Kansas River Basin Research Articles

Integrated Operation of Reservoirs

The multiplicity in use of the available dam and reservoir sites requires a complete integration in their operation. The operation of a system of reservoirs in Kansas River Basin is described showing the coordination between state and federal agencies to realize maximum use of the reservoir system. To realize the full protection from flood control structures it is necessary to have a good system of communication. It is also necessary to have a system for flood warning, collection and reporting of meteorological data, recording and reporting streamflow data, and flood forecasting. The planned operation of a reservoir system should be fully considered in the design of the structural components of the system.

The Drainage History of the Upper Kansas River Basin

A history of the drainage of the upper Kansas Rivet basin has been a subjct of interest to geologists for many years. Many writers have published papers on parts of this area; however, there has been only one attempt (Frye and Leonard, 1952) to integrate the information in these many parts into a report covering the basin as a whole. Since 1952 much new information has become available. The authors of this paper will present evidence and describe the history of the drainage patterns which have resulted in the present stream system draining most of the northern half of the state of Kansas.

Distribution, Habitat, and Abundance of the Topeka Shiner Notropis topeka (Gilbert) in Kansas

Notropis topeka (Gilbert) occurs from Minnesota and South Dakota south through Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and (Moore, 1957:134). Compared with distributions of other plains fishes, this range is small. No other fish has a similar area of distribution. In Kansas, N. topeka has been reported from scattered localities that indicate its presence throughout the northern part of the state (Kansas River Basin) and in part of the Arkansas River Basin in south-central (Fig. 1). Approximately 37 localities are represented, 10 of which are west of 970 longitude. Nine of the 10 western records were obtained between 1882 and 1887 when the first general surveys of fishes were made in (Gilbert, 1885:98, 1886:210, 1889:39; Cragin, 1885:108; Evermann and Fordice, 1886: 185; Hay, 1888:245, 248, 251, 252 [as Notropis aeneolus Hay], 246). The tenth record is a single specimen (KU 3108) obtained by A. B. Leonard and A. B. Williams from Cherry Creek, Cheyenne County, in April, 1947. Other recent collections west of 970 longitude have not included Topeka shiners. Breukelman (1940a) failed to find them in extensive surveys of streams in northwestern Kansas, and in 1958, Cross and B. C. Nelson did not find N. topeka at any of 30 western localities, including all those cited by Gilbert, Cragin, and Hay. In the River Basin east of 970 longitude, N. topeka was reported from three localities between 1882 and 1887 (Gilbert, 1884 [types from Shunganunga Creek, Shawnee County, described as Cliola (Hybopsis) topeka], 1886:210; Graham, 1885:73). Graham's record may be erroneous, because it evidently was based on the same collection from the Missouri River that was reported by Jordan and Meek (1886:12-14), who did not list the Topeka shiner from that locality. Breukelman (1940b: 380), reporting on fish in the University of Museum of Natural History, tabulated 27 specimens from the Kansas [river], and tributaries not otherwise named. Presumably, this record refers to specimens collected by the State Biological Survey in 1912, from Rock Creek, Douglas County. Jennings (1942: 365) listed N. topeka from two localities, one of which is the only record from the Marais des Cygnes System (Missouri River Drainage). Minckley (1956:353-354) reported one additional locality in the Basin. The species is now known from many other streams in the eastern part of the basin, mostly in the Flint Hills Region. All of the older records from the Arkansas River System are west of 970 longitude, except for two specimens (formerly Indiana Uni-

Flood Protection in the Kansas River Basin

Journal AWWAVolume 45, Issue 7 p. 685-693 Article Flood Protection in the Kansas River Basin N. T. Veatch, N. T. VeatchSearch for more papers by this authorLouis R. Howson, Louis R. HowsonSearch for more papers by this authorAbel Wolman, Abel WolmanSearch for more papers by this author N. T. Veatch, N. T. VeatchSearch for more papers by this authorLouis R. Howson, Louis R. HowsonSearch for more papers by this authorAbel Wolman, Abel WolmanSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 July 1953 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.1953.tb20167.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume45, Issue7July 1953Pages 685-693 RelatedInformation

Settlement Control Beats Flood Control

(1953). Settlement Control Beats Flood Control. Economic Geography: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 208-215.

The Kansas Flood of 1951

MUCH has been said and published concerning the great flood in the Kansas River Basin in July 1951. Measured in terms of human suffering, tremendous losses in property, and extensive disruption of business activities throughout the flooded area, it was the greatest catastrophe within the history of the region. Measured in terms of river stages and discharges, and of extent of the areas inundated, it was the greatest flood in the Kansas River Basin of which there is reliable record.

Infiltration and retention tests as related to spillway design floods

This paper presents a correlation between infiltration rates indicated by field infiltrometer tests, and retention as indicated by studies of the difference between storm rainfall and stream flow for the same area. A measure of the least probable retention which will occur concurrently with a maximum possible rainstorm has been an uncertain factor in the derivation of the maximum probable flood for use in determining the inflow design flood for determining reservoir and spillway capacities. The paper presents results of a series of infiltrometer test runs on plots of ground selected as representative of the various soil‐land use complexes to be found under maximum flood hazard conditions in the Kansas River Basin. A comparison is developed between the results of these infiltrometer tests, applied to several storm areas, and the relationship between the retention determined in an analysis of these several storms and the resultant flood runoff. The apparent correlation obtained indicates that infiltration and retention tests can be used successfully to supplement other methods of determining design retention rates and to facilitate the extension and transposition of accepted minimum retention rates to adjacent or comparable drainage areas.

Reclamation in the Kansas Basin

WILLIAM C. BRADY U. S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Topeka. Interest in flood control and irrigation in Kansas has been re-aroused in recent months following disastrous floods in the Missouri River Drainage Basin. The last Congress, in its closing days, made special appropriation for the construction of the Cedar Bluff Reservoir on the Smoky Hill River in Trego and Ellis Counties. At the request of the editor, Mr. William C. Brady, Area Planning Engineer for the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, has kindly prepared the following account describing the present status of reclamation projects on the Kansas River and its tributaries. Mr. Brady also summarizes future work contemplated in the Kansas Basin by the Federal Government.-The Editor. The Kansas River is formed by the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican Rivers near Junction City, Kansas. The entire area drained by these two rivers as well as that along the main stem of the Kansas River above its junction with the Missouri River at Kansas City is known as the Kansas River Basin. The areas drained by these two principal tributaries of the Kansas River are the Smoky Hill Sub-basin and the Republican Sub-basin. In these two subbasins, lying principally in Kansas but extending into Nebraska and Colorado, the Corps of Engineers, War Department, and the U. S. Department of Interior acting principally through the Bureau of Reclamation, are planning the development of the water resources of the area. Status of planning ranges from preliminary investigations to detailed plans and specifications. In some instances construction has started on a number of multiple purpose projects designed to provide for irrigation, flood control, stream pollution abatement, fish and wildlife benefits, recreational facilities, and silt storage. All of these contemplated developments are a part of the Missouri Basin Project as conceived by Brigadier General Lewis E. Pick of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, and W. G. Sloan of the Bureau of Reclamation. This plan of development, known as the Pick-Sloan plan was approved and partly authorized by the Flood Control Act of December 22, 1944. In the Smoky Hill Sub-basin there are six units of the Missouri Basin Project as listed in the following tabulation: SMOKY HILL SUB-BASIN UNITS OF MISSOURI BASIN PROJECT Acres -Reservoir to be Total storage Unit Stream Irrigated capacity/acre-feet Kirwin North Fork Solomon 11,000 200,000 Cedar Bluff Smoky Hill ....... 6,800 352,200 Kanopolis Smoky Hill 41,000 450,000 Wilson Saline ..... 23,000 388,900 Webster South Fork Solomon ....-..-......- 9,000 224,000 Glen Elder Solomon ..... 26,000 399,600 Transactions Kansas Academy of Science, Vol. 50, No. 2, 1947.