USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 07144300

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	00060 Discharge(Mean)
	00065 Gage height(Mean)

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Water year 2023: 2022-10-01 to 2023-09-30

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USGS Water-Year Summary 2023

07144300 ARKANSAS RIVER AT WICHITA, KS

LOCATION - Lat 37°38'35.96", long 97°20'06.70" referenced to North American Datum of 1983, in sec.05, T.28 S., R.1 E., Sedgwick County, KS, Hydrologic Unit 11030013, on right bank at downstream side of bridge on Broadway Street in Wichita, 3.7 mi downstream from mouth of Little Arkansas River and at mile 759.7. Big Slough-Cowskin Floodway gage is in sec.11, T.27 S., R.1 W., Sedgwick County, on right bank at downstream side of bridge on Zoo Boulevard in Wichita, 1.0 mi downstream from control structure, and 6.5 mi northwest of Broadway Street gage.

DRAINAGE AREA - 40,490 mi² of which 7,263 mi² probably is noncontributing.

REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 1241: 1940, 1944. WSP 1341: Drainage area.

SURFACE-WATER RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - July 1934 to current year. Gage-height records collected at site 3.2 mi upstream since 1897 are contained in reports of U.S. Weather Bureau.

GAGE - River gage is water-stage recorder. Datum of gage is 1,262.88 ft. above msl. (NAVD88) (Static survey,OPUS-RS) Previous datum was 1,262.42 ft. above NGVD of 1929. Prior to Oct. 1, 1985, at datum 5.00 ft higher than present datum. See WSP 1921 for history of changes prior to Oct. 1, 1968. Floodway gage is water-stage recorder. Datum of floodway gage is 1,300.00 ft above NGVD of 1929 (levels by Wichita-Valley Center Flood Control Project).

REMARKS - Flow slightly regulated since 1948 by John Martin Reservoir (station 07130000). Natural flow affected by trans-mountain diversions, storage reservoirs, power developments, ground-water withdrawals, diversions for irrigation, city of Wichita weir 2.2 mi upstream, and return flow from irrigated areas. Since May 1957, part of high-water flow bypasses river gage through floodway channel for which separate records are computed; figures representing floodway discharge and combined discharge were given up to the 2013 water-year. Following 2013 the two data sets are independent. Satellite telemeter at station.

EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD - Floods of May 18, 1877, and July 8, 1904, reached stages of 21 ft and 20.3 ft, respectively, river gage site and datum then in use (from reports of U.S. Weather Bureau).

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - The highest discharge recorded during periods in which flow from main gage and floodway gage were combined occurred on Oct. 31, 1979 with a discharge of 48,400 cfs.