Water-quality characteristics, including sodium-adsorption ratios, for four sites in the Powder River drainage basin, Wyoming and Montana, water years 2001-2004

Project Summary

The U.S. Geological Survey monitors streams throughout the Powder River structural basin in parts of Wyoming and Montana for potential effects from the development of coalbed natural gas. Specific conductance and sodium-adsorption ratios may be larger in coalbed waters than in stream waters that may receive the discharge waters. Water-quality instruments that continuously measure specific conductance were installed, and discrete water-quality samples were collected, to characterize water quality during water years 2001-2004 at four sites in the Powder River drainage basin: Powder River at Sussex, Wyoming (PR1); Crazy Woman Creek near Arvada, Wyoming (CWC); Clear Creek near Arvada, Wyoming (CC); and Powder River at Moorhead, Montana (PR2).

Map of study area (click on image for a larger version, 100 kb).

A report that characterizes water-quality data collected during water years 2001-2004 at the four sites in the Powder River drainage basin was prepared. Specifically, the report presents: (1) a summary of continuous streamflow and specific conductance data that were collected; (2) a summary of specific conductance, major ions, and SAR values from discrete water-quality samples; (3) regression equations for estimating SAR from specific conductance; and (4) dissolved-solids loads that were estimated using load-estimation software. The report is available online at http://pubs.water.usgs.gov/sir2006-5113/

View a poster (PDF, 1.4 mb) presented at the National Water-Quality Monitoring Council, 5th National Monitoring Conference, May 7-11, 2006, San Jose, Calif.

Real-time measurements of specific conductance and real-time estimates of sodium-adsorption ratios for the four sites in the Powder River drainage basin are available at URL: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wy/nwis/current/?type=quality

Clear Creek near Arvada, Wyoming.

Water-quality sampling at Powder River near Sussex, Wyoming.