Water Woes

Transcript

Silt buildup in public reservoirs has created a little-known crisis.

From the University of Kansas, this is Research Matters. I'm Brendan Lynch.

Throughout the midwest, communities face problems with drinking water -- like "musty" or "fishy" taste -- traceable in part to siltation. At the University of Kansas, researchers with Applied Science and Technology for Reservoir Assessment -- or ASTRA -- measure the extent of the problem. Mark Jackubauskas is ASTRA's team leader.

Mark Jackubauskas: "We build reservoirs where there aren’t any natural lakes, and Mother Nature tries to fill them right back in again. Soil washes off the land and flows into the reservoir and gradually fills it in. The reservoirs lose water storage capacity. What’s more a problem is nutrients flowing into the reservoirs – nitrogen and phosphorus – and those tend to spur algae outbreaks that produce taste and odor problems in our drinking water."

In Kansas, siltation has plagued reservoirs serving Wichita and Lawrence. And the communities of Marion and Hillsboro were forced to truck in water in 2003. Siltation also threatens flood control, irrigation, and recreation.

Mark Jackubauskas: "Siltation in Kansas reservoirs has been off the radar of many officials. In the last few years, the Kansas Water Office has come to the realization that this is a major issue that affects Kansas’ citizens economically and physically. Because without water we’re in a lot of trouble."

Now ASTRA is mapping eight Kansas reservoirs. Along with satellite imaging and a sediment-coring pontoon boat, the KU team employs state-of-the-art sonar to create 3-D reservoir maps.

Mark Jackubauskas: "We have a boat that’s equipped with a high-tech sonar system. We go back and fourth across a lake taking thousands and thousands of depth readings. In the past, people would have to go out with a weighted line or a pole to measure the depth. And it wasn’t very accurate. They might get two, three, four hundred measurements in a single day. With our sonar unit, we can get anywhere from 100,000 and 500,000 measurements of depth for that reservoir in a single day."

For more on reservoir siltation, log on to Research Matters DOT K-U DOT E-D-U. From the University of Kansas, I'm Brendan Lynch.

Tell Me More

Governor, officials and researchers to tackle reservoir sediment at KU-hosted summit

LAWRENCE — A decades-long buildup of sediment across Kansas’ public reservoirs has created a little-known crisis in the state.

Read the full press release