The Ozark Aquifer is an important water supply source for cities, rural water districts, agriculture, and industry in southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri, and northeast Oklahoma. Water supply wells in some areas of the aquifer have experienced water level declines in recent years. With a growing demand for water within the region, concerns about future water availability prompted by water-level declines and water-quality degradation, mostly in Kansas, have created a need to better understand this valuable resource in order to better address its long-term management. 

       TRI-STATE MODEL AREA
To address water supply and quality issues, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a three- year study in August 2005 in cooperation with the efforts of the state water agencies in the Tri-State area (Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri). A model is being developed that will simulate ground-water flow within the Ozark and Springfield Plateau aquifers and include interaction between ground and surface water. The model will allow resource managers to simulate the effect of additional ground water withdrawals and provide valuable water availability information. 

The study also will assess the current water-quality conditions in the Ozark aquifer and provide information on vertical variability of water quality within the aquifer near Pittsburg, Kansas, where brackish water intrusion is a concern. 

In the spring of 2006, the depth to water was measured in over 200 wells throughout the Tri-State region. This information was used to construct the most detailed regional water level map of the Ozark Aquifer to date. This and other data such as water use needed to construct the regional ground water flow model are being compiled. 

The Ozark Aquifer Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) comprising representatives from the three state water agencies, the USGS, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and local representatives, Pete Rauch (city of Monett, Missouri) and Bob Kirby (Kansas Rural Water Association), meets by phone quarterly to discuss the progress of the study. Annual public meetings will be held in the Fall of each year to provide area residents with information about the progress of the study.

This three-year study is being co-funded by the U.S. Geological Survey and the State of Kansas. The ground-water model and water-quality study reports are planned to be published by March 2009.