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Development of the Wichita well field in the Equus Beds aquifer in southwest Harvey County and northwest Sedgwick County began in the 1940s to supply water to the city of Wichita. The decline of water levels in the Equus Beds aquifer was noted soon after the development of the Wichita well field began. Development of irrigation wells began in the 1960s. City and agricultural withdrawals led to substantial water-level declines. Water-level declines likely enhanced movement of brines from past oil and gas activities near Burrton, Kansas, as well as natural saline water from the Arkansas River into the Wichita well field area. Large chloride concentrations may limit use, or require the treatment of water from the well field for irrigation or public supply. In 1993, the city of Wichita adopted the Integrated Local Water Supply Program to ensure an adequate water supply for the city through 2050 and manage effectively the part of the Equus Beds aquifer Wichita uses. The Integrated Local Water Supply Program uses several strategies to do this, including the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery project. The purpose of the Aquifer Storage and Recovery project is to store water in the aquifer for later recovery, and help protect the aquifer from encroachment of a known oil-field-brine plume near Burrton and saline water from the Arkansas River. Since 1940, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of Wichita, has monitored changes in the Equus Beds aquifer as part of Wichita’s effort to manage this resource effectively. Average water-level changes since predevelopment (before substantial pumpage began in the area) for winter 2012, summer 2012, winter 2013, and winter 2014 generally indicate greater declines in the central part of the study area than in either the basin storage or entire study area. In contrast, average water-level rises since 1993 for winter 2012, summer 2012, winter 2013, and winter 2014 were greater for the central part of the study area than for either the basin storage area or entire study area. This indicates the central part of the study area had more post-1993 water-level recovery than did the rest of the study area. In the central part of the study area, city water use decreased by about 40 percent, and irrigation water use increased by about 3 percent compared to pre-1993 peaks in 1992 and 1991, respectively, whereas irrigation water use outside the central part of the study area increased by about 24 percent from the pre-1993 peak in 1991. Part of the larger increase in irrigation pumpage probably was a result of drought-term and multiyear flex account permits, which were estimated to account for about 8 and 4 percent of irrigation pumpage in the study area in 2011 and 2012. There was a larger percentage storage-volume increase since 1993 in the central part of the study area than in either the basin storage area or the entire study area. Storage-volume in the central part of the study area during winter 2012, summer 2013, winter 2013, and winter 2014 recovered about 46,300 acre-feet or more compared to the storage volume in 1993. In summer 2012 and winter 2013, the storage-volume increase since 1993 was larger in the central part of the study area than in the entire study area, indicating the storagevolume increases in the central part of the study area offset decreases in storage volume in the rest of the study area. The larger increase in storage volume in the central part of the study area than in the rest of the study area probably was because of the Integrated Local Water Supply Program strategy that reduced city pumpage from the Equus Beds aquifer by about 40 percent. The current (winter 2014) storage volumes in the entire study area and the central part of the study area are about 94 and 96 percent of their respective predevelopment storage volumes or about 3,067,000 and 962,000 acrefeet, respectively. Introduction Development of the Wichita well field in the Equus Beds aquifer in southwest Harvey County and northwest Sedgwick County began in the 1940s to supply water to the city of Wichita, the largest city in Kansas (fig. 1; Williams and Lohman, 1949; Gibson, 1998; U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). The other primary use of water from the Equus Beds aquifer is crop irrigation in this agriculturally dominated part of southcentral Kansas (Rich Eubank, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, oral commun., 2008). Soon after development of the Wichita well field began, water levels in the Equus Beds aquifer began to decline (Williams and Lohman, 1949). Large-scale development of irrigation wells 2 Status of Groundwater Levels and Storage Volume in the Equus Beds Aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, 2012 to 2014 began in the 1960s. City and agricultural withdrawals have led to substantial declines. As water levels in the Equus Beds aquifer decline, the volume of water stored in the Equus Beds aquifer decreases, and less water is available to supply future needs. Water-level declines in and near the well field increase the groundwater gradient toward the well field, and likely cause movement or increased movement of brines from past oil and gas activities near Burrton, Kans., as well as natural saline water from the Arkansas River (fig. 1), into the well field area. Further movement into the well field area of these waters with large chloride concentrations may limit use or may require treatment of water from the well field area for irrigation or public supply (Ziegler and others, 2010). Since 1940, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the city of Wichita, has monitored changes in water levels and the resulting changes in storage volume in the Equus Beds aquifer as part of Wichita’s effort to manage this resource effectively. In 1993, the city of Wichita adopted the Integrated Local Water Supply Program (ILWSP) to ensure an adequate water supply for the city through the year 2050 and as part of its effort to effectively manage the part of the Equus Beds aquifer it uses (City of Wichita, [2007?], 2008; Desilva and Ary, 2011; Warren and others, 1995). The ILWSP uses several strategies to do this including the following: (1) having greater reliance on other sources of water from outside the study area [for example, Cheney Reservoir (fig. 1), the Bentley Well Field southwest of the Arkansas River, and Wichita’s Local Well Field at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers; locations not shown on figures]; (2) encouraging conservation; and (3) developing the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project with a designed artificialrecharge capacity of as much as 100 million gallons per day (Mgal/d; City of Wichita, [2007?], 2008; Desilva and Ary, 2011). The purpose of the Equus Beds ASR project is to store and later recover groundwater, and to help protect that part of the Equus Beds aquifer used by the city from the encroachment of a known oil-field-brine plume near Burrton, Kans., and saline water from the Arkansas River (fig. 1; Ziegler and others, 2010). In 2007, the city of Wichita began using the Phase I facilities of the Equus Beds ASR project to increase long-term (more than 50 years) sustainability of the Equus Beds aquifer through large-scale artificial recharge (City of Wichita, [2007?]; Desilva and Ary, 2011). The ASR project uses water from the Little Arkansas River—pumped either from the river directly or from wells in the riverbank that obtain their water from the river by induced infiltration—as the source of artificial recharge to the Equus Beds aquifer (fig. 1; City of Wichita, [2007?]). For Phase I, the water pumped directly from the Little Arkansas River was treated to reduce sediment and remove atrazine before being recharged to the Equus Beds aquifer through recharge basins; water pumped from wells in the riverbank does not receive additional treatment before being recharged to the Equus Beds aquifer through recharge basins or wells (Debra Ary, city of Wichita, written commun., 2012). Phase II recharge facilities began operation in April 2013 and treat water withdrawn from the Little Arkansas River using ultrafiltration membranes and advanced oxidation techniques. The treated water can then be recharged into spreading basins or recharge wells throughout the area, and stored in the Equus Beds aquifer for future use (Debra Ary, city of Wichita, written commun., 2012). Purpose and Scope The purpose of this report is to document the status of groundwater levels and storage volumes in the Equus Beds aquifer for winter 2012, summer 2012, winter 2013, and winter 2014. Specifically, the following are documented: (1) the water-level altitudes in the shallow and deep parts of the Equus Beds aquifer; (2) the water-level and storagevolume changes in the shallow part of the Equus Beds aquifer since predevelopment (generally before September 1940 when substantial pumpage began in the study area) and 1993; and (3) water-level changes in the deep part of the Equus Beds aquifer since 1993. Information in this report can be used to document and improve understanding of water-resource management practices on water supplies in the Equus Beds aquifer, which is an important source of water for the city of Wichita and the surrounding area. Description of Study Area The study area covers about 189 square miles (mi2) and is northwest of Wichita in Harvey and Sedgwick Counties (fig. 1). It is mostly bordered on the southwest by the Arkansas River and on the east by the Little Arkansas River (fig. 1). Land surface in the study area typically slopes gently toward the major streams from an altitude of about 1,510 feet (ft) above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) in the northwest to a low of about 1,325 ft in the southeast. The study area represents about one-seventh of the 1,400-mi2 Equus Beds aquifer area (fig. 1). About one-third of the pumpage from the Equus Beds aquifer occurs in the study area (Kansas Department

Status of groundwater levels and storage volume in the <i>Equus</i> Beds aquifer near Wichita, Kansas, 2012 to 2014