AGW01 Long-term measurement of groundwater physical and chemical properties from wells on watersheds N04D and N01B at Konza Prairie

In 1988 and 1990, 31 wells were installed at 20 sites within watershed N04D at Konza
Prairie Biological Station to allow long-term monitoring of groundwater physical and
chemical properties. Subsequently, four additional wells were installed in N04D in 1997,
and five wells were installed in an adjacent watershed, N01B, in 2020. Most of the wells
are nested to include wells completed in alluvium/colluvium and two Permian limestone
units, the Morrill Limestone and the Eiss Limestone. The wells are completed along
transects perpendicular to the main drainage in each watershed. Every four to six weeks,
water samples and water depth measurements have been collected at subsets of the wells in
N04D since 1991 and in N01B since 2021. At the same time, stream samples are collected
from the outlet in N04D and N01B when the stream is flowing, as well as two upstream
locations in N04D. Moreover, since 2024, stream samples are also collected at the same
time from the outlet of a third watershed, N02B, when the steam is flowing. Methodologies
have evolved since 1991 as detailed in the method description, though the primary goal of
assessing groundwater and surface water major ion composition, pH, temperature, and
groundwater level has been constant since 1991.