Water Balance of a Stock-Watering Pond in the Flint Hills of Kansas

Abstract

Small ponds are often the main source of drinking water for grazing livestock. The hydrology of these ponds must be understood so impoundments can be located, designed, and managed to avoid water shortages during dry weather. A study was conducted to measure the water balance of a stock-watering pond in the Flint Hills region of east-central Kansas from June 2005 to October 2006. The 0.35-ha pond supplied water to 250-kg yearling steers in a 65-ha pasture of native tallgrass prairie. Evaporation, depth change, and cattle consumption were measured continuously using meteorological sensors, depth recorders, and water meters. Seepage, transpiration, and inflow were measured periodically or modeled. Evaporation was also predicted from weather data using forms of the Penman and Priestley-Taylor models. Evaporation accounted for 64% of the total water loss annually, while seepage, cattle consumption, and transpiration accounted for 31%, 3%, and 2%, respectively. The greatest water loss was observed in July, with total monthly losses over 358 mm and peak daily losses sometimes exceeding 18 mm ? d 21. Cattle consumption averaged 30 L ? day 21 ? animal 21 with peak usage of 46 L ? day 21 ? animal 21. On average, the Priestley-Taylor and Penman evaporation models estimated monthly evaporation to 3% and 5%, respectively. Thus, evaporation, the main form of loss, can be predicted with simple models using data from weather station networks. Inflows from runoff proved difficult to predict and were highly dependent on antecedent soil water content. Results showed that losses from ponds can be measured or predicted with reasonable accuracy. These data could be incorporated into catchment-scale hydrology models to provide site-specific designs for stock-watering ponds and livestock-watering strategies. Resumen Los pequeñ os estanques son a menudo la principal fuente de agua potable para el ganado de pastoreo. La hidrología de estos estanques debe entenderse de manera que los embalses pueden ser ubicados, diseñ ados, manejados para evitar la escasez de agua durante la temporada seca. Se realizó un estudio para medir el balance hídrico de un estanque en la región de las colinas de Flint en la región central del este de Kansas a partir de junio del 2005 hasta octubre del 2006. El estanque de 0.35 ha suministró agua a bueyes menores de 1 añ o y 250 kg en una pradera de 65 ha pastos altos nativos. La evaporación, el cambio de profundidad, y el consumo del ganado, se midieron de forma continua utilizando sensores meteorológicos, sensores de profundidad, y de agua. La filtración, transpiración, y el flujo de agua se midieron periódicamente o se modelaron. La evaporación tambie´n se predijo de datos meteorológicos utilizando formas de los modelos de Penman y Priestley-Taylor. La evaporación representó el 64% del total de la pérdida de agua anual, mientras que la filtración, el consumo de ganado, y la transpiración representó el 31%, 3%, y 2%, respectivamente. La mayor pe´rdida de agua fue observada en Julio, con un total de las pérdidas ...

A study of the Sherwood–Rayleigh relation for water undergoing natural convection-driven evaporation

“…For example, vigorous natural convection on the water side could easily change the surface temperature, and hence evaporation rate, however such a change in T s is accounted for in the variables q wv;s and q s used in Eqs. (8) and (10), which are in turn used in the present definitions of Sh and Ra. On the other hand, one might argue that for a given average T s , two different tanks having different water-side Rayleigh numbers due to different depths will have different water-side turbulence intensities giving, for example, a different value for the root mean square of T s .…”

“…The method for obtaining the densities used in Eqs. (8) and (10) follows the procedure presented in Sparrow et al [18]. The density of water vapor in the air is obtained from:…”

“…Demands on freshwater supplies for industrial, agricultural and human needs make important the ability to predict evaporation rates from inland bodies of water such as reservoirs and lakes [1][2][3][4], ponds [5], cooling impoundments [6], swimming pools [7], and livestock ponds [8]. The focus of the present study is evaporation from a water surface where natural convection is the dominant transport mechanism.…”

Identifying the water sources consumed by bison: implications for large mammalian grazers worldwide

“…Previously, estimates of the annual water supply were calculated for cattle in the Flint Hills region of Kansas considering seasonal evaporation and throughflow (Duesterhaus et al 2008). For an animal with a mean weight of 250 kg, cattle require on average 30 L per day per individual, but this amount varied over time (Duesterhaus et al 2008).…”

“…Previously, estimates of the annual water supply were calculated for cattle in the Flint Hills region of Kansas considering seasonal evaporation and throughflow (Duesterhaus et al 2008). For an animal with a mean weight of 250 kg, cattle require on average 30 L per day per individual, but this amount varied over time (Duesterhaus et al 2008). In a study of the comparative ecology of cattle and bison in tallgrass prairie in Oklahoma, USA, Allred et al (2011) showed cattle foraging close to permanent water sources, while bison spent more time at greater distances from permanent water sources.…”