Cheney Reservoir Research Articles

Age, Growth, and Simulation Modeling of Walleye and Palmetto Bass Populations in Cheney and El Dorado Reservoirs, Kansas

Cheney and El Dorado reservoirs are located near urban areas in south-central Kansas and receive high use by anglers. Additionally, both reservoirs contain invasive White Perch Morone americana, which adds incentive to use informed decisions to minimize the effects of this species and maximize angler enjoyment. This study was conducted to provide age and growth information, assess the status of current fish populations, and model potential outcomes for management decisions by using Beverton-Holt yieldper- recruit models. We collected age and growth data from nine species of fish, but a concurrent study indicated that only Walleye Sander vitreus and Palmetto Bass M. saxatilis × M. chrysops consumed White Perch in high numbers (>5% occurrence with a sample size >50 individuals). As such, the focus of this paper was these two species. Results suggested that growth was similar for Walleye from both reservoirs and Palmetto Bass grew more rapidly in Cheney Reservoir. Additionally, growth overfishing was observe...

Predicting cyanobacterial abundance, microcystin, and geosmin in a eutrophic drinking-water reservoir using a 14-year dataset

ABSTRACTHarris TD, Graham JL. 2017. Predicting cyanobacterial abundance, microcystin, and geosmin in a eutrophic drinking-water reservoir using a 14-year dataset. Lake Reserve Manage. 33:32-48.Cyanobacterial blooms degrade water quality in drinking water supply reservoirs by producing toxic and taste-and-odor causing secondary metabolites, which ultimately cause public health concerns and lead to increased treatment costs for water utilities. There have been numerous attempts to create models that predict cyanobacteria and their secondary metabolites, most using linear models; however, linear models are limited by assumptions about the data and have had limited success as predictive tools. Thus, lake and reservoir managers need improved modeling techniques that can accurately predict large bloom events that have the highest impact on recreational activities and drinking-water treatment processes. In this study, we compared 12 unique linear and nonlinear regression modeling techniques to predict cyanobacterial abundance and the cyanobacterial secondary metabolites microcystin and geosmin using 14 years of physiochemical water quality data collected from Cheney Reservoir, Kansas. Support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), boosted tree (BT), and Cubist modeling techniques were the most predictive of the compared modeling approaches. SVM, RF, and BT modeling techniques were able to successfully predict cyanobacterial abundance, microcystin, and geosmin concentrations <60,000 cells/mL, 2.5 µg/L, and 20 ng/L, respectively. Only Cubist modeling predicted maxima concentrations of cyanobacteria and geosmin; no modeling technique was able to predict maxima microcystin concentrations. Because maxima concentrations are a primary concern for lake and reservoir managers, Cubist modeling may help predict the largest and most noxious concentrations of cyanobacteria and their secondary metabolites.

Quantifying suspended sediment loads delivered to Cheney Reservoir, Kansas: Temporal patterns and management implications

Cheney Reservoir, constructed during 1962 to 1965, is the primary water sup- ply for the city of Wichita, the largest city in Kansas. Sediment is an important concern for the reservoir as it degrades water quality and progressively decreases water storage capacity. Long-term data collection provided a unique opportunity to estimate the annual suspended sediment loads for the entire history of the reservoir. To quantify and characterize sediment loading to Cheney Reservoir, discrete suspended sediment samples and continuously mea- sured streamflow data were collected from the North Fork Ninnescah River, the primary inflow to Cheney Reservoir, over a 48-year period. Continuous turbidity data also were collected over a 15-year period. These data were used together to develop simple linear regression models to compute continuous suspended sediment concentrations and loads from 1966 to 2013. The inclusion of turbidity as an additional explanatory variable with streamflow improved regression model diagnostics and increased the amount of variability in suspended sediment concentration explained by 14%. Using suspended sediment concentration from the streamflow-only model, the average annual suspended sediment load was 102,517 t (113,006 tn) and ranged from 4,826 t (5,320 tn) in 1966 to 967,569 t (1,066,562 tn) in 1979. The sed- iment load in 1979 accounted for about 20% of the total load over the 48-year history of the reservoir and 92% of the 1979 sediment load occurred in one 24-hour period during a 1% annual exceedance probability flow event (104-year flood). Nearly 60% of the reservoir sedi- ment load during the 48-year study period occurred in 5 years with extreme flow events (9% to 1% annual exceedance probability, or 11- to 104-year flood events). A substantial portion (41%) of sediment was transported to the reservoir during five storm events spanning only eight 24-hour periods during 1966 to 2013. Annual suspended sediment load estimates based on streamflow were, on average, within ±20% of estimates based on streamflow and turbidity combined. Results demonstrate that large suspended sediment loads are delivered to Cheney Reservoir in very short time periods, indicating that sediment management plans eventually must address large, infrequent inflow events to be effective.

TEMPERATURE-CAUSED FISH KILL IN A FLOWING GREAT PLAINS RIVER

On 9 July 2002, while sampling a flowing segment of the North Fork Ninnescah River 10 km upstream from Cheney Reservoir, Reno County, Kansas, we observed and collected dead and dying specimens of 5 fish species. We attribute the fish kill to high water temperature, which reached 38.0°C on this day.

An Integrated Modeling Approach to Total Watershed Management: Water Quality and Watershed Assessment of Cheney Reservoir, Kansas, USA

Degradation of water quality is the major health concern for lakes and reservoirs in the central regions of the United States as a result of heavily devoted agricultural production. A vital key to the development of a reservoir management strategy is to identify nutrient loading that describes associated water quality conditions in reservoirs. This study integrated AnnAGNPS watershed and BATHTUB lake models to simulate actual lake water quality conditions of Cheney Reservoir, KS, and demonstrated the use of the coupled model for simulating lake response to changes in different watershed land use and management scenarios. The calibrated current-conditions model simulated in-lake reductions as much as 52% for TN, 48% for TP, and 70% for chlorophyll a due to conversion to native grass, and increases as much as 4% for TN, 9% for TP and 6% for chlorophyll a due to conversion of land from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to cropland (15.5% of watershed). This model also demonstrated an increase in chlorophyll a (19%) as the lake sediment capacity was reached over the next century.

An integrated approach for water quality assessment of a Kansas watershed

An integrated modeling process was used to estimate the nutrient loadings of different sub-watersheds of the Cheney Reservoir watershed, Kansas, USA. The Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution (AGNPS)-ARC INFO interface was used to extract input parameters from various Geographic Information System (GIS) layers, including a landcover layer prepared from Landsat TM image, for the AGNPS model during selected storm events. The curve numbers (CNs) were adjusted depending on the antecedent moisture condition (AMC) of the sub-watershed before each storm. The storm energy intensity (EI) values were computed using a probability method from a rainfall-EI relationship for the location of the study area. Several sensitive parameters of the AGNPS model were then calibrated to match the model-estimated total nitrogen (total-N) and total phosphorous (total-P) with the measured data on a sub-watershed basis during various runoff events. This process was validated by running the calibrated AGNPS model on each sub-watershed of the Cheney Reservoir watershed. This integrated modeling process was found to be effective for smaller watersheds that had adequate rainfall data.

Managing Taste and Odor Problems in a Eutrophic Drinking Water Reservoir

ABSTRACT Drinking water for the City of Wichita, KS is provided by Cheney Reservoir, a eutrophic impoundment constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1962. This large, shallow reservoir has a mean depth of 5.3 meters and a surface area of 40 km2. Numerous reports of undesirable taste and odor in drinking water were received by the City of Wichita Water and Sewer Department in the early 1990's, and periodic episodes of objectionable tastes and odor have occurred up through fall 2001. An intensive limnological sampling program was carried out from August 1999-October 2000, and simultaneous measurements of two taste and odor-causing compounds (geosmin and methylisoborneol) in the lakewater were also performed. These data were used to construct empirical, phosphorus-based water quality management recommendations designed to help reduce the likelihood of objectionable taste and odor events in Cheney Reservoir. The general framework developed here should also be applicable to other waterbodies exhibiting taste and odor-related problems.

Checklist of the Trichoptera of Kansas

Presently, 104 species of Trichoptera (caddisflies) are reported as occurring in Kansas. The distribution of each species according to drainage units is given. A brief description of each drainage unit is included. All collection and identification data were placed on a magnetic tape using the SELGEM computer programs for data manipulation and retrieval. Examination of this data indicated greatest species diversity in southeastern Kansas (Neosho Unit) and least diversity in northwestern Kansas (Republican Unit -Upper). Only one species, Cheumatopsyche lasia, is known from every drainage unit. This publication concludes a distributional study of the Trichoptera of Kansas. Previously published records of Kansas Trichoptera are provided in Schuster and Hamilton (1978) and Hamilton and Schuster (1978, 1979, 1980). These publications also provide a summary of older published records. To date, over 2500 collections have been identified representing 104 species classified in 37 genera and 13 families. All identifications were made to species level except specimens in the limnephilid genus Pycnopsyche and the philopotamid genus Wormaldia. To date, these genera have only been collected as larvae and cannot be reliably identified to species. After identifications were made, collection and determination data for each collection were placed on a magnetic tape using SELGEM computer programs which allowed the data to be manipulated and retrieved in any form desired (such as the following checklist). Examination of this list revealed greatest diversity of species in the Neosho Unit (southeastern Kansas), * In this article, the word unit is used in the sense of a natural drainage basin, rather than its having the connotation of an arbitrary administrative entity. Ed. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.129 on Thu, 30 Jun 2016 05:21:48 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms VOLUME 85, NUMBER 1 11 while the least diversity was in Republican Unit -Upper (northwestern Kansas). Only one species, Cheumatopsyche lasia, is known from every drainage unit. Families, genera and species are arranged in alphabetical order. Each species is followed by a list of the major drainage units where it has been collected. These drainage units represent an attempt to standardize the watersheds of Kansas (Fig. 1). These units were selected since they better reflect the natural topography than do political boundaries. Although most of these units continue into surrounding states, only those portions in Kansas are discussed. A summary of each drainage unit is given below. Factors included consist of stream origin and direction of flow, major tributaries, counties drained (to aid in comparisons with previous checklists), size of each unit (in square kilometers), major physiographic provinces (listed in order of size per unit), stream bed substrates, major impoundments which are frequently collected, topography, and climate. This information was extracted from a report by Kansas Department of Health and Environment (Anon., 1978) and is reported again herein since the above publication is not readily available to most researchers. Arkansas units.--The Arkansas River drainage, originating in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, is divided into two units in Kansas. The Upper Arkansas Unit begins at the Colorado border and continues east to just above the confluence of Walnut Creek (east of Great Bend). The Lower Arkansas Unit continues from this confluence east, then south, to the Oklahoma border. Arkansas Unit--Lower.--This unit encompasses 26,220 square km including portions of 18 counties (Fig. 1). The climate is dry subhumid (average annual precipitation less than 75 cm). The topography consists of a flat to undulating plain with a poorly developed drainage pattern and numerous sand hills. Because of this, most stream beds consist of loose sand and have not been channelized. Five physiographic provinces are represented: Arkansas River Lowlands, High Plains, Smoky Hills, Red Hills, and Wellington Lowlands. The major tributaries (Chikaskia River, Cow Creek, Medicine Lodge River, Ninnescah River, North Fork Ninnescah River, Rattlesnake Creek, Salt Fork Arkansas River, and South Fork Ninnescah River) are dammed at various points; although the only major impoundment is Cheney Reservoir (North Fork Ninnescah River). Arkansas UnitUpper.--This unit encompasses 26,720 square km including portions of 17 counties (Fig. 1). The climate ranges from semiarid (western region) to subhumid (eastern region) (with average annual precipitation ranging from 40 to 60 cm). The topography consists mostly of a flat plain with many sandhills. Most stream beds (which are above the water table) consist of loose sand and are characterized by seasonal flow with isolated pools present the remainder of the year. Two physiographic provThis content downloaded from 207.46.13.129 on Thu, 30 Jun 2016 05:21:48 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 12 TRANSACTIONS OF THE KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE SCHEYENNE RAW1LINS _iECATUR NOR OTON ?W E BI A NEMAHA PH L IP S Ptt IC 7 ASHINTN rRnC

Supplementary Supply for Wichita, Kan.

This article discusses Kansas' Cheney Reservoir multipurpose project located on the Ninnescah River, Wichita's second water supply, that was conceived and carried out cooperatively by the city of Wichita and the Bureau of Reclamation. The municipal water supply pool has a volume of 149,500 acre‐ft and is calculated to produce a yield of 35 mgd during a drought period such as that of 1952‐56. Under normal rainfall conditions, the pool can be expected to provide 60 mgd. Major works constructed by the city include the Cheney Reservoir pumping station, pretreatment works and appurtenances, the raw‐water transmission line, and a communication and control cable. For convenience, the pumping facilities and the pretreatment works are discussed separately, although they are housed in the same structure.

Wichita's Past, Present, and Future Water Supply

This article begins by providing a brief overview of the water supply of Wichita, Kansas, and the development of the Equus Beds water supply. The Cheney Reservoir water supply project is discussed, particularly water management considerations.