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'.'. . o:-{ 'I ,~, \ ~ J . '.... ~ Note: Pages 2 and 3 are reversec 3 INTRODUCTION This report is the fourth in a series of studies of Kansas streamflow char- acteristics undertaken as a part of the cooperative programs for water re- sources investigations between State of Kansas agencies and the U, S. Geo- logical Survey. Technical Report No. 1 in the seriesl shows the percent of time that streamflow of a given magnitude can be expected to be equaled or exceeded. The second technical report2 shows the frequency at which the an- nual minimum flow for periods of given length may fall below various average rates. The third report3 evaluates the magnitude and frequency of flood dis- charges. This report, the fourth of the series, extends the previous low-flow studies to longer periods of consecutive months and evalua tes the adequacy of different storage capacities to sustain low flow of the streams above various rates. Other analyses are now in process to delineate other streamflow char- acteristics such as the amount of storage required to control maximum rates of runoff and the proportion of streamflow derived from ground water. Future use of water in Kansas can be expected to increase considerably, but the geographic distribution of the increased use will depend largely on the availability of water. The availability depends on the total quantity of water, which cannot be increased, and' on the supply available duri ng periods of drought when shortages are most likely to occur. Sound water management and devel- opment programs can partly overcome deficiencies in natural supplies during drought periods. Streamflow, for example, can be stabilized by reservoir stor- age to carry flood runoff into periods of droughts, Information on storage requirements could be based on the worst drought experienced during the period of operation of a gaging station at the site, but this procedure would not define how frequently the storage would be inadequate, To be more useful, the storage requirements could be based on the frequency of low flows experienced in the period of operation of the gaging station, but this procedure would result in misleading data in basins that had experienced a preponderance of either floods or droughts not typical of the long-term ex- perience in the general region, The future expectancy of storage requirements needed for planning purposes would best be defined if records were available over a long-term period at all sites. Such a goal cannot be attained with the records now available, and the task of obtaining natural flow records in the future will be complicated by the effects of man-made regulation. In the ab- sence of long-term records at all sites, correlation techniques have been used to extend all records to the 37 -year base period April 1920 to March 1957, 1 Furness, L, W., 1959, Kansas streamflow characteristics, pt. 1, Flow dura- tion: Kansas Water Resources Board, Tech. Rept. No.1. 2 Furness, L. W" 1960, Kansas streamflow characteristics, pt. 2, Low-flow frequency: Kansas Water Resources Board, Tech. Rept, No.2, 3 Ellis, D. W., and Edelen, G. W" Jr., 1960, Kansas streamflow character- istics, pt. 3, Flood frequency: Kansas Water Resources Board, Tech. Rept. No.3.