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F.J. Heimes

Publications and source records attributed to F.J. Heimes.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1987

Comparison of irrigation pumpage with change in ground-water storage in the High Plains aquifer in Chase, Dundy, and Perkins counties, Nebraska, 1975-83

The relation between pumpage and change in storage was evaluated for most of a three-county area in southwestern Nebraska from 1975 through 1983. Initial comparison of the 1975-83 pumpage with change in storage in the study area indicated that the 1 ,042,300 acre-ft of change in storage was only about 30% of the 3,425,000 acre-ft of pumpage. An evaluation of the data used to calculate pumpage and change in storage indicated that there was a relatively large potential for error in estimates of specific yield. As a result, minimum and maximum values of specific yield were estimated and used to recalculate change in storage. Estimates also were derived for the minimum and maximum amounts of recharge that could occur as a result of cultivation practices. The minimum and maximum estimates for specific yield and for recharge from cultivation practices were used to compute a range of values for the potential amount of additional recharge that occurred as a result of irrigation. The minimum and maximum amounts of recharge that could be caused by irrigation in the study area were 953,200 acre-ft (28% of pumpage) and 2,611,200 acre-ft (76% of pumpage), respectively. These values indicate that a substantial percentage of the water pumped from the aquifer is resupplied to storage in the aquifer as a result of a combination of irrigation return flow and enhanced recharge from precipitation that results from cultivation and irrigation practices. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1986

Evaluation of sampling methods used to estimate irrigation pumpage in Chase, Dundy, and Perkins counties, Nebraska

Combining estimates of applied irrigation water, determined for selected sample sites, with information on irrigated acreage provides one alternative for developing areal estimates of groundwater pumpage for irrigation. The reliability of this approach was evaluated by comparing estimated pumpage with metered pumpage for two years for a three-county area in southwestern Nebraska. Meters on all irrigation wells in the three counties provided a complete data set for evaluation of equipment and comparison with pumpage estimates. Regression analyses were conducted on discharge, time-of-operation, and pumpage data collected at 52 irrigation sites in 1983 and at 57 irrigation sites in 1984 using data from inline flowmeters as the independent variable. The standard error of the estimate for regression analysis of discharge measurements made using a portable flowmeter was 6.8% of the mean discharge metered by inline flowmeters. The standard error of the estimate for regression analysis of time of operation determined from electric meters was 8.1% of the mean time of operation determined from in-line and 15.1% for engine-hour meters. Sampled pumpage, calculated by multiplying the average discharge obtained from the portable flowmeter by the time of operation obtained from energy or hour meters, was compared with metered pumpage from in-line flowmeters at sample sites. The standard error of the estimate for the regression analysis of sampled pumpage was 10.3% of the mean of the metered pumpage for 1983 and 1984 combined. The difference in the mean of the sampled pumpage and the mean of the metered pumpage was only 1.8% for 1983 and 2.3% for 1984. Estimated pumpage, for each county and for the study area, was calculated by multiplying application (sampled pumpage divided by irrigated acreages at sample sites) by irrigated acreage compiled from Landsat (Land satellite) imagery. Estimated pumpage was compared with total metered pumpage for each county and the study area. Estimated pumpage by county varied from 9% less, to 20% more, than metered pumpage in 1983 and from 0 to 15% more than metered pumpage in 1984. Estimated pumpage for the study area was 11 % more than metered pumpage in 1983 and 5% more than metered pumpage in 1984. (Author 's abstract)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1985

Ground-water contribution to the salinity of the Upper Colorado River Basin

A study was conducted to estimate the contribution of groundwater and other natural sources to the salinity of streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Salt-load estimates were derived from a mass balance using measurements of quantity and quality of base streamflow. Groundwater inflow was considered to represent the bulk of the streamflow during the low-flow winter months. (USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1984

Irrigation data from Chase, Dundy, and Perkins Counties, southwestern Nebraska, 1983

This report summarizes data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in Chase, Dundy, and Perkins Counties, southwest Nebraska. It includes data collected from 52 randomly selected wells that were monitored during the 1983 irrigation season to obtain measurements of discharge and the rate of energy consumption. The data were collected as part of a study to better define the relationship between pumpage and return flow from applied water. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1983

Estimating 1980 ground-water pumpage for irrigation on the High Plains in parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming

Current ground-water use is required for the High Plains Regional Aquifer-System Analysis. In response to this need, a sampling approach was developed to estimate water pumped for irrigation on the High Plains during 1980. Pumpage was computed by combining application estimates with mapped irrigated-acreage information. Irrigation application (inches of water applied) was measured at 480 sites in 15 counties in the High Plains during the 1980 growing season. The relationship between calculated Blaney-Criddle irrigation demand and measured application was used to estimate application for unsampled areas of the High Plains. Application estimates multiplied by irrigated-acreate estimates, compiled from Landsat-satellite imagery, yielded the volume of ground water pumped for irrigation. The estimate of ground water pumped for irrigation in the High Plains during 1980 and 18,902,000 acre-feet for 13 ,715,000 irrigated areas. The sampled application data were evaluated for significant trends. The application was greater for crops requiring more water such as corn and hay and less for crops such as sorghum, grain, and cotton. The data showed greater application for flood-irrigated systems than for sprinkler-irrigation systems. Areas of the High Plains with thin saturated thickness tended to have a smaller average discharge per well, fewer irrigated acres per well, and a predominance of crops requiring less water crops. (USGS).

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗