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Surface Water supply report. The stations and periods of record are Ashland (1928 -1953, <br />1988 - present), and Louisville (1953- present). <br />Peters et al. (1989) found that over 40% of available mean column velocities in the lower <br />Platte River were between 1.31 and 1.97 fps (in Hopfar 1997). <br />Substrate <br />Peters et al. (1989) reported that sand compromised over 80% of available substrates in <br />the lower Platte River, and documented an increase in the availability of silt and gravel <br />during the summer (in Hopfar 1997). <br />Sediment Transport <br />The sediment load and sediment discharge is considered to be a critical factor in <br />producing a diversity of channel mesohabitat (i.e., sandbars, backwaters, side chutes and <br />pools) and channel bedforms in the lower Platte River that are lacking or in extremely <br />short supply in the channelized Missouri River (NEED REFERENCE). <br />Erosion introduces organic matter and large woody debris from the floodplain, as well as <br />sediment in the form of rock, gravel, sand, silt, and clay (FWS 1997). Information on <br />suspended sediment load is available from USGS sampling at gage sites and includes <br />daily data collected at Louisville from October 1971 to September 1981. <br />Hydrology <br />Reade (2000) collected measurements of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, <br />conductivity, and suspended solids in 1998 and 1999 from mid -May through early - <br />August at four sites along the lower Platte River from the Loup River confluence to the <br />Missouri River confluence during a larval fish drift study. <br />Peters et al. (2001) reported that measurements of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, <br />conductivity, salinity and suspended solids at four sites in the lower Platte basin (2 sites <br />on the lower Platte River: Leshara and Louisville) began in 2000. The four sites were <br />sampled weekly through the fall and winter. <br />Temperature <br />In 2000 the mean water temperature at Leshara was 8.9 °C with a minimum of 0 and a <br />maximum of 25.6 °C; and at Louisville the mean water temperature was 11.1 °C with a <br />minimum of 0 and a maximum of 28.3 °C (Peters et al. 2001). <br />Draft Baseline Report — Pallid Sturgeon Section 13 <br />