Chemical Quality of Irrigation Waters in Northwestern Kansas

Abstract

Field work in northwestern Kansas during July 1978 yielded groundwater samples from 315 pumping irrigation wells and samples from tail-water pits associated with eight of those wells. The area covered by this sampling includes Cheyenne, Decatur, Gove, Logan, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas, Wallace, and the western half of Graham counties.

A general increase in the amount of dissolved solids is found for waters associated with portions of the alluvial systems of the South Fork of the Republican River, Beaver Creek, and Sappa Creek in the northern half of the study area; and the Smoky Hill River and Hackberry Creek in the southern portion of the study area. Calcium-bicarbonate- to calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate-type waters are generally associated with upland areas where production is from the Ogallala Formation, but a transition toward sulfate-type waters is observed for many of the shallow alluvial systems in the study area. Waters from tail-water pits are of comparable quality to those of the producing wells.

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