USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 06800500

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	Available Parameters
	00010 Temperature, water(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	00060 Discharge(Mean)
	00065 Gage height(Mean)
	00095 Specific cond at 25C(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	00300 Dissolved oxygen(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	00630 NO3+NO2, wu(Max.,Min.,Mean)
	63160 Stream level, NAVD88(Mean)
	63680 Turbidity, Form Neph(Max.,Mean,Min.)

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Water year 2024: 2024-10-01 to 2025-09-30

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USGS Water-Year Summary 2024

06800500 Elkhorn River at Waterloo, Nebr.

LOCATION - Lat 41°17'36", long 96°17'02" referenced to North American Datum of 1983, in SE 1/4 SW 1/4 sec.03, T.15 N., R.10 E., Douglas County, NE, Hydrologic Unit 10220003, on right bank downstream of Nebraska Highway 64 bridge at north edge of Waterloo, 3.5 mi downstream from Rawhide Creek, and at mile 13.8.

DRAINAGE AREA - 6,900 mi² of which 1,030 mi² probably is noncontributing.

REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 1390: 1914 (M), 1915, 1936, 1943(M). WDR NE-94-1: Drainage area.

SURFACE-WATER RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - April 1899 to November 1903, May 1911 to September 1915, August 1928 to current year. Published as "at Arlington" 1899-1903, July 1913 to September 1915. Monthly discharge only for some periods, published in WSP 1310.

GAGE - Water-stage recorder with satellite telemetry. Datum of gage is 1,105.19 ft above North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Prior to September 12, 2016, datum of gage was 1,104.73 ft above National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929. See WSP 1918 for history of changes prior to Oct. 1, 1960. Oct. 1, 1960 to July 27, 1978, at datum 2.00 ft higher (1,106.73 ft NGVD29). July 28, 1978 to Nov. 17, 1993, at site 800 ft downstream at present datum.

REMARKS - Accuracy of records for water years prior to 2014 are noted in the individual Annual Data Reports for those water years. For water years 2014 onward, records fair except for estimated daily discharges, which are poor, unless otherwise noted. Some small diversions above station for irrigation.

EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD - Stage and discharge of the flood of June 12, 1944, are the greatest known since at least 1880.

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum peak flow, 117,000 ft³/s, March 15, 2019, gage height, 24.23 ft. Peak gage height, 24.68 ft, March 16, 2019, backwater from ice.

WATER-QUALITY RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - Water years 1948-49, 1960, 1967-95, 2003 to current year.

PERIOD OF DAILY RECORD -

WATER TEMPERATURE: October to September 2003, June 2007 to present (seasonal records only).

SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE: Limited daily records of poor quality during water years 1967 to 1970; March to September 2003, June 2007 to present (seasonal records only).

TURBIDITY: March 2008 to present (seasonal records only).

DISSOLVED OXYGEN: March 2008 to present (seasonal records only).

Nitrate: March 2016 to present (seasonal records only).

INSTRUMENTATION -

Seasonal deployment of a continuous water-quality monitor. Measured parameters include water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and nitrate. Turbidity measurements conform to ISO 7027 standards. Dissolved oxygen measurements were collected using a luminescent sensor. Nitrate measurements were collected using a Hach Nitratax sensor with 2 mm wavelength sensing.

YSI Exo probes used at this site include:

Wiped Conductance probe (USGS Parameter Code 00095, method code SC001).

Dissolved Oxygen probe (USGS Parameter Code 00300, method code LUMIN).

Turbidity probe (USGS Parameter Code 63680, YSI 6600-method code TS087, used prior to 1/1/2016; YSI Exo2-method code TS213 used post 1/1/2016).

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD -

Extremes computed from periods of approved record since 2002, and may have been exceeded during non-measured periods.

WATER TEMPERATURE: Maximum, 35.8 °C, July 19, 2012; minimum, 0.0 °C, various days during winter periods.

SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE: Maximum, 796 uS/cm, June 25, 2003 and July 13, 2014; minimum, 105 uS/cm, Aug 16, 2002.

DISSOLVED OXYGEN: Maximum, 22.6 mg/L, September 25, 2012; minimum, 1.0 mg/L, July 12, 2022.

NITRATE: Maximum, 9.7 mg/L N, June 28, 2021; minimum, <0.5 mg/L N on numerous dates

TURBIDITY: USGS Parameter Code 63680 in formazin nephelometric units (FNU),

Data prior to January 1, 2016, a YSI 6600 turbidity probe was used. (USGS Parameter Code 63680, method code TS087).

Extremes for this period include a maximum, >1380 FNU, May 06, 2012; minimum, 4 FNU, October 8, 2012.

2016 to the present, a YSI EXO was used. (USGS Parameter Code 63680, method code TS213).

Extremes for this period include a maximum, 3700 FNU, May 01, 2022; minimum, 4.7 FNU, October 18, 2022.