Ground Water and Springs
Water stored in the basin: This includes water stored in lakes and in ground water. The amount of water stored in a lake may be determined by conducting a bathometric survey on a lake and ground water through setting a number of piezometers around the basin. A bathometric lake survey requires a boat, a depth sounder and two GPS. A mapping route is set out in OziExplorer that makes a series of parallel tracks with waypoints evenly distributed along each track to make a grid on the lake surface. This route is transferred to the navigation GPS. The boat follows the route outlined by the GPS and depths are recorded manually at each waypoint as it is reached by the boat. This grid provides the data required to make a contour map of the lake which in turn provides the volume of the lake. This is best done at high water level for the lake. The areas surrounding the lake should also be mapped to show the contour lines around the lake. All streams flowing into and out of the lake should also be monitored.
Ground water Ground water may be stored or move into or out of the drainage basin. Ground water levels may be measured using a piezometer. A piezometer is essential a pipe with slots that will allow water to pass through a "geotec sock" but keep out fine materials. When the pipe is placed into the ground, water will rise to the level of the surrounding groundwater. A number of piezometers need to be set throughout the lower levels of the drainage basin in order to gain an understanding of the subsurface ground water conditions. The depth of water in each hole is recorded in all seasoms and over a period of years.
Springs: Spring discharge, or resurgence, is determined by the spring's recharge basin. Factors that affect the recharge include the size of the area in which groundwater is captured, the amount of precipitation, the size of capture points, and the size of the spring outlet. Water may leak into the underground system from many sources including permeable earth, sinkholes, and losing streams. In some cases entire creeks seemingly disappear as the water sinks into the ground via the stream bed. Grand Gulf State Park in Missouri is an example of an entire creek vanishing into the groundwater system. The water emerges nine miles (14 km) away, forming some of the discharge of Mammoth Spring in Arkansas. Human activity may also affect a spring's discharge--withdraw of groundwater reduces the water pressure in an aquifer, decreasing the volume of flow.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/sw
Ground water Ground water may be stored or move into or out of the drainage basin. Ground water levels may be measured using a piezometer. A piezometer is essential a pipe with slots that will allow water to pass through a "geotec sock" but keep out fine materials. When the pipe is placed into the ground, water will rise to the level of the surrounding groundwater. A number of piezometers need to be set throughout the lower levels of the drainage basin in order to gain an understanding of the subsurface ground water conditions. The depth of water in each hole is recorded in all seasoms and over a period of years.
Springs: Spring discharge, or resurgence, is determined by the spring's recharge basin. Factors that affect the recharge include the size of the area in which groundwater is captured, the amount of precipitation, the size of capture points, and the size of the spring outlet. Water may leak into the underground system from many sources including permeable earth, sinkholes, and losing streams. In some cases entire creeks seemingly disappear as the water sinks into the ground via the stream bed. Grand Gulf State Park in Missouri is an example of an entire creek vanishing into the groundwater system. The water emerges nine miles (14 km) away, forming some of the discharge of Mammoth Spring in Arkansas. Human activity may also affect a spring's discharge--withdraw of groundwater reduces the water pressure in an aquifer, decreasing the volume of flow.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/sw