Significant finding of water-quality studies and implications for Cheney Reservoir watershed, south-central Kansas, 1996-2001

Abstract

W ichita K A NS A S Water-quality issues in the Cheney Reservoir watershed were investigated from 1996Ð2001 as part of a cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the city of Wichita, Kansas. Water quality in the Cheney Reservoir watershed is important because much of the population of the area, which includes the Wichita metropolitan area, relies on Cheney Reservoir as a drinkingwater source and for recreational activities. Water-quality studies conducted during the investigation addressed the transport of important water-quality constituents that included nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus species), pesticides, bacteria, and suspended solids. Conclusions drawn for most water-quality studies conducted in the Cheney Reservoir watershed were the result of samples collected at six surface-water-quality sampling sites (five upstream and one downstream from Cheney Reservoir) and reservoirsediment and watershed-soil studies (fig. 1). � The water-quality studies are documented in the reports referenced in this fact sheet. Reports of all of these studies are available on the World Wide Web at http://ks.water.usgs.gov/Kansas/qw/cheney/