SPRINGS ON THE HIGH PLAINS OF WESTERN KANSAS

Springs are an important part of the hydrologic system in western Kansas, where average annual precipitation is low (less than 20 inches per year) and surface water is rare. As a result, springs play a crucial role in human settlement and in the health of local ecological communities. As part of an inventory of Kansas springs, the Kansas Geological Survey visited 57 locations where springs or flowing artesian wells were reported (in geologic literature or U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps) in the High Plains physiographic province that covers approximately the western third of the state. Of those 57 locations, 39 (or 68 percent) were flowing at rates sufficient to sample for water chemistry. Several historic springs were not flowing at the time of this sampling and have apparently been dry for some time. Of the 38 locations where historic data is available, 5 springs continued to flow at about the same rate, 8 springs had significantly reduced flow rates or were dry, and 25 lacked sufficient data to make a determination. This inventory confirms that springs are rare in this area; that a number of historic springs and flowing artesian wells are now dry, probably as a result of lowered water levels from irrigation from the High Plains aquifer; and that it is difficult to make valid statistical generalizations about overall changes in spring flow and water chemistry in the High Plains of western Kansas because of inconclusive historical data.