Surface Water

The Neosho River and the Spring River are the two major river systems that cut through the regulation area boundary of the Ozark Plateau aquifer.  Both river systems are monitored by the United States Geological Survey and have  United States Geological Survey streamflow gages.  The map below shows the location of five streamflow gages at Parsons, KS, Baxter Springs, KS, Waco, MO, Joplin, MO, and Quapaw, OK.  The Baxter Springs gage was added in 2009.

Over the respective periods of record, the average annual streamflow at the Parsons gage is 2,761 cfs, at the Quapaw gage 2,212 cfs, the Waco gage averages 954 cfs, and the Joplin gage averages 422 cfs.

In 1984, the Kansas legislature amended the Kansas Water Appropriation Act to establish Minimum Desirable Streamflow on certain watercourses in Kansas. This includes the Neosho River and Spring River.

Since Minimum Desirable Streamflow was established in 1984, the frequency of streamflow below the criteria has been less at the Quapaw gage than at the Parsons gage. This is partly because streamflows on the lower Neosho River are affected by operations of three federal reservoirs located within the basin. They include Marion, Council Grove and John Redmond Reservoirs. The administration of Minimum Desirable Streamflow on the Neosho River occurred in 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007. Minimum Desirable Streamflow administration occurred for the first time on the Spring River in 2006.