Irrigation-water quality in the Sulphur Creek basin, Yakima and Benton counties, Washington, April 1976 through March 1977
Open-File Report
81-1008
By: P. R. Boucher and M. O. Fretwell
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Abstract
A water-quality-sampling network was designed for the Sulphur Creek basin to observe the effects of farming practices on irrigation. Sediment and nutrient yield, discharge, and water temperature data were collected during the 1976 irrigation season and the following fall and winter. The suspended-sediment yield of the basin during this period was 2.0 tons per acre of irrigated cropland. Only about 3% of the net outflow of sediment occurred during the nonirrigation season. The yield computed by subbasin ranged from 0.7 to 7 tons per acre, depending mainly on land slope, but a high percentage of orchard land in the subbasins was probably also significant in reducing loads. Nutrient outflows during the study period were 1,180,000 pounds of nitrogen and 120,000 pounds of phosphorous. Nitrate-plus-nitrite represent 70% of the nitrogen outflow in the irrigation season and 84% in the nonirrigation season. The monitoring network was discontinued at the end of the study period, due largely to insufficient farmer participation. Network sensitivity in the control subbasins was inadequate to detect the effects of a planned demonstration program of best management practices. (USGS)
Suggested Citation
Boucher, P.R., Fretwell, M.O., 1982, Irrigation-water quality in the Sulphur Creek basin, Yakima and Benton counties, Washington, April 1976 through March 1977: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-1008, Report: vii, 68 p.; 1 Plate: 21.07 × 25.65 inches, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr811008.
ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Irrigation-water quality in the Sulphur Creek basin, Yakima and Benton counties, Washington, April 1976 through March 1977 |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 81-1008 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr811008 |
| Year Published | 1982 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Description | Report: vii, 68 p.; 1 Plate: 21.07 × 25.65 inches |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Benton County, Yakima County |