Katherine Clancy | University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (original) (raw)

Papers by Katherine Clancy

Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 2016

Central Wisconsin has the greatest density of high capacity wells in the state, most of which are... more Central Wisconsin has the greatest density of high capacity wells in the state, most of which are used for agricultural irrigation. Irrigated agriculture has been growing steadily in the region since the 1950's, when irrigation systems and high capacity wells became inexpensive and easy to install. Recent low lake and river levels have increased concerns that unregulated groundwater pumping for irrigation will undermine the availability of groundwater to support surface waters and domestic uses. Some research has quantified the magnitude of groundwater level declines due to irrigation pumping, but no studies have identified its relation to climatic precipitation changes. Changes in precipitation can appear to exacerbate or mask the effect of groundwater pumping. In this study, four groundwater monitoring wells and five climate stations were examined for shifts in groundwater levels and precipitation changes. Through statistical analysis, significant precipitation increases were identified in the southern part of the study area which averaged 2.7 mm per year, but no significant change was determined for the northern portion. Bivariate analysis identified water level declines within the region in the years 1974, 1992 and 1999 for irrigated land covers. Multiple regression analysis explained, predicted and quantified the interaction between precipitation and pumping. Wells located in areas with many high capacity wells showed a decline in water levels of up to 1.28 meters. In the southern portion of the study area where increases in precipitation occurred, this decline was thought to be masked. Results for one region (Plover) agreed with a previously published calibrated groundwater model, which demonstrates that this statistical method may be used to separate the impact of groundwater pumping from changing precipitation, even where observation well data are not widely available.

Proceedings of the 4th IAHR Symposium on River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics (RCEM 2005, Urbana, Illinois, USA, 4-7 October 2005), 2006

The Little Plover River is a 5-mile long, baseflow-dominated, cold-water stream located in Portag... more The Little Plover River is a 5-mile long, baseflow-dominated, cold-water stream located in Portage County on the Wisconsin Central Sand Plain. The Little Plover begins at the foot of the Arnott moraine, and flows westward where it discharges to the Wisconsin River. It supports a naturally reproducing brook trout population and highly diverse wetlands in its riparian corridor. In earlier times, the fishery was highly prized but its quality has deteriorated for reasons that include diminished streamflow. Average annual discharge (Hoover Rd. station) was 10.6 cfs during 1959-1987, a historical period of continuous flow monitoring. The groundwater basin in the vicinity of the Little Plover has been greatly developed for agricultural, municipal, and industrial groundwater pumping. Acutely small discharges were noted in the Little Plover beginning in 2003. In summer 2005 discharge dropped to 1.6 cfs at Hoover Rd., and a 1.3 mile stream reach centered near Eisenhower Rd. dried completely. (Notably, a public rights stage of 4 cfs has been calculated at Eisenhower Rd. by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, which amounts to about a Q 14 for the 1959 through 1987 historical period). Comparisons to nearby streams suggest that the discharge at Hoover, without an artificial stress, should have been about 7 cfs. Similar low flows and dried stretches occurred in summer 2006, summer 2007, and winter 2008. Drought and groundwater pumping were postulated to be the causes of low flow conditions. However, precipitation, drought index, and discharges in reference streams indicate near average conditions from 2000 through 2004, and moderately dry conditions (about a 10 year return period) in 2005-7. Much drier conditions prevailed during parts of the 1959-1986 historical record without the extreme low flows that have been observed in 2005-7. Thus recent climate alone does not adequately explain the record low flow conditions in the Little Plover River. Groundwater pumping in the vicinity of the Little Plover developed rapidly from around 1960 through the mid 1980s, due to the growth of crop irrigation. Initially crop irrigation occurred every third year but this rotation schedule quickly progressed to biannual and annual crop irrigation. Additional high capacity wells were installed over the decades for municipal water supplies (1964-Whiting, 1989-Plover), vegetable processing (1965-Del Monte), and paper production (1960 and increasing greatly in the late 1980s). Some 97 high capacity wells lie within 2 miles of the stream. Presently, Del Monte pumping follows an annual cycle that begins on July 1 and continues for 90 days at a rate of about 2 million gallons per day, then declines to 0.75 million gallons per day for 45 days, and then ceases for the year. About 77% of pumped water is returned to the landscape as wastewater discharge. Village of Plover pumpage is split between two wellfields, one containing wells 1 and 2, the other containing well 3. Plover pumpage grew from an average 310,000 gallons per day (gpd) in 1990 and was about 1.3 million iii gallons per day in 2006 and 2007. The Whiting-area wellfield, tapped for municipal and industrial use, contains two wells serving municipal needs, and five that serve two paper producers. Total wellfield pumping amounts to 4.1 million gallons per day (mgd) or about 6.3 cubic feet per second (cfs). Agricultural irrigation is somewhat enigmatic as until 2007 growers were not required to report pumpage nor were grower recollections and records of past irrigation complete. The irrigated crop rotation, with some variation, in the vicinity of the Little Plover is typically a 3 year rotation of potato, sweet corn, and snap beans. Grower recollections of irrigation for 2006a year with a dry growing season-averaged 4.4 to 6.1 inches depending on crop. More reliable data are available for 2007, which is the first year that growers were required to report pumpage under Wisconsin's new groundwater management law. Thus, in 2007 irrigation amounts could be quantified more accurately, and averaged 12.5 in. Notably 2007 had a much drier than average growing season. Statistical and flow modeling approaches were employed to help understand how much streamflow diversion might be attributable to groundwater pumping. Double mass curve analysis discerns pumping diversions were beginning in about 1973. (Pumping diversions were likely occurring earlier, but they were not be discernable as the Little Plover flow record did not encompass a period where groundwater pumping was totally absent in the vicinity). By 1986, about 2.2 cfs of missing discharge was apparent. Statistical methods also indicate missing discharges at Hoover Rd. were 3.9-5.0 cfs in May-August 2005 and 3.4 cfs in 2006. Groundwater flow modeling approaches agreed well with statistical ones, indicating on average 3.2-5.4 cfs of discharge at Hoover Rd. is diverted by current groundwater pumping amounts (the range is due to uncertainties in average irrigation amounts). Groundwater flow modeling is also able to apportion pumping diversions to individual sectors and individual wells. Village of Plover pumping prompted the single largest diversion, about 1.2 cfs for 2004 to 2006 pumping. Diversions amount to about ¾ of pumped water from wells 1 and 2, and about 1/3 of pumped water from well 3. Del Monte annual diversions peak at about 0.38 cfs at Hoover Rd. every year and then diminish. Annually, this diversion averages only about 0.2 cfs. Whiting municipal and industrial pumping divert about 0.57 cfs at Hoover. Irrigation diversions are only roughly known due to grower uncertainty regarding average irrigation amounts. Assuming a range of 2 to 6 in of consumptive use on irrigated lands, irrigation diversions would average 1.1 to 3.3 cfs at Hoover, but peak annually at 1.7 to 5 cfs. About 40% of irrigation diversions originate from within 0.5 miles of the Little Plover, 58% from within 1.0 miles, and 82% from within 2.0 miles. About 18% or irrigation diversions originate from beyond 2 miles. We conclude that Little Plover flows would be robust in the absence of groundwater pumping, with minimums in recent years of about 6.5 cfs at Hoover Rd. Diversions by groundwater pumping capture roughly 3-5.4 cfs of potential Little Plover discharges.

Flood forecasting and prediction requires knowledge of the channel hydraulic geometry, slope, and... more Flood forecasting and prediction requires knowledge of the channel hydraulic geometry, slope, and roughness coefficients such as Manning's "n." In general, the roughness coefficient is considered the most sensitive of the variables that are used in flood forecasting. In the case of low gradient agricultural streams, the bed, water and flood plain slope have sensitivities that equal or exceed that of the roughness coefficients. This is due in part to the dynamics of sediment transport feedback mechanisms during flooding. Most flood models use digital elevation models to calculate the slope variables. Our research addresses the differences between digital elevation models of slopes and field surveys of channel and floodplain slope.

Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics, 2014

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 2011

ABSTRACT Haucke, Jessica and Katherine A. Clancy, 2011. Stationarity of Streamflow Records and Th... more ABSTRACT Haucke, Jessica and Katherine A. Clancy, 2011. Stationarity of Streamflow Records and Their Influence on Bankfull Regional Curves. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(6):1338–1347. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00590.xAbstract: Bankfull regional curves, which are curves that establish relationships among channel morphology, discharge, drainage area, are used extensively for stream restoration. These curves are developed upon the assumption that streamflows maintain stationarity over the entire record. We examined this assumption in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin where agricultural soil retention practices have changed, and precipitation has increased since the 1970s. We developed a bankfull regional curve for this area using field surveys of bankfull channel performed during 2008‐2009 and annual series of peak streamflows for 10 rivers with streamflow records ranging from the 1930s to 2009. We found bankfull flows to correlate to a 1.1 return period. To evaluate gage data statistics, we used the sign test to compare our channel morphology to historic 1.5 return period discharge (Q 1.5) for five time periods: 1959‐1972, 1973‐1992, 1993‐2008, 1999‐2008, and the 1959‐2008 period of record. Analysis of the historic gage data indicated that there has been a more than 30% decline in Q 1.5 since 1959. Our research suggests that land conservation practices may have a larger impact on gaging station stationarity than annual precipitation changes do. Additionally, historic peak flow data from gages, which have records that span land conservation changes, may need to be truncated to represent current flow regimes.

Groundwater, 2011

Irrigated agriculture has expanded greatly in the water‐rich U.S. northern lake states during the... more Irrigated agriculture has expanded greatly in the water‐rich U.S. northern lake states during the past half century. Source water there is usually obtained from glacial aquifers strongly connected to surface waters, so irrigation has a potential to locally decrease base flows in streams and water levels in aquifers, lakes, and wetlands. During the nascent phase of the irrigation expansion, water availability was explored in works of some fame in the Wisconsin central sands by Weeks et al. (1965) on the Little Plover River and Weeks and Stangland (1971) on “headwater area” streams and lakes. Four decades later, and after irrigation has grown to a dominant landscape presence, we revisited irrigation effects on central sands hydrology. Irrigation effects have been substantial, on average decreasing base flows by a third or more in many stream headwaters and diminishing water levels by more than a meter in places. This explains why some surface waters have become flow and stage impaired...

Journal of Water Resource and Protection

Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 2017

Runoff models such as the Curve Number (CN) model are dependent upon land use and soil type withi... more Runoff models such as the Curve Number (CN) model are dependent upon land use and soil type within the watershed or contributing area. In regions with internal drainage (e.g. wetlands) watershed delineation methods that fill sinks can result in inaccurate contributing areas and estimations of runoff from models such as the CN model. Two methods to account for this inaccuracy have been 1) to adjust the initial abstraction value within the CN model; or 2) to improve the watershed delineation in order to better account for internal drainage. We used a combined approach of examining the watershed delineation, and refining the CN model by the incorporating of dual hydrologic soil classifications. For eighteen watersheds within Wisconsin, we compared the CN model results of three watershed delineation methods to USGS gaged values. We found that for large precipitation events (>100 mm) the CN model estimations are closer to observed values for watershed delineations that identify the directly connected watershed and use the undrained hydrologic soil classification.

Infiltration rates are critical to hydrologists' understanding of the behavior of a soil duri... more Infiltration rates are critical to hydrologists' understanding of the behavior of a soil during rainfall events, as well as for predictive estimates of runoff potential. Current infiltration studies rarely account for inherent procedural error associated with this technique due to the large numbers of samples required. The objective of this study is to establish error parameters for use with double-ringed infiltrometers. In Fall of 2007 and 2008, infiltration rates of soils determined to be statistically similar on the basis of bulk density, texture (by class), slope, and vegetation were measured and analyzed. The soils' equilibrium infiltration rates (EIRs) were used to develop error parameters for standard use of double-ringed infiltrometers. The EIRs of soils of the same textural class, as well as statistically similar bulk densities were compared, and a 95% confidence interval was established. The hypothesis is that EIRs of soils of like textural class, vegetation cover,...

Rainwater infiltration rates are critical to hydrologists' understanding of the behavior of a... more Rainwater infiltration rates are critical to hydrologists' understanding of the behavior of a soil during rainfall events, as well as for predictive estimates of runoff potential. However, current infiltration studies fail to account for inherent procedural error associated with this technique. In August and September of 2007, infiltration rates of soils determined to be statistically similar on the basis of antecedent moisture, slope, soil texture, and vegetation were measured and analyzed. The rates were used to develop error parameters for standard use of double- ringed infiltrometers. Another set of statistically similar soils was infiltrated to establish the viability of these parameters. The objective of this study is to establish error parameters for use with double-ringed infiltrometers. Our hypothesis is that infiltration rates of soils of statistically similar antecedent moistures, vegetation types, and soil textures will fall within one standard deviation of the mean,...

The Wisconsin central sands is a loosely-defined region characterized by a thick (often >30 m)... more The Wisconsin central sands is a loosely-defined region characterized by a thick (often >30 m) mantle of sandy materials overlying rocks of low permeability. Due to the sandy soils, irrigated agriculture has been growing steadily in the region since the 1950's, when irrigation systems and high capacity wells became inexpensive and easy to install. This has resulted in Central Wisconsin having the greatest density of high capacity wells in the state. Recent low lake and river levels have increased concerns that unfettered groundwater pumping for irrigation will undermine the availability of groundwater to support surface waters and domestic uses. In this study, the response of three groundwater monitoring wells and precipitation from five climate stations were examined. Through statistical analysis, significant precipitation increases were identified during the summer (2-3 mm/year) and winter (0.5 mm/year) in the southern part of the study area, but no significant change durin...

Soil Science Society of America Journal, 2011

... at a watershed scale have attributed seasonal changes in infiltration and runoff to temperatu... more ... at a watershed scale have attributed seasonal changes in infiltration and runoff to temperature (Schumm and Lusby, 1963; Musgrave and Holtan ... like to acknowledge the following students for their help in data collection: Amy Timm, Kaylea Foster, Meagan Running, Christine ...

Journal of Nutrition Education, 1985

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 2011

ABSTRACT Macholl, Jacob A., Katherine A. Clancy, and Paul M. McGinley, 2011. Using a GIS Model to... more ABSTRACT Macholl, Jacob A., Katherine A. Clancy, and Paul M. McGinley, 2011. Using a GIS Model to Identify Internally Drained Areas and Runoff Contribution in a Glaciated Watershed. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):114-125. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00495.xAbstract: Glaciated watersheds are not easily delineated using geographic information systems’ elevation-based algorithms, especially where stream networks are disconnected and there are large regions of internally drained areas. This paper presents the results of an analysis using the Potential Contributing Source Area (PCSA) model to identify potential contributing areas, defined as areas from which runoff is physically capable of reaching a drainage network. The investigation was conducted to define the potential contributing areas in a glaciated region of northwest Wisconsin. The curve number (CN) method was used to predict runoff volumes in the watershed. The streamflows of four tributaries were measured and the runoff portion of the hydrograph quantified to be compared with runoff estimates calculated using the potential contributing areas and the traditional catchment area. Runoff producing events occurred, but the use of area-weighted CN values was unsuccessful in modeling runoff due to all precipitation depths during the study period falling below the initial abstraction. A distributed CN approach provided runoff estimates that were generally better using the potential contributing areas compared with using the traditional catchment area. The extent of the minimum contributing area, estimated for a range of precipitation events, was found to be substantially less than the potential contributing areas, suggesting that the PCSA model delimits the maximum boundary of potential contributing areas.

Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 2016

Central Wisconsin has the greatest density of high capacity wells in the state, most of which are... more Central Wisconsin has the greatest density of high capacity wells in the state, most of which are used for agricultural irrigation. Irrigated agriculture has been growing steadily in the region since the 1950's, when irrigation systems and high capacity wells became inexpensive and easy to install. Recent low lake and river levels have increased concerns that unregulated groundwater pumping for irrigation will undermine the availability of groundwater to support surface waters and domestic uses. Some research has quantified the magnitude of groundwater level declines due to irrigation pumping, but no studies have identified its relation to climatic precipitation changes. Changes in precipitation can appear to exacerbate or mask the effect of groundwater pumping. In this study, four groundwater monitoring wells and five climate stations were examined for shifts in groundwater levels and precipitation changes. Through statistical analysis, significant precipitation increases were identified in the southern part of the study area which averaged 2.7 mm per year, but no significant change was determined for the northern portion. Bivariate analysis identified water level declines within the region in the years 1974, 1992 and 1999 for irrigated land covers. Multiple regression analysis explained, predicted and quantified the interaction between precipitation and pumping. Wells located in areas with many high capacity wells showed a decline in water levels of up to 1.28 meters. In the southern portion of the study area where increases in precipitation occurred, this decline was thought to be masked. Results for one region (Plover) agreed with a previously published calibrated groundwater model, which demonstrates that this statistical method may be used to separate the impact of groundwater pumping from changing precipitation, even where observation well data are not widely available.

Proceedings of the 4th IAHR Symposium on River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics (RCEM 2005, Urbana, Illinois, USA, 4-7 October 2005), 2006

The Little Plover River is a 5-mile long, baseflow-dominated, cold-water stream located in Portag... more The Little Plover River is a 5-mile long, baseflow-dominated, cold-water stream located in Portage County on the Wisconsin Central Sand Plain. The Little Plover begins at the foot of the Arnott moraine, and flows westward where it discharges to the Wisconsin River. It supports a naturally reproducing brook trout population and highly diverse wetlands in its riparian corridor. In earlier times, the fishery was highly prized but its quality has deteriorated for reasons that include diminished streamflow. Average annual discharge (Hoover Rd. station) was 10.6 cfs during 1959-1987, a historical period of continuous flow monitoring. The groundwater basin in the vicinity of the Little Plover has been greatly developed for agricultural, municipal, and industrial groundwater pumping. Acutely small discharges were noted in the Little Plover beginning in 2003. In summer 2005 discharge dropped to 1.6 cfs at Hoover Rd., and a 1.3 mile stream reach centered near Eisenhower Rd. dried completely. (Notably, a public rights stage of 4 cfs has been calculated at Eisenhower Rd. by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, which amounts to about a Q 14 for the 1959 through 1987 historical period). Comparisons to nearby streams suggest that the discharge at Hoover, without an artificial stress, should have been about 7 cfs. Similar low flows and dried stretches occurred in summer 2006, summer 2007, and winter 2008. Drought and groundwater pumping were postulated to be the causes of low flow conditions. However, precipitation, drought index, and discharges in reference streams indicate near average conditions from 2000 through 2004, and moderately dry conditions (about a 10 year return period) in 2005-7. Much drier conditions prevailed during parts of the 1959-1986 historical record without the extreme low flows that have been observed in 2005-7. Thus recent climate alone does not adequately explain the record low flow conditions in the Little Plover River. Groundwater pumping in the vicinity of the Little Plover developed rapidly from around 1960 through the mid 1980s, due to the growth of crop irrigation. Initially crop irrigation occurred every third year but this rotation schedule quickly progressed to biannual and annual crop irrigation. Additional high capacity wells were installed over the decades for municipal water supplies (1964-Whiting, 1989-Plover), vegetable processing (1965-Del Monte), and paper production (1960 and increasing greatly in the late 1980s). Some 97 high capacity wells lie within 2 miles of the stream. Presently, Del Monte pumping follows an annual cycle that begins on July 1 and continues for 90 days at a rate of about 2 million gallons per day, then declines to 0.75 million gallons per day for 45 days, and then ceases for the year. About 77% of pumped water is returned to the landscape as wastewater discharge. Village of Plover pumpage is split between two wellfields, one containing wells 1 and 2, the other containing well 3. Plover pumpage grew from an average 310,000 gallons per day (gpd) in 1990 and was about 1.3 million iii gallons per day in 2006 and 2007. The Whiting-area wellfield, tapped for municipal and industrial use, contains two wells serving municipal needs, and five that serve two paper producers. Total wellfield pumping amounts to 4.1 million gallons per day (mgd) or about 6.3 cubic feet per second (cfs). Agricultural irrigation is somewhat enigmatic as until 2007 growers were not required to report pumpage nor were grower recollections and records of past irrigation complete. The irrigated crop rotation, with some variation, in the vicinity of the Little Plover is typically a 3 year rotation of potato, sweet corn, and snap beans. Grower recollections of irrigation for 2006a year with a dry growing season-averaged 4.4 to 6.1 inches depending on crop. More reliable data are available for 2007, which is the first year that growers were required to report pumpage under Wisconsin's new groundwater management law. Thus, in 2007 irrigation amounts could be quantified more accurately, and averaged 12.5 in. Notably 2007 had a much drier than average growing season. Statistical and flow modeling approaches were employed to help understand how much streamflow diversion might be attributable to groundwater pumping. Double mass curve analysis discerns pumping diversions were beginning in about 1973. (Pumping diversions were likely occurring earlier, but they were not be discernable as the Little Plover flow record did not encompass a period where groundwater pumping was totally absent in the vicinity). By 1986, about 2.2 cfs of missing discharge was apparent. Statistical methods also indicate missing discharges at Hoover Rd. were 3.9-5.0 cfs in May-August 2005 and 3.4 cfs in 2006. Groundwater flow modeling approaches agreed well with statistical ones, indicating on average 3.2-5.4 cfs of discharge at Hoover Rd. is diverted by current groundwater pumping amounts (the range is due to uncertainties in average irrigation amounts). Groundwater flow modeling is also able to apportion pumping diversions to individual sectors and individual wells. Village of Plover pumping prompted the single largest diversion, about 1.2 cfs for 2004 to 2006 pumping. Diversions amount to about ¾ of pumped water from wells 1 and 2, and about 1/3 of pumped water from well 3. Del Monte annual diversions peak at about 0.38 cfs at Hoover Rd. every year and then diminish. Annually, this diversion averages only about 0.2 cfs. Whiting municipal and industrial pumping divert about 0.57 cfs at Hoover. Irrigation diversions are only roughly known due to grower uncertainty regarding average irrigation amounts. Assuming a range of 2 to 6 in of consumptive use on irrigated lands, irrigation diversions would average 1.1 to 3.3 cfs at Hoover, but peak annually at 1.7 to 5 cfs. About 40% of irrigation diversions originate from within 0.5 miles of the Little Plover, 58% from within 1.0 miles, and 82% from within 2.0 miles. About 18% or irrigation diversions originate from beyond 2 miles. We conclude that Little Plover flows would be robust in the absence of groundwater pumping, with minimums in recent years of about 6.5 cfs at Hoover Rd. Diversions by groundwater pumping capture roughly 3-5.4 cfs of potential Little Plover discharges.

Flood forecasting and prediction requires knowledge of the channel hydraulic geometry, slope, and... more Flood forecasting and prediction requires knowledge of the channel hydraulic geometry, slope, and roughness coefficients such as Manning's "n." In general, the roughness coefficient is considered the most sensitive of the variables that are used in flood forecasting. In the case of low gradient agricultural streams, the bed, water and flood plain slope have sensitivities that equal or exceed that of the roughness coefficients. This is due in part to the dynamics of sediment transport feedback mechanisms during flooding. Most flood models use digital elevation models to calculate the slope variables. Our research addresses the differences between digital elevation models of slopes and field surveys of channel and floodplain slope.

Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics, 2014

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 2011

ABSTRACT Haucke, Jessica and Katherine A. Clancy, 2011. Stationarity of Streamflow Records and Th... more ABSTRACT Haucke, Jessica and Katherine A. Clancy, 2011. Stationarity of Streamflow Records and Their Influence on Bankfull Regional Curves. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(6):1338–1347. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00590.xAbstract: Bankfull regional curves, which are curves that establish relationships among channel morphology, discharge, drainage area, are used extensively for stream restoration. These curves are developed upon the assumption that streamflows maintain stationarity over the entire record. We examined this assumption in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin where agricultural soil retention practices have changed, and precipitation has increased since the 1970s. We developed a bankfull regional curve for this area using field surveys of bankfull channel performed during 2008‐2009 and annual series of peak streamflows for 10 rivers with streamflow records ranging from the 1930s to 2009. We found bankfull flows to correlate to a 1.1 return period. To evaluate gage data statistics, we used the sign test to compare our channel morphology to historic 1.5 return period discharge (Q 1.5) for five time periods: 1959‐1972, 1973‐1992, 1993‐2008, 1999‐2008, and the 1959‐2008 period of record. Analysis of the historic gage data indicated that there has been a more than 30% decline in Q 1.5 since 1959. Our research suggests that land conservation practices may have a larger impact on gaging station stationarity than annual precipitation changes do. Additionally, historic peak flow data from gages, which have records that span land conservation changes, may need to be truncated to represent current flow regimes.

Groundwater, 2011

Irrigated agriculture has expanded greatly in the water‐rich U.S. northern lake states during the... more Irrigated agriculture has expanded greatly in the water‐rich U.S. northern lake states during the past half century. Source water there is usually obtained from glacial aquifers strongly connected to surface waters, so irrigation has a potential to locally decrease base flows in streams and water levels in aquifers, lakes, and wetlands. During the nascent phase of the irrigation expansion, water availability was explored in works of some fame in the Wisconsin central sands by Weeks et al. (1965) on the Little Plover River and Weeks and Stangland (1971) on “headwater area” streams and lakes. Four decades later, and after irrigation has grown to a dominant landscape presence, we revisited irrigation effects on central sands hydrology. Irrigation effects have been substantial, on average decreasing base flows by a third or more in many stream headwaters and diminishing water levels by more than a meter in places. This explains why some surface waters have become flow and stage impaired...

Journal of Water Resource and Protection

Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 2017

Runoff models such as the Curve Number (CN) model are dependent upon land use and soil type withi... more Runoff models such as the Curve Number (CN) model are dependent upon land use and soil type within the watershed or contributing area. In regions with internal drainage (e.g. wetlands) watershed delineation methods that fill sinks can result in inaccurate contributing areas and estimations of runoff from models such as the CN model. Two methods to account for this inaccuracy have been 1) to adjust the initial abstraction value within the CN model; or 2) to improve the watershed delineation in order to better account for internal drainage. We used a combined approach of examining the watershed delineation, and refining the CN model by the incorporating of dual hydrologic soil classifications. For eighteen watersheds within Wisconsin, we compared the CN model results of three watershed delineation methods to USGS gaged values. We found that for large precipitation events (>100 mm) the CN model estimations are closer to observed values for watershed delineations that identify the directly connected watershed and use the undrained hydrologic soil classification.

Infiltration rates are critical to hydrologists' understanding of the behavior of a soil duri... more Infiltration rates are critical to hydrologists' understanding of the behavior of a soil during rainfall events, as well as for predictive estimates of runoff potential. Current infiltration studies rarely account for inherent procedural error associated with this technique due to the large numbers of samples required. The objective of this study is to establish error parameters for use with double-ringed infiltrometers. In Fall of 2007 and 2008, infiltration rates of soils determined to be statistically similar on the basis of bulk density, texture (by class), slope, and vegetation were measured and analyzed. The soils' equilibrium infiltration rates (EIRs) were used to develop error parameters for standard use of double-ringed infiltrometers. The EIRs of soils of the same textural class, as well as statistically similar bulk densities were compared, and a 95% confidence interval was established. The hypothesis is that EIRs of soils of like textural class, vegetation cover,...

Rainwater infiltration rates are critical to hydrologists' understanding of the behavior of a... more Rainwater infiltration rates are critical to hydrologists' understanding of the behavior of a soil during rainfall events, as well as for predictive estimates of runoff potential. However, current infiltration studies fail to account for inherent procedural error associated with this technique. In August and September of 2007, infiltration rates of soils determined to be statistically similar on the basis of antecedent moisture, slope, soil texture, and vegetation were measured and analyzed. The rates were used to develop error parameters for standard use of double- ringed infiltrometers. Another set of statistically similar soils was infiltrated to establish the viability of these parameters. The objective of this study is to establish error parameters for use with double-ringed infiltrometers. Our hypothesis is that infiltration rates of soils of statistically similar antecedent moistures, vegetation types, and soil textures will fall within one standard deviation of the mean,...

The Wisconsin central sands is a loosely-defined region characterized by a thick (often >30 m)... more The Wisconsin central sands is a loosely-defined region characterized by a thick (often >30 m) mantle of sandy materials overlying rocks of low permeability. Due to the sandy soils, irrigated agriculture has been growing steadily in the region since the 1950's, when irrigation systems and high capacity wells became inexpensive and easy to install. This has resulted in Central Wisconsin having the greatest density of high capacity wells in the state. Recent low lake and river levels have increased concerns that unfettered groundwater pumping for irrigation will undermine the availability of groundwater to support surface waters and domestic uses. In this study, the response of three groundwater monitoring wells and precipitation from five climate stations were examined. Through statistical analysis, significant precipitation increases were identified during the summer (2-3 mm/year) and winter (0.5 mm/year) in the southern part of the study area, but no significant change durin...

Soil Science Society of America Journal, 2011

... at a watershed scale have attributed seasonal changes in infiltration and runoff to temperatu... more ... at a watershed scale have attributed seasonal changes in infiltration and runoff to temperature (Schumm and Lusby, 1963; Musgrave and Holtan ... like to acknowledge the following students for their help in data collection: Amy Timm, Kaylea Foster, Meagan Running, Christine ...

Journal of Nutrition Education, 1985

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 2011

ABSTRACT Macholl, Jacob A., Katherine A. Clancy, and Paul M. McGinley, 2011. Using a GIS Model to... more ABSTRACT Macholl, Jacob A., Katherine A. Clancy, and Paul M. McGinley, 2011. Using a GIS Model to Identify Internally Drained Areas and Runoff Contribution in a Glaciated Watershed. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):114-125. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00495.xAbstract: Glaciated watersheds are not easily delineated using geographic information systems’ elevation-based algorithms, especially where stream networks are disconnected and there are large regions of internally drained areas. This paper presents the results of an analysis using the Potential Contributing Source Area (PCSA) model to identify potential contributing areas, defined as areas from which runoff is physically capable of reaching a drainage network. The investigation was conducted to define the potential contributing areas in a glaciated region of northwest Wisconsin. The curve number (CN) method was used to predict runoff volumes in the watershed. The streamflows of four tributaries were measured and the runoff portion of the hydrograph quantified to be compared with runoff estimates calculated using the potential contributing areas and the traditional catchment area. Runoff producing events occurred, but the use of area-weighted CN values was unsuccessful in modeling runoff due to all precipitation depths during the study period falling below the initial abstraction. A distributed CN approach provided runoff estimates that were generally better using the potential contributing areas compared with using the traditional catchment area. The extent of the minimum contributing area, estimated for a range of precipitation events, was found to be substantially less than the potential contributing areas, suggesting that the PCSA model delimits the maximum boundary of potential contributing areas.