Technical Services Section
Lake and Wetland Monitoring Program
The Lake and Wetland Monitoring Program provides information on the chemical, physical, and
biological properties of publicly owned lakes and wetlands in Kansas. Water bodies are visited
by staff on a 3-5 year rotational schedule, and field measurements and subsequent laboratory
analyses provide data on a large suite of physical, organic, inorganic, and biological parameters.
For a complete list of parameters, see the Program’s
Quality Assurance Management Plan.
Water quality information currently is obtained from 122 lakes and wetlands distributed throughout
the state. These include all 24 federal reservoirs, most state-administered fishing lakes
(those retaining open water in most years), various other state, county or locally owned lakes,
several privately owned but publicly accessible lakes, and seven state or federally owned marshes.
The program’s primary database comprises about 250,000 analytical records representing
approximately 300 water bodies and more than 100 different analytical parameters.
Watersheds associated with many of these monitored lakes and wetlands are periodically surveyed
with respect to prevailing land use/land cover and the location and size of any discrete pollutant
sources. Macrophyte community composition and aerial macrophyte coverage also are evaluated in
selected water bodies smaller than 300 acres. Information derived from these ancillary activities
improves the Department’s ability to estimate contaminant fluxes, characterize lake trophic
conditions, predict future changes in these conditions, and assess the need for regulatory intervention.
This program routinely shares a large amount of data and expertise with other agencies and
organizations involved in lake and wetland management, environmental restoration, water quality
monitoring, and environmental education. Additional collaborative efforts have addressed the abatement
of toxic algal blooms and taste/odor problems in public drinking water supply reservoirs.
 Click here to view interactive maps of the water quality monitoring programs. 
 Click here to view a the static map of Kansas Lake and Wetland Monitoring Program.
Program manager:
, Environmental Scientist, 785-296-5575
Program staff:
, Environmental Scientist, 785-296-5576
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