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Research about Iowa

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Iowa.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources

Water resources data Iowa, water year 1981

This report was prepared by personnel of the Iowa district of the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey under the supervision of 0. G. Lara, Acting District Chief, and Alfred Clebsch, Jr., Regional Hydrologist, Central Region. It was done in cooperation with the State of Iowa and with other agencies. This report is one of a series issued by Iowa. General direction for the series is by Philip Cohen, Jr., Chief Hydrologist, U. S. Geological Survey, and R. J. Dingman, Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Scientific Publications and Data Management.

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Hydrology of the surficial aquifer in the Floyd River Basin, Iowa

The Floyd River basin was studied to provide water-resources Information for a typical surficial aquifer in northwest Iowa. Data collection included test drilling, water-level measurements, and chemical analyses of surface and ground water. The Floyd River basin drains 961 square miles of highly dissected to gently rolling topography. Major streams generally are flanked by flood plains underlain by uncemented sand and-gravel deposits. Most of the basin is directly underlain by glacial drift of Pleistocene age which is In turn underlain by rocks of Cretaceous age. Sand-and-gravel deposits underlying the major flood plains and in buried bedrock channels within the drift comprise the surficial aquifer. The surficial aquifer ranges from 10 to 40 feet In thickness and averages about 20 feet thick. Both unconfined and confined conditions occur in the aquifer and water levels range from 2 to 55 feet below land surface. An aquifer test conducted in the surficial aquifer where it is about 25 feet thick and is confined by an overlying low permeability bed Indicated an average hydraulic conductivity of 383 feet per day and a storage coefficient of 0.0001. The well was pumped at 650 gallons per minute for 43 hours. An observation well about 70 feet from the pumping well had a maximum drawdown of about 10 feet.

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Seismicity map of the State of Iowa

The earthquake data shown on this map and listed in table 1 are a list of earthquakes that were originally used in preparing the Seismic Risk Studies in the United States in the United States (Algermissen, 1969) which have been recompiled and updated through 1979. These data have been reexamined which resulted in some revisions of epicenters and intensities as well as assignment of intensities to earthquakes that previously had none assigned. Only earthquakes located within the boundary of the State are listed in table 1 even though earthquakes in bordering states or countries may be felt or cause damage in this state. Intensity values were updated from new and additional data sources that were not available at the time of original compilation. Some epicenters were relocated on the basis of new information. The data shown in table 1 are estimates of the most accurate epicenter, magnitude, and intensity of each earthquake, on the basis of historical and current information. Some of the aftershocks from large epicenters are listed but are incomplete in many instances, especially for ones that occurred before seismic instruments were in universal usage.

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Floods in the English River basin, Iowa

Information describing floods is essential for proper planning, design, and operation of bridges and other structures on or over streams and their flood plains. This report provides information on flood stages and discharges, flood magnitude and frequency, bench mark data, and flood profiles for the English River and some of its tributaries. It covers the English River, the North English River to near Guernsey, the south Eaglish River to Barnes City and the lower reaches of the Biddle English and Deep Rivers

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Surface-water quality, Twin Ponies watershed, Pottawattamie and Mills Counties, Iowa

Existing surface-water quality in the Twin Ponies watershed is significantly affected by runoff from agricultural lands that comprise most of the area. Runoff effects include the addition of phosphate, organic nitrogen, fecal bacteria, trace metals, pesticides and notably suspended sediment to streaMflow, because runoff commonly is a transport mechanism for these constituents. Low-flow water quality generally is characterized by dissolvedoxygen concentrations near saturation, dissolved-solids concentrations of about 450 milligrams per liter, suspendedsediment concentrations less than 200 milligrams per liter, and a pH of 8.2. However~ samples collected during runoff contained biological and chemical concentrations 10 to 30 times greater than concentrations obtained from samples collected during periods of low flow. Suspended-sediment concentrations obtained during runoff ranged froM 1,000 to 7,000 milligrams per liter. Iowa Class "B" standards for dissolved oxygen, ammonia, fecal coliforms, chromium, copper, lead, and mercury in streams were exceeded in numerous samples collected during runoff. It is probable that the variations between constituent concentrations in samples collected during runoff and those collected during low flow will be similar after grade-stabilization structures have been constructed on streams and after land-treatment measures have been implemented in the watershed as proposed by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Grade-stabilization structures should reduce gully and channel erosion in the watershed by dissipating the erosive energy of streamflow during significant runoff. Land-treatment measures to be implemented in conjunction with the project would help reduce sediment yield to stream channels. With the impoundments~ a decrease in velocity of the in-flowing water should produce a decrease of both the suspended~sediment concentrations and the chemical and biological constituents associated with the suspended sediMent in the impounded water.

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Water resources data for Iowa, water year 1980

This report was prepared by personnel of the Iowa district of the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey under the supervision of D. K. Leifeste, District Chief, and Alfred Clebsch Jr., Regional Hydrologist, Central Region. It was done in cooperation with the State of Iowa and with other agencies. This report is one of a series issued by Iowa. General direction for the series is by Philip Cohen, Jr., Chief Hydrologist, U. S. Geological Survey, and R. J. Dingman, Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Scientific Publications and Data Management.

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Bedrock topography of southwest Iowa

The bedrock in Iowa (Hershey, 1969) is generally overlain by unconsolidataed deposits consisting of glacial drift, alluvium, and loess. Loess deposits are most extensive in areas bordering the Missouri River flood plain, attaining a thickness of over 200ft in some places. The total thickness of the unconsolidated sediments ranges from less than 1 ft to more than 450 ft. The configuration of the underlying bedrock surface is the result of a complex system of ancient drainage courses that were developed during shorter, but more intense, periods of interglacial erosion.

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Floods in the Raccoon River basin, Iowa

Evaluation of flood hazards, and the planning, design, and operation of various facilities on flood plains requires information on floods. This report provides information on flood stages and discharges, flood magnitude and frequency, bench mark data, and flood profiles for the Raccoon River and some of its tributaries. It covers the Raccoon River, the North Raccoon River to the northern boundary of Sac County and the lower reaches of the Middle and South Raccoon Rivers.

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Iowa observation well network; past, present, and future

Water-level measurements in wells were started by the USGS in Iowa in 1935. Since then a total of about 450 different wells have been measured. The present network consists of about 70 wells. The measurement of these water levels aids in evaluating the present and future water resources of the State. Many factors influence water-level fluctuations. These factors include atmospheric pressure, withdrawals by pumping, earthquakes, earth tides, change in surface loading, discharge to streams, evapotranspiration, and precipitation. Fluctuations produced by artificial discharge through pumping is a common phenomena but unlike the other factors can be regulated and controlled. All present and past USGS observation wells for the State of Iowa since 1935 are listed and located on maps. It is recommended that improvement of the observation-well network by the addition of wells in specific areas should be undertaken as soon as possible.

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Water resources data for Iowa, water year 1979

This report was prepared by personnel of the Iowa district of the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey under the supervision of D. K. Leifeste, District Chief, and Alfred Clebsch, Jr., Regional Hydrologist, Central Region. It was done in cooperation with the State of Iowa and with other agencies. This report is one of a series issued by Iowa. General direction for the series is by Philip Cohen, Jr., Chief Hydrologist, U. S. Geological Survey, and S. H. Lang, Acting Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Scientific Publications and Data Management.

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Ground water resources of Lee County

Approximately 8.0 percent of the water used in Lee County comes from underground sources. It is estimated that the use of ground water in the county currently approaches 2.8 billion gallons per year. For comparison, this amount would provide each resident with 172 gallons of water a day during a year. Actually, few if any households use this much water, and this greater per capita use reflects the county's commercial, agribusiness, and municipal needs. The users of ground water in the county draw their supplies from several different geologic sources. Several factors must be considered in determining the availability of ground water and the adequacy of a supply source: distribution - having water where it is needed, accessibility - affects the cost for drilling wells and pumping water, yield - relates to the magnitude of the supply that can be SUStained, quality - determines for what purposes the water can be used. In terms of these factors, there are few locations in Lee County where the availability of ground water is not limited to some degree. The most common limitation is poor water quality, that is, highly mineralized ground water. Secondary limitations are generally related to poor distribution, small yields from some sources, and poor accessibility due to the great depths to adequate sources.

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Supplement to floods in the upper Des Moines River basin, Iowa

Data on the East Fork Des Moines River for the August 1979 flood between river miles 330.4 and 408.8 is being published as a supplement to the report "Floods in the Upper Des Moines River basin, Iowa" (Schwab, 1970). Elevation profiles of the 1979 flood, along with previously published profiles, are shown in figures 2-4.

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Selected geologic information from drill holes in southeastern Iowa

This report presents selected geologic information derived from wells in a 22-county area of southeastern Iowa. The information was extracted from the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) geologic file of the Iowa and U.S. Geological Surveys. The data presented include location, well identification number, and elevation of the well sites; depth and stratigraphic classification of the bedrock top; stratigraphic classification of the bottom rock unit penetrated by the well; and the total depth of the well. More detailed information about the wells may be obtained from the files of the Iowa and U.S. Geological Surveys in Iowa City, Iowa.

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Annual and seasonal low-flow characteristics of Iowa streams

The low-flow characteristics of Iowa streams are described by annual and seasonal low-flow frequency and duration data. Tabulated in this report are low-flow data collected at 135 gaging stations on Iowa streams, three on the Mississippi River, four on the Missour River, and 426 partial-record sites. The information contained in this report is based on all of the daily discharge records collected by the U.S. Geological Survey through the 1976 water year. Consideration is given to the regional aspects of low-flow characteristics by including regression equations to estimate the average discharge and generalized maps to estimate the 7-day, 2-year and 7-day, 10-year discharges at ungaged sites.

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Baseline water quality of Iowa's coal region

To assist the Iowa Department of Environmental Quality in determining the effects that coal mining and attendant activities will have on the water quality of Iowa streams, the U.S. Geological Survey collected three sets of water-quality samples (representative of high, average, and low streamflow) in the White Breast, English,aand Cedar Creek basins in south-central Iowa. These samples were analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey Central Laboratory at Denver, Colorado, and by the Iowa State Hygienic Laboratory (Iowa City and Des Moines). The report presents the data collected from May to November 1978 at 15 stations in the study area. (Woodard-USGS)

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