorptive and a decreased degradation potential exists when herbicides move below the top 15 cm. In sandy …

Atrazine Degradation, Sorption And Bioconcentration In Water Systems, Duane C. Wolf, Ramon L. Jackson

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The herbicide atrazine is used extensively to control broadleaf and grass weeds in such crops as sorghum and corn. A small portion of the atrazine may be lost from the area of application by surface runoff and could enter a stream or lake. The objective of this study was to evaluate atrazine degradation, sorption, and bioconcentration in watersediment systems. The results indicated that sediments with lower pH values and higher organic matter levels adsorbed higher levels of atrazine than sediments with neutral pH values and lower organic matter levels. Microbial decomposition of the herbicide was slow under the conditions of …

An Ecological Analysis Of Relic Diatoms In Sediments Of Las Vegas Bay, Lake Mead, David Ross Hetzel

Publications (WR)

Relic diatoms in sediments of the inner Las Vegas Bay, near the Las Vegas Wash sewage inflow, were examined in order to assess historic trophic conditions in this area of Lake Mead. Diatom sedimentation rates and ratios of Araphidineae/Centrales (A/C) diatom groups were determined from sediment cores collected in the old wash channel 1.5 km from the sewage inflow (station 2), in a small cove 1.5 km further downstream (station 3) and in an adjacent embayment off Gypsum Wash (station 4). Diatom sedimentation rates generally increased from the bottom to the top of each core, but pronounced minima existed at …

Report No 56 - 1981 Review Of Rainfall And Wetlands In The South-West Of Western Australia, J. A.K. Lane, D. R. Munro

Fisheries Research Reports

An account is given of the biological principles involved in decisions concerning duck-shooting seasons in the south-west of Western Australia.

The conditions for waterfowl which prevailed during 1981 are described through the use of rainfall statistics and data obtained from the Department's wetland monitoring programme.

Rainfall was generally average over central and northern areas of the south-west during 1981. Rainfall in southern areas, however, was generally

below to much-below-average, although south coastal areas from Augusta to Albany received average falls.

Unusually heavy falls were recorded in North Coastal, North Central and Central Coastal Districts in May, and average falls were …

A Salt And Water Balance Model For A Silt Loam Soil Cropped To Rice And Soybean, J. T. Gilmour, J. A. Ferguson, B. R. Wells

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

A computer model was developed which described salt and water balances for a silt loam soil common to the Grand Praire physiographic region of Arkansas. A ten year period of weather data (1966-75) was used as input data for two divergent cases in regard to salt accumulation. Case one was a rice-soybean rotation with soybean irrigated, while case two was a rice-soybean-soybean rotation with soybean not irrigated. Salts considered were calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate and chloride as well as the precipitate, calcium carbonate. Where soybeans were not irrigated less evapotranspiration, more infiltration and less runoff were observed during the fallow …

Radionuclides In Dardanelle Lake In The Area Of The Nuclear I Facility: 1979-1981, D. M. Chittenden Ii

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The variations of the concentrations of 90Sr and 137Cs at four stations in Dardanelle Reservoir were analyzed as functions of two parameters: concentration of ionic species and the activity released, Ar, from the two 900 Mw reactors which use the reservoir as a source of cooling water. Multiple regression analyses were performed on the radionuclide concentrations using the two parameters as predictors. The analyses indicated that 90Sr is in a state of equilibrium between the solution and the suspended sediment. The position of the equilibrium was found to be quite sensitive to changes in the concentration of alkaline earth cations, …

A Benefit Cost Analysis Of A Soil Erosion Control Program For The Northern Watershed Of Lake Chicot, Arkansas, C. Tim Osborn, Alan D. Mcqueen, Robert N. Shulstad

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Lake Chicot, a 5,025-acre oxbow lake created by the ancient meandering of the Mississippi River, is located near the town of Lake Village in Chicot County of southeastern Arkansas (Fig. 1). Today the lake is separated into a northern basin of 1,154 acres and a southern basin of 3,871 acres by a levee maintained by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (Fig. 2). The entire lake once offered excellent fishing and recreational benefits. But with channelization in the drainage basin and final closure of the Cypress Creek gap along the Mississippi River levee in 1920, drainage and flood waters from …

Feasibility Study For A Beaver Reservoir Agricultural Water Supply Volume I, James Ferguson, Robert Shulstad, William Bateman

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

An irrigation district of approximately 30,000 acres has been proposed to be located in Washington and Benton Counties in Northwest Arkansas utilizing water from Beaver Reservior. This report on the economic benefits of such a district is done under contract No. DACW03-81-C for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by the Water Resources Research Center at the University of Arkansas.

Feasibility Study For A Beaver Reservoir Agricultural Water Supply Volume Ii, James Ferguson, Robert Shulstad, William Bateman

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

An irrigation district of approximately 30,000 acres has been proposed to be located in Washington and Benton Counties in Northwest Arkansas utilizing water from Beaver Reservior. This report on the economic benefits of such a district is done under contr

Application Of A New Method For Quantitative Evaluation Of Stream Benthic Algal Populations, Richard L. Meyer, Neil Woomer

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The response of stream biota to changing water quality or other ecosystem perturbations is an important means of assessing water quality. The dynamic nature of streams induces significant sampling and measurement problems. In smaller streams a true algal plankton subcommunity is lacking and the major location for the production of algae is attachment onto stones and other stable surfaces at the substrate-water interface. Several artificial techniques have been developed to analyze the composition of a portion of the epiphytic periphyton (algae attached to stones) but not populations which are qualitatively and quantitatively similar to natural substrates. A newly developed substrate …

Estimating Water Demand Schedules For Selected Industries In Arkansas, Joseph A. Ziegler, Stephen E. Bell

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Water demand functions for the paper and chemical industries in the state of Arkansas were estimated utilizing data collected from individual plants throughout the state. Regression analysis was used to estimate demand functions from a data base which included information on intake and gross water use by source, recirculated water use, costs of acquiring, treating, and discharging water, plant output, employment, and level of technology. The demand for intake water was estimated as an exponential function of average water costs and the level of technology primarily. Price elasticities of demand were estimated as approximately equal to one for both industries. …

Classification And Ranking Of Selectd Arkansas Lakes, Robert E. Babcock, Eugene H. Schmitz, Thomas Buchanan, Richard L. Meyer, James I. Meinecke, David B. Czarnecki

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Trophic-state related problems associated with waters in the United States have generated tremendous public interest and concern, particularly during the past decade. These interests and concerns led to Public Law 92-500, the mandate by Congress known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Various sections of PL 92-500 directly address the need for trophic-state analyses, particularly Section 314 referred to as the Clean Lakes Program which assigns states the responsibility for classifying their lakes according to water quality, identifying methods of pollution control and restoring those lakes which have become degraded.

A Faunal Analysis Of The Springs Of The Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas, Henry W. Robison

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Spring ecosystems in Arkansas have historically received little attention. A faunal survey was made of 33 springs located in the core area Ouachita Mountains physiographic province. The study area was 135 x 80 km extending west from Hot Springs, Arkansas to the Oklahoma line. Springs in the Ouachita Mountain physiographic province were characterized as generally faunistically poor with often a single species such as the isopod, Lirceus h. hoppinae, being the dominant faunal element both numerically and with regard to biomass. A total of 40 species of invertebrate species and eight vertebrate species were collected from the spring environs during …

Water Quality Considerations In The Slurry Pipelining Of Coal, James W. Moore

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Interest in the use of slurry pipelines for the movement of large volumes of coal over long distances has increased rapidly during the last decade. In the early 1970's, this interest involved the movement of Western coals to markets in the southwestern and western United States. In recent years, however, interest in the use of slurry pipelines for transporting Eastern coal developed. Very little information was available concerning the water quality aspects of the slurry pipelining of Eastern coal. The research program was developed to commence building the data base in this regard. Extensive water quality investigations were conducted using …