Water Resources of the Kansas City Area Missouri and Kansas
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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 273 WATER RESOURCES OF THE KANSAS CITY AREA MISSOURI AND KANSAS UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Douglas McKay, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. E. Wrather, Director GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 273 WATER RESOURCES OF THE KANSAS CITY AREA MISSOURI AND KANSAS By V. C. Fishel, J. K Searcy, and F. H. Rainwater Washington, D. 0,1953 Free on application to the Geological Survey* Washington 25, D. C. PREFACE This report is one of a series concerning water re data for that part of the Kansas City area that is in sources of certain selected industrial areas of nation Missouri. al importance and is intended to provide information of value for national defense and the orderly planning Chemical data were supplied by the U. S. Public of municipal and industrial expansion. The series is Health Service, the Missouri Division of Geological prepared with the technical guidance of the Water Uti Survey and Water Resources, the Division of Sanitation lization Section of the Technical Coordination Branch. of the Kansas State Board of Health, the water depart The report was prepared under the direct supervision ments of Kansas City, Mo., Kansas City, Kans. , and of P. C. Benedict, regional engineer, Missouri River North Kansas City, Mo. , and by some industrial basin (Quality of Water); H. C. Bolon, district engi companies. neer in Missouri (Surface Water); and V. C. Fishel, district engineer in Kansas (Ground Water). Some of Data pertaining to the use of water were furnished the data on the use of water were collected'by Prescott by the Kansas City, Mo. , Water Department; the Underwood, Jr. , formerly of the Ground Water Board of Public Utilities of Kansas City, Kans.; the Branch. North Kansas City Water Department; the Kansas City Power & Light Co. ; and the industries in the Kansas Many of the data summarized in this report were City area. collected over a period of many years by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with Federal, State, Special acknowledgment is due E. L. Clark, and local agencies. In Kansas the surface-water in director, J. G. Grohskoff, and Frank Greene, Mis vestigations have been carried on by the U. S. Geolog souri Division of Geological Survey and Water Re ical Survey largely with the cooperation of the Division sources; L. E. Ordelheide, director, Bureau of Public of Water Resources of the State Board of Agriculture. Health Engineering, Missouri Division of Health; J. C. In Missouri the surface-water investigations in the Frye and R. C. Moore, directors. State Geological area are carried on largely in cooperation with the Survey of Kansas; Dwight Metzler, director, Division Missouri Division of Geological Survey and Water of Sanitation of the Kansas State Board of Health; Resources and the Corps of Engineers, United States Robert Smrha, chief engineer, Division of Water Re Army. In Kansas the ground-water investigations are sources of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture; made in cooperation with the State Geological Survey, G. J. Hopkins, U. S. Public Health Service; M. P. the Division of Sanitation of the State Board of Health, Hatcher, director, Kansas City, Mo., Water Depart and the Division of Water Resources of the State Board ment; R. J. Duvall, manager of production and dis of Agriculture. The Missouri Division of Geological tribution and A. W. Rumsey, chemist, Kansas City, Survey and Water Resources supplied ground-water Kans. , Department of Water, Light and Power. II CONTENTS Page Page Summary.................................................. 1 Ground water ............................................ 28 Introduc tion .............................................. 2 C onsolida ted formations........................... 28 Purpose ................................................ 2 Unconsolidated deposits ........................... 28 Description of area................................. 2 Fairfax district, North Kansas City, Climate................................................. 2 and northeast district........................ 28 Importance of area.................................. 4 Independence area................................ 35 Significance of the chemical and physical East Armourdale and central districts..... 36 characteristics of water........................ Argentine and West Armourdale Occurrence of water................................... districts.......................................... 37 Surface water............................................ 9 Kansas River valley west of Kansas Records available ................................... 9 City ............................................... 38 Missouri River at Kansas City, Mo............ 10 Public water supplies.................................. 38 Navigation.......................................... 10 Kansas City, Mo..................................... 38 Discharge........................................... 10 Kansas City, Kans .................................. 40 Floods............................................... 10 North Kansas City, Mo............................ 43 Qual i ty............................................... 12 Independenee, Mo................................... 43 Chemical quality................................ 12 Olathe, Kans.......................................... 43 Effect of Kansas River on quality of Liberty, Mo........................................... 43 Missouri River water....................... 16 Bonner Springs, Kans.............................. 43 Tempe r a ture..................................... 16 Parkville, Mo........................................ 43 Kansas River at Bonner Springs, Kans. ...... 18 Lees Summit, Mo................................... 43 Navigation.......................................... 19 Blue Springs, Mo.................................... 43 Discharge .......................................... 19 Water Demands.......................................... 46 Floods ............................................... 19 Public water supplies .............................. 46 Quality............................................... 20 Industrial water supplies.......................... 46 Blue River near Kansas City, Mo. ............. 23 Conflicting uses...................................... 47 D ischarge........................................... 23 Potentialities ............................................ 49 Floods ............................................... 24 Surface water......................................... 49 Quality............................................... 25 Ground water.......................................... 49 Little Blue River near Lake City, Mo......... 25 Quantity................................................ 49 Discharge........................................... 25 Effect of induced infiltration on Floods ............................................... 26 temperature and quality......................... - 50 Quality............................................... 28 Wa te r laws ............................................... 51 Selected bibliography.................................. 52 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Plate 1. Map of Kansas City area showing stream-gaging stations and the'areas flooded in 1951 and 1952...................................................................................................... In pocket 2. Map of Kansas City area showing the alluvium and the chemical quality of municipal water supplies....................................................................................... In pocket Figure 1. Selected climatological data for Kansas City, Mo.......................................................... 3 2. Water treatment and usage by industry (From the Conservation Foundation and the National Assoc. Manufacturers, 1950)..................................................................... 5 3. Duration of published records at gaging stations in the Kansas City area........................... 9 4. Maximum, minimum, and average monthly discharge of Missouri River at Kansas City, Mo. , 1897-1951................................................................................ 10 5. Flood-stage frequencies on the Missouri River at Kansas City, Mo.................................. 11 6. Water-surface profile for selected floods on the Missouri River, mile 367. 3 to mile 390. 0.......................................................................................................... 12 7. Relation between streamflow and chemical composition of the water, Missouri River, 1951 ........................................................................................................ 12 8. Hardness of untreated Missouri River water at Kansas City, Mo. , water-treatment plant, 1946-51..................................................................................................... 12 9. Monthly average turbidity and departure from mean turbidity of Missouri River water at Kansas City, Kans., water and light plant, 1942-51................................................ 16 III Page Figure 10. Maximum daily deviations from monthly averages for several physical and chemical characteristics, Missouri River water, 1951 ............................................................ 17 11. Temperature characteristics of Missouri River water at northeast plant of Kansas City Power & Light Co. , 1951 ..................................................................... 18 12. Maximum, minimum, and average monthly discharge of the Kansas River at Bonner Springs, Kans. , 1917-51......................................................................................