Kansas High Plains Aquifer: Analysis of 2005 Water Levels Geoffrey C. Bohling Brownie Wilson Geohydrology Section
Annual Measurement Program High Plains Aquifer water levels measured annually by KGS and KDA-DWR since 1997 Evolved from USGS measurement program Measured in winter (January) to minimize effects of irrigation on measurements Designed to monitor changes and identify regional trends in water table
Well Locations and HPA Extent 1 well every 16 square miles Current monitoring network for HPA has 1348 wells
Measurement Responsibility, 2004
Measurement Responsibility, 2005
Generalized N-S Cross-section From High Plains Aquifer Atlas:
Data Collection: WaterWitch/WaterBug
GPS Site Location with WaterWitch
On-site Data Entry With WaterBug Water Bug
Wizard Database
Winter 2005 Measurements 1267 wells: 715 DWR, 552 KGS Most measurements made in Jan. 2005, but range from Dec – Feb Repeat measurements at 53 wells for quality control 968 irrigation wells, 233 observation wells, rest other uses
Statistical Quality Control Analysis of variance to detect unwanted sources of variation in measurements Measurer, ease of access, well use, oil on water, weighted tape, chalk cut quality, aquifer group Measurer, ease of access, well use, oil on water, weighted tape, chalk cut quality, aquifer group Use 1-year declines to factor out strong spatial correlation of measured depths Conclusion: Aquifer group only significant source of variation (more later)
2005 Water Table Elevation
Crossvalidation of Interpolation
Interpolation Error Map, 2005 WTE
2004 to 2005 Declines
Map of 2004 to 2005 Declines
1-Year Declines by Aquifer Group
2000 to 2005 Declines
Map of 2000 to 2005 Declines
1995 to 2005 Declines
Map of 1995 to 2005 Declines
Decline Rate Comparison
Five-Year Average Declines
Precipitation
Conclusions Measurement program is very reliable Average 2004 to 2005 decline (0.15 feet) significantly less than average decline rate over past five (1.09 feet/year) or ten (0.58 feet/year) years Due at least in part to precipitation But declines still persist, still strong in some areas
From High Plains Aquifer Atlas: The Aquifer Formerly Known as Ogallala
Responsible Agency, 2004 & 2005
Measurement Procedures Well locations verified with GPS Depths measured with chalked steel tape Measurements, info entered on-site using WaterWitch/WaterBug software Repeat measurements for quality control Efficient routing of teams for rapid completion (Jan. 8-13, 2005 for KGS)