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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />. <br />. <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />OOJo84 <br /> <br />The trapezoidal basin would have a side slope of 1: 1 for stability purposes. The <br />Platte-Aida complex soil found at the recharge basin site provides good stability <br />with close compaction control (Buffalo County 1974). Native grasses would be <br />planted along the entire length of the basin to prevent soil erosion. The total <br />basin volume would be 55,000 cubic feet. The basin volume provides excess <br />storage above the 20,848 cubic feet per day during artificial recharge operations <br />for collection of stormwater. The basin would provide a catchment during storms <br />that would result in natural recharge of the wet meadow site at other times of the <br />year, <br /> <br />5.2 Suggested Operating Procedure for Recharge Basin <br />The analysis of the recharge basin was performed such that recharge <br />would occur prior to the migration of the whooping cranes and sandhill cranes. <br />The period from March 23 to May 10 represents the primary spring migration <br />period (Bowman 1994). The increase in groundwater levels in the Rowe <br />Sanctuary site prior to the migration begins the development of invertebrates <br />which are needed by the cranes for protein (Bowman 1994). <br />The recharge operation should be started around March 1 st to allow the <br />groundwater table at the Rowe Sanctuary site to respond to the recharge. This <br />provides time for the invertebrate food supply as well as other microorganisms <br />and vegetation to respond to the rise in the water table. <br />The operation of the recharge basin requires a steady supply of recharge <br />water. The most obvious source for the recharge water is from the South <br />Channel of the Platte River adjacent to the Rowe Sanctuary site. A small pump <br />with an intake on the river could easily provide the recharge water supply of <br />0,2314 CFS to the basin. When the return flow back to the river is taken into <br />account, the actual amount of water that is removed from the instream flow is <br />very small. Another possible recharge source would be from a deep well drilled <br />beneath the unconfined aquifer adjacent to the recharge basin. This would <br />eliminate the diversion of instream flows and would ultimately increase, slightly, <br />the downstream flows within the river, <br /> <br />26 <br />