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J. E. Carr

Publications and source records attributed to J. E. Carr.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1987

Reconnaissance of water quality in the High Plains Aquifer beneath agricultural lands, south-central Kansas

The High Plains of western Kansas was one of 14 areas selected for preliminary groundwater quality reconnaissance by the U.S. Geological Survey 's Toxic Waste--Groundwater Contamination Program. The specific objective was to evaluate the effects of land used for agriculture (irrigated cropland and non-irrigated rangeland) on the water in the High Plains aquifer. Conceptual inferences, based on the information available, would lead one to expect groundwater beneath irrigated cropland to contain larger concentrations of sodium, sulfate, chloride, nitrite plus nitrate, and some water soluble pesticides than water beneath non-irrigated land (range-land) The central part of the Great Bend Prairie, an area of about 1,800 sq mi overlying the High Plains aquifer in south-central Kansas, was selected for the study of agricultural land use because it has sand soils, a shallow water table, relatively large annual precipitation, and includes large areas that are exclusively irrigated cropland or non-irrigated rangeland. As determined by a two-tailed Wilcoxon rank-sum test, concentrations of sodium and alkalinity were significantly larger at the 95% confidence level for water samples from beneath irrigated cropland than from beneath rangeland. No statistically significant difference in concentrations of sulfate, chloride, nitrite plus nitrate, and ammonia, was detected. Concentrations of 2,4-D found in water samples from beneath the rangeland were larger at the 99% confidence level as compared to concentrations of 2,4-D in samples from beneath irrigated cropland. Larger concentrations of sodium and alkalinity were found in water beneath irrigated cropland, and the largest concentration of the pesticide atrazine (triazines were found in three samples) was found in water from the only irrigation well sampled. The sodium and atrazine concentrations found in water from the irrigation well support the premise that water-level drawdown develops under irrigated fields. This diverts the natural groundwater flow patterns, so that pumpage may cause recycling and subsequent concentration of leachates from the land surface. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1986

Geohydrology of and potential for fluid disposal in the Arbuckle Aquifer in Kansas

The Arbuckle aquifer is an extensive aquifer that contains mostly saline water and that immediately overlies Precambrian ' basement ' rocks throughout Kansas, except for major uplift areas where it has been removed by erosion. In the southeast part of the state, it is a major freshwater aquifer. The upper part of the Arbuckle contains significant oil and gas reservoirs in central and south-central Kansas. During the last 40 years the Arbuckle also has become the major zone of fluid disposal in the state. Most of the fluids disposed into the Arbuckle were produced from oil and gas wells in other formations. However, in recent years, state water agencies have become increasingly concerned about injection of fluids into the subsurface and the effects of injection on the hydrologic systems involved. An investigation of the geohydrology of the Arbuckle aquifer and of the hydrologic aspects of fluid disposal into the Arbuckle was conducted to evaluate these effects. Hydraulic characteristics obtained from drill stem tests, injection tests, and numerical modeling have indicated a range of permeability in the Arbuckle from 1 millidarcy to 30 darcys. Analysis of injection tests indicated that average permeability in the basin areas probably is in the 50-300 millidarcy range. Analyses of 76 geophysical logs indicate an average porosity of about 12%. An evaluation of the geohydrology of the Arbuckle shows that it is a large regional flow system that is in hydraulic connection with several other major aquifers. Groundwater flow within the Arbuckle is principally from the west-northwest to the east-southeast. Brine disposal in the Arbuckle has been increasing over the years. Rates of injection average about 60 gal/min. Model analysis, using aquifer properties similar to those expected in the basin areas and under selected conditions of well injection into the Arbuckle, indicates that, even with an injection rate of only 100 gal/min, pressure increases equivalent to fluid-level rises of up to 100 ft are expected as far as 500 ft away from the injection well. The model analysis indicates that the effects of transmission of fluid through the confining layer on overlying units are minor. (Lantz-PTT)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1984

Projected effects of ground-water withdrawals in the Arkansas River Valley, 1980-99, Hamilton and Kearny Counties, southwestern Kansas

A study was made, in cooperation with the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, to determine the effects that additional ground-water development would have on streamflow and water levels on an area along the Arkansas River in Hamilton and Kearny Counties, southwestern Kansas. A computer model was used to simulate the changes in streamflow and water levels from 1980 through 1999. Six pumpage options were tested using variations in pumpage rate and number of wells pumping in the model area. If the full amount appropriated by water rights were pumped rather than actual 1979 conditions of pumpage, annual pumpage would be reduced 24 percent, but net annual river loss would be reduced only 1 percent. A pumpage increase of approximately 19 percent over 1979 pumpage conditions would cause an increase of net annual river loss from 5 to 9 percent. Increased pumpage, in the form of additional wells in the model area, would cause additional ground water to be removed from storage in the aquifer and an increase in net annual river loss.

Kansas↗