Deposition of Selenium and Other Constituents in Reservoir Bottom Sediment of the Solomon River Basin, North-Central Kansas
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Prepared in cooperation with the O'O BUREAU OF RECLAMATION Deposition of Selenium and Other Constituents in Reservoir Bottom Sediment of the Solomon River Basin, North-Central Kansas Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4230 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey B. E. D. A. Dam overlooking Kirwin Reservoir B. Waconda Lake C. Webster Reservoir D. Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge E. Gravity corer mounted on pontoon boat (photographs A-D taken by author; photograph E taken by David P. Mau, U.S. Geological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas) U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Prepared in cooperation with the BUREAU OF RECLAMATION Deposition of Selenium and Other Constituents in Reservoir Bottom Sediment of the Solomon River Basin, North-Central Kansas By VICTORIA G. CHRISTENSEN Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4230 Lawrence, Kansas 1999 U.S. Department of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Charles G. Groat, Director The use of brand, firm, or trade names in this report is for identification purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. For additional information write to: Copies of this report can be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Information Services 4821 Quail Crest Place Building 810 Lawrence, KS 66049-3839 Box 25286, Federal Center Denver, CO 80225-0286 CONTENTS Abstract...............................................................................................................^ 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose and Objectives.......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Basin Description .................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Methods........................................................................................................^ 5 Sediment-Core Collection, Processing, and Analysis ................................................................................................. 5 Quality Control ............................................................... 10 Trend Analysis............................................................................................................................................................. 11 Results of Reservoir Bottom-Sediment Analysis .................................................................................................................. 12 Sediment-Core Lithology and Grain Size ................................................................................................................... 12 Age Dating and Depositional Patterns of Bottom Sediment ...................................................................................... 13 Concentrations and Trends in Selected Chemical Constituents ................................................................................. 16 Selenium.......................................................................^ 17 Arsenic..................................................................................................^^ 22 Strontium ........................................................................................................................................................^ 22 Nutrients and Total Organic Carbon.................................................................................................................. 26 Bottom-Sediment Volume and Mass in Webster Reservoir......................................................................................... 26 Selenium, Arsenic, and Strontium Loads in Webster Reservoir.................................................................................. 27 Comparison of Depositional Trends to Irrigation and Constituent Loads............................................................................. 27 Summary.........................................................^ 30 References .................................................................................................:........................................................................... 32 Supplemental Information ....................................................................................................................... 35 FIGURES 1. Maps showing location and near-surface geology of the Solomon River Basin, north-central Kansas.................. 2 2. Maps showing approximate location of sediment-coring sites in Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and WacondaLake......................................................................................................................................................... 6 3. Photographs showing gravity corer mounted on pontoon boat and core preparation............................................. 9 4-11. Graphs showing: 4. Depth-normalized cesium-137 profiles in selected bottom-sediment cores collected in May 1998 from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake................................................................................ 14 5. Historical inflows to Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake.............................................. 15 6. Depth-normalized selenium concentration profiles in selected bottom-sediment cores collected in May 1998 from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake...................................................... 23 7. Depth-normalized arsenic concentration profiles in selected bottom-sediment cores collected in May 1998 from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake...................................................... 24 8. Depth-normalized strontium concentration profiles in selected bottom-sediment cores collected in May 1998 from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake...................................................... 25 9. Irrigated acres in Kirwin and Webster Irrigation Districts, 1957-97 ................................................................ 28 10. Background and post-background selenium, arsenic, and strontium concentrations in bottom sediment from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake and estimated background and post- background selenium, arsensic, and strontium annual loads in Webster Reservoir.......................................... 29 11. Background and post-background mean annual streamflow into Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and WacondaLake............................................................................................................................................. 30 Contents TABLES 1. Distribution of irrigated acres in the Solomon River Basin, 1995.......................................................................... 5 2. Location of bottom-sediment coring sites in the Solomon River Basin, May 1998............................................... 8 3. Mean relative percentage differences for total recoverable metals, nutrients, and total organic carbon concentrations in sequential replicate samples from bottom-sediment coring sites WAC 1 and WAC 2 in Waconda Lake, May 1998 ...................................................................................................................................... 10 4. Mean relative percentage differences for total recoverable metals, nutrients, and total organic carbon concentrations in bottom-sediment samples from Kirwin and Webster Reservoirs, May 1998............................. 11 5. Sediment-recovery percentages in cores collected from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake, May 1998..................................................................................................................^ 12 6. Mean percentage of silt and clay, percentage of sand, bulk density, and percentage of moisture in bottom- sediment samples from coring sites in Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake, May 1998..... 13 7. Statistical summary of selected constituent concentrations in bottom-sediment samples from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake, May 1998, and comparison to sediment-quality guidelines.. 17 8. Results of trend tests on concentrations of selected constituents in bottom-sediment cores collected from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake, May 1998 .................................................................. 18 9. Core length, estimated sediment thickness, and recovery percentage for multiple cores from sediment coring sites in Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake, May 1998 ...................................................... 37 10. Results of analyses of selected physical properties for bottom-sediment cores collected in May 1998 from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake..................................................................................... 38 11. Results of analyses of sediment-quality constituents in bottom-sediment cores collected from Kirwin Reservoir, Webster Reservoir, and Waconda Lake, May 1998............................................................................... 41 CONVERSION FACTORS AND ABBREVIATIONS Multiply By To obtain acre 4,047 square meter acre-feet (acre-ft) 1,233 cubic meter cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second foot (ft) 0.3048 meter