JOURNAL OF CAVE AND KARST STUDIES / ARTICLES / VOLUME 88

 

MONITORING SHALLOW GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN THE SPRINGFIELDPLATEAU OF MISSOURI VIA KARST SPRINGS

Mélida Gutiérrez, Claudia P. Colmenero-Chacón, Kevin Mickus

Publication Date: 2026/06/01

Publication Volume: Journal of Cave and Karst Science 88 #1

DOI Link: https://dx.doi.org/10.4311/2025ES0101

Article Link: https://caves.org/wp-content/uploads/Publications/JCKS/v88/88_1-2_20.pdf

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ABSTRACT:

Shallow groundwater plays an ever-important role in determining surface water quality and stream ecology. Since shallow groundwater is so readily affected by contaminants produced by human activities, its discharge to surface water may contribute to stream contamination; therefore, its monitoring is critical for protecting water resources. Seven rural karst springs from an area utilized for cattle grazing and pastureland in southwest Missouri, USA, were monitored for a year. Shallow wells in the vicinity of the sampled springs, plus two urban springs, were included to appraise the effect of land use on water quality. The study focused on NO3−N and Cl as indicators of pollution. The results show (a) a specific pattern of concentrations for each spring and the season in which the concentration of pollutants peaked, (b) the underlying Ozark Aquifer was not significantly affected by leakage from the Springfield Plateau aquifer, and (c) compared with the urban springs, the rural springs had about the same NO3−N content but less Cl. Two rural springs reached concentrations above 4 mg/L NO3−N during the spring months, a concentration that may lead to eutrophication. The area experienced an abnormally dry period during this study, for which the results represent baseline conditions and the springs’ response to an expected effect (longer droughts) of climate change.

SIMPLE LANGUAGE SUMMARY:

Groundwater that sits close to the surface feeds streams and springs, but it is also the groundwater most easily polluted by things people do on the land above it, such as farming, septic systems and city runoff. In karst country, where water moves quickly through cracks and caves in the limestone instead of being slowly filtered through soil, this problem is even bigger. The authors spent a year monitoring seven rural springs in Lawrence County in southwest Missouri, an area dominated by cattle pastures. They also sampled nearby shallow wells and two springs in the city of Springfield so they could compare rural and urban land use. They focused on two common pollution indicators: nitrate (measured as nitrate-nitrogen), which mainly comes from fertilizer and animal waste, and chloride, which comes from sources like road salt and sewage. Every spring turned out to have its own pattern, with nitrate peaking in late spring after fertilizer is applied and chloride peaking in late fall. Overall, the water stayed well within federal drinking water limits, and the rural springs had about the same nitrate as the urban ones but less chloride. Two rural springs did rise above 4 milligrams per liter of nitrate-nitrogen in the spring months, a level that can trigger algae overgrowth in streams downstream. The deeper Ozark aquifer showed no sign of being contaminated by water leaking down from the shallower Springfield Plateau aquifer. Because the study happened during an unusually dry year, the results serve as a baseline showing how these springs behave during the longer droughts expected with climate change.

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