COMPARING THE POTENTIOMETRIC SURFACE OF A CONE OF DEPRESSION NEAR SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI: 1980'S AND PRESENT

As satellite communities continue to develop in the Ozarks, especially near Springfield, Missouri, demands on the groundwater have continued to grow, further contributing to the size and depth of the cone of depression identified in this area during the 1980s. A cone of depression with a depth at its center of 300 feet was reported in a 1987 study. The current state of the groundwater is not fully known, but in the past few years there have been increased problems with wells reported. Results of a study comparing current levels of the Ozark aquifer with historical data will be presented as well as a comparison of the actual decline with predictions made by past studies. In this ongoing study, the current state of groundwater is being determined using a network of monitoring wells and an echometer to measure the depth to the water table. Besides having updated information, improvements in analysis tools e.g., GIS, will aid in the processing of the data.