Surface Water
The Pawnee-Buckner subbasin has three 
United States Geological Survey streamflow gage stations. They include the Rozel gage on Pawnee River, the Burdett gage on Buckner Creek and the Burdett gage on Pawnee River. The average recorded streamflow was 10.42 cfs at the Burdett gage on Buckner Creek. The Rozel gage had an average streamflow of 58.79 cfs. Lastly, the Burdett gage on the Pawnee River had an average streamflow of 10.11 cfs.
Baseflow
Staff from the Division of Water Resources’ Stafford field office measures the 12 sites monthly. The objective is to record baseflow. Baseflow is the amount of natural flow in the stream under static conditions. Precipitation events can greatly influence streamflow. These can skew measurements so they do not accurately reflect a steady-state condition. Precipitation is sporadic in both frequency and quantity. The inclusion of those measurements would make it much more difficult to make management decisions involving surface water users.
There are three U.S. Geological Survey gages installed that are operated and maintained by USGS. Two are in eastern Hodgeman County and one is in western Pawnee County. USGS data from the three gages can be viewed on the USGS website. The site also includes historic and real-time data from gaging stations throughout the state.
This map also shows gaining, losing and dry stretches between gaging sites for the period from July 2007 through June 2008. Red indicates a losing stretch of stream. Blue is a gaining stretch. Brown is a dry stretch. Baseflow at each site is calculated in cubic feet per second. Each site is first evaluated based on the difference in discharge between each gage site. This tells us where gaining and losing stretches are during a specific month. When two consecutive sites have no flow, it is considered a dry stretch because there are no discharge numbers to compare. We then figure out how many times during the year a particular stretch of stream was gaining, losing or dry. We compare the frequency of gaining, losing and dry stretches to determine what each stretch of stream is considered to be over the year. If the stretch was losing 50 percent of the time, gaining 25 percent of the time and dry 25 percent of the time, it would be red because most of the year it was a losing stretch.
When a stretch is shown as losing or dry, it doesn't mean that the stream never flows there. Baseflow Measurement tables show discharge measurements from the past year. The map and tables will be updated annually to show discharge measurements and gaining, losing and dry stretches.
Staff was unable to measure some sites in January and February due to ice. When ice prevented measurements, we labeled it NA. It was not considered a dry, gaining, or losing stretch. Also, flow through the Pawnee Creek 2 site has not been measured since last July because trees are blocking the creek channel, which stops all upstream water from passing through.
The tables show that May is when baseflow was present at most sites. A measurable amount of flow was observed at 75 percent of the sites in May. This is due to very little irrigation at that time. The aquifers were fully recovered from the previous year's irrigation and rainfall is typically more frequent than other times of the year.
Data also show that baseflow was least likely to be present in September, October and November. During those months, baseflow was measured only 17 percent of the time. The most likely reason for lack of baseflow was alluvial aquifer depletion from the recent irrigation season. Combining aquifer depletion with minimal rainfall on unsaturated soil, the impact to baseflow frequency can be significant.