An understanding of the quantity and quality of sediment deposited in a reservoir is necessary for effective reservoir and basin management. Sedimentation affects the useful life of a reservoir for such important purposes as flood control, water supply, and recreation. Sediment quality is an important environmental concern because sediment may act as a sink for various water-quality constituents and as a source of constituents to the overlying water column and biota. An analysis of reservoir bottom sediments can provide historical information on sediment deposition as well as magnitudes and trends for water-quality constituents that are associated with sediment such as phosphorus, trace elements, and some pesticides. Such information can be used to document and understand the effects of various natural and human factors on reservoir conditions.
Reservoir sediment investigations conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey since 1995 have been completed with specific objectives being to:
- Estimate total sediment volume and mass
- Estimate annual sediment deposition and yield from the basin
- Determine the occurrence and trends of constituents
- Estimate annual constituent loads and yields from the basin
- Assess sediment quality
- Assess how reservoir conditions have changed over time and identify possible issues of concern
- Provide a baseline for future assessments
- Methods used include bathymetric surveying, bottom-sediment coring, chemical analysis, and statistical analysis
More publications can be found at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/
Bottom-Sediment Accumulation and Quality in Shawnee Mission Lake, Johnson County, Kansas, 2006
Sediment Quality and Comparison to Historical Water Quality, Little Arkansas River Basin, South-Central Kansas, 2007
Sediment storage and severity of contamination in a shallow reservoir affected by historical lead and zinc mining
Estimation of Sediment Sources Using Selected Chemical Tracers in the Perry Lake and Lake Wabaunsee Basins, Northeast Kansas
A comparison of approaches for estimating bottom-sediment mass in large reservoirs
Sedimentation and Occurrence and Trends of Selected Chemical Constituents in Bottom Sediment, Empire Lake, Cherokee County, Kansas, 1905-2005
The legacy of leaded gasoline in bottom sediment of small rural reservoirs
Flood-related, organic-carbon anomalies as possible temporal markers in reservoir bottom sediments
Sedimentation and occurrence and trends of selected chemical constituents in bottom sediment of 10 small reservoirs, Eastern Kansas
Sediment deposition and occurrence of selected nutrients, other chemical constituents, and diatoms in bottom sediment, Perry Lake, northeast Kansas, 1969–2001
Metals, trace elements, and organochlorine compounds in bottom sediment of Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas, U.S.A.
Significant finding of water-quality studies and implications for Cheney Reservoir watershed, south-central Kansas, 1996-2001
Below are partners associated with this project.
An understanding of the quantity and quality of sediment deposited in a reservoir is necessary for effective reservoir and basin management. Sedimentation affects the useful life of a reservoir for such important purposes as flood control, water supply, and recreation. Sediment quality is an important environmental concern because sediment may act as a sink for various water-quality constituents and as a source of constituents to the overlying water column and biota. An analysis of reservoir bottom sediments can provide historical information on sediment deposition as well as magnitudes and trends for water-quality constituents that are associated with sediment such as phosphorus, trace elements, and some pesticides. Such information can be used to document and understand the effects of various natural and human factors on reservoir conditions.
Reservoir sediment investigations conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey since 1995 have been completed with specific objectives being to:
- Estimate total sediment volume and mass
- Estimate annual sediment deposition and yield from the basin
- Determine the occurrence and trends of constituents
- Estimate annual constituent loads and yields from the basin
- Assess sediment quality
- Assess how reservoir conditions have changed over time and identify possible issues of concern
- Provide a baseline for future assessments
- Methods used include bathymetric surveying, bottom-sediment coring, chemical analysis, and statistical analysis
More publications can be found at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/
Bottom-Sediment Accumulation and Quality in Shawnee Mission Lake, Johnson County, Kansas, 2006
Sediment Quality and Comparison to Historical Water Quality, Little Arkansas River Basin, South-Central Kansas, 2007
Sediment storage and severity of contamination in a shallow reservoir affected by historical lead and zinc mining
Estimation of Sediment Sources Using Selected Chemical Tracers in the Perry Lake and Lake Wabaunsee Basins, Northeast Kansas
A comparison of approaches for estimating bottom-sediment mass in large reservoirs
Sedimentation and Occurrence and Trends of Selected Chemical Constituents in Bottom Sediment, Empire Lake, Cherokee County, Kansas, 1905-2005
The legacy of leaded gasoline in bottom sediment of small rural reservoirs
Flood-related, organic-carbon anomalies as possible temporal markers in reservoir bottom sediments
Sedimentation and occurrence and trends of selected chemical constituents in bottom sediment of 10 small reservoirs, Eastern Kansas
Sediment deposition and occurrence of selected nutrients, other chemical constituents, and diatoms in bottom sediment, Perry Lake, northeast Kansas, 1969–2001
Metals, trace elements, and organochlorine compounds in bottom sediment of Tuttle Creek Lake, Kansas, U.S.A.
Significant finding of water-quality studies and implications for Cheney Reservoir watershed, south-central Kansas, 1996-2001
Below are partners associated with this project.