Research Projects

Continuation of water quality monitoring of Mississippian Aquifer springs and addition of new springs to IGWS online database

Status Start Date End Date Locations
completed Jul 1, 2023 Jun 30, 2024 Brown, Crawford, Greene, Harrison, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Montgomery, Orange, Owen,
Pike, Washington
Director: Tracy Branam
Other Researchers: Dana Bissey, Sara Clifford, Ginger Davis, Sam Frushour, Kevin Fuller, Casey Jones, Will Knauth, McKailey Sabaj Private spring owners, Indiana DNR, Hoosier National Forest, Indiana Karst Conservancy, Indiana Nature Conservancy, Friends of Beck's Mill, Squire Boone Caverns, French Lick Hotel properties, Martin County Tourism Dept., Indiana Department of Health Chemistry Labs
Funding: Indiana University - Indiana Geological & Water Survey
Issue: Funding for the NGWMN did not cover chemical analyses, but required multiple year monitoring by the participating agency. 21 springs will be monitored once yearly for as many years in the next decade as can be financially managed. In addition, more springs are being reported by people interested in knowing the chemistry. Those perennial springs with some historic significance or domestic use will be prioritized for analysis for addition to online database.
Objective: Collect field chemistry data, flow estimates, water samples for lab analyses for all springs to be sampled. Data to be entered into online springs database for all sites, and the NGWMN for 21 sites designated for that organization's national database.
Approach: Sites identified from New Springs project that have some historic aspect, current usage, and significant flow will be visited along with the 21 springs for the NGWMN for collection of field data and water samples. Lab analyses on filtered samples will include alkalinity, major cations, anions, and dissolved solids. Unfiltered samples will be analyzed for coliform bacteria.Filtered aliquots will be submitted to the Indiana Department of Health Chemistry Laboratories for minor and trace metal analyses. After completion and meeting QC requirements, data will be uploaded to Springs online database. NGWMN springs data will be submitted to the USGS for uploading.
Products: New springs water quality will be added to IGWS online database along with new water quality data for existing springs. The second years' chemistry data for the NGWMN database will be submitted.
Benefits: Expanding the springs database with new springs and new data for existing springs enhances the value of the data by providing both spatial and temporal chemistry data for a large number of springs distributed throughout the southcentral/southwest/southern part of Indiana.