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
Active Aug 1, 2024 Jun 30, 2025 Crawford, Dubois, Greene, Harrison, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen, Perry,
Pike, Washington
Director: Tracy Branam
Other Researchers: Sara Clifford, Ginger Davis, Sam Frushour, Casey Jones, Will Knauth, Connor Miller, Ben Romlein, 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. Will also need to revisit springs sampled in 2019 & 2020 that have not been resampled yet to obtain new sample due to bad nitrate method for previous analyses.
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. Will plan on revisiting the sites requiring new nitrate data that are in the Mitchell Plateau for this year, approximately 35-40 of the springs requiring resampling.
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. Spring owners will receive a report on the water quality of their spring(s).
Products: New springs water quality will be added to IGWS online database along with new water quality data for existing springs. The third 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. Trends associated with physiographic provinces and land usage are becoming more apparent through multiple samplings of existing springs and addition of new springs. More of the mineral springs originally reported on by Blatchley are being located and sampled, with the current data being compared to historic data of over 120 years ago. Presentations at IWRA and IAS conferences are inevitable as more data is available and trends become apparent. Data on specific elements (e.g. lithium) is being used to leverage funding for critical minerals research in Indiana.