LEITH CREEK: EVALUATING METHODS OF DETERMINING GAINING AND LOSING REACHES WITHIN A KARST CREEK

Within creeks in karst areas, two interactions occur between surface water and groundwater. Creeks can lose water, through groundwater outflows, and they can gain water, through groundwater inflows. This research focuses on Leith Creek, a karst creek fed by Leith Spring, and a nearby spring, Eudora Spring. Both features are in southwestern Polk County in Missouri. One of the primary research questions addressed by this study is whether surface water-ground water interactions are present in Leith Creek. To answer this question, three methods will be used: (1) measuring discharge at three points along (of) the creek, (2) water chemistry variations (collecting chemical parameters along) at these three points of the creek’s reach and (3) installing temperature dataloggers to use heat as a tracer for possible groundwater inflows and/or outflows. For the water chemistry variations, water samples will be analyzed for pH, turbidity, and levels of Ca, Mg, Na, HCO₃, NO₃, Cl, and SO₄.