The value of hydrologic data and interagency coordination in protecting drinking-water supplies in Minnesota rivers
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A.D. Arntson
Publications and source records attributed to A.D. Arntson.
Estimation of travel times for seven tributaries of the Mississippi River, St. Cloud to Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2003
Travel times for seven streams tributary to the Mississippi River from St. Cloud to Minneapolis, Minnesota, were estimated for three flow conditions; low, median, and high. Travel times were estimated for Sauk, Elk, Crow, and Rum Rivers, and Elm, Coon, and Rice Creeks. Regression equations based on watershed characteristics of drainage area, river slope, mean annual discharge, and instantaneous discharge at the time of measurement from more than 900 streams across the nation were used to estimate travel times. Travel times were estimated for the leading edge, peak concentration, and trailing edge of tracer-response curves. To test the validity of these equations, a time of travel study, using a luminescent dye, was conducted on the Sauk River, from Rockville, to the confluence with the Mississippi River on June 16, 2003, at a discharge of 457 ft 3 /s at Rockville. Dye was injected in the Sauk River at Rockville, and time and concentrations were measured at three sampling sections downstream; at County Road 121, Veterans Drive, and County Road 1 near the mouth. The estimated travel times for the leading edge, peak concentration, and trailing edge at County Road 1 were 10.6 hrs, 11.9 hrs, and 14.6 hrs, respectively. The measured travel times for the leading edge, peak concentration, and trailing edge were 13.4 hrs, 15.5 hrs, and 20.5 hrs, respectively for the 15.7 mile reach.
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Cost-effectiveness of the streamflow-gaging program in Minnesota
A three-step analysis of the cost-effectiveness of the streamflow-gaging program in Minnesota is documented in this report. In the first step of the analysis, the data uses and funding sources were identified for the 96 continuous-record streamflow-gaging stations operated in 1985. Nineteen sources of funding and 42 uses were identified for the data collected in this program. Two stations were identified as producing data no longer sufficiently needed to warrant continuing their operation. Three other stations were identified as having uses specific to short-term studies. One station was destroyed in 1985. It is recommended that the remaining 90 station be maintained in the program for the foreseeable future. In the second step, multiple-linear-regression analysis was investigated as a possible method for providing the data collected at 23 stations. The multiple-linear-regression method was not sufficiently accurate to provide the needed data, and it is recommended that the 23 stations remain in the program. It also is recommended that flow-routing methods be investigated to see if they could provide the needed data for stations on the Red Lake River, the upper Minnesota River, and on the Mississippi River in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area. In the third step, the cost-effectiveness of collecting data from 77 of the remaining 90 stations was determined for the open-water period, April 1 through October 30. Data for 13 stations are provided to the U.S. Geological Survey or are collected at fixed intervals and were, therefore, not used in the analysis. The average standard error per station for estimation of the streamflow records is about 24 percent for the statewide network, about 11 percent for the stations operated by the St. Paul field office, about 22 percent for the stations operated by the Grand Rapids field office, and about 37 percent for the stations operated by the Montevideo field office. The current policy for collecting data from the 77 stations during the open-water period cost $198,000 in 1985. The estimated average standard error per station for the statewide network could be reduced from 24.4 percent to 20.6 percent at the $198,000 budget, if the minimum number of discharge measurements at each station were reduced from five to three during the open-water period and the remaining budget were used to make additional discharge measurements at stations with large standard errors. It is recommended that, before this data-collection plan is implemented, the effects of the plan on the cost of collecting data be evaluated for (1) possible increased lost record because of the data collection plan, and (2) the possible need for additional trips to visit noncontinuous-record stations. It also is recommended that the data-accuracy needs of the funding agencies be considered before the plan is implemented.
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Low-flow-frequency characteristics for continuous-record streamflow stations in Minnesota
Annual and summer (May 1 to September 30) low-flow frequency curves are presented for 175 continuous-record streamflow stations in Minnesota. The curves were developed for all stations with 10 or more years of continuous record. The 1-, 7-, and 30-day low-flow discharges at selected recurrence intervals obtained from these curves are listed. Low-flow characteristics can and will vary for a station depending upon the number of years of record and the period gaged. When comparing low-flow characteristics between two or more stations, it should be remembered that no provisions were made to use concurrent periods of record for stations along the same stream.
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Rainfall-runoff relationships and water-quality assessment of Coon Creek watershed, Anoka County, Minnesota
Rainfall-runoff relationships and results of water-quality analyses were studied to develop an understanding of flooding problems and to assess present and potential water-quality problems in the 96.9-square-mile Coon Creek watershed, Anoka County, Minnesota. Rainfall, runoff, and water-quality data were collected from March 1979 to November 1980 at five continuously recording streamflow sites, seven crest-stage sites, and three continuously recording rainfall sites. During the study, eight storms occurred with sufficient rainfall to produce measurable runoff at most of the gages in the basin. The resulting hydrographs show, as expected, higher unit peaks, shorter times to peak, and shorter durations of high flows in streams draining urban areas than in streams draining rural areas. Constrictive culverts and bridges at roadways resulted in attenuation of hydrograph peaks in urban areas. Runoff amounts were nearly the same in all the subareas for storms with uniformly distributed rainfall. The greatest recorded rainfall during this study was 3.95 inches on August 7, 1980. The basin-weighted rainfall for that date was 3.56 inches, which resulted in the greatest observed peak flow for Coon Creek at Coon Rapids Boulevard of 185 cubic feet per second. The eight storms produced eight hydrographs suitable for model simulation of Sand Creek, seven hydrographs for simulation of Coon Creek, and four hydrographs for simulation'of County Ditch 58. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers HEC-1, Flood Hydrograph Package computer model was used with the parameteroptimization routine to develop parameter values to closely match observed hydrographs. A multiple-linear-regression technique was used to develop linear equations for relating HEC-1 parameters to variations in rainfall and antecedent moisture. Tftiis procedure resulted in generalized models of the three principal subareas that reasonably simulated 10 of the 19 observed hydrographs. Water-quality characteristics were determined based on 14 water samples from 4 sites and 1 bottom-mate rial sample from each site. Results of the analyses indicated that streams draining urban areas carry the highest concentrations of most constituents sampled. Sand Creek at Xeon Boulevard, which drains the most urbanized area, had the highest mean concentration of metals, chloride, dissolved solids, and suspended sediment. Concentrations of total phosphorus ranged from 0.04 to 0.43 milligram per liter at the rural sites on County Ditch 58 at Andover Boulevard and Coon Creek at Raddison Road. Average phosphorus concentrations at the rural sites are comparable to concentrations at the urban sites.
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