USGS Home Contact USGS Search USGS

Nebraska Water Science Center

Prepared as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program

U.S. Geological Survey
Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5037

Download this report as a PDF file (5.33 MB)

Download a free copy of Acrobat Reader

Environmental Setting of Maple Creek Watershed, Nebraska

By Brian S. Fredrick, Joshua I. Linard, and Jennifer L. Carpenter

Abstract

The Maple Creek watershed covers a 955-square-kilometer area in eastern Nebraska, which is a region dominated by agricultural land use. The Maple Creek watershed is one of seven areas currently included in a nationwide study of the sources, transport, and fate of water and chemicals in agricultural watersheds. This study, known as the topical study of “Agricultural Chemicals: Sources, Transport, and Fate” is part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Program is designed to describe water-quality conditions and trends based on representative surface- and ground-water resources across the Nation. The objective of the Agricultural Chemicals topical study is to investigate the sources, transport, and fate of selected agricultural chemicals in a variety of agriculturally diverse environmental settings. The Maple Creek watershed was selected for the Agricultural Chemicals topical study because its watershed represents the agricultural setting that characterizes eastern Nebraska. This report describes the environmental setting of the Maple Creek watershed in the context of how agricultural practices, including agricultural chemical applications and irrigation methods, interface with natural settings and hydrologic processes. A description of the environmental setting of a subwatershed within the drainage area of Maple Creek is included to improve the understanding of the variability of hydrologic and chemical cycles at two different scales.

Contents

Foreword
Abstract
Introduction

Purpose and Scope
Previous Studies
Environmental Setting
Land Use, Population, and Cultural Features
Agricultural Chemical Use
Physiography and Topography
Geology and Stratigraphy
Soil
Climate
Hydrology

Streams and Streamflow Characteristics
Major and Minor Aquifers
Modifications of the Natural Hydrology
Summary and Conclusions
References Cited

Fredrick, B.S., Linard, J.I., Carpenter, J.L., 2006, Environmental setting of Maple Creek Watershed, Nebraska: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5037, 22 p.

For more information about USGS National Water-Quality Assement Program studies in Nebraska, visit the USGS Nebraska Water Science Center home page: http://ne.water.usgs.gov

AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey Persistent URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/sir/2006/5037/ Page Contact Information: USGS Publishing Network Last modified: Thursday, December 01 2016, 07:09:16 PM

---