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R.P. Novitzki

Publications and source records attributed to R.P. Novitzki.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2010

Ground-water flow related to streamflow and water quality

A ground-water flow system in southwestern Minnesota illustrates water movement between geologic units and between the land surface and the subsurface. The flow patterns indicate numerous zones of ground-water recharge and discharge controlled by topography, varying thicknesses of geologic units, variation in permeabilities, and the configuration of the basement rock surface. Variations in streamflow along a reach of the Yellow Medicine River agree with the subsurface flow system. Increases and decreases in runoff per square mile correspond, apparently, to ground-water discharge and recharge zones. Ground-water quality variations between calcium sulfate waters typical of the Quaternary drift and sodium chloride waters typical of the Cretaceous rocks are caused by mixing of the two water types. The zones of mixing are in agreement with ground-water flow patterns along the hydrologic section.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS1982

Hydrology of Wisconsin wetlands

Data from 15 wetland study sites, supplemented by data from reconnaissance visits to 219 additional wetlands, were used to describe the hydrologic characteristics of Wisconsin wetlands and to suggest a simple hydrologic classification system. Wisconsin's wetlands OCCUf in depressions and on slopes. They may be in contact with ground water or totally surface-water supported. Hydrologically, wetlands may be classed as surface-water depression, surface-water slope, ground-water depression, or ground-water slope wetlands. Precipitation comprises more than half of the inflow to all but the ground-water slope wetlands, where ground water may provide as much as 90 percent of the inflow. Flood peaks may be as much as 80 percent lower in basins with much wetland area than in similar basins with little or no wetland area. Ground-water recharge appears to be less in basins with much wetland area than in basins with little or no wetland area. Wetlands retain sediment, and sediment loads in streams draining basins with much wetland area may be 90 percent lower than those in streams draining basins with little or no wetland area.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1979

Availability of supplemental water supplies at salmonid fish-propagation stations in Wisconsin

Supplemental water supplies are available at all the 12 fish-propagation stations. At seven of the stations water may be obtained by diverting or impounding streams. Ground water is available from glacial sand-and-gravel aquifers at all the stations and from sandstone aquifers at 7 of the 12 stations. Probable well yields range from 100 to 1,000 gallons per minute from the sand and gravel and from 50 to 1,000 gallons per minute from the sandstone. The response of pumping 1,600 gallons per minute from a ground-water source at Crystal Springs, Langlade, Nevin, and Osceola was estimated by a digital model. Estimated drawdown after 10 years of pumping ranged from 10 to 28 feet (6 to 35 percent of the saturated thickness of the aquifers).

Wisconsin↗
USGS1979

Streamflow Estimates in Selected Wisconsin Streams

The Wisconsin Department of natural Resources needs streamflow information in lake basins where lake-rehabilitation programs are implemented but where long-term stream-gaging stations are not justified. The U.S. Geological Survey provided streamflow estimates for 24 streams in Wisconsin. The estimates were made by the use of (1) midmonthly measurements, (2) basin characteristics, and (3) drainage-area-discharge relations. The midmonthly measurement technique probably provides the best estimtes of streamflow in streams that may be affected by storage in lakes. However, it is costly, requires 1 year of measurements, and results cannot be obtained until streamflow data from gaging stations in the area have been processed. The basin-characteristics technique is quicker and provides good estimates, but defining the basin parameters is difficult. The drainage-area-discharge technique also provides good streamflow estimates, and it is quick, convenient, and inexpensive. However , the streamflow estimates obtained from drainage-area-discharge relations may be biased because the technique is based on gaging-station records for large steams that do not have the variability of smaller streams and that typically do not reflect the influence of lake storage.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1979

Monthly and annual water budgets of Lake Wingra, Madison, Wisconsin, 1972-77

This report presents estimated annual and monthly water budgets for Lake Wingra and the adjacent wetland area for January 1972 through September 1972. Annually, inputs from precipitation, surface runoff, and groundwater inflow are approximately equal (31, 34, and 35 percent, respectively). Outputs include outflow from the lake into Murphy Creek (70 percent), evapotranspiration from the lake and wetland (26 percent), and ground-water outflow (4 percent). The inputs and outputs vary seasonally. In months when snowmelt occurs, surface runoff is a major input (56 percent in March; 46 percent in April). In fall and winter ground-water inflow is a major input (57 percent in November). Precipitation comprises 41 percent of the input in August but only 18 percent in January. Lake outflow is the major output except from July through September. Combined evaporation and evapotranspiration is a major output in summer (45 to 58 percent) but minor in winter (less than 13 percent). Ground-water outflow is a small part of the budget each month, ranging from 2 percent in March and April to a maximum of 7 percent in September. The water budget is based on field data collected from January 1972 through June 1973, and on fragmentary data and estimates for July 1973 through September 1977. The budget terms differ from those published by Oakes, Hendrickson, and Zuehls (1975, table 10) because springflow has been included in total ground-water inflow and estimated on a monthly basis in this report. Previously only annual estimates were provided.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1976

Recycling ground water in Waushara County, Wisconsin : resource management for cold-water fish hatcheries

Recycling water within the local ground-water system can increase the quantity of water available for use, control or avoid environmental pollution, and control temperature of the water supply. Pumped ground water supplied a fish-rearing facility for 15 months, and the waste water recharged the local ground-water system through an infiltration pond. Eighty-three percent of the recharged water returned to the well (recycled). Make-up water from the ground-water system provided the remaining 17 percent. Pumping 300 gallons per minute (20 litres per second), combined with recycling, resulted in water-level declines equivalent to a pumping rate of approximately 50 gallons per minute (3 litres per second). Using this effective pumping rate in the Theis nonequilibrium equation resulted in predicted drawdowns within 0.5 foot (0.2 metres) of those observed throughout the 15-month period. The concentration of nitrate in the water supply increased only slightly during the 15 months of recycling. Nitrate levels in a closed recycling system (100 percent recycling efficiency) would have reached 9 milligrams per litre, but observed levels did not exceed 4 milligrams per litre, and at the end of the recycling period they were lower than the initial levels. Mass-balance equations relate observed nitrate levels to the loading imposed on the system, the pumping rate, the volume of ground water affected by recycling, and the recycling efficiency. The equations predict nitrate concentrations (or other ions not attenuated by movement through the unsaturated part of the aquifer) within 1 milligram per litre of observed concentrations except during periods when nutrients are used in plant growth. The method does not account for nutrients utilized by aquatic vegetation in the infiltration pond, so that observed levels would usually be even lower than predicted. The predicted response of the local groundwater system to a nutrient loading equivalent to that generated by a hatchery producing approximately 100,000 pounds (50,000 kilograms) of trout and salmon per year indicates that maximum nitrate levels would remain significantly below the limit established by the State of Wisconsin (and the U.S. Public Health Service, 1962) for drinking water. The water-supply temperature can be maintained within the optimum range for trout and salmon rearing (10.0° to 15.5°C or 50° to 60°F) during recycling. Continuous recycling during the study period resulted in watersupply temperatures ranging between 7.0° and 14.0°C (45° and 57°F). Longterm continuous recycling would result in water-supply temperatures ranging between 7.0° and 14.5°C (45° and 58°F). Selective recycling (recycling water for only 8 months of the year) would provide water-supply temperatures ranging from 9.5° to 15.5°C (49° to 60°F). A permanent recharge pond with supplementary ponds would fulfill the needs of a hatchery development at the Greenwood Wildlife Refuge site, Waushara County, Wisconsin, and insure protection of the ground-water system. Eighty percent or more of the water pumped could be recycled by recharging waste water near the supply well. Selective recycling (recharging water to the ground-water system outside the zone of recycling during approximately 4 months of each year) could maintain optimum water-supply temperatures, reduce water-level declines by 50 percent (compared to no recycling), maintain nitrate levels in the water supply below limits established for drinking water supplies, and minimize the effect of water-supply development on the regional ground-water system. Other recharge-recycling schemes can also be evaluated. Estimating the recycling efficiency (of recharge ponds, trenches, spreading areas, or irrigated fields) provides a basis for predicting water-level declines, the concentration of conservative ions (conservative in the sense that no reaction other than mixing occurs to change the character of the ion being considered) in the water supply and in the regional ground-water system, and the temperature of the water supply. Hatchery development and management schemes can be chosen to optimize hatchery productivity or minimize operation costs while protecting the ground-water system.

Wisconsin↗
USGS1973

Improvement of trout streams in Wisconsin by augmenting low flows with ground water

Approximately 2 cubic feet per second of ground water were introduced into the Little Plover River in 1968 when natural streamflow ranged from 3 to 4 cubic feet per second. These augmentation flows were retained undiminished through the 2-mile reach of stream monitored. Maximum stream temperatures were reduced as much as 5?F (3?C) at the augmentation site during the test period, although changes became insignificant more than 1 mile downstream. Maximum temperatures might be reduced as much as 10?F (6?C) during critical periods, based on estimates using a stream temperature model developed as part of the study. During critical periods significant temperature improvement may extend 2 miles or more downstream. Changes in minimum DO (dissolved oxygen) levels were slight, primarily because of the high natural DO levels occurring during the test period. Criteria for considering other streams for flow augmentation are developed on the basis of the observed hydrologic responses in the Little Plover River. Augmentation flows of nearly 2? cubic feet per second of ground water were introduced into the headwater reach of Black Earth Creek from the end of June through mid-October 1969. Streamflow ranged from 1 to 2 cubic feet per second at the augmentation site, and the average flow at the gaging station at Black Earth, approximately 8 miles downstream, ranged from 25 to 50 cubic feet per second. Augmentation flows were retained through the 8-mile reach of stream. Temperature of the augmentation flow as it entered the stream ranged from 60? to 70?F (about 16? to 21?C) during the test period, and minimum stream temperatures were raised 5?F (3?C) or more at the augmentation site, with changes extending from 2 to 3 miles downstream. Augmentation during critical periods could maintain stream temperatures between 40? and 70?F (4? and 21?C) through most of the study reach. DO levels were increased by as much as 2 milligrams per liter or more below the augmentation site, although the improvement diminished to approximately 1 milligram per liter downstream in the problem reach. During critical periods DO improvement in the problem reach would be somewhat greater. Flow augmentation would not be necessary during normal conditions in either of the streams studied. Critical DO and temperature levels are not known to occur in the Little Plover River. Since the construction of secondary treatment facilities at the Cross Plains sewage-treatment plant, critical DO levels are no longer expected to be a problem in Black Earth Creek. However, results from this study may be used to estimate the effectiveness of flow augmentation in other streams in similar areas in which critical DO or temperature levels may occur.

Wisconsin↗