ABSTRACT:
Seepage rates at two flood-retarding reservoirs in Nebraska's Upper Blue River Basin were monitored for three years to determine what potential might exist for increasing groundwater recharge. Average seepage rate for the two reservoirs, each with a watershed of about 1,000 acres (405 hectares), was 0.50 inch per day (1.27 centimeters/day) at the Clay County site and 0.59 inch per day (1.50 centimeters/day) at the York County site. This amounts to an annual average seepage volume of 53 and 92 acre-feet per year (65,000 and 110,000 cubic meters) at the Clay and York County sites, respectively. Seepage from these reservoirs potentially increases groundwater recharge by an amount equal to the volume seepage after the overburden on the aquifer is sufficiently wetted to allow additional seepage to reach the aquifer. Reservoirs therefore might be used in conjunction vnth other water conservation practices to reduce the groundwater overdraft in the Blue River Basin of Nebraska.
Footnotes
Dean E. Eisenhauer is an assistant professor of agricultural engineering, University of Nebraska, South Central Station, Clay Center, 68933; Deane M. Manbeck is an irrigation and planning engineer with Harza Engineering Co., Chicago. Illinois 60606; and Terry Stork was formerly an engineer with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Published an Paper Number 6535, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. This research was supported financially by the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District.
- Copyright 1982 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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