News Release

Aug 21, 2009	John Czarnecki	501-228-3617	jczarnec@usgs.gov
	Walt Aucott	785-832-3505	waucott@usgs.gov

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Groundwater Model Developed to Address Water Availability in Ozark Aquifer System During Next 50 Years

The Ozark aquifer is the primary source of water for many municipalities in southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, and northwestern Oklahoma. Water levels have declined as much as 400 to 500 feet in some parts of the Ozark aquifer since 1960. A groundwater model prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and used to simulate groundwater withdrawals at future rates greater than actual 2006 rates resulted in simulated dewatering of the aquifer near some municipalities.

Five scenarios were used to simulate water level changes and availability between 2007 and 2057.  Groundwater withdrawals in the major pumping centers in the study area (including Carthage, Noel, and Joplin, Missouri; Pittsburg, Kansas; and Miami, Oklahoma) could be sustained at 2006 pumping rates. Pumping was not sustainable at a 1 percent annual increase in water withdrawal rates each year from 2007 to 2057 and the Ozark aquifer went dry near Carthage, and Noel, Missouri.  With a 4 percent annual increase pumping was not sustainable and the aquifer also went dry near Joplin, Missouri and Miami, Oklahoma.  Pumping was sustainable in Pittsburg, Kansas, even with a 4 percent annual increase through 2057, however, large water level declines did occur.

The information acquired from this model will help water managers make decisions about the long-term viability of ground water as a source of water supply for the Tri-State area (southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, and northwestern Oklahoma), the placement of new large capacity water-supply wells to minimize the effects on existing users, and the potential for future contamination of the wells.

“The model represents a management tool for better understanding the potential fate of this important water resource under various pumping scenarios,” said Dr. John Czarnecki, USGS hydrologist and lead author of the modeling study.

The public is invited to attend a forum about Ozark aquifer water supply issues on Wednesday, August 26, 7-9 p.m., at the Mills Anderson Justice Center, Missouri Southern State University, Joplin, Missouri.  The forum will further the understanding of the Ozark aquifer by communicating the findings of the recently completed study conducted in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.  The study has been a partnership of the U.S. Geological Survey, state agencies, and local participants to address the issues of concern relative to the Ozark aquifer.

A report describing the groundwater model and its use entitled “Groundwater-Flow Model of the Ozark Plateaus Aquifer System, Northwestern Arkansas, Southeastern Kansas, Southwestern Missouri, and Northeastern Oklahoma” by John B. Czarnecki, Jonathan A. Gillip, Perry M. Jones, and Daniel S. Yeatts is available online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5148.  Limited numbers of paper copies of the report are available from USGS Water Science Center offices in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

For more information about the Ozark aquifer study visit: