Hydrology of the Upper Cheyenne River Basin A. Hydrology of Stock-Water Reservoirs in Upper Cheyenne River Basin By R. C. CULLER B. Sediment Sources and Drainage-Basin Character­ istics in Upper Cheyenne River Basin By R. F. HADLEY and S. A. SCHUMM GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1531 Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation as part of the soil and moisture program of the Department of the Interior UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1961 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D.G. CONTENTS Page Abstract__ ______________________________________________________ 1 Introduction. _____________________________________________________ 2 Acknowledgments _________________________________________________ 2 Scope of fieldwork and method of selecting sample areas._______________ 3 Selection of sample areas_______________________________________ 3 Reservoir surveys____________________________________________ 3 Number and capacity of reservoirs_----------_-----__---___------ 8 Large reservoirs_______________________________________________ 8 Description of the reservoirs- _______________________________________ 8 Description of the basin____________________________________________ 13 Drainage and topography_______________________________________ 13 Climate._____________________________________________________ 15 Vegetation_ _________________________________________________ 16 Geology and soils-_-__--_-_____-_---_-_-___---__-____________-_ 16 Land use _____________________________________________________ 19 Use of water by livestock_______________________._______________ 19 Hydrology______________________________________________________ 20 Selection of observation reservoirs.______________________________ 20 Processing of observed data_____________________________________ 24 Evaporation by energy-budget method.__________________________ 76 Total evaporation and seepage.__-__________-_-___-_-___-_-_-__- 78 Construction of runoff maps______-_-__-_-______-__--_________-_ 85 Runoff from individual storm periods.__________________-__-_---_ 86 Application of hydrologic data to all reservoirs______-_-___-_-_____---_ 95 Determination of runoff retained by all reservoirs _________________ 95 Frequency and quantity of runoff__________---_-_______---_ 95 Contents of reservoirs at beginning of runoff __________________ 102 Retention curves.__-_______-_--__-______-_--_--_--_-__---- 105 Runoff retained in drainage basins above gaging stations ___________ 106 Runoff retained in small reservoirs_______-_-_-__--_-______-_- 109 Runoff retained in large reservoirs __________________________ 113 Summary of runoff retained in all reservoirs_________________ 113 Runoff retained by aggregate reservoirs for individual storms-______ 114 Determination of seepage volume._______________________________ 117 Comparison of measured and mapped runoff in tributary basins.---- 117 Determination of losses from water budget________._____-_____---_ 121 Reservoir losses______________[____________-__---_-_-__--_--__-_-_-- 125 Evaporation and seepage.______________________________________ 125 Effect of reservoirs on runoff in relation to losses__-_____-_____-_-- 130 Summary of water losses chargeable to the reservoirs_______________ 132 Evaluation of possible errors._____-_-____-____-_-_---___-___---- 134 Literature cited.__________________________________________________ 136 Index____________________________________________________________ 197 in IV CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE 1. Map of Upper Cheyenne River basin._________________ In pocket 2. Lines of equal runoff for 1951; May 21-24, 1952; and August 4-7, 1954____________________-__________.________ In pocket Page FIGURE 1. Map of sample area 564_____________-_-_-_______________ 5 2. Copy of sample field report on reservoir.__________________ 6 3. Contour map of reservoir in sample area 564.______________ 7 4. Complete drainage area study__________________________ 21 5. Profile of gaging slope_________________________________ 22 6. Map of reservoir.______________________________________ 23 7. Area and capacity curves-______-------------_-__--__-_-_ 24 8. Hydrograph of water-surface elevations ___________________ 25 9. Hydrograph of reservoir contents_____-___________________ 26 10. Hydrograph of reservoir surface area____________________ 27 11. Relation of evaporation and seepage to total loss from reser­ voirs.__----___________________--___---______-__-_-__ 85 12. Extent of storm runoff, percent of area contribution._______ 94 13. Average frequency of runoff, 1951-54_____________________ 96 14. Effect of size of drainage area on runoff ___________________ 99 15. Frequency of occurrence of storm runoff by class of annual runoff___________________________________________ 101 16. Storm events producing annual runoff_________.____--_-_ 103 17. Initial contents of reservoirs______-___-__---_-_____-___-_ 104 18. Retention eurves--____________--_-_-_-_-----_---------- 106 19. Annual runoff versus effective reservoir retention.__________ 131 20. Range in effective retention for possible errors in sampling___ 135 CONTENTS V TABLES Page TABLE 1. Tabulation of reservoir data in sample area 564.___________ 4 2. Runoff Cheyenne River basin, 1951-54 summer season__-__- 28 3. Computation of stock-reservoir evaporation rates in Cheyenne River basin..____---________--_-_--________----__--_. 79 4. Sample computation of evaporation and seepage from obser­ vation reservoir 35-_______--___-______-_____--____-___ 80 5. Evaporation and seepage from reservoirs.__-______--__-_-_ 81 6. Storm runoff at observation reservoirs.__________-_-_-_-_-_ 87 7. Annual number of flows, in acre-feet per square mile, in class indicated for 1951-54____.____________________________ 97 8. Application of retention curves to observation reservoirs_____ 107 9. Runoff retained in reservoirs, by drainage areas. ___________ 110 10. Summary of volume of runoff, in acre-feet, retained by all reservoirs..-_-_____-__________--_-_--______-------_-- 113 11. Summary of volume of runoff, in acre-feet, retained by all reservoirs for two storms ______________________________ 116 12. Volume of evaporation and seepage as percent of retained runoff in observation reservoirs _______________________ 117 13. Summary of reservoir study. _--_----_---------___------_ 119 14. Annual runoff of Cheyenne River near Hot Springs, S. Dak__ 120 15. Water budget for the Cheyenne River basin. Averages for 1951-54..___________________________________________ 121 16. Water budget for the Cheyenne River basin. Storms of May 21-24, 1952, and August 4-7, 1954.-__._________________ 122 17. Computation of effective retention______________________ 130 18. Disposition of runoff in the Cheyenne River basin above Angostura Dam_-_______-__-____-_-______-_-------__- 133 Hydrology of Stock-Water Reservoirs in Upper Cheyenne River Basin By R. C. CULLER GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1531-A CONTENTS [The letters in parentheses preceding the titles designate the chapters] Page (A) Hydrology of stock-water reservoirs in upper Cheyenne River basin. 1 (B) Sediment sources and drainage basin characteristics in upper Cheyenne River basin.______-____-_-__--___-___---______---. 135 in HYDROLOGY OF THE UPPER CHEYENNE RIVER BASIN HYDROLOGY OF STOCK-WATER RESERVOIRS IN UPPER CHEYENNE RIVER BASIN By E. C. CULLER ABSTRACT The objective of this investigation was to determine the effect on runoff of the many stock reservoirs in the Cheyenne River basin above Angostura Dam. As a first step it was necessary to determine, within reasonable limits of accuracy, the number of reservoirs in the basin, the storage capacity, the drainage area, and the water loss from each. A sampling method was adopted because the size of the basin, 9,100 square miles, prohibited examination of all reservoirs within the drainage area. Forty-nine sample areas of 9 square miles each were selected as a 5-percent sample of the 955 complete quarter townships within the basin above Angostura Dam. All reservoirs located within the sample quarter townships were surveyed. The 49 sample areas contain 466 operating reservoirs with an aggregate storage capacity of 2,618 acre-feet and an aggregate drainage area of 222 square miles. Applying the findings of the sampling to the area as a whole, it was estimated that the basin contained 9,320 reservoirs with an aggregate storage capacity of 52,360 acre-feet and an aggregate drainage area of 4,440 square miles. In addition there are 16 reservoirs in the basin having capacities in excess of 230 acre-feet. The aggregate total capacity of these reservoirs is 8,035 acre-feet. A network of observation reservoirs was operated during the four runoff seasons from 1951 to 1954. The number of reservoirs observed ranged from 48 to 57 and produced a total of 212 station-years of record. A complete record for each observation reservoir is included in this report. An analysis of the observation-reservoir records permitted the computation of volume of annual inflow to reservoirs in all parts of the basin, volume of inflow retained by reservoirs, and volume of retained inflow depleted by evapo­ ration and seepage. Complete computations were made of one each of the two types of runoff producing storms, typical of the Cheyenne River basin. Water retained by reservoirs is subjected to two major types of depletion evaporation and