Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 2002-46

Kansas Springs Inventory: Water Quality, Flow Rate, and Temperature Data

by Robert Sawin and Rex Buchanan
Kansas Geological Survey
and Wayne Lebsack
Independent Geologist

KGS Open File Report 2002-46
November 2002

Abstract

Springs are an important component of the Kansas landscape, a significant source of water used in the state, and an aid to understanding the connection between groundwater and surface water. Despite their importance, little information has been collected systematically about springs in Kansas. In 1996, staff at the Kansas Geological Survey, with independent geologist Wayne Lebsack, began a project that brought together existing information on springs in Kansas, inventoried representative and important springs in the state, and collected basic water-quality, flow rate, and temperature data. That effort resulted in several publications (Buchanan, Sawin, and Lebsack, 1998; Sawin, Buchanan, and Lebsack, 1999; Sawin and Buchanan, 2000; Buchanan, Sawin, and Lebsack, 2000; and Sawin and Buchanan, 2001) and the following data set.

For this project, springs were defined as places where groundwater flows naturally from the earth onto the land surface or into a body of surface water, at a rate sufficient to form a current (Sawin, Buchanan, and Lebsack, 1999). The following spreadsheet lists springs that were visited during this project. This project's purpose was to inventory significant and representative springs; this was not an attempt to visit every spring in the state. The following criteria were used to pick spring locations:

1) named, well-known, and historic springs;
2) springs with published water-quality data;
3) springs with flow rates of at least five gallons per minute, although springs were sampled regardless of flow rate if the location was visited, or if the spring occurred in an area of low spring density;
4) unique or unusual springs;
5) areas or counties with a low density of springs.

Spring locations were acquired from the scientific literature (particularly Kansas Geological Survey county bulletins and Bailey, 1902), 1:24,000 U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps, and visits with local residents.

The resulting data set has been organized by county. It includes analyses of 249 springs from 72 counties. The data set includes the name of the spring (if known); the date the spring was visited and sampled; specific conductance in micromhos per centimeter at 25 degrees centigrade; sulfate, measured in parts per million; chloride, measured in parts per million; nitrate, measured as NO₃ in parts per million; temperature in degrees Fahrenheit; and flow rate in gallons per minute, which was estimated unless noted with an "m", indicating it was measured. The data for chemical quality of the water and flow rates are representative only of the date on which the spring was visited; some factors, particularly flow rate, vary dramatically according to time of year and precipitation levels. Analytical work was performed at the Kansas Geological Survey and the authors of this report would like to acknowledge the work of Dr. Lawrence Hathaway, Truman Waugh (retired), and Karmie Galle (retired), in conducting those analyses.

References

Bailey, E. H. S., 1902, Special report on Mineral Waters, v. 7: University Geological Survey of Kansas, 343 p.

Buchanan, R., Sawin, R., and Lebsack, W., 1998, Kansas Springs: Kansas Geological Survey, Public Information Circular, no. 11, 6 p.

Buchanan, R., Sawin, R., and Lebsack, W., 2000, Water of the Most Excellent Kind--Historic Springs in Kansas: Kansas History, v. 23, no. 3, p. 128-141.

Sawin, R. S., Buchanan, R. C., and Lebsack, W., 1999, Flint Hills Springs: Kansas Academy of Science Transactions, v. 102, no. 1-2, p. 1-31.

Sawin, R., and Buchanan, R., 2000, Water Quality of Selected Springs--Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 2000-1, 31 p.

Sawin, R., and Buchanan, R., 2001, Springs Inventory--Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County, Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Open-file Report 2001-40, 17 p.

SP C in micromhos/cm @ 25 degrees C; SO4, Cl, and NO3 in ppm; TEMP in degrees F; GPM is estimated unless noted as measured (m).