HYDROGEOPHYSICAL EVALUATION OF FLOWPATHS TO BYRD’S MILL SPRING, OKLAHOMA

The Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer underlies nearly 500 square miles of Southern Oklahoma, and supplies flow to many rivers and springs in the area, including Byrd’s Mill Spring. The spring is the largest in Oklahoma with a discharge of 8,300 gpm and is the water supply for the city of Ada. The spring emerges from the kilometer thick Arbuckle Group carbonates. Recent work indicates that there are at least two flow lines emerging at the spring. Fluid electrical conductivity data indicates one area of the spring having a conductivity of just under 300 micro-siemens/cm and another having just over 500 micro-siemens/cm. Several methods will be applied to delineate the flow lines emerging at Byrd’s Mill Spring, including multielectrode surface electrical resistivity lines, transducers to record temperature and discharge variations over time, and fluid electrical conductivity monitoring. This work will be conducted in order to provide the city of Ada with an improved understanding of their water supply so that it can be used to its full potential in a safe and sustainable manner.