WATER QUALITY OF CANYON LAKE CENTRAL TEXAS
By W. R. Roddy and Kidd M. Wadded
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Open-File Report 82-678
Prepared in cooperation with the TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
Austin, Texas 1982 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
JAMES G. WATT, Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Dallas L. Peck, Director
For additional information For sale by: write to:
District Chief Open-File Services Section U.S. Geological Survey Western Distribution Branch 649 Federal Building U.S. Geological Survey 300 E. Eighth Street Box 25425, Federal Center Austin, TX 78701 Lakewood, CO 80225 (Telephone: (303) 234-5888)
II CONTENTS
Page Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Purpose of this report 2 Description of Canyon Lake and its environment 2 Water quality of Canyon Lake 4 Thermal stratification 4 Specific conductance 5 Di ssol ved oxygen 7 Circulation patterns during the 1976 water year 9 Dissolved iron and dissolved manganese 14 Total inorganic nitrogen and total phosphorus 14 Dissolved solids, dissolved chloride, dissolved sulfate, and hardness 21 Temperature of the Guadalupe River 21 Summary of conclusions 24 Selected references 26
III ILLUSTRATIONS
Page Figure 1. Map showing location of water-quality data-collection sites on Canyon Lake 3 2-14. Graphs showing: 2. Variations in air and water temperatures at selected sites, 1971-76 6 3. Variations in the concentrations of dissolved oxygen during summer and winter surveys, 1974-76 8 4. Distribution of water temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen, January 1976 10 5. Distribution of water temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen, May 1976 11 6. Distribution of water temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen, September 1976 12 7. Relation of rainfall to the inflow and outflow of Canyon Lake during 30 days preceding date of survey 13 8. Seasonal profiles of dissolved iron, dissolved managnese, and dissolved oxygen at sites AC and FC 15 9. Variations in the concentrations of dissolved iron during summer surveys 16 10. Variations in the concentrations of dissolved manganese during summer surveys 17 11. Variations in the concentrations of total inorganic nitrogen and total phosphorus at site Ag 19 12. Summer and winter profiles of total ammonia, total nitrite plus nitrate, and dissolved oxygen at sites AC and DC 20 13. Variations in the range and volume-weighted average concentrations of dissolved solids, dissolved chloride, dissolved sulfate, and hardness 22 14. Monthly average water temperature of the Guadalupe River downstream from Canyon Lake before and after closure of the dam 23