USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Nebraska water survey paper”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1985

An approach for appraising the accuracy of suspended-sediment data

Procedures are presented for appraising the accuracy of suspended-sediment data. Types of errors involved are sampling error, spatial error, temporal error, and sediment-discharge error. The standard error of estimate is used to represent errors. Suspended-sediment data for 17 U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations in Arizona, California, Nebraska, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington are used in applications of the procedures. For the study sites, the magnitudes of the different types of error apparently vary directly with percentage of sediment-water mixture that is sand; when the percentage sand is relatively high, magnitudes of the different types of error have a relatively wide range. For seven sites of the Sacramento River , Calif., and its tributaries, the standard sampling error apparently can range from 2.5 percent when percentage sand is relatively low to 20 percent when percentage sand is relatively high. For 16 sites in Arizona, California, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania, the coefficient of variation for concentrations of suspended sediment across streams apparently can range from 2.5 percent (low percentage sand) to 70 percent (high percentage sand). (USGS)

Professional Paper↗
USGS2009

Combined use of frequency‐domain electromagnetic and electrical resistivity surveys to delineate the freshwater/saltwater interface near saline lakes in the Nebraska Sand Hills, Nebraska, USA

We investigate the use of frequency‐domain electromagnetic (FDEM) and electrical resistivity (ER) surveys for rapid and detailed characterization of the direction of lake‐aquifer fluxes and the configuration of salt plumes generated from saline lakes. This methodology was developed and applied at several lakes in the Nebraska Sand Hills, Nebraska, in an area with both freshwater and saline lakes hydraulically connected to the freshwater surficial aquifer. The FDEM survey was conducted by mounting the instrument on a fiberglass cart towed by an all‐terrain vehicle. The towed FDEM surveys covered about 25 km per day and served as a reconnaissance method for choosing locations for the more quantitative and detailed ER surveys. Around the saline lakes, areas with high electrical conductivity are consistent with the regional direction of ground‐water flow. Lower electrical conductivity was measured around the freshwater lakes with anomalies correlating to a paleovalley axis inferred from previous studies. The efficacy of this geophysical approach is attributed to: (1) significant contrast in electrical conductivity between freshwater and saltwater, (2) near‐surface location of the freshwater/saltwater interface, (3) minimal cultural interference, and (4) relative homogeneity of the aquifer materials.

Nebraska↗
USGS2007

Hydrogeologic settings and ground-water flow simulations for regional studies of the Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to public-supply wells - Studies begun in 2001

This study of the Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to public-supply wells (TANC study) is being conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program and was designed to increase understanding of the most important factors to consider in ground-water vulnerability assessments. The seven TANC studies that began in 2001 used retrospective data and ground-water flow models to evaluate hydrogeologic variables that affect aquifer susceptibility and vulnerability at a regional scale. Ground-water flow characteristics, regional water budgets, pumping-well information, and water-quality data were compiled from existing data and used to develop conceptual models of ground-water conditions for each study area. Steady-state regional ground-water flow models were used to represent the conceptual models, and advective particle-tracking simulations were used to compute areas contributing recharge and traveltimes from recharge to selected public-supply wells. Retrospective data and modeling results were tabulated into a relational database for future analysis. Seven study areas were selected to evaluate a range of hydrogeologic settings and management practices across the Nation: the Salt Lake Valley, Utah; the Eagle Valley and Spanish Springs Valley, Nevada; the San Joaquin Valley, California; the Northern Tampa Bay region, Florida; the Pomperaug River Basin, Connecticut; the Great Miami River Basin, Ohio; and the Eastern High Plains, Nebraska. This Professional Paper Chapter presents the hydrogeologic settings and documents the ground-water flow models for each of the NAWQA TANC regional study areas that began work in 2001. Methods used to compile retrospective data, determine contributing areas of public-supply wells, and characterize oxidation-reduction (redox) conditions also are presented. This Professional Paper Chapter provides the foundation for future susceptibility and vulnerability analyses in the TANC study areas and comparisons among regional aquifer systems. The report is organized in sections. In addition to the introductory section (Section 1) are seven sections that present the hydrogeologic characterization and ground-water flow model documentation for each TANC regional study area (Sections 2 through 8). Abstracts in Sections 2 through 8 provide summaries and major findings for each regional study area.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2010

Using airborne geophysical surveys to improve groundwater resource management models

Increasingly, groundwater management requires more accurate hydrogeologic frameworks for groundwater models. These complex issues have created the demand for innovative approaches to data collection. In complicated terrains, groundwater modelers benefit from continuous high‐resolution geologic maps and their related hydrogeologic‐parameter estimates. The USGS and its partners have collaborated to use airborne geophysical surveys for near‐continuous coverage of areas of the North Platte River valley in western Nebraska. The survey objectives were to map the aquifers and bedrock topography of the area to help improve the understanding of groundwater‐surface‐water relationships, leading to improved water management decisions. Frequency‐domain heliborne electromagnetic surveys were completed, using a unique survey design to collect resistivity data that can be related to lithologic information to refine groundwater model inputs. To render the geophysical data useful to multidimensional groundwater models, numerical inversion is necessary to convert the measured data into a depth‐dependent subsurface resistivity model. This inverted model, in conjunction with sensitivity analysis, geological ground truth (boreholes and surface geology maps), and geological interpretation, is used to characterize hydrogeologic features. Interpreted two‐ and three‐dimensional data coverage provides the groundwater modeler with a high‐resolution hydrogeologic framework and a quantitative estimate of framework uncertainty. This method of creating hydrogeologic frameworks improved the understanding of flow path orientation by redefining the location of the paleochannels and associated bedrock highs. The improved models reflect actual hydrogeology at a level of accuracy not achievable using previous data sets.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1983

A statistical analysis of the quality of surface water in Nebraska

This report provides descriptive statistics for 29 chemical or biological constituents for 109 stream sites in Nebraska sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey beginning in 1946. Also provided for each site are regression equations relating specific conductance to each of 12 chemical constituents and a regression equation relating specific conductance to stream discharge. The descriptive statistics are presented by river basins. Water leaving these basins that has the lowest mean specific conductance (266 umho/cm) is from the Niobrara River at Verdel, and water that has the highest (1,890 umho/cm) is from the South Platte River at Roscoe. Statewide, the principal cations in streamflow are calcium and sodium, and the principal anions are bicarbonate and sulfate. Calcium and bicarbonate usually predominate where mean specific conductance is less than 1,000 umho/cm, and sodium and sulfate predominate where the mean exceeds 1,000 umho/cm. On the basis of regression equations, dissolved solids, hardness, calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate, with some exceptions, correlate well with specific conductance of all stream sites. Illustrations of how regression equations may be used to estimate water quality of streamflow are given and are compared with values from actual analyses.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS2014

Monitoring of levees, bridges, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure during the 2011 flooding in the Mississippi River Basin

During the 2011 Mississippi River Basin flood, the U.S. Geological Survey evaluated aspects of critical river infrastructure at the request of and in support of local, State, and Federal Agencies. Geotechnical and hydrographic data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey at numerous locations were able to provide needed information about 2011 flood effects to those managing the critical infrastructure. These data were collected and processed in a short time frame to provide managers the ability to make a timely evaluation of the safety of the infrastructure and, when needed, to take action to secure and protect critical infrastructure. Critical infrastructure surveyed by the U.S. Geological Survey included levees, bridges, pipeline crossings, power plant intakes and outlets, and an electrical transmission tower. Capacitively coupled resistivity data collected along the flood-protection levees surrounding the Omaha Public Power District Nebraska City power plant (Missouri River Levee Unit R573), mapped the near-subsurface electrical properties of the levee and the materials immediately below it. The near-subsurface maps provided a better understanding of the levee construction and the nature of the lithology beneath the levee. Comparison of the capacitively coupled resistivity surveys and soil borings indicated that low-resistivity value material composing the levee generally is associated with lean clay and silt to about 2 to 4 meters below the surface, overlying a more resistive layer associated with sand deposits. In general, the resistivity structure becomes more resistive to the south and the southern survey sections correlate well with the borehole data that indicate thinner clay and silt at the surface and thicker sand sequences at depth in these sections. With the resistivity data Omaha Public Power District could focus monitoring efforts on areas with higher resistivity values (coarser-grained deposits or more loosely compacted section), which typically are more prone to erosion or scour. Data collected from multibeam echosounder hydrographic surveys at selected bridges aided State agencies in evaluating the structural integrity of the bridges during the flood, by assessing the amount of scour present around piers and abutments. Hydrographic surveys of the riverbed detected scour depths ranging from zero (no scour) to approximately 5.8 meters in some areas adjacent to North Dakota bridge piers, zero to approximately 6 meters near bridge piers in Nebraska, and zero to approximately 10.4 meters near bridge piers in Missouri. Substructural support elements of some bridge piers in North Dakota, Nebraska, and Missouri that usually are buried were exposed to moving water and sediment. At five Missouri bridge piers the depth of scour left less than 1.8 meters of bed material between the bottom of the scour hole and bedrock. State agencies used this information along with bridge design and construction information to determine if reported scour depths would have a substantial effect on the stability of the structure. Multibeam echosounder hydrographic surveys of the riverbed near pipeline crossings did not detect exposed pipelines. However, analysis of the USGS survey data by pipeline companies aided in their evaluation of pipeline safety and led one company to further investigate the safety of their line and assisted another company in getting one offline pipeline back into operation. Multibeam echosounder hydrographic surveys of the banks, riverbed, and underwater infrastructure at Omaha Public Power District power plants documented the bed and scour conditions. These datasets were used by Omaha Public Power District to evaluate the effects that the flood had on operation, specifically to evaluate if scour during the peak of the flood or sediment deposition during the flood recession would affect the water intake structures. Hydrographic surveys at an Omaha Public Power District electrical transmission tower documented scour so that they could evaluate the structural integrity of the tower as well as have the information needed to make proper repairs after flood waters receded.

Missouri River Basin, Mississippi River Basin↗
USGS1983

Hydrologic and geomorphic studies of the Platte River basin

The channels of the Platte River and its major tributaries, the South Platte and North Platte Rivers in Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, have undergone major changes in hydrologic regime and morphology since about 1860, when the water resources of the basin began to be developed for agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses. These water uses have continued to increase with growth in population and land development. Diversion of flow from channels, storage of water in reservoirs, and increased use of ground water have affected the distribution and timing of streamflows and the transport of fluvial sediments. All these factors have contributed to changes in channel geometry and the riverine environment. In 1979, the U.S. Geological Survey began investigations in the Platte River basin to determine the effects of water use on the hydrology and morphology of the Platte River and its major tributaries. These investigations also considered the relationship of hydrologic regime to factors that control or affect the habitat of migratory waterfowl in the Platte River valley. This volume brings together the results of several research studies on historical changes in channel morphology, surface-water hydrology, hydraulic geometry, sediment-transport and bedform processes, ground-water and surface-water relations, stochastic models of streamflow and precipitation, and methods for estimating discharge required to maintain channel width. In each of the studies, data on some segment of the Platte River hydrologic system were collected and interpreted. All the studies are interrelated; together they provide some degree of understanding of regime changes that are occurring. The hydrologic research described in the following chapters will be useful in decision-making pertaining to the management of water resources and migratory waterfowl habitats.

Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming↗
USGS1990

National water summary 1987: Hydrologic events and water supply and use

Water use in the United States, as measured by freshwater withdrawals in 1985, averaged 338,000 Mgal/d (million gallons per day), which is enough water to cover the 48 conterminous States to a depth of about 2.4 inches. Only 92,300 Mgal/d, or 27.3 percent of the water withdrawn, was consumptive use and thus lost to immediate further use; the remainder of the withdrawals (72.7 percent) was return flow available for reuse a number of times as the water flowed to the sea. The 1985 freshwater withdrawals were much less than the average 30 inches of precipitation that falls on the conterminous States each year; consumptive use accounted for only 7 percent of the estimated annual runoff of 1,230,000 Mgal/d. Nonetheless, as the State summaries on water supply and use clearly show, water is not always available when and where it is needed. Balancing water demands with available water supplies constitutes one of the major resource allocation issues that will face the United States in the coming decade. Of the 1985 freshwater withdrawals, 78.3 percent (265,000 Mgal/d) came from surface-water sources (streams and lakes), and 21.7 percent (73,300 Mgal/d) came from ground water. Surface water provided drinking water for about 47 percent of the Nation's total population. It was the source of 59.9 percent of the Nation's public-supply systems. For self-supplied withdrawals, surface water accounted for 1.6 percent of the domestic and commercial uses; 64.0 percent of the industrial and mining use; 99.4 percent of the thermoelectric generation withdrawals, mainly for cooling water; and 65.6 percent of the agricultural withdrawals. Eight States accounted for 43 percent of the surface-water use; California, Colorado, and Idaho used surface water primarily for irrigation, and Dlinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas used surface-water primarily for cooling condensers or reactors in thermoelectric plants. Ground water provided drinking water for 53 percent of the Nation's total population and nearly all the rural population. It was the source of 40.1 percent of the public-supply systems withdrawals. For self-supplied withdrawals, ground water accounted for 11.3 percent of the domestic and commercial use, 17.3 percent of the industrial and mining withdrawals, less than 1 percent of the thermoelectric generation withdrawals, and 34.4 percent of the agricultural withdrawals (irrigation and livestock). Eight States Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas accounted for 66 percent of the ground water used. In each of those States, as in many other States, irrigation was the major use of ground water. Each offstream-use category described in the State summaries public supply, domestic and commercial, industrial and mining, thermoelectric power, and agriculture (irrigation and livestock) followed its own geographic pattern as described below. Consumptive use of water effectively removes the water from immediate further use downstream of the withdrawal point. Of the total amount of consumptive water use in 1985, agricultural use accounted for about 82.5 percent. More than one-half (53 percent) of irrigation water is consumptively used by evapotranspiration or is incorporated into the crop. This is a good indication of the effect that irrigated agriculture can have in a river basin where irrigation is a major activity. The availability of return flows for reuse depends largely on where the water reenters the system. If the return flows are discharged to a stream, they usually can be reused; if they are discharged to a saltwater estuary, they are effectively lost to further use because of water-quality degradation just as if the water had been consumptively used. Similarly, water that recharges a highly transmissive aquifer can be available for reuse either through pumpage from a well or as discharge to a local stream. Thus, much of the water withdrawn for different uses can and does become available for further use although the quality might degrade with each additional use. The allocation and the management of water resources are the responsibilities of the individual States and water institutions within the States. These institutions are evolving in response to the challenges of water management problems. As the individual State summaries indicate, recent State legislation deals with facilitating water transfers within the States as a means of reducing imbalances between water supplies and use, with emphasizing water conservation in times of drought and at places where groundwater depletion is a problem of long standing, and with reducing threats to public health and the environment from water pollution. Most of the State summaries indicate the expectation that water use will continue to increase in the future and that water contamination will continue to be a major water concern. Both issues will require increasingly intensive water management in the future. Whether the water resources under management are considered to be fully appropriated or over appropriated, as in some Western States, or whether the resource could support additional development, as is the situation in most States, improved water-use information will play a key role in future water management efforts.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS2013

Sediment transport and deposition in the lower Missouri River during the 2011 flood

Floodwater in the Missouri River in 2011 originated in upper-basin regions and tributaries, and then travelled through a series of large flood-control reservoirs, setting records for total runoff volume entering all six Missouri River main-stem reservoirs. The flooding lasted as long as 3 months. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) examined sediment transport and deposition in the lower Missouri River in 2011 to investigate how the geography of floodwater sources, in particular the decanting effects of the Missouri River main-stem reservoir system, coupled with the longitudinal characteristics of civil infrastructure and valley-bottom topography, affected sediment transport and deposition in this large, regulated river system. During the flood conditions in 2011, the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, monitored suspended-sediment transport at six primary streamgages along the length of the lower Missouri River. Measured suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) in the lower Missouri River varied from approximately 150 milligrams per liter (mg/L) to 2,000 mg/L from January 1 to September 30, 2011. Median SSC increased in the downstream direction from 355 mg/L at Sioux City, Iowa, to 490 mg/L at Hermann, Missouri. The highest SSCs were measured downstream from Omaha, Nebraska, in late February when snowmelt runoff from tributaries, which were draining zones of high-sediment production, was entering the lower Missouri River, and releases of water at Gavins Point Dam were small. The combination of dilute releases of water at Gavins Point Dam and low streamflows in lower Missouri River tributaries caused sustained lowering of SSC at all streamgages from early July through late August. Suspended-sediment ranged from 5 percent washload (PW; percent silt and clay) to as much as 98 percent in the lower Missouri River from January 1 to September 30, 2011. Median PW increased in the downstream direction from 24 percent at Sioux City, Iowa, to 78 percent at Hermann, Missouri. Measurements made in early January, when SSC was low, indicate that suspended sediment mostly was composed of bed material, but by mid-February, runoff from the plains caused PW to increase at most streamgages. Total suspended-sediment discharge (SSD) during water year 2011 at the selected streamgages in the lower Missouri River ranged from approximately 29 to 64 million tons. Total estimated SSD had the lowest exceedance frequencies in the reaches between Gavins Point Dam and Nebraska City, Nebraska, but exceedance frequencies increased substantially downstream. In 2011, total SSD with low exceedance frequencies were reported at Sioux City, Iowa, Omaha, Nebraska, and Nebraska City, Nebraska, despite moderate-to-high exceedance frequencies for annual average SSC, indicating that the duration of high-magnitude flooding was the primary driver of total SSD. Comparison of median SSC for samples from water year 2011 with samples in the 20 years prior indicated that median SSC for high-action streamflows (streamflows likely to produce a stage exceeding the National Weather Service’s “action stage”) in 2011 were lower than those typical for high-action streamflows. Multiple-comparison analysis indicated that median SSC values for low-action streamflows (streamflows likely to produce stages lower than the National Weather Service’s “action stage”) and high-action streamflows sampled in 2011 at 4 of 6 streamgages were not significantly distinguishable from median SSC values for low-action streamflows in the previous 20 years. Longitudinal comparison of streamflow and SSD exceedance frequencies for 2011 with corresponding frequencies for 2008 and 1993 indicated the important role of tributary contributions to total SSD in the lower Missouri River. In 1993 and 2008, tributaries were the primary source of floodwater in the lower Missouri River, which resulted in a 20-fold increase in total SSD from Sioux City, Iowa, to Hermann, Missouri. In 2011, releases at Gavins Point Dam were the primary source of floodwater in the lower Missouri River, and total SSD at Hermann, Missouri, was only twice that estimated for Sioux City, Iowa. Sand deposition was estimated using analysis of multispectral satellite imagery collected in October and November 2011. Distributions of sand in the flood plain of the lower Missouri River also were quantified in relation to distance from the banks of the main channel for seven discrete river segments bounded by Gavins Point Dam and selected downstream tributaries. The areal extent of overbank flooding and flood-plain sand deposits increased downstream from Sioux City, Iowa to a broad peak near Rulo, Nebraska, and then decreased to levels near the lower limit of quantification downstream from Kansas City, Missouri. Most of the flood plain inundation and sediment-deposition damage to agricultural fields was observed between river miles 480 and 700, where 2011 peak streamflows had low exceedance frequencies, and the lower Missouri River channel was less incised or had aggraded recently. As channel capacity increased in the downstream direction, the relative magnitude of the flood decreased downstream, and overbank flooding was less extensive. In the constricted reaches, flood-plain sand deposits mainly were observed in association with levee breaks.

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North D↗