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Surface water-quality assessment of the lower Kansas River basin, Kansas and Nebraska: analysis of available water-quality data through 1986

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Abstract

Beginning in 1986, the U.S. Congress appropriated funds for the U.S. Geological Survey to test and refine concepts for a National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of the full-scale program are to: (1) provide a nationally consistent description of current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources; (2) define long-term trends (or lack of trends) in water quality; and (3) identify, describe, and explain, insofar as possible, the major factors that affect current conditions and trends in water quality. This information, obtained on a continuing basis, will be made available to water managers, policy makers, and the public to provide an improved scientific basis for evaluating the effectiveness of water-quality-management programs and for predicting the likely effects of contemplated changes in land-and water-management practices. At present (1990), the assessment program is in a pilot phase in seven areas that represent diverse hydrologic environments and water-quality conditions. This report completes one of the first activities undertaken as part of the lower Kansas River basin pilot study, which was to compile, screen, and interpret available water-quality data for the study unit through 1986. The report includes information on the sources and types of water-quality data available, the utility of available water-quality data for assessment purposes, and a description of current water-quality conditions and trends and their relation to natural and human factors.

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90° N90° S · 180° W ← longitude → 180° E
Source-reported bounding extent: 38.75° to 41.1° latitude; -99° to -94.6° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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1991. Surface water-quality assessment of the lower Kansas River basin, Kansas and Nebraska: analysis of available water-quality data through 1986. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr9175

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