Red River of the North Basin
National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Strobel, M.L., and Haffield, N.D., 1995, Salinity in
Surface Water in the Red River of the North Basin,
Northeastern North Dakota: U.S. Geological Survey
Water-Resources Investigations Report 95-4082, 14
p.
Abstract
Saline ground-water discharge from bedrock aquifers collects in wetlands that
drain into tributaries of the Red River of the North. The Turtle, Forest, and
Park Rivers are the major contributors of salinity to the Red River. These
three rivers drain areas of wetlands affected by ground-water discharge from
bedrock and by direct evapotranspiration.
This report describes the effect of tributaries in northeastern North Dakota
on the quality of water in the Red River and examines the possible processes
that affect salinity in tributaries and wetlands in the area. Streamflow and
specific-conductance measurements were made at the mouths of the three
tributaries and at streamflow-gaging stations on the Red River at Grand Forks
and at Drayton during the fall and winter of 1992-93. During this low-flow
period, the three tributaries accounted for about 1.2 percent of the total
streamflow in the Red River at Drayton, yet contributed an average of 17
percent (at times up to 43 percent) of the dissolved-solids load.
Long-term streamflow records at Grand Forks and at Drayton show that less than
15 percent of the annual streamflow in the Red River at Drayton occurs during
November through February. However, long-term specific-conductance
measurements show an increase in dissolved-solids concentrations during this
period. In addition, records indicate that there is an average increase in
dissolved-solids load in the Red River between Grand Forks and Drayton of 35
percent during November through February. This increase is attributed to
inflow from the Turtle, Forest, and Park Rivers.
The salinity in the Turtle, Forest, and Park Rivers may be attributed to
natural ground-water discharge and flowing wells, leaching of surface
sediments, and contributions from wetlands that have large dissolved-solids
concentrations because of evapotranspiration.
| 
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
