Marion Reservoir Kansas Watershed Restoration
Marion Reservoir is located in central Kansas and drains 200 square miles of the northern branch of the Cottonwood River. This reservoir supplies drinking water for several rural towns and rural water districts. The reservoir is highly eutrophic and has had periods of blue-green algae for several years which has restricted it use for drinking water. This study was performed to examine strategies to measure and identify sources of nutrients coming into the reservoir. Once the sources are identified, practices will be implemented on the sources to restore the reservoir quality.
The overview of developments in the desert makes clear that Progressive Development is already implemented is many areas, although it is not acknowledged as such and a coordinating master plan is missing. International plans would be very desirable, since water is a transboundary issue. For example, exploitation of the Disi aquifer led to conflict between Jordan and Saudi Arabia [1]. Jordan, Syria, Israel and Palestine share the Yarmouk River as the primary freshwater resource, which is a very sensitive political issue.