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<br />000585 <br /> <br />STREAMFLOW RECORDS IN KANSAS <br /> <br />An inventory of the records that have been collected in Kansas and <br />adjoining areas since 1895 is shown in appendix 1. The records consist of <br />daily stages and flows obtained from the operation of gaging stations at <br />selected sites. Locations of the stations are shown on figure 1. Appendix <br />I shows that only a few records were collected sporadically until about <br />1920, when many new stations were started, and an effort was made to col- <br />lect streamflow records on a continuous basis. There was a further expan- <br />sion about 1940 when additional stream-gaging stations were started 'in an <br />attempt to define areal variations in flow, to collect data specifically <br />required by Federal agencies, to manage water supplies, and to define the <br />magnitude and frequency of floods in critical areas. <br /> <br />The need for a more specific plan for collecting streamflow data was <br />recognized about 1954 when it was shown that little useful hydrologic infor- <br />mation was added after sufficient records had been collected to establish <br />the relation of runoff at the station to runoff at a key streamflow station. <br />Languein and Ilardison (1955) indicated a number of ways of defining such <br />relations and showed that for program planning, statistical values deter- <br />mined from a relation of monthly mean discharges provided a convenient and <br />logical criterion. Based on these concepts the Kansas Water Resources <br />Board and the U.S. Geological Survey joined in a cooperative program to <br />investigate the degree of accuracy with which streamflow characteristics <br />should be defined, how much data are needed, and the most economical method <br />of obtaining the data. From the resulting report (Furness, 1957), an <br />improved program of stream gaging was formulated in 1957 and was started in <br />fiscal year 1960. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />THE 1957 PLAN <br /> <br />Primary Stations <br /> <br />The 1957 plan designated 70 primary station sites, a few of which were <br />located in adjoining States. Primary stations include both main-stem pri- <br />mary and areal primary. Main-stem primary stations were defined as those <br />which were to be operated for a long term on a river with usually more than <br />2,000 sq mi (square miles) of drainage area. They were established to <br />monitor the changes with time of flow from a complex river system that may <br />be influenced by changes in regulation or water use. Areal primary stations <br />were defined as those operated for a long term on a network of smaller and <br />essentially unregulated streams to define long-term representative charac- <br />teristics of flow from selected major geologic and climatilogic areas. <br /> <br />Secondary Stations <br /> <br />The 1957 plan recommended 130 secondary stations. Secondary stations <br />were defined as short-term satell ite stations that were to be operated <br /> <br />3 <br />