U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5134

Prepared in cooperation with the Osage Nation

Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing 

Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the 

Osage Nation, Northeastern Oklahoma, 1890–2012

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5134

Prepared in cooperation with the Osage Nation

Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing 

Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the 

Osage Nation, Northeastern Oklahoma, 1890–2012
Front cover:

Background, Sand Creek in Osage Hills State Park, Oklahoma, 2013; photograph by Stan Paxton.

Top, Unnamed tributary of the Arkansas River near Cleveland, Okla., 2013; photograph by Stan Paxton.

Bottom, Bird Creek near Pawhuska, Okla., 2013; photograph by Stan Paxton.

Back cover:

Left, Arkansas River near Cleveland, Okla., 2013; photograph by Stan Paxton.

Right, Arkansas River near Ralston, Okla., 2013; photograph by Stan Paxton.

Bottom, U.S. Geological Survey drilling rig near Hominy, Okla., 2013; photograph by Stan Paxton.
Description of Landscape Features, 

Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and 

Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage 

Nation, Northeastern Oklahoma, 1890–2012

By William J. Andrews and S. Jerrod Smith

Prepared in cooperation with the Osage Nation

Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5134

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2014

Suggested citation:

Andrews, W.J., and Smith, S.J., 2014, Description of landscape features, summary of existing hydrologic data, 

and identification of data gaps for the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1890–2012: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5134, 53 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20145134. 

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living 

resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS.

For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, 

visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod

To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the 

U.S. Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials 

as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

ISSN 2328-031X (print)

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)

ISBN 978-1-4113-3816-6
iii

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Osage Nation Congress along with Jann Jones and other Osage 

Nation staff for supporting this work and providing technical advice. The authors also appreciate 

assistance provided by Erwin Pino, DeLon Flinchum, and Matt Stover of Chaparral Energy, Inc., 

and Kyle Murray of the Oklahoma Geological Survey for estimating saline-water injection in the 

Osage Nation.

v

Contents

Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................iii

Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................2

Purpose and Scope .............................................................................................................................4

Methods of Analysis .....................................................................................................................................4

Selection and Analysis of Climatic, Geographic, and Hydrogeologic Data ...............................4

Selection and Analysis of Streamflow and Surface-Water-Quality Data ..................................4

Selection and Analysis of Groundwater-Quality Data ...................................................................5

Selection and Analysis of Water-Use Data .....................................................................................6

Quality Assurance ................................................................................................................................8

Surface-Water-Quality Data .....................................................................................................8

Groundwater-Quality Data ........................................................................................................8

Description of Landscape Features of the Study Area ..........................................................................9

Climate .................................................................................................................................................10

Physiography and Vegetation ..........................................................................................................11

Land Cover ..........................................................................................................................................11

Soils ......................................................................................................................................................11

Geology and Hydrogeology ..............................................................................................................11

Streamflow and Surface-Water Quality ..................................................................................................16

Long-Term Trends and Seasonality of Streamflow ......................................................................16

Surface-Water Quality ......................................................................................................................18

Groundwater Availability and Quality ......................................................................................................27

Groundwater Availability by Aquifer ...............................................................................................28

Groundwater Quality .........................................................................................................................34

Estimated Water Use ..................................................................................................................................38

Public Supply Water Use ..................................................................................................................38

Domestic Self-Supplied Water Use ................................................................................................38

Industrial Self-Supplied Water Use ................................................................................................39

Irrigation Water Use ..........................................................................................................................39

Livestock Water Use .........................................................................................................................39

Aquaculture Water Use ....................................................................................................................40

Mining Water Use ..............................................................................................................................40

Thermoelectric Water Use ...............................................................................................................41

Water Use for All Purposes ..............................................................................................................41

Water-Resource Estimates .......................................................................................................................43

Data Gaps .....................................................................................................................................................44

Summary .......................................................................................................................................................45

References Cited .........................................................................................................................................46

Glossary ........................................................................................................................................................52
vi

Figures

1. Map showing locations of selected geographic features of the Osage Nation, 

northeastern Oklahoma ..............................................................................................................3

2. Graphs showing climate data from three selected weather stations in the Osage 

Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1970 through 2012 ............................................................10

3. Map showing land cover and percentages of land-cover classes in the Osage 

Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 2006 ....................................................................................12

4. Map showing generalized soil groups in the Osage Nation, northeastern 

Oklahoma ....................................................................................................................................13

5. Map showing surface geology in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma................14

6. Graphs showing trends in monthly mean streamflow at three long-term 

streamflow-gaging stations in or near the Osage Nation, northeastern 

Oklahoma, October 1976 through September 2012 ..............................................................17

7. Boxplots showing distributions of monthly mean streamflow by season at three 

streamflow-gaging stations in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 

October 1976 through September 2012 ..................................................................................19

8. Boxplots showing dissolved oxygen concentration in surface-water samples 

collected at five sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 

through 2012 ...............................................................................................................................20

9. Boxplots showing total dissolved solids concentration in surface-water samples 

collected at five sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 

through 2012 ...............................................................................................................................20

10. Graph showing total dissolved solids concentration with streamflow at five 

sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 through 2012 ...........................21

11. Map showing chloride concentrations measured downstream of selected 

basins in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 ................................................22

12. Map showing locations of petroleum and natural-gas wells drilled in the Osage 

Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, as of 2002 ..........................................................................23

13. Boxplots showing dissolved chloride in surface-water samples collected at 

five sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 through 2012 ....................24

14. Graph showing dissolved chloride concentration with streamflow at five sites 

in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 through 2012 .....................................25

15. Boxplots showing dissolved phosphorus in surface-water samples collected at 

two sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 through 2012 ...................26

16. Graph showing dissolved phosphorus concentration with streamflow at two 

sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 through 2012 ...........................27

17. Map showing principal aquifers and locations of 79 wells having depth-towater measurements made by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Osage Nation, 

northeastern Oklahoma, as of 2012 ........................................................................................29

18. Map showing sand thickness of the unconfined Vamoosa-Ada aquifer in the 

Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma ..................................................................................30

19. Map showing water-table elevation in the unconfined Vamoosa-Ada aquifer 

in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, as of 1975 ...................................................31

20. Map showing altitude of the base of freshwater in the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer 

in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, as of 1975 ...................................................32

21. Cross sections showing sandstone layers and hydrogeologic boundaries in the 

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma ..............................33
vii

22. Map showing locations of wells sampled for water quality in the Osage Nation, 

northeastern Oklahoma, 1972 through 1997 ..........................................................................35

23. Boxplots showing total dissolved solids concentration by aquifer in the Osage 

Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1972 through 1997 ............................................................36

24. Boxplots showing dissolved chloride concentration in groundwater samples by 

aquifer in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1972 through 1997 .......................37

25. Diagram showing the general pattern of groundwater recharge and discharge 

to streams and wells .................................................................................................................37

26. Boxplots showing total phosphorus concentration by aquifer in the Osage 

Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1972 through 1993 ............................................................38

27. Bar graph showing estimated freshwater use, by purpose and source, in the 

Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 through 2010 ................................................42

28. Bar graph showing estimated fresh surface-water and groundwater use by 

source in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 through 2010 .......................42

Tables

1. Names and locations of selected streamflow-gaging stations in the Osage 

Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1982 through 2013 ..............................................................5

2. Names and locations of selected surface-water-quality sites sampled in the 

Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 through 2012 ..................................................6

3. Relative percent differences of surface-water-quality data between field 

surface-water samples and field-replicate surface-water samples collected 

by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 

2004 through 2005 ........................................................................................................................9

4. Selected constituent concentrations measured in a blank water-quality sample 

associated with surface-water samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey 

in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 2005 ...............................................................9

5. Relative percent differences of groundwater-quality data between field 

groundwater samples and field-replicate groundwater samples collected by 

the U.S. Geological Survey in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1997 ..............9

6. Selected constituent concentrations measured in blank water-quality samples 

associated with groundwater samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey 

in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1997 ...............................................................9

7. Major stratigraphic units in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma .........................15

8. Properties of freshwater aquifers underlying the Osage Nation, northeastern 

Oklahoma ....................................................................................................................................27

9. Quality of 894 brine samples collected from petroleum and natural-gas wells 

in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1939 through 1980 .....................................36

10. Estimated human population and population water sources in the Osage 

Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 through 2010 ............................................................39

11. Estimated fresh surface-water use, by purpose, in the Osage Nation, 

northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 through 2010 ..........................................................................40

12. Estimated fresh groundwater use, by purpose, in the Osage Nation, 

northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 through 2010 ..........................................................................41

13. Estimated saline-groundwater reinjection related to petroleum and natural-gas 

extraction in the Burbank Oil Field, Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1950 

through 2012 ...............................................................................................................................43
viii

Conversion Factors

Inch/Pound to SI

Multiply By To obtain

Length

inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm)

inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter (mm)

foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

Area

acre 4,047 square meter (m2)

acre 0.004047 square kilometer (km2)

square foot (ft2) 0.09290 square meter (m2)

square inch (in2) 6.452 square centimeter (cm2)

square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer (km2) 

Volume

barrel (bbl), (petroleum, 

1 barrel=42 gal)

0.1590 cubic meter (m3) 

gallon (gal) 3.785 liter (L) 

million gallons (Mgal) 3,785 cubic meter (m3)

cubic foot (ft3) 0.02832 cubic meter (m3) 

acre-foot (acre-ft) 1,233 cubic meter (m3)

Flow rate

cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second (m3/s)

gallon per minute (gal/min) 0.06309 liter per second (L/s)

gallon per day (gal/d) 0.003785 cubic meter per day (m3/d)

million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 0.04381 cubic meter per second (m3/s)

Mass

pound, avoirdupois (lb) 0.4536 kilogram (kg) 

ton, short (2,000 lb) 0.9072 megagram (Mg or tonne)

Specific capacity

gallon per minute per foot 

[(gal/min)/ft]

 0.2070 liter per second per meter 

[(L/s)/m]

Hydraulic conductivity

foot per day (ft/d) 0.3048 meter per day (m/d)

Transmissivity*

foot squared per day (ft2/d) 0.09290 meter squared per day (m2/d) 
ix

SI to inch/pound

Multiply By To obtain

Length

centimeter (cm) 0.3937 inch (in.)

millimeter (mm) 0.03937 inch (in.)

meter (m) 0.3048 foot (ft)

kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)

Area

square meter (m2) 0.0002471 acre

square kilometer (km2) 2.471 acre

square meter (m2) 10.76 square foot (ft2)

square centimeter (cm2) 6.452 square inch (in2)

square kilometer (km2) 0.3861 square mile (mi2) 

Volume

cubic meter (m3) 6.289 barrel (bbl), (petroleum, 

1 barrel=42 gal)

liter (L) 0.2642 gallon (gal) 

cubic meter (m3) 0.0002642 million gallons (Mgal)

cubic meter (m3) 35.31 cubic foot (ft3)

cubic meter (m3) 0.0008107 acre-foot (acre-ft)

Flow rate

cubic meter per second (m3/s) 35.31 cubic foot per second (ft3/s)

liter per second (L/s) 15.85 gallon per minute (gal/min)

cubic meter per day (m3/d) 264.2 gallon per day (gal/d)

cubic meter per second (m3/s) 22.83 million gallons per day (Mgal/d)

Mass

kilogram (kg) 2.205 pound, avoirdupois (lb)

megagram (Mg or tonne) 1.102 ton, short (2,000 lb)

Specific capacity

liter per second per meter 

[(L/s)/m]

 4.831 gallon per minute per foot 

[(gal/min)/ft]

Hydraulic conductivity

meter per day (m/d) 3.281 foot per day (ft/d)

Transmissivity*

meter squared per day (m2/d) 10.76 foot squared per day (ft2/d)

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

°F=(1.8×°C)+32

Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) may be converted to degrees Celsius (°C) as follows:

°C=(°F-32)/1.8

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 

(NAVD 88).

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).
x

Altitude, as used in this report, refers to distance above the vertical datum.

*Transmissivity: The standard unit for transmissivity is cubic foot per day per square foot times 

foot of aquifer thickness [(ft3/d)/ft2]ft. In this report, the mathematically reduced form, foot 

squared per day (ft2/d), is used for convenience.

Specific conductance is given in microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius (μS/cm at 

25 °C).

Concentrations of chemical constituents in water are given either in milligrams per liter (mg/L) 

or micrograms per liter (μg/L).
Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing 

Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the 

Osage Nation, Northeastern Oklahoma, 1890–2012

By William J. Andrews and S. Jerrod Smith

Abstract

The Osage Nation of northeastern Oklahoma, 

conterminous with Osage County, is characterized by gently 

rolling uplands and incised stream valleys that have downcut 

into underlying sedimentary rock units of Pennsylvanian 

through Permian age. Cattle ranching and petroleum and 

natural-gas extraction are the principal land uses in this rural 

area. Freshwater resources in the Osage Nation include water 

flowing in the Arkansas River and several smaller streams, 

water stored in several lakes, and groundwater contained 

in unconsolidated alluvial aquifers and bedrock aquifers. 

The Vamoosa-Ada aquifer is the primary source of fresh 

groundwater in this area. Fresh groundwater is underlain by 

saline groundwater in aquifers underlying the Osage Nation. 

Because of the potential for future population increases, 

demands for water from neighboring areas such as the Tulsa 

metropolitan area, and expansion of petroleum and natural-gas 

extraction on water resources of this area, the U.S. Geological 

Survey, in cooperation with the Osage Nation, summarized 

existing hydrologic data and identified data gaps to provide 

information for planning of future development of water 

resources in the Osage Nation.

Streamflows in the Osage Nation are substantially 

affected by precipitation. During the relatively wet periods 

from the 1970s to 2000, the annual streamflows in the Osage 

Nation increased by as much as a factor of 2 relative to 

preceding decades, with subsequent decreases in streamflow 

of as much as 50 percent being recorded during intermittent 

drier years of the early 2000s. This report summarizes 

hydrologic data from 3 surface-water sites and 91 wells 

distributed across the Osage Nation. Data collected at 

those sites indicate that surface water in the Osage Nation 

generally has sufficient dissolved oxygen for survival of 

both coldwater and warmwater aquatic biota. Total dissolved 

solids concentration exceeded the secondary drinking-water 

standard of 500 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in up to 75 percent 

of the surface-water samples, indicating limited availability 

of potable water at some sites. Some surface-water samples 

collected in the Osage Nation contained dissolved chloride 

concentrations exceeding the secondary drinking-water 

standard of 250 mg/L, with greater chloride concentrations 

in selected basins appearing to be associated with greater 

densities of petroleum well locations. Several lakes sampled 

in the Osage Nation from 2011–12 contained sufficient 

chlorophyll-a concentrations to be ranked as mesotrophic to 

eutrophic, indicating impairment by nutrients. Relatively large 

dissolved phosphorus concentrations in many surface-water 

samples, compared to water-quality standards, indicate that 

eutrophication can occur in local streams and lakes.

The amount of fresh groundwater stored in alluvial 

aquifers and the Vamoosa-Ada bedrock aquifer is adequate 

for domestic and other purposes in the Osage Nation at 

the current rate of usage. In areas where these aquifers are 

absent, groundwater must be pumped from minor bedrock 

aquifers that produce smaller volumes of water. About 30 

and 60 percent of 32 and 54 water samples collected from the 

alluvial and Vamoosa-Ada aquifers, respectively, contained 

total dissolved solids concentrations larger than the secondary 

drinking-water standard of 500 mg/L. Local factors, such 

as natural seepage of brines or leakage from petroleum 

and natural-gas extraction activities, may cause substantial 

variations in dissolved chloride concentration in groundwater 

in the Osage Nation. Total phosphorus concentrations 

measured in groundwater samples were similar to dissolved 

phosphorus concentrations measured in the base flow of 

several streams. 

Total fresh surface-water withdrawals (use) and fresh 

groundwater withdrawals in the Osage Nation were estimated 

to have increased from 0.75 to 16.19 million gallons per day 

and from 0.13 to 2.39 million gallons per day, respectively, 

over the period from 1890 through 2010. Estimated salinegroundwater reinjection volumes at the heavily developed 

Burbank Oil Field in the Osage Nation from 1950 through 

2012 were many times larger than the total amounts of 

freshwater withdrawn in this area, with estimated increases in 

saline-groundwater reinjection in the 2000s probably being 

related to increased petroleum extraction.
2 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Estimates of freshwater resources in local streams, 

lakes, and freshwater aquifers and of net annual precipitation 

indicate that less than 1 percent of freshwater resources and 

net annual precipitation currently is being withdrawn annually 

in the Osage Nation. In addition to freshwater resources, 

the Osage Nation may be underlain by 45,000,000 million 

gallons of brines, a small portion of which are withdrawn 

and reinjected during petroleum and natural-gas extraction. 

Ongoing development of desalinization technology may lead 

to the ability to expand use of these saline waters in the future.

Several additional studies could improve understanding 

of the hydrologic resources of the Osage Nation. Development 

of computer models (simulations) of groundwater and surfacewater flow for this area could enable testing of scenarios of 

localized and widespread effects of future climate variations 

and water-use changes on streamflows, lake-water levels, 

and groundwater levels in the Osage Nation. Installation of 

additional long-term streamflow and water-quality sampling 

stations, some with continuous water-quality monitors, could 

expand and improve understanding of surface-water quality. 

Periodic measurement of groundwater levels and sampling 

of water from a network of wells could provide better 

information about trends of groundwater quantity and quality 

with time. Measurement of water withdrawals at selected 

sites could enable more accurate estimates of water use. 

Lastly, better understanding of aquifer properties and spatial 

distribution of saline groundwater provided by geophysical 

surveys could improve understanding of fresh and saline 

groundwater resources underlying the Osage Nation.

Introduction

The Osage Nation of northeastern Oklahoma is 

coincident with the historical boundaries of the Osage 

Nation Reservation and Osage County. The Osage Nation 

encompasses an area of 2,297 square miles (mi2) (fig. 1; 

U.S. Census Office, 1902) and is characterized by gently 

rolling uplands with locally sharp cuestas formed by resistant 

sandstone and limestone ledges (Abbott and Tortorelli, 2002). 

The Arkansas River flows along the western and southwestern 

boundaries of this area, with the Oklahoma/Kansas State line 

forming the northern boundary. The area is primarily rural, 

and much of it is used for cattle ranching and extraction of 

petroleum and natural gas. The term “Osage Nation” is used 

interchangeably in this report for the members of the Osage 

Nation, their tribal government, and the land area in which 

many tribal members reside.

The following synopsis of the history of the Osage 

Nation, in the context of current water-resource issues, is 

derived primarily from Osage Nation (2006). The Osage 

Nation originally lived in the Ohio Valley. Many of the Osage 

had migrated to the Osage River in western Missouri by 1673. 

Along with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache, the Osage 

dominated western Oklahoma and Kansas. The Osage Nation 

began making treaties with the United States in 1808, with 

the first secession of land holdings being in Missouri. Most 

of the Osage Nation had moved to land that would become 

Oklahoma soon after the passage of Lewis and Clark in 

the early 1800s. By 1825, the Osage Nation had ceded its 

traditional lands across Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma to 

the United States. At that time, tribal members were moved 

onto a reservation in southeastern Kansas. Subsequent treaties 

and laws further reduced the lands of the Osage Nation. An 

act of Congress of July 15, 1870, provided that the remainder 

of the Osage Nation land in Kansas be sold and that the Osage 

Nation be relocated to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), 

where they used the proceeds of those sales to buy their own 

reservation.

The Osage Nation subsisted on that reservation in the 

Indian Territory by cultivating small farms and later with 

cattle ranching in the productive tallgrass prairie area of 

the reservation. In 1894, large quantities of petroleum were 

discovered beneath the Osage Nation. Increasing petroleum 

extraction during the following 10 years prompted Congress

to pass the Osage Allotment Act on June 28, 1906, which 

stated that all persons listed on tribal rolls prior to January 

1, 1906, or born before July 1907 would be allocated a share 

of the reservation’s subsurface natural resources. Drilling for 

petroleum on the Osage Reservation increased substantially 

after mineral leases were auctioned. Osage Nation 

shareholders soon became, in the words of many, the “richest 

people in the world.” When royalties peaked in 1925, annual 

per capita earnings were $13,000 for those on the allotment 

roll. Although the Osage Allotment Act protected the Osage 

Nation’s petroleum interests, the surface land was sold freely. 

Between 1907 and 1923, thousands of acres of land were sold 

or leased to non-Indians.

Because of their reliance on cattle ranching and the 

potential for impairment of water quality by petroleum 

extraction, water rights are important to the Osage Nation. 

Water rights in tribal lands, such as those of the Osage Nation, 

are considered to be “Federal Reserved water rights,” which 

supersede State and local water rights but have limits (Helton, 

1998; J.J. Lawler, written commun., 1990). Under the Winters 

Doctrine, based on the United States Supreme Court decision 

in Winters v. United States of 1908 and subsequent case law, 

the intent of the Federal government when reserving land 

for an Indian reservation was to reserve an adequate supply 

of water to fulfill the purpose of the reservation (J.J. Lawler, 

written commun., 1990). For reservations such as the Osage 

Nation, the purpose of the reservation was for tribal members 

to live pastoral lives, which implies use of water not only 

for domestic purposes and livestock but also for irrigation 

(J.J. Lawler, written commun., 1990). Such reserved water 

rights are not limited by uses foreseen when a reservation 

was established and must be sufficient to make the land and 

resources productive for its residents, protections that are 

broader than those established to reserved water rights of other 

types of Federal reservations (Cohen, 1982).
Introduction 3

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Creek

Sand

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

75

177

64

64

60

77

10

48

97

99

51

123

20

18

99

11

99

20

15

99

11

444

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

Barnsdall

Dewey

Bartlesville

Fairfax

Hominy

McCord

Pawhuska

Shidler

Tulsa

Webb

City

Wynona

Sand

Springs

Ponca

City

Skiatook

11060006

11070107

11070106

11050003

11060004 11060004

11060001

Hominy Creek near

Hominy, Okla.

Arkansas

River at

Ralston, Okla.

Bird Creek

at Avant,

Okla.

BARTLESVILLE, Frank

Phillips Field

BURBANK PAWHUSKA

Little Hominy

Creek

Bitter

Creek

Bitter

Creek

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

Base shaded-relief map from Environmental Systems

Research Institute, Inc. (2013)

Hydrography and watershed boundaries from

U.S. Geological Survey (2013a); incorporated

area from U.S. Census Bureau (2000)

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

 30'

36°15'

OSAGE

NATION

Map area

KANSAS

OKLAHOMA

Sapulpa

EXPLANATION

Major watershed boundary and reference number

Long-term streamflow-gaging and water-quality 

monitoring station

Long-term water-quality monitoring station

National Weather Service station

11060006

Figure 1. Locations of selected geographic features of the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma.
4 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Because of the Supremacy Clause and establishment 

of tribal nations before the State of Oklahoma, tribes have 

water rights that supersede those of a State, but to effectively 

manage the dual system of water rights in Oklahoma, tribal 

water rights claims need to be quantified (Helton, 1998). The 

annual Federal reserved water rights of the Osage Nation have 

been estimated to be 13,887 acre feet (acre-ft), with the right 

to obtain additional in-stream flow of 427,160 acre-ft from 

the Arkansas River (about 20 percent of the average annual 

flow) (J.J. Lawler, written commun., 1990). Shields (1993) 

estimated a total freshwater resource of more than 30 million 

acre-ft in the Osage Nation and estimated that future water 

uses were unlikely to exceed 10 million acre-ft. Because of 

the potential for future population increases, demands for 

water from neighboring areas such as the Tulsa metropolitan 

area (fig. 1), and expansion of petroleum and natural-gas 

extraction affecting water resources, the U.S. Geological 

Survey, in cooperation with the Osage Nation, summarized 

existing hydrologic data and identified data gaps to provide 

information for planning of future development and water use 

in the Osage Nation.

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to describe (1) the climatic, 

geographic, and hydrogeologic setting; (2) the quality of 

water; (3) estimated water use (withdrawals) from 1890 

through 2010; (4) water-resource estimates of the amounts 

of fresh surface water and fresh and saline groundwater 

available; and (5) gaps in existing hydrologic and related 

data in the Osage Nation. Summarizing existing data and 

identifying gaps in those data will enable better understanding 

of the fresh and saline water resources of that area.

Methods of Analysis

A variety of climatic, geographic, and hydrologic data 

were analyzed for this report. Sources of data and methods of 

analysis of those data are described in the following sections. 

Selection and Analysis of Climatic, Geographic, 

and Hydrogeologic Data

Monthly precipitation and average air temperature data 

measured at National Weather Service (NWS) stations in the 

Osage Nation from 1970 through 2012 were downloaded from 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2013). 

Data collected at three of those stations (Bartlesville, Frank 

Phillips Field; Burbank; and Pawhuska; fig. 1) from 1970 

through 2012 are described in this report. Annual summaries 

of those data were not made for the years in which reported 

precipitation or temperature data were missing for one 

or more months.

Geographic data, including topographic, land-cover, 

soils, and other location data, were obtained from Abbott 

and others (1997), Abbott and Tortorelli (2002), Bourlier and 

others (1979), Boyd (2002), D’Lugosz and others (1986), 

Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (2013), 

Fry and others (2011), Heran and others (2003), Natural 

Resources Conservation Service (2006, 2013), Oklahoma 

Water Resources Board (2013a), U.S. Census Bureau (2000), 

and U.S. Geological Survey (2012, 2013a, 2013b). Land-cover 

raster data showed the percentages of land cover for 30- by 

30-meter cells. For computation of land-use percentages, the 

raster attributes were determined by using the ArcGIS Zonal 

Statistics as Table tool (Environmental Systems Research 

Institute, Inc., 2012).

Hydrogeologic data were obtained from previously 

published reports that included descriptions of geology and 

hydrogeology in the Osage Nation or other parts of Oklahoma 

with similar stratigraphy. Geologic reports reviewed included 

Beckwith (1928), Lee and others (1948), and Bingham and 

Bergman (1980). Hydrogeologic reports reviewed included 

Bingham and Bergman (1980), D’Lugosz and others (1986), 

Abbott (2000), DeHay and others (2004), and Christenson and 

others (2011).

Selection and Analysis of Streamflow and 

Surface-Water-Quality Data

Streamflow and surface-water-quality data were obtained 

from the National Water Information System (NWIS) of the 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (U.S. Geological Survey 

2013b), the Storage and Retrieval (STORET) database of 

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 2013a), and records of 

the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB, Oklahoma 

Water Resources Board, 2013b). Streamflow data collected 

from three long-term streamflow-gaging stations operated by 

the USGS in the Osage Nation (Hominy Creek near Hominy, 

Okla.; Bird Creek at Avant, Okla.; and Arkansas River at 

Ralston, Okla.) were graphed, with trends in streamflow 

through time shown by using locally estimated scatterplot 

smoothing (LOESS) curves. LOESS curves are nonparametric 

regressions that reduce the influence of outlying data used to 

identify a trend line for a range of data (Cleveland and Devlin, 

1988; Helsel and Hirsch, 2002).

USGS streamflow and surface-water-quality data were 

collected by using consistent methods over time that were 

designed to most closely represent streamflow and the quality 

of water across the extent of stream channels (Rantz and 

others, 1982; U.S. Geological Survey, 2006). USGS-operated 

streamflow-gaging stations and locations of those stations in 

the Osage Nation are listed on table 1. Methods used to collect 

data uploaded to the STORET database by other agencies 

are unknown.

Selection and analysis of surface-water-quality data 

for this report were limited to the dissolved water-quality 
Methods of Analysis 5

constituents oxygen, total solids, chloride, and phosphorus. 

For the last three of these parameters, “dissolved” means 

that the concentrations of the water-quality constituents 

were analyzed after the water samples had been filtered in 

the field through filters with effective pore diameter of 0.45 

micrometers. Dissolved oxygen concentration provides an 

indication of the aerobic breakdown of organic compounds 

that grow in or are discharged to streams and indicates the 

suitability of streams as habitat for aerobic aquatic organisms 

such as fish, amphibians, mollusks, and insects. Total 

dissolved solids concentration provides an indication of the 

mineral content of water that can limit the use of water for 

drinking and other purposes, as described in EPA secondary 

drinking-water standards (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 2013b). Dissolved chloride concentration is described 

in this report because of potential mixing of freshwater 

with brines from underlying saline-water aquifers and 

brines brought to the land surface in the course of extensive 

petroleum and natural-gas extraction in the Osage Nation 

(Bourlier and others, 1969; Abbott and Tortorelli, 2002; 

Kharaka and Otton, 2003; U.S. Geological Survey, 2013e). 

Dissolved phosphorus, also described in this report, has been 

associated with eutrophication of streams in northeastern 

Oklahoma, as described in Andrews and others (2009).

Surface-water-quality data were summarized only for 

sites at which 10 or more samples were collected for analysis 

of one or more of these constituents (dissolved oxygen, total 

dissolved solids, and dissolved chloride and phosphorus), 

with streamflow being measured at the time of surface-water 

sample collection (a total of 250 samples collected at three 

sites by multiple agencies). To represent recent surface-water 

quality in the Osage Nation, only surface-water-quality data 

collected from 1999 through 2012 are summarized in this 

report. Because of those constraints, surface-water-quality data 

collected by the USGS at 1 site, the Osage Nation at 3 sites, 

the Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC) at 1 site, and 

the OWRB at 1 site are described in this report (table 2).

Distributions of water-quality-constituent concentrations 

are shown graphically with boxplot graphs in this report. 

Groups of data values were compared by using the two-sided 

Wilcoxon rank-sum test (Wilcoxon, 1945), with pairs of 

data groups having p-values of this test less than or equal to 

0.05 being deemed to represent significantly different data 

distributions. Relations of dissolved chloride and dissolved 

phosphorus to streamflow are shown in x:y graphs. Statistical 

tests used for this report and graphs shown in this report were 

made with TIBCO Spotfire S+ software (TIBCO Software 

Incorporated, 2008).

Selection and Analysis of Groundwater-Quality 

Data

Groundwater-quality data collected in the Osage 

Nation were obtained from the USGS NWIS database (U.S. 

Geological Survey, 2013a). To evaluate groundwater-quality 

data from aquifers and relations of groundwater quality to 

depth below land surface, groundwater-quality data from 

wells completed in known aquifers with known depths were 

evaluated for this report. The STORET database did not 

contain groundwater-quality data associated with wells of 

known depths and aquifers for this area.

Dissolved groundwater-quality parameters described 

in this report include oxygen, total dissolved solids, 

and dissolved chloride. Because dissolved phosphorus 

concentration data were not available for groundwater 

samples collected in this area, total (unfiltered) phosphorus 

concentrations are described for groundwater samples 

collected by the USGS in this report. Groundwater-quality 

data collected by the USGS from alluvial aquifers along the 

Arkansas River at temporary sampling wells (Mashburn 

and others, 2003) are not summarized in this report because 

those data did not come from permanent wells that can be 

resampled, and the only parameter relevant to this report that 

was measured in samples collected from those wells was 

dissolved oxygen determined colorimetrically, rather than by 

calibrated meter.

For sampled wells of known depths that were lacking 

aquifer designations in the NWIS database, aquifers were 

assigned on the basis of location and well depth. Aquifer and 

geologic maps in Bingham and Bergman (1980) and Johnson 

(1983) were compared with well locations to determine if the 

land on which wells were located was underlain by alluvial 

aquifers, the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer, or minor bedrock aquifers. 

Table 1. Names and locations of selected streamflow-gaging stations in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1982 through 2013.

[mm, month; dd, day; yyyy, year; N, north; W, west]

Streamflow-gaging 

station name

Streamflow-gaging 

station number

Latitude and longitude

(decimal degrees)

Drainage area

(square miles)

Period of record

(mm/dd/yyyy)

Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla. 07176950 36.4736N

96.3786W

115 09/30/2003–09/20/2007

Bird Creek at Avant, Okla. 07176500 36.4850N

96.0600W

369 08/30/1945–07/15/2013

Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla. 07152500 36.5042N

96.7281W

46,631 10/01/1925–07/15/2013
6 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Minor bedrock aquifers underlying the western part of the 

Osage Nation are composed of layers of shales, limestones, 

and sandstones of the Oscar Group and the Vanoss Group, 

both of Pennsylvanian age (Bingham and Bergman, 1980). 

In areas likely to be underlain by alluvial aquifers, wells less 

than 100 feet (ft) deep were designated as being completed 

in alluvial aquifers, with deeper wells in these areas being 

assigned to one of two designations of bedrock aquifers—

Vamoosa-Ada or minor bedrock.

Groundwater-quality samples were collected by using 

standard USGS field methods (U.S. Geological Survey, 2006) 

and were analyzed in USGS laboratories. Total dissolved 

solids data were determined either by evaporation of water 

samples at 180 degrees Celsius or by summing measured 

concentrations of dissolved constituents. Some of the total 

phosphorus data for groundwater samples were left-censored, 

meaning that they were less than the laboratory reporting 

level of 0.002 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The adjusted 

maximum likelihood estimation method (Cohn, 1988) was 

used in a USGS-customized version of the TIBCO Spotfire S+ 

software (TIBCO Software Incorporated, 2008) to estimate the 

distribution of those censored data below that reporting limit 

for compilation of boxplots.

Selection and Analysis of Water-Use Data

The USGS has been compiling water-use data for 

Oklahoma every 5 years by county since 1950 (U.S. 

Geological Survey, 2013c). Water-use (water-withdrawal) data 

compiled by the USGS are categorized by source type (surface 

water or groundwater) for a limited number of purposes 

(public supply, domestic self-supplied [groundwater only], 

industrial self-supplied, irrigation, livestock, aquaculture, 

mining [including water used for petroleum and natural-gas 

drilling and extraction], and thermoelectric [water used for 

electric-power generation]). Water use by public suppliers 

includes withdrawals of freshwater made by municipalities 

and rural water districts to provide water for domestic, 

commercial, and industrial uses. Domestic self-supplied water 

use generally consists of freshwater withdrawals by domestic 

(“private”) wells in areas outside the service areas of public 

water suppliers.

Water-use data compiled in 2005 by the USGS for 

Oklahoma counties for those categories were summarized 

in Tortorelli (2009). Water-use data for Osage County from 

1985 through 2000 were obtained from the Aggregate Water 

Use Data System (AWUDS) database maintained by the 

USGS, except for livestock (U.S. Geological Survey, 2013d). 

Historical estimates for livestock water use in the AWUDS 

database and other sources used different coefficients from 

1985 to 2010, used different means of aggregating numbers 

of livestock, and estimated no livestock water use in 1985 for 

this area, so more consistent methods of estimating livestock 

water use were used for this report. USGS reports describing 

water use on a statewide basis at 5-year intervals from 1955 

through 1990 were sources of water-use data for that period 

(MacKichan, 1957; MacKichan and Kammerer, 1961; Murray, 

1968; Murray and Reeves, 1972, 1977; Solley and others, 

1983, 1988, 1993). Water-use quantities from before 1950 

were estimated from human-population estimates for the 

Table 2. Names and locations of selected surface-water-quality sites sampled in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 

through 2012.

[mm, month; dd, day; yyyy, year; USGS, U.S. Geological Survey; N, north; W, west; OCC, Oklahoma Conservation Commission; OWRB, Oklahoma Water 

Resources Board]

Surface-waterquality site nameSampling 

agencies

Other site 

identifiers

Latitude 

and 

longitude

(decimal 

degrees)

Drainage 

area

(square 

miles)

Period of waterquality-sample 

collection

(mm/dd/yyyy)

Number of waterquality samples 

included in 

this report, by 

sampling agency

Hominy Creek near 

Hominy, Okla.

USGS/Osage 

Nation

07176950 or HC 36.4736N

96.3786W

1

115 09/30/2003–09/20/2007 23/23

Little Hominy Creek Osage Nation LHC 36.4392N

96.3820W

2

0.33 03/24/2004–08/29/2006 20

Bitter Creek Osage Nation BC 36.5383N

96.3990W

2

6.20 03/24/2004–05/23/2006 15

Bird Creek at Avant, 

Okla.

OCC OK121300-02-0010C 36.4850N

96.0600W

1

369 08/14/2001–03/19/2012 48

Arkansas River at 

Ralston, Okla.

OWRB 621200010200-001AT 36.5042N

96.7281W

1

46,631 01/20/1999–11/27/2012 121

1

From U.S. Geological Survey (2013a).

2

Estimated from agency-supplied latitude and longitude and U.S. Geological Survey (2013b).
Methods of Analysis 7

county compiled every 10 years and interpolated for each 

intervening 5-year period (Bureau of the Census, 2002) and 

from reports of livestock numbers and crop production (U.S. 

Census Office, 1895, 1902; Bureau of the Census, 1927, 1936, 

1942, 1946, 1952, 1956, 1961, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1984, 

1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009; National Agricultural Statistics 

Service, 2011).

Typical domestic water use in the United States changed 

substantially during the 20th century with the advent and 

adoption of indoor plumbing, more frequent bathing and 

clothes washing, and increased lawn irrigation (World Water 

Council, 2014). Because of those changes, per capita domestic 

water consumption was estimated to have increased from 

15 gallons per day (gal/d) in 1890–1915 (a number derived 

from recent per capita water use in third world countries 

reported by Watkins and others, 2006) to 35 gal/d from 1920 

through 1935, 60 gal/d from 1940 through 1965, and 85 

gal/d from 1970 through 2010 (Tortorelli, 2009). Estimates 

of domestic self-supplied water withdrawals were based on 

those per capita water-use numbers multiplied by the numbers 

of residents not served by public water suppliers and were 

made by using the assumption that domestic self-supplied 

water users withdrew their water from wells rather than 

from surface-water sources. Numbers of residents served by 

public water suppliers were extrapolated by linear regression 

by estimating that zero residents were served by public 

water suppliers in the late 1890s to the numbers reported 

to be served by public water suppliers in the 1980s through 

2010. Quantities of water withdrawn by public suppliers for 

domestic purposes were not determined for this report; rather, 

the total amounts of surface water and groundwater withdrawn 

for public supply for domestic, commercial, industrial, and 

other purposes were taken from existing estimates of public 

water supply withdrawals from 1985 through 2010 or were 

estimated by linear interpolation from 1985 withdrawal 

numbers to assumed withdrawals of zero by public water 

suppliers in the 1890s.

Self-supplied freshwater withdrawals for industrial uses 

were not quantified for the Osage Nation prior to 1985. Rather 

than estimating freshwater withdrawals for industrial uses in 

the Osage Nation from 1950 through 1980 from statewide data 

(Tortorelli, 2009), estimates of industrial self-supplied water 

withdrawals from 1890 through 1980 were based on linear 

regressions based on the human population of the area back to 

1890, with the assumption that there was zero industrial water 

use in the late 1890s in this area and that industrial production 

and water use for that purpose were proportional to population 

of this area.

Water withdrawals for agricultural purposes was 

estimated for irrigation, livestock, and aquaculture for this 

report. Water-use data for irrigation from 1985 through 

2010 were obtained from the USGS AWUDS database 

(U.S. Geological Survey, 2013d). To estimate earlier water 

withdrawals for agriculture, several agricultural censuses were 

used, including censuses described in Bureau of the Census 

(1927, 1936, 1942, 1946, 1952, 1956, 1961, 1967, 1972, 

1977, 1984, and 1989). Agricultural census reports indicated 

that no irrigation was used in the Osage Nation through 1950. 

Water withdrawals for irrigation from 1955 through 1980 were 

estimated by linear regression from zero acres reported in 

1950 through the reported numbers in subsequent agricultural 

censuses and in the AWUDS database from 1985 through 

2010 (U.S. Geological Survey, 2013d). Withdrawals of water 

for livestock were estimated from agricultural census counts 

of numbers of livestock and per-head coefficients of water 

use of 20 gal/d for dairy cattle; 10 gal/d for horses, mules, and 

beef cattle; 3 gal/d for hogs; 2 gal/d for sheep and goats; and 

0.04 gal/d for chickens (MacKichan and Kammerer, 1961). 

Agricultural census data also were used to estimate livestock 

water use for the period 1985–2010 (Bureau of the Census, 

1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2009). For the 1890 Census of 

Agriculture (U.S. Census Office, 1895), only six Oklahoma 

counties were surveyed, so estimated water-use numbers for 

livestock were based on the percentage change of estimated 

human population from 1890 to 1895, which assumes that 

the number of livestock were proportional to the number 

of human residents over that period. In the 1900 Census of 

Agriculture (U.S. Census Office, 1902) monetary values of 

chickens rather than numbers of chickens were used. Because 

of the negligible amount of water use by chickens in the 

Osage Nation in later periods (typically less than 0.01 million 

gallons per day [Mgal/d]), numbers of chickens and their 

corresponding water use were assumed to be zero in the Osage 

Nation for the period 1890–1905. As agricultural censuses 

were not conducted in 1905 and 1915, estimates of livestock 

numbers and water use in those years were made from the 

means of livestock numbers and water use in preceding and 

subsequent agricultural censuses. Because county livestock 

numbers were not recorded from 1890 to 1920, statewide 

numbers of livestock reported for 1925–1950 (Bureau of 

the Census, 1927, 1936, 1942, 1946, 1952) were compared 

to Osage County livestock numbers by linear regression to 

derive estimates of county livestock numbers for 1890–1920, 

assuming that livestock numbers in the Osage Nation were 

proportional to statewide livestock numbers. Agricultural 

censuses do not indicate sources of water used for livestock, so 

estimates of surface water and groundwater used for livestock 

were made on the basis of a ratio of 9 to 1 of the surfacewater to groundwater use for livestock in the Osage Nation 

in recent decades (R. Tortorelli, U.S. Geological Survey, 

written commun., 2012). Estimates of water withdrawals for 

aquaculture in the Osage Nation were reported to be zero until 

2010.

For this report and the USGS AWUDS database, water 

withdrawn for mining includes withdrawals used for sandand-gravel, coal, and hard-rock mining and onsite processing 

and extraction of petroleum and natural gas. No freshwater 

withdrawals for mining were estimated to have occurred in 

the Osage Nation from 1985 through 2010 (U.S. Geological 

Survey, 2013d). Freshwater withdrawals for mining also were 

assumed to have been negligible for the period from 1890 to 

1980. Petroleum and natural-gas wells typically withdraw 
8 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

substantial quantities of saline groundwater commonly 

referred to as “produced water” from deep strata underlying 

freshwater aquifers in the Osage Nation (U.S. Geological 

Survey, 2013d). That saline water typically is reinjected into 

surrounding wells in the process of water flooding, which is 

a means of driving residual petroleum to a central gathering 

well, or that water is reinjected into deep disposal wells 

(Abbott and Tortorelli, 2002; U.S. Oil and Gas Corporation, 

2008; U.S. Geological Survey, 2013d). In some cases, saline 

waters produced from petroleum and natural-gas wells have 

leaked or been discarded into surface water in the Osage 

Nation and surrounding areas, increasing salinity of streams 

and causing salt scars of devegetated, eroded gullies near 

streams (Abbott and Tortorelli, 2002). For this report, salinegroundwater withdrawals (as measured by reinjection for 

water flooding) were estimated only for the Burbank Oil 

Field on the basis of compilation of data from the Calumet 

Oil Company, Chaparral Energy, Inc., Phillips Petroleum 

Company, petroleum information secondary recovery books, 

and the EPA (Erwin Pino, DeLon Flinchum, and Matt Stover, 

Chaparral Energy, Inc., written commun., 2013). Similar 

water-use data were not available for other petroleum and 

natural-gas extraction fields in the Osage Nation at the time 

that this report was written.

On a statewide basis, substantial quantities of water are 

withdrawn for thermoelectric purposes, the generation of 

electrical power by converting water to steam and cooling 

plant components (Tortorelli, 2009). Because no known 

electrical powerplants have operated in the Osage Nation 

for the past several decades (Tortorelli, 2009), no water was 

estimated to be withdrawn for this purpose in this area from 

1890 to 2010.

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance, the process by which the accuracy 

and precision of water-quality data are determined, is done by 

comparison of analyses of quality-control water samples with 

analyses of field water samples. In this report, reproducibility 

and natural variability of water-quality data are represented 

by relative percent differences (RPDs) in data between fieldreplicate and field water samples. Effectiveness of equipment 

cleaning and sample-collection methods at preventing watersample contamination is evaluated by comparison of data from 

analyses of field-blank water samples and from analyses of 

field water samples. Field-blank water samples described in 

this report were prepared with inorganic-grade blank water 

prepared and tested by the USGS National Water Quality 

Laboratory in Lakewood, Colorado.

Quality assurance is documented in this report through 

thorough descriptions of methods and protocols in the 

preceding paragraphs and descriptions of analyses of blank 

and replicate water-quality samples. Blank water-quality 

samples indicate the efficacy of cleaning of field equipment 

and of sample analyses protocols and procedures. Replicate 

water-quality samples, if collected sequentially in time, 

indicate short-term water-quality variability at a particular 

site and fluctuations in the accuracy of laboratory and field 

measurements of water-quality parameter values. Splitduplicate samples, which are derived from the same wellmixed water samples, document the accuracy or variability 

of field and laboratory measurements of water-quality 

parameters. RPD is a measure of the difference between a 

constituent concentration in a pair of field and field-replicate 

water samples, with smaller RPD values indicating larger 

similarity of data in sample pairs. RPD is calculated as 

follows:

RPD = (|a-b|/((a+b)/2)) * 100,

where

a is the constituent concentration of the field 

sample, and

b is the constituent concentration of the fieldreplicate sample.

Surface-Water-Quality Data

The only accessible quality-control data associated with 

surface-water samples collected in the Osage Nation during 

the study period were two samples collected by the USGS 

in 2004 and 2005 (table 3). Because quality-control data 

for the surface-water-quality data collected by the Osage 

Nation, OCC, and OWRB in the Osage Nation were not in 

the STORET database, the quality of those data could not be 

quantified for this report.

RPDs of field surface-water samples and field replicate 

surface-water samples were less than 10 percent (table 3). 

The blank water-quality sample collected in the Osage 

Nation in association with field surface-water samples did 

not contain detectable concentrations of total dissolved solids 

or dissolved chloride (table 4), indicating a small likelihood 

of contamination of field samples by those constituents 

associated with sampling equipment and other environmental 

factors in the time period in which the blank water-quality 

sample was collected. Collection by the USGS of 2 fieldreplicate surface-water samples and 1 blank water-quality 

sample with 23 surface-water samples represents frequencies 

of collection of about 10 and 5 percent, respectively.

Groundwater-Quality Data

Field-replicate groundwater samples were collected from 

2 of the 91 wells sampled by the USGS in the Osage Nation 

from 1972 through 1997. Of those two samples, the largest 

RPD (40 percent) between a field groundwater sample and a 

field-replicate groundwater sample was determined for total 

phosphorus concentration in a sample collected in December 

1997 from a well completed in an alluvial aquifer (table 5). 

The difference in total phosphorus concentration between 

those two samples was relatively small, with a concentration 

of 0.003 mg/L being measured in the field sample and a 
Description of Landscape Features of the Study Area 9

concentration of less than 0.002 mg/L being measured in the 

field-replicate sample (with the RPD being calculated from 

the detected concentration in the first sample and the reporting 

limit in the second sample). No detectable dissolved chloride 

concentrations (with a reporting limit of 0.10 mg/L) were 

measured in blank water-quality samples associated with 

groundwater samples collected by the USGS in 1997, but 

small concentrations of total phosphorus were detected in 

those samples (table 6). Those total phosphorus concentrations 

of 0.005 and 0.003 mg/L were near the reporting limit of 

0.002 mg/L, indicating negligible contamination of field water 

samples from sampling equipment or other environmental 

factors at the time of collection of those samples.

Collection by the USGS of 2 field-replicate water samples 

and 2 blank water-quality samples in 1997 in association with 

collection of 91 groundwater samples collected from 1972 to 

1997 represents frequencies of collection of about 2 percent. 

Because quality-control data for the surface-water-quality data 

collected by the Osage Nation, OCC, and OWRB in the Osage 

Nation were not in the STORET database, the quality of those 

data could not be quantified for this report.

Description of Landscape Features of 

the Study Area

The Osage Nation is sparsely populated, with a population 

density of about 21 residents per square mile (U.S. Census 

Bureau, 2013). The primary economic activities in this area 

are cattle ranching and extraction of petroleum and natural 

gas. Population density, land uses, and other features such 

as climate, physiography and vegetation, land cover, soils, 

geology, and hydrogeology can affect the quantity, quality, and 

distribution of water resources in the Osage Nation.

Table 3. Relative percent differences of surface-water-quality 

data between field surface-water samples and field-replicate 

surface-water samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in 

the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 2004 through 2005.

Surface-water 

sampling site 

name

Date Water-quality 

constituent

Relative 

percent 

difference

Hominy Creek 

near Hominy, 

Okla.

August 18, 

2004

Dissolved oxygen 5.92

Dissolved chloride 0.75

June 27, 

2005

Dissolved chloride 0.00

Table 4. Selected constituent concentrations measured in 

a blank water-quality sample associated with surface-water 

samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Osage 

Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 2005.

[<, less than]

Surface-water 

sampling site 

name

Date Water-quality 

constituent

Concentration

(milligrams 

per liter)

Hominy Creek 

near Hominy, 

Okla.

March 29, 

2005

Total dissolved 

solids

<10

Dissolved chloride <0.02

Table 5. Relative percent differences of groundwater-quality 

data between field groundwater samples and field-replicate 

groundwater samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in 

the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1997.

Groundwater 

site number Aquifer Date

Waterquality 

constituent

Relative 

percent 

difference

363025096230901

Alluvial 

and 

terrace

November 

5, 1997

Dissolved 

chloride

0.00

Total 

phosphorus

0.00

364014096114801

Alluvial 

and 

terrace

December 

17, 1997

Dissolved 

chloride

1.04

Total 

phosphorus

40.0

Table 6. Selected constituent concentrations measured in blank 

water-quality samples associated with groundwater samples 

collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Osage Nation, 

northeastern Oklahoma, 1997.

[<, less than]

Groundwater site 

number Date Water-quality constituent

Concentration

(milligrams 

per liter)

364022097030001 October 20, 

1997

Dissolved chloride<0.1

Total phosphorus 0.005

364600096125101 November 

17, 1997

Dissolved chloride<0.1

Total phosphorus 0.003
10 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Climate

The climate of the Osage Nation is temperate, annually 

receiving about 36 inches of precipitation in the west 

and northeast to 45 inches in the southeast (Oklahoma 

Climatological Survey, 2013). The wettest months typically 

are May and September (Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 

2013). Snowfall ranges from 1 to more than 10 inches per year 

(Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 2013). Annual precipitation 

at three long-term NWS stations in the Osage Nation increased 

or decreased slightly from the late 1970s through the early 

1980s, increased from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, 

and then increased or decreased slightly from the mid-1990s 

through the 2010s (fig. 2).

Air temperatures in the Osage Nation average about 

59 degrees Fahrenheit (oF) annually, with average daytime 

high temperatures of about 93 oF being measured in 

July and average low temperatures of about 23 oF being 

measured in January (Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 

2013). Winds in this area are dominantly from the south, 

averaging about 9 miles per hour. Thunderstorms occur on 

about 50 days annually, predominantly in the spring and 

summer (Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 2013). From 1950 

through 2003, 66 tornadoes were recorded in Osage County 

(Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 2013). Annual mean air 

temperature generally increased from 1970 to 2007 by 

about 1 oF at the NWS field station at Pawhuska, Okla., 

with a negligible increase being measured at the NWS 

Annual precipitation, in inches

Date

EXPLANATION

1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

National Weather Service station—Color-coordinated 

lines indicate locally estimated scatterplot 

smoothing lines (Cleveland and Devlin, 1988)

 Bartlesville, Frank Phillips Field

 Pawhuska

 Burbank

Annual mean air temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit

20

30

40

50

60

63

61

59

57

70

A

B

Figure 2. Climate data from three selected weather stations in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1970 through 2012. A, Annual 

precipitation. B, Annual mean air temperature.
Description of Landscape Features of the Study Area 11

station at Frank Phillips Field in Bartlesville, Okla. (fig. 2). 

Insufficient temperature data were collected at the NWS 

field station at Burbank, Okla., to graph annual mean air 

temperatures (fig. 2). 

Physiography and Vegetation

The Osage Nation is in the Osage Plains section of the 

Central Lowland physiographic province (Fenneman and 

Johnson, 1946), a section characterized by a low-relief plain 

punctuated by east-facing escarpments formed by cuestas, 

with mixed-grass prairie in the west transitioning to mixed 

tallgrass savannahs and woodlands to the east. The eastern 

and southeastern parts of this area are in the cross timbers 

ecoregion (Omernik, 1987), an area characterized by open 

oak (Quercus spp.) and hickory (Carya spp.) woodlands with 

scattered grassy savannahs developed on sandy soils (Abbott 

and Tortorelli, 2002). The western part of the Osage Nation 

is mostly open savannah (Abbott and Tortorelli, 2002). The 

Osage Nation is drained by the Caney River in the northeast, 

Bird Creek in the southeast, and Salt Creek in the west and 

is bounded on the west and southwest for 123 miles by the 

Arkansas River (fig. 1).

Land Cover

More than half of the land cover in the Osage Nation 

is classified as grassland or scrub (fig. 3), much of which 

is used as pasture for beef cattle in the western half of 

the area. The eastern half of the Osage Nation tends to be 

more forested with oaks and other deciduous tree species, 

particularly along stream and river valleys (fig. 3). Lowland 

areas near the Arkansas River and smaller streams in the 

Osage Nation are naturally wetter or more easily irrigated 

from alluvial aquifers, and are used for pasture, or for 

growing hay or other cultivated crops (fig. 3). Land cover in 

approximately 5 percent of the Osage Nation is developed or 

barren (fig. 3), with developed areas consisting of small cities 

and towns and the northwest edge of the Tulsa metropolitan 

area near the southeast corner of the Osage Nation. Slightly 

more than 4 percent of the Osage Nation is covered by water 

or wetlands, primarily by the Arkansas River and impounded 

lakes, including Kaw, Hulah, Bluestem, Birch, Keystone, and 

Skiatook Lakes (fig. 3). 

Soils

Soils in the Osage Nation are mixed, thermic, ustic to 

udic mollisols and alfisols (Shields, 1993), meaning that they 

are dry to wet prairie and forest soils with large organic-matter 

content formed under high temperatures. According to Natural 

Resources Conservation Service (2013) and Bourlier and 

others (1979), there are three major types of soils in the Osage 

Nation: (1) deep loamy and sandy soils on wooded flood 

plains, (2) deep to shallow loamy soils on prairie uplands, and 

(3) deep to shallow loamy and sandy soils on wooded uplands 

(fig. 4). The soil associations composing those three general 

categories generally are sandy to loamy, deep to moderately 

deep, well-drained to somewhat poorly drained, nearly level 

to steeply sloping soils underlying open prairies in the western 

third of the Osage Nation, and underlying stream valleys and 

uplands in the eastern two-thirds of the area (Bourlier and 

others, 1979). Such soils are likely to be highly permeable in 

most areas, facilitating recharge of precipitation to aquifers 

below the land surface.

The western part of the Osage Nation underlain by prairie 

soils (mollisols) was part of the band of native tallgrass prairie 

that once spanned from eastern Texas northward into southern 

Canada, and eastward through Iowa and the northern half of 

Illinois (Madsen and Oberle, 1993). The tallgrass prairie was 

a very diverse grassland ecosystem dominated by grasses and 

forbs growing between 5 and 10 ft tall, with encroachment 

of woody plants being controlled by natural fire cycles and 

grazing by American bison (Bison bison) (Cushman, 2004). 

Such prairies are associated with mollisol soils, which 

generally are very thick, with thick, organic-rich A (top) 

horizons (Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2014).

Geology and Hydrogeology

The Osage Nation is underlain by three major aquifers: 

alluvial and terrace (referred to in the remainder of this report 

as “alluvial”), consisting of unconsolidated sands, silts, 

clays, and gravels deposited along streams and rivers in the 

Quaternary Period; the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer consisting of 

a sequence of sandstones, siltstones, shales, conglomerates, 

and limestones deposited in marine environments in the 

Pennsylvanian Period; and minor bedrock aquifers deposited 

during the Pennsylvanian Period in the eastern part of the 

Osage Nation and during the Pennsylvanian through Permian 

Periods in the western part of the Osage Nation where the 

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer is absent (fig. 5). The Pennsylvanian 

System strata consist of alternating layers of sandstones, 

shales, and limestones stacked in a westward-dipping 

monocline (Shields, 1993; table 7). The Pennsylvanian 

System strata are underlain by strata of the Mississippian 

System that consist primarily of beds of limestones and shales 

(table 7). The Chattanooga Shale of Late Devonian and Early 

Mississippian age lies at the base of the Mississippian-age 

limestones. The Chattanooga Shale unconformably overlies 

strata of the Simpson Group of the Ordovician Series, which 

are underlain by as much as 1,500 ft of Arbuckle Group 

dolomites of the Upper Cambrian Series (Beckwith, 1928; 

table 7).
12 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

64

60

10

97

99

123

20

18

99

20

99

11

Arka nsas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

Hydrography and land cover from U.S. Geological

Survey (2013a); incorporated area from

U.S. Census Bureau (2000)

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

EXPLANATION

Forest

Water or wetland

Grassland or scrub

Developed or barren

Pasture, hay, or 

cultivated crops

Land cover, 2006

4.06% 5.23%

11.24%

26.01%

53.46%

Osage Nation

percent (%) land cover

Figure 3. Land cover and percentages of land-cover classes in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 2006.
Description of Landscape Features of the Study Area 13

II

I

I

I

II

II

II

III

III

III

No

data

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Creek

Sand

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

75

177

64

64

60

77

10

48

97

99

51

123

20

18

99

11

99

20

15

99

11

444

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

Barnsdall

Dewey

Bartlesville

Fairfax

Hominy

McCord

Pawhuska

Shidler

Tulsa

Webb

City

Wynona

Sand

Springs

Ponca

City

Skiatook

Hydrography from U.S. Geological Survey (2013a);

soil groups modified from STATSGO (Natural

Resources Conservation Service, 2013)

and Bourlier and others (1979)

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

EXPLANATION

General soil group

Deep loamy and sandy soils on wooded flood plains

Deep to shallow loamy soils on prairie uplands

Deep to shallow loamy and sandy soils on wooded uplands

I

II

III

Figure 4. Generalized soil groups in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma.
14 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

laf14-0630fig05

IPo

IPa

IPva

IPv

Qal

IPta

Qal

Qal

IPbd

IPva

Qal

Qt

IPwi

IPva

Qal

IPa

IPwi

IPnh

Qt

IPcc

IPw

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Creek

Sand

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

75

177

64

64

60

77

10

48

97

99

51

123

20

18

99

11

99

20

15

99

11

444

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

Barnsdall

Dewey

Bartlesville

Fairfax

Hominy

McCord

Pawhuska

Shidler

Tulsa

Webb

City

Wynona

Sand

Springs

Ponca

City

Skiatook

Hydrography from U.S. Geological Survey (2013a);

surficial geologic units and faults from

Heran and others (2003)

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

Surficial geologic unit Mapped fault

Quaternary

Alluvium (Qal)

Terrace (Qt)

Permian

Wellington Formation (Pw)

Pennsylvanian

Oscar Group (IPo)

Vanoss Group (IPv)

Ada Group (IPa)

Vamoosa Formation (IPva)

Tallant Formation (IPta)

Barnsdall Formation (IPbd)

Wann Formation and Iola Limestone (IPwi)

Chanute Formation (IPch)

Dewey Limestone (IPd)

Nellie Bly Formation and Hogshooter Limestone (IPnh)

Coffeyville Formation (IPcc)

EXPLANATION

Figure 5. Surface geology in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma.
Description of Landscape Features of the Study Area 15

Table 7. Major stratigraphic units in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma.

[ft, feet; Fm., Formation; Sh., shale; Ss., sandstone; Ls., limestone; --, unknown; Dol., dolomite; lithology listed in order of prominence in formation. Modified 

from Beckwith, 1928; Lee and others, 1948; Bingham and Bergman, 1980; D’Lugosz and others, 1986; Shields, 1993; Abbott, 2000; Mashburn and others, 

2003; DeHay and others, 2004; Carlucci and Westrop, 2009; Christenson and others, 2011]

Time-stratigraphic unit Group Surficial deposits 

and formations Lithology Thickness(ft)

Quaternary

Alluvium Gravel to clay 0–80

Terrace Gravel to clay 0–95

Permian Sumner Group Wellington Fm. Sh., Ss. 0–850

Pennsylvanian

Oscar Group Numerous Sh., Ls., Ss. 0–400

Vanoss Group Numerous Ls., Sh., Ss. 0–500

Ada Group Numerous Sh., Ls., Ss. 0–300

Vamoosa Fm. Sh., Ss., Ls. 0–500

Tallant Fm. Sh., Ss. 75–250

Barnsdall Fm. Ss., Sh. 45–200

Wann Fm. Sh., Ss., Ls. 50–400

Iola Ls. Ls., Ss., Sh. 4–100

Chanute Fm. Ss., Sh. 10–150

Dewey Ls. Ls., Sh. 0–60

Nellie Bly Fm. Sh., Ss. 80–550

Hogshooter Ls. Ls. 1–50

Coffeyville Fm. Sh., Ss. 175–470

Checkerboard Ls. Ls. 2–15

Upper Holdenville Fm. Sh., Ss., Ls. 40–250

Mississippian

Pitkin Ls. Ls. --

Fayetteville Sh. Sh. --

Batesville Fm. Ss. --

Hindsville Ls. Ls. --

Moorefield Fm. Sh. --

Keokuk Ls. Ls. --

Reeds Spring Fm. Ls. 0–100

St. Joe Fm. Ls. 0–50

Mississippian/Devonian Chattanooga Sh. Sh. 0–30

Ordovician Simpson Group

Bromide Fm. Ls., Sh., Ss. --

Tulip Creek Fm. --

McLish Fm. --

Oil Creek Fm. --

Joins Fm. --

West Spring Creek Fm. Dol.

200–1,500

Kindblade Fm. Dol.

Cool Creek Fm. Dol.

McKenzie Hill Fm. Dol.

Upper Cambrian Arbuckle Group

Butterly Fm. Dol.

Signal Mountain Fm. Dol.

Royer Dol. Dol.

Fort Sill Ls. Dol.
16 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Alluvial aquifers adjoining rivers and streams in the 

Osage Nation consist of unconsolidated lens-shaped beds of 

sand, silt, clay, and gravel. Alluvium underlies river valleys 

and adjoins active stream channels, whereas terrace aquifers 

are at higher elevations and were deposited when the river 

bed was at a higher elevation. Alluvial aquifers overlie about 

315 mi2 of the 2,260-mi2 land area of the Osage Nation 

(fig. 5) and range in thickness from zero to 80 ft (Bingham 

and Bergman, 1980; Abbott, 2000). Terrace aquifers near the 

Arkansas River, which are grouped with alluvial aquifers 

in this report, range in thickness from zero to about 95 ft 

(Mashburn and others, 2003).

The bedrock units of the Pennsylvanian System that 

underlie or adjoin alluvial aquifers in the Osage Nation vary 

in thickness from 2,000 to 2,200 ft (Beckwith, 1928). The 

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer, the most productive bedrock aquifer 

in the Osage Nation, consists principally of the Vamoosa 

Formation and the overlying Ada Group. The Vamoosa-Ada 

aquifer underlies about 800 mi2 of the land surface trending 

almost north-south near the center of Osage County (Abbott, 

2000; fig. 5) and consists of stacked sequences of fine 

grained to very fine grained sandstone, siltstone, shale, and 

conglomerates that are interbedded with very thin limestones 

(D’Lugosz and others, 1986). The eastern outcrop edge of the 

aquifer is defined by the contact of the Vamoosa Formation 

with the underlying Tallant Formation. The western edge of 

the aquifer is defined in the subsurface by the location where 

the dissolved solids concentration of groundwater exceeds 

1,500 mg/L (D’Lugosz and others, 1986), three times the 

secondary drinking-water standard (U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 2013b). The flow of groundwater through 

the rocks is controlled by variations in permeability related 

to changes in lithology, sandstone thickness, and faulting 

(D’Lugosz and others, 1986). In parts of the Osage Nation 

where the alluvial or Vamoosa-Ada aquifers are absent, wells 

produce water from permeable rocks that occur intermittently 

in the subsurface. These minor bedrock aquifers are associated 

with nine sedimentary rock units of Pennsylvanian through 

Permian age (the Coffeyville Formation, the Nellie Bly 

Formation, the Chanute Formation, the Wann Formation, 

the Barnsdall Formation, the Tallant Formation, the Vanoss 

Group, the Oscar Group [also known as the Chase, Council 

Grove, and Admire Groups], and the Wellington Formation) 

(Bingham and Bergman, 1980; Shields, 1993; Abbott, 2000). 

Wells completed in these minor aquifers typically produce less 

than 25 gallons per minute and underlie about 845 mi2 of this 

area (Bingham and Bergman, 1980; Abbott, 2000; fig. 5).

Deeper parts of the Pennsylvanian System strata and 

the underlying strata of Mississippian age typically contain 

saline water, petroleum, and natural gas, with the Mississippi 

lime play drawing recent interest for recovery of petroleum 

and natural gas through horizontal drilling and hydraulic 

fracturing (Boyd, 2011). All freshwater aquifers in the Osage 

Nation are susceptible to being contaminated by brines from 

natural seepage or from extraction activities associated with 

the approximately 40,000 petroleum and natural-gas wells 

previously or currently in operation in this area (Kharaka and 

Otton, 2003; Mashburn and others, 2003).

Streamflow and Surface-Water Quality

Long-term trends and seasonality of monthly mean 

streamflow are described in this section of the report for 

three USGS streamflow-gaging stations: Hominy Creek near 

Hominy, Okla.; Bird Creek at Avant, Okla.; and Arkansas 

River at Ralston, Okla. Six groups of water-quality data 

collected at or near those stations (by sampling agency) and 

at two other surface-water sites are described (table 2). Loads 

and yields of selected water-quality constituents at some sites 

are described.

Long-Term Trends and Seasonality of 

Streamflow

At the Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla., streamflowgaging station, the period of record of streamflow-data 

collection was much shorter (2003–7) than those of the other 

two stations. At the Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla., 

streamflow-gaging station there was a decrease in monthly 

mean streamflow from about 60 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) in 

2003 to about 4 ft3/s in the spring of 2006 (a period of severe 

drought; Tortorelli, 2008) and then an increase to about 80 ft3/s 

in 2007 (fig. 6). Monthly mean streamflow at the Bird Creek 

at Avant, Okla., streamflow-gaging station increased from the 

late 1970s to 1990 from 40 to about 140 ft3/s. Monthly mean 

streamflow at that station subsequently decreased to about 

70 ft3/s in 2013 (fig. 6). At the Arkansas River at Ralston, 

Okla., streamflow-gaging station, monthly mean streamflow 

gradually increased in the late 1970s from about 1,800 ft3/s 

to a peak of about 5,000 ft3/s in 2000, with a subsequent 

decrease to about 2,500 ft3/s by late 2012 (fig. 6). Streamflow 

from the late 1970s to 1990 at these latter two streamflowgaging stations increased by factors of about 2.8 and 2.2, 

respectively, with the peak of average monthly mean 

streamflow increasing by a factor of 2.8 by 2000 at the 

Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla., streamflow-gaging station 

(fig. 6). This pattern of increasing streamflows from the late 

1970s to the 1990–2000 period at these streamflow-gaging 

stations (referred to as “stations” in the remainder of this 

report) likely was the result of a slight increase in precipitation 

during this period and is similar to the time-series pattern of 

annual departures from median annual streamflow at other 

stations in north-central Oklahoma such as the Salt Fork of 

the Arkansas River at Tonkawa, Okla., and the Chikaskia 

River near Blackwell, Okla., stations (Shivers and Andrews, 

2013). 
Streamflow and Surface-Water Quality 17

Figure 6. Trends in monthly mean streamflow at three long-term streamflow-gaging stations in or near the Osage Nation, northeastern 

Oklahoma, October 1976 through September 2012.

Oct. Jan. Apr. July Oct. Jan. Apr. July Oct. Jan. Apr. July Oct. Jan. Apr. July Oct.

2003

Monthly mean streamflow, in cubic feet per second

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Date

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

100

1975 2013

1,000

10,000

80,000

100

10

2

1,000

4,000

1976 2013

100

10

700

1

0.1

2004 2005 2006 2007

A. Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla. (07176950), Oct. 2003–Sept. 2007

EXPLANATION

Monthly mean streamflow

Locally estimated scatterplot

smoothing line (Cleveland and

Devlin, 1988)

B. Bird Creek at Avant, Okla. (07176500), Oct. 1977–Sept. 2012

C. Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla. (07152500), Oct. 1976–Sept. 2012
18 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Similar to seasonal patterns of precipitation described 

previously, monthly mean streamflows at the three stations 

in the Osage Nation generally were greatest in the spring 

(March–May) (fig. 7). At the two stations with smaller 

streamflows, Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla., and Bird 

Creek at Avant, Okla., monthly mean streamflows were similar 

in fall, winter, and summer (fig. 7). At the Arkansas River at 

Ralston, Okla., station the largest monthly mean streamflows 

were measured in the spring and summer with the smallest 

monthly mean streamflows being measured in fall and winter. 

Substantial monthly mean streamflows in the Arkansas River 

at that station during the summer (fig. 7) may have been 

caused by release of water from Kaw Lake upstream.

Surface-Water Quality

Concentrations of selected water-quality constituents 

(dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, dissolved chloride, 

and dissolved phosphorus) measured in surface water at three 

streamflow-gaging stations and two other sites in the Osage 

Nation from 1999 through 2012 are described in this section 

(fig. 1, table 2). The USGS and the Osage Nation collected 

samples at the Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla., streamflowgaging station at differing dates and differing streamflows.

Median dissolved oxygen concentrations in the water 

samples collected at the five sampled surface-water sites 

ranged between 7 and 9 mg/L, with minimum concentrations 

typically being larger than zero mg/L (fig. 8). Such dissolved 

oxygen concentrations should be sufficient to sustain 

coldwater and warmwater aquatic biota (Chapman, 1986). 

Slightly larger dissolved oxygen concentrations were 

measured at the Bitter Creek and Arkansas River sites than at 

the other sites. Such large dissolved oxygen concentrations 

indicate that eutrophication or discharge of other sources 

of organic material in the streams has not notably impaired 

surface-water quality at these sites. Those data, however, were 

collected during daylight hours, when oxygen emitted by 

photosynthesis of aquatic plants can increase dissolved oxygen 

concentration by several milligrams per liter; dissolved oxygen 

concentration can be much smaller at night when plants and 

bacteria that consume organic wastes take up oxygen through 

respiration (Huggins and Anderson, 2005; Esralew and others, 

2011; U.S. Geological Survey, 2013a). Water-quality sampling 

of Skiatook, Bluestem, Hulah, and Keystone Lakes in or 

near the Osage Nation in 2011–12 indicates, on the basis of 

chlorophyll-a concentration, that lakes in the Osage Nation 

generally were eutrophic, meaning that they contained large 

amounts of algae and other aquatic plants (Oklahoma Water 

Resources Board, 2013c). Skiatook Lake, however, which 

receives water from Hominy Creek and other tributaries 

(fig. 1), was rated as being mesotrophic, meaning that only 

moderate amounts of algae and other aquatic plants were 

growing in that lake (Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 

2013c). In all of those lakes, except for Hulah, dissolved 

oxygen concentrations in July 2012 were less than 2 mg/L in 

part of the water column, indicating limited habitat for aquatic 

biota (Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 2013c).

Total dissolved solids concentration indicates the 

quantity of dissolved minerals per unit volume of water. For 

public water supplies, 500 mg/L has been set by the EPA as a 

secondary drinking-water standard because of aesthetic and 

water-use limitations (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

2013b). Water containing more than 500 mg/L total dissolved 

solids concentration is likely to cause increased deposits of 

mineral scale on plumbing fixtures and boilers, coloration, 

staining, and salty taste (U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, 2013a). The USGS, Osage Nation, OCC, and OWRB 

measured total dissolved solids concentration in surfacewater samples collected at five sites in the Osage Nation 

during the period 1999 through 2012 (fig. 9). Total dissolved 

solids concentrations were significantly larger in the samples 

collected by the Osage Nation at the Hominy Creek near 

Hominy, Okla., site than in samples collected by the USGS at 

that site (fig. 9). About one-third of the samples measured by 

the USGS were collected at larger streamflows than were the 

samples collected by the Osage Nation at that site, indicating 

larger dissolved-solids concentration in groundwater seepage 

(base flow) than in surface-water runoff (high flow) at that site 

(fig. 10).

Similar total dissolved solids concentrations were 

measured in surface-water samples collected by the Osage 

Nation at the Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla., and Little 

Hominy Creek sites and by the OWRB at the Arkansas River 

at Ralston, Okla., site (fig. 9). The smallest concentrations 

of total dissolved solids in surface water generally were 

measured at the Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., site by the OCC. 

At the Hominy Creek, Little Hominy Creek, and Arkansas 

River sites, total dissolved solids concentrations in about 

25 to 75 percent of the surface-water samples exceeded the 

secondary drinking-water standard of 500 mg/L for total 

dissolved solids, indicating limitations of use of water from 

those sites for supplying drinking water or other purposes.
Streamflow and Surface-Water Quality 19

Figure 7. Distributions of monthly mean streamflow by season at three streamflow-gaging stations in the Osage Nation, northeastern 

Oklahoma, October 1976 through September 2012.

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

C. Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla., Oct. 1976–Sept. 2012

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

Monthly mean streamflow, in cubic feet per second

Number of values 

EXPLANATION 

Upper adjacent

Lower adjacent

Lower outside

Streamflow distributions with the same

letter are not significantly different

(p-value greater than 0.05 for the

two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test)

1,000

100

10

1

0.1

10

100

1,000

B. Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., Oct. 1977–Sept. 2012

A. Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla., Oct. 2003–Sept. 2007

Fall is Sept.–Nov.

Winter is Dec.–Feb.

Spring is Mar.–May

Summer is June–Aug.

Season

108 108 108 108

30

x

12 12 12 12

105 105 105 105

A A

B C

A

A A

A A

A

A

B

A

Interquartile

range

Fall

WinterSpring

Summer

75th percentile

50th percentile

 (median)

25th percentile
20 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

X

X

X

x

x

Hominy Creek near Hominy,

Okla. (U.S. Geological Survey)

Hominy Creek near Hominy,

Okla. (Osage Nation)

Little Hominy Creek

(Osage Nation)

Bitter Creek (Osage

Nation)

23 23 20 15

Number of values 

EXPLANATION 

Upper adjacent

75th percentile

50th percentile

 (median)

25th percentile

Lower adjacent

Lower outside

Upper outside

Dissolved oxygen concentration, in milligrams per liter

Site name (sampling agency)

0

10

20

Arkansas River at Ralston,

Okla. (Oklahoma Water Resources

Board)

120

Bird Creek at Avant, Okla.

(Oklahoma Conservation

Commission)

48

A A, B

A B

A, B

A

Dissolved oxygen concentration distributions

with the same letter are not significantly different

(p-value greater than 0.05 for the

two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test)

A

23

Interquartile

range

Figure 8. Dissolved oxygen concentration in surface-water samples collected at five sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern 

Oklahoma, 1999 through 2012.

x

x

o

o

x

x

x

x

x

Total dissolved solids concentration, 

in milligrams per liter 1,000

23 Number of values 

EXPLANATION 

Upper adjacent

75th percentile

25th percentile

Lower adjacent

Lower outside

Upper detached

Upper outside

Total dissolved solids concentration

distributions with the same letter are

not significantly different (p-value

greater than 0.05 for the two-sided

Wilcoxon rank-sum test)

A

Hominy Creek near Hominy,

Okla. (Osage Nation)

Little Hominy Creek (Osage Nation)

Bitter Creek (Osage Nation)

Bird Creek at Avant, Okla. (Oklahoma

Conservation Commission)

Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla.

(Oklahoma Water Resources Board)

C

23 20 14 19 119

Secondary drinking-water standard

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013b)

4,000

100

B

A

B

D

Site name and sampling agency

23

Hominy Creek near Hominy,

Okla. (U.S. Geological Survey)

B

50th percentile

 (median)

Interquartile

range

Figure 9. Total dissolved solids concentration in surface-water samples collected at five sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern 

Oklahoma, 1999 through 2012.
Streamflow and Surface-Water Quality 21

In the Osage Nation, chloride in surface water can come 

from natural upward seepage of brines underlying fresh 

groundwater and from brines pumped up to the land surface 

and reinjected or otherwise disposed of as a byproduct of 

petroleum extraction. Chloride concentration measured in 

surface water in 1999 at sites distributed throughout much of 

the Osage Nation generally were greatest in the southern and 

eastern parts of the area, where the greatest density of numbers 

of petroleum wells had been drilled (Abbott and Tortorelli, 

2002; figs. 1, 11, and 12). About 25 percent of the surfacewater samples collected by the Osage Nation at the Hominy 

Creek site and by the OWRB at the Arkansas River at Ralston, 

Okla., site contained dissolved chloride concentrations 

exceeding the secondary drinking-water standard of 250 

mg/L set by the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

2013b; fig. 13). That standard was established to minimize 

salty taste in water used for public water supplies, not because 

of health problems associated with that concentration or 

larger concentrations of chloride in drinking water (U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 2013b). As with total 

dissolved solids, significantly larger dissolved chloride 

concentrations were measured in water samples collected 

at the Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla., site by the Osage 

Nation at lower streamflows than in water samples collected 

at that site by the USGS, probably being related to larger 

chloride concentrations in groundwater seeping to that stream 

as base flow (figs. 9, 10, 13, and 14). The smallest dissolved 

chloride concentrations measured by these agencies at these 

sites generally were measured in samples collected by the 

OCC at the Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., site (figs. 13 and 14).

In addition to evaluation of dissolved chloride 

concentration in surface water, evaluation of dissolved 

chloride load (the mass of chloride transported downstream 

in a time period) and dissolved chloride yield (the mass 

of chloride transported downstream in a time period per 

unit of upstream watershed area) can indicate areas where 

larger amounts of chloride discharge to streams. Because of 

the relatively large dissolved chloride concentrations and 

streamflows at the Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla., site, 

compared to the other sites, the greatest dissolved chloride 

loads were measured at that site (figs. 13 and 14). Because 

of the much larger watershed area upstream of that site, the 

dissolved chloride yields of samples collected were similar to 

those of several of the other sampled sites (fig. 13). Smaller 

dissolved chloride loads and yields were measured at the 

Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla., site (fig. 13). Although 

slightly larger dissolved chloride concentrations were 

measured by the Osage Nation at the same Hominy Creek 

near Hominy, Okla., site than were measured by the USGS 

during the same period (2003–6), the larger streamflows 

associated with about one-third of the samples collected by 

the USGS contributed to significantly larger loads of dissolved 

chloride being associated with the samples collected by the 

USGS. Because the upstream watershed area associated with 

both groups of samples collected by the Osage Nation and 

the USGS is the same, significantly larger dissolved chloride 

yields were therefore measured associated with the samples 

collected by the USGS (fig. 13). Although dissolved chloride 

loads measured at the Little Hominy Creek site by the Osage 

Nation were relatively small, the comparatively small area 

of the Little Hominy Creek watershed made the yields 

measured at that site the largest of the five sites sampled 

(fig. 13). The relatively large dissolved chloride yields 

measured from that small watershed compared to the other 

watersheds associated with the other sampled sites indicate 

that there is a particularly large seepage at the surface of saline 

groundwater or leaks of brines associated with petroleum 

extraction in that watershed.

EXPLANATION

100

1,000

5,000

0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1,000 10,000 50,000

Streamflow, in cubic feet per second

Total dissolved solids concentration, in milligrams per liter

Streamflow site—Color-coordinated 

lines indicate locally estimated 

scatterplot smoothing lines 

(Cleveland and Devlin, 1988)

 Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla. 

(U.S. Geological Survey)

 Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla. 

(Osage Nation)

 Little Hominy Creek 

(Osage Nation)

 Bitter Creek (Osage Nation)

 Bird Creek at Avant, Okla. 

(Oklahoma Conservation Commission)

 Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla. 

(Oklahoma Water Resources Board)

Figure 10. Total dissolved solids concentration with streamflow at five sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 through 

2012.
22 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Figure 11. Chloride concentrations measured downstream of selected basins in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999.

Creek

Sand

75

177

64

64

77

48

51

99

11

15

444

31

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

60

10

97

99

123

20

18

99

20

99

11

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

GTO

N CO

U

NTY

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

TULSA CO

U

NTY

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

Hydrography from U.S. Geological Survey (2013a);

surface-water sampling sites and chloride

concentrations from Abbott and 

Tortorelli (2002)

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

Base shaded-relief map from Environmental Systems

Research Institute, Inc. (2013)

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Chloride concentration, in milligrams per liter

1.99–3.30

3.31–6.00

6.01–10.0

10.1–14.0

14.1–19.4

19.5–26.0

26.1–39.0

39.1–68.0

68.1–130

131–210

211–320

321–1100

Surface-water sampling site, 1999

Upstream basin boundary
Streamflow and Surface-Water Quality 23

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Sand

Creek

Sand

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

BURBANK BURBANK

DOMES-POND DOMES-POND

CREEK

ATLANTICATLANTIC

GILLILANDGILLILAND

WYNONAWYNONA

PERSHINGPERSHING

OSAGE-HOMINY OSAGE-HOMINY

DISTRICT DISTRICT TIDAL

OSAGE

BARKER

QUAPAW BARNSDALL BARNSDALL

AVANT

WEST

AVANT WOOLAROC WOOLAROC

WILDHORSEWILDHORSE

FLAT

ROCK

PAGE

DISTRICT

OSAGE

CITY

75

177

64

64

60

77

10

48

97

99

51

123

20

18

99

11

99

20

15

99

11

444

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

Barnsdall

Dewey

Bartlesville

Fairfax

Hominy

McCord

Pawhuska

Shidler

Tulsa

Webb

City

Wynona

Sand

Springs

Ponca

City

Skiatook

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

Hydrography from U.S. Geological Survey (2013a);

petroleum production fields from Boyd (2002), and

well locations from Abbott and Tortorelli (2002)

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

Natural gas

Petroleum production or 

exploration well

Petroleum

Petroleum production field

Petroleum and natural gas

EXPLANATION

Coal-bed methane

Figure 12. Locations of petroleum and natural-gas wells drilled in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, as of 2002. 
24 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Figure 13. Dissolved chloride in surface-water samples collected at five sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 

through 2012, by A, concentrations, B, loads, and C, yields.

x

x

o

o

x

x

x

x

x

o

o

o

Dissolved chloride concentration,

in milligrams per liter

1

10

100

1,000

10,000

0.1

Number of values 

EXPLANATION 

Upper adjacent

75th percentile

25th percentile

Lower adjacent

Lower outside

Lower detached

Upper outside

Constituent distributions with the same

letter are not significantly different

(p-value greater than 0.05 for the

two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test)

A

Hominy Creek near Hominy,

Okla. (U.S. Geological Survey)

Hominy Creek near Hominy,

Okla. (Osage Nation)

Little Hominy Creek (Osage Nation)

Bitter Creek (Osage Nation)

Bird Creek at Avant, Okla. (Oklahoma

Conservation Commission)

Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla.

(Oklahoma Water Resources Board)

1

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

0.1

0.01

Dissolved chloride load, in tonnes per day

23 22 20 15 19 118

E

1

10

100

0.1

0.01

0.001

23 22 20 15 19 118

Dissolved chloride yield,

in tonnes per day per square mile

23 22 20 15 19 118

Secondary drinking-water standard

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013b)

Site name (sampling agency)

30

A

A

B C

D

A, B

A

B

C

D

D

B, D

B A,B

A A

A,B

50th percentile

 (median)

Interquartile

range

A

B

C
Streamflow and Surface-Water Quality 25

Phosphorus can seep and run off to streams as a result of 

natural conditions and human activities. Larger phosphorus 

concentrations can cause eutrophication, the undesirable 

growth of aquatic plants, in streams and lakes. Because of 

the risk of eutrophication of streams and lakes, many States 

have established water-quality standards for total phosphorus 

concentration in streams. In Oklahoma, a standard of 0.037 

mg/L of total phosphorus concentration was established to 

protect water quality and aquatic habitat in Scenic Rivers 

(State of Oklahoma, 2006). For comparison, in Wisconsin 

a standard of 0.075 mg/L of total phosphorus concentration 

was established for most streams, with some streams having 

higher standards of 0.200 mg/L (State of Wisconsin, 2010). 

Dissolved phosphorus concentration was measured at two 

sites, Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., and Arkansas River at 

Ralston, Okla. The majority of the 137 measured dissolved 

phosphorus concentrations exceeded the 0.037 mg/L 

Oklahoma standard for total phosphorus in Scenic Rivers 

(fig. 15), with about 35 percent of samples collected at the 

Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., site and about 90 percent of 

samples collected at the Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla., site 

containing dissolved phosphorus concentrations exceeding 

the 0.075 mg/L Wisconsin standard for total phosphorus. 

Dissolved phosphorus concentrations were significantly larger 

in surface-water samples collected at the Arkansas River at 

Ralston, Okla., site than in surface-water samples collected at 

the Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., site (fig. 15). Such relatively 

large dissolved phosphorus concentrations in those samples 

in comparison to surface-water-quality standards indicate 

that eutrophication was likely to occur in the Arkansas River 

and Bird Creek at those sampled sites (with eutrophication 

in flowing streams usually being dominated by periphyton, 

algae growing on solid surfaces) or in lakes receiving these 

waters (with eutrophication in lakes usually being dominated 

by phytoplankton, algae growing predominantly near the top 

of the water column) (Andrews and others, 2009). With larger 

streamflows in the Arkansas River relative to Bird Creek at 

the time of collection of most water-quality samples (figs. 6 

and 16), dissolved phosphorus loads at the Arkansas River 

at Ralston, Okla., site were significantly larger than those at 

the Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., site (fig. 15). Because of the 

much larger watershed area upstream of the Arkansas River 

at Ralston, Okla., site, however, dissolved phosphorus yields 

were not significantly different at these two sites (fig. 15).

Unlike chloride, which tends to be measured at larger 

concentrations in base flow in local streams, dissolved 

phosphorus concentration substantially increased with 

increasing streamflow (fig. 16). Increasing dissolved 

phosphorus concentration with increasing streamflow 

indicates that runoff from the land surface carries dissolved 

phosphorus from eroded soils, animal wastes, and other 

organic matter on the land surface. In addition, increased 

streamflow also may resuspend phosphorus associated with 

streambed sediments, as described in Andrews and others 

(2009) for the Illinois River watershed in northeastern 

Oklahoma. The strong correlation between dissolved 

phosphorus and streamflow in water samples collected at the 

Bird Creek and Arkansas River sites (fig. 16) may be related 

to similar soils, topography, and land uses in the watersheds 

upstream from these sites.

EXPLANATION

100

10

1

0.1

1,000

3,000

0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1,000 10,000 10,000

Streamflow, in cubic feet per second

Dissolved chloride concentration, in milligrams per liter

Streamflow site—Color-coordinated 

lines indicate locally estimated 

scatterplot smoothing lines 

(Cleveland and Devlin, 1988)

 Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla.

(07176950) (U.S. Geological Survey)

 Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla.

(Osage Nation)

 Little Hominy Creek (Osage Nation)

 Bitter Creek (Osage Nation)

 Bird Creek at Avant, Okla. (Oklahoma

Conservation Commission)

 Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla.

(Oklahoma Water Resources Board)

Figure 14. Dissolved chloride concentration with streamflow at five sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 through 

2012.
26 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Figure 15. Dissolved phosphorus in surface-water samples collected at two sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 

through 2012, by A, concentrations, B, loads, and C, yields.

x

x xx

x

x

o

o

x

x

x

o

x

Dissolved phosphorus concentration, in milligrams per liter

1

10

100

0.1

Number of values 

EXPLANATION 

Upper adjacent

75th percentile

25th percentile

Lower adjacent

Lower outside

Upper detached

Upper outside

Constituent distributions with the same

letter are not significantly different

(p-value greater than 0.05 for the

two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test)

A

Bird Creek at Avant, Okla. 

(Oklahoma Conservation

Commission)

Arkansas River at 

Ralston, Okla.

(Oklahoma Water

Resources Board)

A

1

10

100

1,000

0.1

0.01

Dissolved phosphorus load, in tonnes per day

19 118

A

1

0.1

0.01

0.001

19 118

Dissolved phosphorus yield,

in tonnes per day per square mile

A

19 118

Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Standard (0.037 milligrams

per liter; State of Oklahoma, 2006)

Site name (sampling agency)

0.01

B

0.001

0.0001

0.0001

0.00001

0.000001

0.0000001

A

B

Wisconsin Rivers and Streams Standard (0.075

milligrams per liter; State of Oklahoma, 2006)

19

50th percentile

 (median)

Interquartile

range

A

B

C
Groundwater Availability and Quality 27

Groundwater Availability and Quality

The Osage Nation is underlain by three principal 

freshwater aquifers: (1) alluvial aquifers, consisting of 

unconsolidated sands, silts, clays, and gravels deposited 

along streams and rivers in the Quaternary Period; (2) the 

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer consisting of a sequence of sandstones, 

limestones, and shales deposited in marine environments in 

the Pennsylvanian Period; and (3) minor bedrock aquifers 

associated with eight sedimentary rock formations deposited 

in the Pennsylvanian to Permian Periods (Bingham and 

Bergman, 1980; Shields, 1993; Abbott, 2000; table 8). The 

supply of potable groundwater in the alluvial aquifers and the 

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer is adequate for current domestic and 

other purposes, but in areas where these aquifers are absent, 

groundwater must be pumped from minor bedrock aquifers 

that generally produce smaller volumes of water (Bingham 

and Bergman, 1980).

The western third of the Osage Nation is underlain by 

alluvial aquifers or minor bedrock aquifers. Groundwater 

from these aquifers typically contains between 500 and 

1,000 mg/L of total dissolved solids, which can be associated 

with very hard water (Bingham and Bergman, 1980). Hard 

water can (1) cause buildup of mineral scale deposits on 

boilers, water heaters, and plumbing fixtures; (2) stain 

plumbing fixtures and laundry; and (3) contribute a salty taste 

to water (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013b). 

Bingham and Bergman (1980) reported that groundwater in 

an approximately 200-mi2 area near the northeast corner of 

the Osage Nation contained concentrations of total dissolved 

solids generally exceeding 1,000 mg/L in Pennsylvanian-age 

rock units other than the Vamoosa Formation.

EXPLANATION

Streamflow, in cubic feet per second

Dissolved phosphorus concentration, in milligrams per liter

Streamflow site—Color-coordinated 

lines indicate locally estimated 

scatterplot smoothing lines 

(Cleveland and Devlin, 1988)

 Bird Creek at Avant, Okla. (Oklahoma

Conservation Commission)

 Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla.

(Oklahoma Water Resources Board)

1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000

100

300

10

1

0.1

0.01

0.001

0.0001

Figure 16. Dissolved phosphorus concentration with streamflow at two sites in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1999 

through 2012.

Table 8. Properties of freshwater aquifers underlying the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma.

[ft, feet; d, day; ft2, square feet; gal/min, gallons per minute; --, not known; <, less than]

Aquifer

Thickness 

range

(ft)

Hydraulic 

conductivity range

(ft/d)

Transmissivity 

range

(ft2/d)

Specific 

capacity range

[(gal/min)/ft]

Well 

yield range

(gal/min)

Alluvial and terrace 10–174 22.9–6,000 22,000–26,000 -- 120–500

Vamoosa-Ada 1,30–800 32–4 370–490 <11 1,26–55

Minor bedrock -- -- -- -- 1,26–15

1

Bingham and Bergman (1980).

2

Mashburn and others (2003).

3

D’Lugosz and others (1986).
28 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Groundwater Availability by Aquifer

Fresh groundwater in the Osage Nation is most abundant 

in alluvial aquifers along streams and the Vamoosa-Ada 

aquifer (Bingham and Bergman, 1980). Yields of groundwater 

from minor bedrock aquifers, which include thin layers of 

sandstone and limestones, are relatively small (Bingham and 

Bergman, 1980; fig. 17, table 8).

Mashburn and others (2003) reported that, on the basis 

of sediment grain-size distribution, the hydraulic conductivity 

of alluvium along the Arkansas River ranged from about 3 

to 6,000 feet per day (ft/d), with hydraulic conductivities 

in adjoining terrace aquifers being estimated to range from 

about 3 to 430 ft/d. That report estimated transmissivities of 

2,000 to 26,000 feet squared per day (ft2/d), with a median 

transmissivity of 5,100 ft2/d for the alluvial aquifer along the 

Arkansas River (table 8). Mashburn and others (2003) also 

estimated that recharge to that segment of that alluvial aquifer 

was about 4,800 acre-ft per year (acre-ft/yr).

Underlying permeable rock units more than 1,000 ft 

below the land surface in most areas of the Osage Nation 

contain water with total dissolved solids concentration larger 

than 5,000 mg/L (Bingham and Bergman, 1980; D’Lugosz 

and others, 1986). Such water currently is withdrawn with 

petroleum extraction, separated gravimetrically, and pumped 

back down to the same strata through water-flooding wells 

used to drive residual petroleum to central gathering wells, or 

is discarded through disposal wells that are about 3,000 ft deep 

(the typical producing depth in the Burbank Oil Field in this 

area, as described in Franks, 1989). As mentioned in Bourlier 

and others (1979), Abbott and Tortorelli (2002), Kharaka and 

Otton (2003), and U.S. Geological Survey (2013e), brines 

withdrawn during petroleum and natural-gas extraction can 

leak to shallow groundwater and streams through spills, 

through seepage from settling ponds, and from upward 

migration where surface casing set during petroleum and 

natural-gas exploration does not extend completely through 

the freshwater zone. With approximately 40,000 known 

petroleum and natural-gas wells penetrating the bedrock 

aquifer in the Osage Nation (fig. 12), there are ample numbers 

of potential conduits by which brines may seep to shallow 

aquifers and adjoining streams.

Alluvial aquifers in the Osage Nation are likely to 

produce relatively large well yields compared to adjoining 

and underlying bedrock aquifers (table 8; Bingham and 

Bergman, 1980). The Vamoosa-Ada aquifer, which underlies 

a large part of the Osage Nation (fig. 17), generally produces 

smaller well yields than alluvial aquifers (table 8). D’Lugosz 

and others (1986) described selected properties of the 

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer in the Osage Nation and counties to 

the south that can be used for planning purposes. Parts of 

the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer with larger sandstone thicknesses 

(fig. 18) are likely to have higher hydraulic conductivities, 

transmissivities, and well yields than other parts of the 

aquifer. Such areas are likely to be the most productive for 

large numbers of wells for domestic or other local uses. 

Estimated thicknesses of alluvial aquifers in the Osage Nation 

are relatively small, generally less than 100 ft, whereas the 

thickness of freshwater in the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer can be 

several hundred feet (figs. 19–21, table 8).
Groundwater Availability and Quality 29

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Creek

Sand

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

75

177

64

64

60

77

10

48

97

99

51

123

20

18

99

11

99

20

15

99

11

444

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

Barnsdall

Dewey

Bartlesville

Fairfax

Hominy

McCord

Pawhuska

Shidler

Tulsa

Webb

City

Wynona

Sand

Springs

Ponca

City

Skiatook

31

30

20.92

6

10.2

11.1

4

30

10.7

11.7 16.2

90 15.2 13.4

39.1

12.3

26 17.1 15 12.7

15.8 70

21.2

16.8

11

13.4

4.62

9.1

22

11

10.1

75

10.6

30 19.5

12.4 16.2

13.6

10.9

13.8 7.4 12

14.18

11.12 17.3

11.3 9.8 13

35.3

10.3

14.02

18

33.3 9.7

11 3

14.4 33

45.9

8.3 10.7 12.07 20.7 12.7

50 16

14.2

75

40.09 47.9918.77

225.5

20.9

50

21

104.7

12.8 206

87 33.74 10

B'

A

A'

B

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

Hydrography from U.S. Geological Survey (2013a);

incorporated area from U.S. Census Bureau (2000);

principal aquifers modified from Abbott and others

(1997), Oklahoma Water Resources Board (2013a),

and Heran and others (2003); wells and depth to

water from U.S. Geological Survey (2013b). Areas

not underlain by alluvium, terrace, or VamoosaAda aquifers are underlain by minor bedrock

aquifers.

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

Base shaded-relief map from Environmental Systems

Research Institute, Inc. (2013)

EXPLANATION

Alluvium

Terrace

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer

Well with depth to water, in feet below 

land surface, and completed in

Principal aquifer

Alluvial aquifer

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer

Other aquifer

A A Hydrogeologic section with log locations '

Figure 17. Principal aquifers and locations of 79 wells having depth-to-water measurements made by the U.S. Geological Survey in the 

Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, as of 2012.
30 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Creek

Sand

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

75

177

64

64

60

77

10

48

97

99

51

123

20

18

99

11

99

20

15

99

11

444

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

Barnsdall

Dewey

Bartlesville

Fairfax

Hominy

McCord

Pawhuska

Shidler

Tulsa

Webb

City

Wynona

Sand

Springs

Ponca

City

Skiatook

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

Hydrography from U.S. Geological Survey (2013a);

incorporated area from U.S. Census Bureau (2000);

principal aquifers modified from Abbott and others

(1997), Oklahoma Water Resources Board (2013a),

and Heran and others (2003); wells and depth

to water from U.S. Geological Survey (2013b);

sand thickness from D’Lugosz and others (1986)

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

Base shaded-relief map from Environmental Systems

Research Institute, Inc. (2013)

EXPLANATION

Sandstone thickness of the unconfined 

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer, in feet

0–25

25–50

50–75

75–100

Undefined

Figure 18. Sand thickness of the unconfined Vamoosa-Ada aquifer in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma.
Groundwater Availability and Quality 31

1,000

1,000

800

800

800

800

800

800

900

800

1,000

75

177

64

64

60

77

10

48

97

99

51

123

20

18

99

11

99

20

15

99

11

444

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

Barnsdall

Dewey

Bartlesville

Fairfax

Hominy

McCord

Pawhuska

Shidler

Tulsa

Webb

City

Wynona

Sand

Springs

Ponca

City

Skiatook

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Creek

Sand

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

Hydrography from U.S. Geological Survey (2013a);

incorporated area from U.S. Census Bureau (2000);

principal aquifers modified from Abbott and others

(1997), Oklahoma Water Resources Board (2013a),

and Heran and others (2003); wells and depth

to water from U.S. Geological Survey (2013b);

water-table elevation contours from D’Lugosz

and others (1986)

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

Base shaded-relief map from Environmental Systems

Research Institute, Inc. (2013)

EXPLANATION

Alluvium

Terrace

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer

Principal aquifer

Water-table elevation, in feet

800

900

1,000

Undefined

Figure 19. Water-table elevation in the unconfined Vamoosa-Ada aquifer in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, as of 1975.
32 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Creek

Sand

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

800

700

700 600

900

600

600

600

600

700

600

600

700

500

500

500

700

800

75

177

64

64

60

77

10

48

97

99

51

123

20

18

99

11

99

20

15

99

11

444

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

Barnsdall

Dewey

Bartlesville

Fairfax

Hominy

McCord

Pawhuska

Shidler

Tulsa

Webb

City

Wynona

Sand

Springs

Ponca

City

Skiatook

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

Hydrography from U.S. Geological Survey (2013a);

incorporated area from U.S. Census Bureau (2000);

principal aquifers modified from Abbott and others

(1997), Oklahoma Water Resources Board (2013a),

and Heran and others (2003); wells and depth

to water from U.S. Geological Survey (2013b);

altitude of the base of freshwater from D’Lugosz

and others (1986)

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

Base shaded-relief map from Environmental Systems

Research Institute, Inc. (2013)

EXPLANATION

Alluvium

Terrace

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer

Principal aquifer

Altitude of the base of 

freshwater, in feet

500

600

700

800

900

Undefined

Figure 20. Altitude of the base of freshwater in the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, as of 1975.
FEET

WEST 

1,1001,000

900

1,200

800700600500400300

A 

North Bird Creek

Hickory Creek

Dry Creek

Sand Creek

Rock Creek

BEND IN

SECTION

BEND IN

SECTION

BEND IN

SECTION

BEND IN

SECTION

BEND IN

SECTION

BEND IN

SECTION

Modified from D’Lugosz and others (1986). Geohydrologic section

constructed by interpretation of geophysical logs of petroleum 

Locations of sections are shown in figure 17. Only major san

units are indicated. Upper and lower boundaries are 

where log coverage was not sufficient to exten

VERTICAL SCALE GREATLY EXAGGERATED (×26)

DATUM IS THE NATIONAL GEODETIC VERTICAL DATUM OF 1929

0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 2 3 4 5

MILES

KILOMETERS

FEET

WEST 

1,1001,000

900

1,200

800700600500400300

B 

Hominy Creek

Little Hominy Creek

BEND IN

SECTION

BEND IN

SECTION

BEND IN

SECTION

BEND IN

SECTION

BEND IN

SECTION

EXPLANATION

Approximate altitude of water table (1974–76)Approximate altitude of base of potable water 

(maximum of 1,500 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids; 1974–76)

Sandstone unit

Figure 21. Sandstone layers and hydrogeologic boundaries in the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma.
34 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Groundwater Quality

Groundwater-quality data collected from 88 wells 

completed in known or likely aquifers at known depths 

sampled by the USGS from 1972 through 1997 are 

summarized in this report (fig. 22). Concentrations of total 

dissolved solids, dissolved chloride, and total (rather than 

dissolved) phosphorus in groundwater samples collected from 

those wells are described in this report.

Because groundwater is in constant contact with minerals 

in rocks and sediments, it gradually dissolves those minerals 

and with time becomes saline, as described in Zouari and 

others (2011) and Cartwright and others (2012). Saline 

groundwater also can be related to connate water, seawater 

trapped between mineral grains at the time of deposition of 

sediments in marine environments (Bein and Dutton, 1993). 

All of the Osage Nation is underlain by brines containing large 

concentrations of sodium and chloride and total dissolved 

solids concentration as large as 200,000 mg/L (D’Lugosz and 

others, 1986; table 9).

Total dissolved solids concentrations were similar 

in water samples collected from freshwater supply wells 

completed in the alluvial, Vamoosa-Ada, and minor bedrock 

aquifers (fig. 23). Sampling of 103 temporary test holes in 

2001 and 2002 in the alluvial aquifers adjoining the Arkansas 

River (Mashburn and others, 2003) produced a slightly larger 

range of total dissolved solids concentrations (88–3,658 mg/L) 

than were measured in the water samples collected from 

permanent wells described in this report. About 30 percent 

of water samples collected from 32 wells completed in the 

alluvial aquifers and 60 percent of the water samples collected 

from 54 wells completed in the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer 

contained total dissolved solids concentrations larger than the 

secondary drinking-water standard of 500 mg/L (fig. 23).

Chloride, a component of total dissolved solids, is a 

conservative element in hydrologic systems that can indicate 

sources and movement of groundwater, such as upward 

discharge of saline groundwater to springs and streams, or 

the effects of disposal or leakage of brines brought to the 

land surface during petroleum and natural-gas extraction. 

Chloride concentrations were significantly greater in water 

samples collected from wells completed in the Vamoosa-Ada 

aquifer than in water samples collected from wells completed 

in alluvial aquifers in the Osage Nation (fig. 24). Chloride 

concentrations in the few water samples collected from wells 

completed in minor aquifers were not significantly different 

than those in water samples collected from wells completed 

in alluvial and the Vamoosa-Ada aquifers in the Osage Nation 

(fig. 24). Water sampled from wells completed in alluvial, 

the Vamoosa-Ada, and minor bedrock aquifers generally 

contained smaller concentrations of dissolved chloride than 

water samples collected at Hominy Creek near Hominy, Okla., 

and the Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla., stations (figs. 13 and 

24). Groundwater samples collected from 32 wells completed 

in alluvial and terrace aquifers contained dissolved chloride 

concentrations similar to those in water samples collected from 

the Bitter Creek and Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., sites (figs. 13 

and 24). General decreases in dissolved chloride concentration 

with larger streamflows at five surface-water sites in the Osage 

Nation indicate that base flow (derived from groundwater 

seepage) tended to contain larger dissolved chloride 

concentrations than were measured in runoff (associated with 

high flows) in those streams (fig. 14). Larger concentrations 

of dissolved chloride in base flow may have been caused by 

upward seepage of saline groundwater along stream channels, 

as commonly shown in groundwater-flow models (fig. 25), or 

by increased dissolved chloride concentration in local shallow 

groundwater near petroleum-gathering structures such as 

evaporation ponds, tank batteries, and leaking pipelines as was 

described near Skiatook Lake in Kharaka and Otton (2003). 

As no general geographic patterns of dissolved chloride 

concentration in groundwater samples collected in the Osage 

Nation are apparent (fig. 22), local effects, either from seepage 

of brines into shallow groundwater or from leaks and spills 

from petroleum and natural-gas extraction activities conducted 

near the land surface, may cause the substantial variations in 

dissolved chloride concentration in groundwater in the Osage 

Nation.
Groundwater Availability and Quality 35

Figure 22. Locations of wells sampled for water quality in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1972 through 1997.

Arkans as River Arka nsas River

Arkansas River

Cane y River

Salt Creek

Hominy Creek

Bird Cr eek

Creek

Sand

Hulah

Lake

Kaw Lake Bluestem

Lake

Birch

Lake

Skiatook

Lake

Keystone

Lake

75

177

64

64

60

77

10

48

97

99

51

123

20

18

99

11

99

20

15

99

11

444

COWLEY COUNTY CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY

KAY

COUNTY

OSAGE

COUNTY

WASHIN

G

T

O

N

C

O

U

N

T

Y

NOBLE

COUNTY

PAWNEE COUNTY

T

U

LSA

C

O

U

N

T

Y

PAYNE

COUNTY

CREEK COUNTY

Barnsdall

Dewey

Bartlesville

Fairfax

Hominy

McCord

Pawhuska

Shidler

Tulsa

Webb

City

Wynona

Sand

Springs

Ponca

City

Skiatook

31 6.6 34 800

220 9.3

17

350 25

370

1300 9.4

40 31

11 190

28

76 140

16 14 63 57

32 67

34

6.9 30 30

62

8.6

13 30

14

35

310

280

140 79

42

110

83 71 50 130 43

8.3 14 120

9.6 16 9.6 35 20

34

46

2.7 39

2.5 640 21 8.3 8.7 3.6

180 6.6

23 4.6 130

110

20

13 23

150

15 970 63 12 440

6.4 110 47 620 43

23

270

37 66

9.3 16 22

97°00' 45' 30' 15' 96°00'

37°00'

45'

30'

36°15'

Hydrography from U.S. Geological Survey (2013a);

incorporated area from U.S. Census Bureau (2000);

principal aquifers modified from Abbott and others

(1997), Oklahoma Water Resources Board (2013a),

and Heran and others (2003); wells and water

quality from U.S. Geological Survey (2013b)

0 5 10 15 20 MILES

0 5 10 15 20 KILOMETERS

Albers Equal-Area Conic projection

Base shaded-relief map from Environmental Systems

Research Institute, Inc. (2013)

EXPLANATION

Alluvium

Terrace

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer

Well with water-quality data, represented 

by chloride concentration in milligrams 

per liter, and completed in

Prinicpal aquifer

Alluvial aquifer

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer

Other aquifer
36 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Phosphorus concentration in groundwater typically 

is much less than in surface water because of sorption of 

phosphorus to metals in aquifer materials and relatively stable 

physical parameter values in groundwater as described in 

Drever (1988) and Morel and Hering (1993); however, longterm application of animal wastes and inorganic phosphate 

fertilizers to the land surface can increase phosphorus 

concentration in groundwater (Domalgalski and Johnson, 

2012). In surface water, rapid changes in pH and oxidation 

state tend to cause cycles of release of phosphorus from 

streambed and lakebed sediments related to reduction 

and dissolution of iron and manganese minerals to which 

phosphorus commonly is sorbed (Morel and Hering, 1993). 

Runoff to streams and lakes during and immediately after 

precipitation also tends to carry small particles containing total 

phosphorus and dissolved phosphorus from animal wastes, 

other organic detritus, and soils at the land surface (Andrews 

and others, 2009; Esralew and others, 2012).

Total phosphorus concentrations measured in 

groundwater sampled in the Osage Nation were similar 

to dissolved phosphorus concentrations measured in 

surface-water samples collected from the Bird Creek at 

Avant, Okla., and the Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla., 

sites at smaller streamflows, indicating a probable relation 

between groundwater seeping to local streams at base-flow 

conditions and dissolved phosphorus concentration in those 

streams (figs. 15, 16, and 26), as described in Domalgalski 

and Johnson (2012). About 40 percent of the groundwater 

samples collected from alluvial aquifers in the Osage Nation 

contained phosphorus concentrations exceeding the standard 

for phosphorus in surface water set for Oklahoma Scenic 

Rivers of 0.037 mg/L (figs. 15 and 26), indicating that local 

groundwater may be affected by phosphorus seeping into 

alluvial materials from surface water and also may be a source 

of phosphorus to local streams through base flow. 

Table 9. Quality of 894 brine samples collected from petroleum 

and natural-gas wells in the Osage Nation, northeastern 

Oklahoma, 1939 through 1980.

[mg/L, milligrams per liter; source is U.S. Geological Survey (2013f)]

Statistic

Constituent

Total 

dissolved 

solids

(mg/L)

Sodium

(mg/L)1

Chloride

(mg/L)1

Minimum 1,270 1,530 450

25th percentile 79,400 37,600 48,800

50th percentile (median) 141,000 49,500 86,800

75th percentile 181,000 56,300 112,000

Maximum 290,000 87,600 179,000

1

Some samples were not analyzed for sodium concentrations.

x

x

x

x x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Alluvial and terrace

Minor bedrock

Total dissolved solids concentration,

in milligrams per liter 1,000

32 Number of values

EXPLANATION 

Upper adjacent

75th percentile

25th percentile

Lower adjacent

Lower outside

Upper outside

Total dissolved solids concentration

distributions with the same

letter are not significantly different

(p-value greater than 0.05 for the

two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test)

A

32 5 54

Secondary drinking-water standard

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013b)

4,000

100

A

A

A

Aquifer

Vamoosa-Ada

50th percentile

 (median)

Interquartile

range

Figure 23. Total dissolved solids concentration by aquifer in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1972 through 1997.
Groundwater Availability and Quality 37

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Alluvial and terrace

Vamoosa-Ada

Minor bedrock

Dissolved chloride concentration, in milligrams per liter

Number of values 

EXPLANATION 

Upper adjacent

75th percentile

25th percentile

Lower adjacent

Lower outside

Upper outside

Dissolved chloride concentration

distributions with the same

letter are not significantly different

(p-value greater than 0.05 for the

two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test)

A

32

Secondary drinking-water standard

(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013b)

100

A

Aquifer

10,000

1,000

10

1

54 5

A,B B

32

50th percentile

 (median)

Interquartile

range

Figure 24. Dissolved chloride concentration in groundwater samples by aquifer in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1972 

through 1997.

Confining bed Confining bed

Confining bed Confining bed

Confined

aquifer

Confined

aquifer

Millenia

Centuries

Millenia

Centuries

Unconfined

aquifer Days Days

Years

Years

PUMPED WELL

RECHARGE AREA DISCHARGE AREA Stream

(U.S. Geological Survey, 2013g)

Figure 25. The general pattern of groundwater recharge and discharge to streams and wells.
38 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Estimated Water Use

The primary water sources used in the Osage Nation are 

surface water withdrawn from Skiatook Lake and groundwater 

withdrawn from alluvial aquifers and the Vamoosa-Ada 

aquifer (fig. 1). Sources of data, coefficients, and other 

relevant information for each source type and purpose are 

described in the following sections.

Public Supply Water Use

Water withdrawn by public suppliers (cities, towns, rural 

water districts, and small communities) can be used for a 

variety of purposes, though typically it is used for domestic, 

commercial, and industrial purposes. The amounts of water 

withdrawn by public suppliers in areas like Osage County, 

where there are no large industries using water from public 

suppliers, are likely to be proportional to the number of 

customers served and thus are likely to change with human 

population (table 10). In 2010, about 96 percent of the water 

withdrawn by public suppliers in the Osage Nation was from 

surface-water sources (tables 11 and 12), with Skiatook Lake 

being the primary source of water for public water suppliers 

in the Osage Nation and for cities in or partly in adjoining 

counties, such as Sand Springs, Okla., and Sapulpa, Okla. (M. 

Goree, Oklahoma Water Resource Board, written commun., 

2011). Estimated water withdrawals for public suppliers 

increased from none in 1890, when there were no known 

public water suppliers in the Osage Nation, to 14.3 Mgal/d 

in 2010 (fig. 27). A relatively large decrease in surface water 

withdrawn by public water suppliers in 1990 and a large 

increase of groundwater withdrawn by public water suppliers 

in 1995 in the Osage Nation may have been caused by limited 

water availability from the Skiatook Lake or the City of Tulsa 

and may also be related to the variable nature of data that is 

self-reported by water permit holders to the OWRB.

Domestic Self-Supplied Water Use

Osage Nation residents living outside of towns or 

service areas of rural water districts rely on private wells to 

provide domestic water. As previously described, estimates of 

domestic self-supplied water use were based on regressions 

of known water use in recent decades with population of the 

area back to 1890 and by using decreasing per capita wateruse coefficients dating back to 1890. Domestic self-supplied 

water use in the Osage Nation from 1890 through 2010 

was primarily groundwater withdrawn from domestic wells 

(tables 10–12). Before electricity was available in rural areas 

of the Osage Nation in the late 1800s through early 1900s, 

much of the water used for domestic purposes was likely to 

have come from hand-pumped wells or wells pumped by 

windmills at homesteads located at notable distances from 

streams or springs. Because of the gradual spread of public 

water suppliers in the Osage Nation through municipal 

suppliers and rural water districts (Oklahoma Water Resources 

Board, 1998), estimated domestic self-supplied water use did 

not increase substantially for much of the period from 1890 to 

2010, despite an increase in human population of a factor of 

about 15.8 during that period (fig. 27, tables 10–12).

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Total phosphorus concentration, in milligrams per liter

32 Number of values 

EXPLANATION 

Upper adjacent

75th percentile

25th percentile

Lower adjacent

Lower outside

Upper outside

Total phosphorus concentration

distributions with the same

letter are not significantly different

(p-value greater than 0.05 for the

two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test)

A

Laboratory reporting limit (0.002

milligrams per liter)

A

Alluvial and terrace

Vamoosa-Ada

Minor bedrock

Aquifer

1

5

10

0.1

32 40

0.01

0.001

0.0001

A,B B

50th percentile

 (median)

Interquartile

range

Oklahoma water-quality 

standard for Scenic 

Rivers

Figure 26. Total phosphorus concentration by aquifer in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1972 through 1993.
Estimated Water Use 39

Industrial Self-Supplied Water Use

Industrial self-supplied water-use data are available 

by county from the USGS AWUDS database spanning the 

period 1985–2010 (U.S. Geological Survey, 2013d). Those 

data and linear interpolation of industrial self-supplied water 

use in the Osage Nation, based on an assumption of zero 

use for this purpose in the late 19th century, indicated that 

industrial self-supplied use of surface water and groundwater 

in the Osage Nation has been a relatively small component of 

total water use, generally averaging a few hundred thousand 

gallons per day for the period 1915 through 2010 (fig. 27, 

tables 11 and 12). The primary industry of this mostly rural 

area up to the present (2014) has consisted of drilling for and 

extraction of petroleum and natural gas. Water used for those 

activities is considered by the USGS to be related to “mining 

activities” and, as such, is included in that water-use category 

in this report (Tortorelli, 2009).

Irrigation Water Use

Irrigation water use generally increased in Oklahoma 

after the advent of center-pivot irrigation in the mid-1940s 

(Oklahoma Historical Society, 2013). The greatest use of 

early center-pivot irrigation equipment generally was in the 

drier western half of the State, particularly in the panhandle 

(Oklahoma Historical Society, 2013). In the Osage Nation, 

irrigation water use was not reported until 1954 (Bureau 

of the Census, 1956). Estimated irrigation water use has 

averaged between about 0.15 and 0.50 Mgal/d since that 

time, with the majority of estimated water withdrawals for 

this purpose being from surface water (fig. 27, tables 11 

and 12).

Livestock Water Use

Livestock water use was estimated from numbers of 

livestock reported in or estimated from agricultural censuses 

and per-head estimates of daily water use by major types 

of livestock. Because of the rural nature of the Osage 

Nation and relatively large numbers of livestock compared 

to numbers of humans, water use for livestock has been a 

substantial part of water use in this area from 1890 through 

2010, only being exceeded for much of that period by 

water used by public suppliers (fig. 27, tables 11 and 12). 

After a period of erratic livestock census counts and related 

estimated water use from 1890 through 1930—perhaps 

caused by poor surveying methods, adjustments by ranchers 

to the climate of Oklahoma, and the agricultural depression 

of the 1920s through the 1930s—water use for livestock 

slowly increased through 2010 (fig. 27, tables 11 and 12), 

averaging 1.69 Mgal/d from 1990 through 2010.

Table 10. Estimated human population and population water 

sources in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 

through 2010.

Year Total human 

population

Population 

using 

publicly 

supplied 

surface 

water

Population 

using 

publicly 

supplied 

groundwater

Population 

using selfsupplied 

groundwater

1890 13,000 30 30 3,000

1895 26,520 30 30 6,520

1900 110,050 32,550 3420 7,080

1905 215,080 34,050 3670 10,360

1910 420,100 35,540 3920 13,640

1915 233,720 37,040 31,170 25,510

1920 436,540 38,540 31,420 26,580

1925 244,420 310,030 31,670 30,240

1930 447,330 311,430 31,920 33,980

1935 237,280 313,020 32,170 22,090

1940 433,070 314,520 32,420 16,130

1945 236,590 316,020 32,670 17,900

1950 440,110 317,510 32,920 19,680

1955 236,280 319,010 33,170 14,100

1960 432,440 320,500 33,420 8,520

1965 231,100 322,000 33,670 5,430

1970 429,750 323,500 33,920 2,330

1975 532,900 325,000 34,170 3,730

1980 441,640 326,490 34,420 10,730

1985 641,500 729,600 75,260 76,640

1990 741,640 730,360 76,690 74,590

1995 742,580 729,430 76,260 76,890

2000 744,440 730,620 75,620 78,200

2005 845,330 833,930 84,640 86,760

2010 47,470 32,940 7,440 7,090

1

Estimated from changes in statewide census numbers in Bureau of the 

Census (2002).

2

Estimated by interpolation between decennial censuses.

3

Estimated from linear regression of total population served by public water 

supplies and approximate 6 to 1 ratio of population served by surface water to 

population served by groundwater.

4

Forstall (1995).

5

Bureau of the Census (1982).

6

Bureau of the Census (1992).

7

U.S. Geological Survey (2013c).

8

Tortorelli (2009).
40 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Aquaculture Water Use

From 1985 through 2005, no water use for aquaculture 

was estimated to have occurred in the Osage Nation (tables 11 

and 12). That estimation of no water use for aquaculture was 

extrapolated back to 1890 (fig. 27, tables 11 and 12). For 

2010, estimation of 0.51 Mgal/d of surface-water use and 

0.03 Mgal/d of groundwater use (not shown in fig. 27) for 

aquaculture in the Osage Nation was based on data collected 

for the 2007 Census of Agriculture, some of which were 

unpublished (J. Lovelace, U.S. Geological Survey, written 

commun., 2013).

Mining Water Use

No freshwater withdrawals were recorded for mining 

purposes in the Osage Nation from 1985 through 2010 

(U.S. Geological Survey, 2013d; tables 11 and 12). Extraction 

of petroleum and natural gas, the primary mining activity in 

this area, includes extraction of saline groundwater, much of 

which is reinjected into the petroleum-producing zones, 

which are stratigraphically below the bedrock aquifers in 

this area, to enhance petroleum extraction in the process 

known as water flooding (Collins, 1974; K. Murray, Oklahoma 

Geological Survey, written commun., 2014). Use of hydraulic 

fracturing, also known as fracking, to extract remaining 

petroleum and natural gas from existing fields and previously 

undeveloped shale units may have increased saline-groundwater 

reinjection in the heavily developed Burbank Oil Field (fig. 12) 

in the Osage Nation in recent years (Murray, 2013). The 

amount of saline groundwater reinjected in the Burbank 

Oil Field, which is one of several petroleum and naturalgas producing fields in the Osage Nation, was considerably 

larger than the amount of freshwater estimated to have been 

withdrawn for all other purposes in the Osage Nation during 

1950–2012 (tables 11–13). Additional amounts of produced 

saline groundwater probably are reinjected in other producing 

fields in the Osage Nation (fig. 12), but data were not 

available from those fields when this report was written. 

Freshwater also may be used for fracking in this area, but no 

Table 11. Estimated fresh surface-water use, by purpose, in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 through 2010.

[Water use in million gallons per day]

Year Public 

supply

Self-supplied 

domestic

Self-supplied 

industrial Irrigation Livestock Aquaculture Total

1890 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.75 0.00 0.75

1895 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.38 0.00 1.38

1900 0.98 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.63 0.00 1.62

1905 1.58 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.80 0.00 2.40

1910 2.18 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.98 0.00 3.19

1915 2.78 0.00 0.06 0.00 1.06 0.00 3.90

1920 3.38 0.00 0.06 0.00 1.12 0.00 4.56

1925 3.97 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.84 0.00 4.90

1930 4.53 0.00 0.09 0.00 0.85 0.00 5.47

1935 5.17 0.00 0.07 0.00 1.21 0.00 6.45

1940 5.77 0.00 0.06 0.00 1.25 0.00 7.08

1945 6.37 0.00 0.06 0.00 1.33 0.00 7.76

1950 6.96 0.00 0.07 0.00 1.21 0.00 8.24

1955 7.56 0.00 0.06 0.13 1.28 0.00 9.03

1960 8.16 0.00 0.06 0.23 1.22 0.00 9.67

1965 8.76 0.00 0.05 0.28 1.48 0.00 10.57

1970 9.36 0.00 0.05 0.40 1.48 0.00 11.29

1975 9.96 0.00 0.06 0.30 1.52 0.00 11.84

1980 10.56 0.00 0.07 0.24 1.39 0.00 12.26

1985 110.21 10.05 10.03 10.18 1.20 10.00 11.67

1990 18.93 10.00 10.01 10.19 1.39 10.00 10.52

1995 113.09 10.00 10.01 10.09 1.60 10.00 14.79

2000 113.98 10.00 10.00 10.17 1.56 10.00 15.71

2005 213.90 10.00 10.13 10.11 1.51 10.00 15.65

2010 13.77 0.00 0.16 0.20 1.55 0.51 16.19

1

U.S. Geological Survey (2013c).

2

Tortorelli (2009).
Estimated Water Use 41

data for such water use were available when this report was 

being written.

Thermoelectric Water Use

As there were no known thermoelectric power plants 

generating electricity in the Osage Nation from 1985 

through 2010, no water was estimated to have been used for 

generation of electrical power in this area during that period 

(U.S. Geological Survey, 2013d). Because no information 

related to possible previous thermoelectric powerplants 

operating in the Osage Nation was available, no water was 

assumed to have been used for generation of electrical power 

for the preceding period of 1890–1980.

Water Use for All Purposes

Predominant fresh surface-water uses and fresh 

groundwater uses in 2010 were for public water supply, 

livestock, and industrial self-supplied purposes. From 

1890 through 2010, estimated freshwater use in the 

Osage Nation gradually increased from less than 1 Mgal/d 

to nearly 19 Mgal/d (fig. 28, tables 11 and 12). Total 

fresh surface-water withdrawals (use) and fresh 

groundwater withdrawals in the Osage Nation were 

estimated to have increased from 0.75 to 16.19 Mgal/d 

and from 0.13 to 2.39 Mgal/d, respectively, from 1890 

to 2010. Much of that increase in freshwater use can 

be attributed to increase in human population of the 

area, increased per capita water use by humans, and 

developments in infrastructure and technology that 

increased water withdrawals for industry and irrigation. 

Increased human population and development of the 

Tulsa metropolitan area, including cities such as Sapulpa, 

Okla., and Sand Springs, Okla., are likely to increase 

demand for freshwater in the Osage Nation, from both 

lakes and groundwater in the future.

Table 12. Estimated fresh groundwater use, by purpose, in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 through 2010.

[Water use in million gallons per day]

Year Public 

supply

Self-supplied 

domestic

Self-supplied 

industrial Irrigation Livestock Aquaculture Total

1890 0.00 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.08 0.00 0.13

1895 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.15 0.00 0.25

1900 0.00 0.11 0.01 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.19

1905 0.01 0.16 0.06 0.00 0.09 0.00 0.32

1910 0.03 0.48 0.11 0.00 0.11 0.00 0.73

1915 0.04 0.89 0.24 0.00 0.12 0.00 1.29

1920 0.05 0.93 0.27 0.00 0.12 0.00 1.37

1925 0.06 1.06 0.32 0.00 0.09 0.00 1.53

1930 0.08 1.19 0.38 0.00 0.09 0.00 1.74

1935 0.09 0.77 0.28 0.00 0.13 0.00 1.27

1940 0.10 0.97 0.24 0.00 0.14 0.00 1.45

1945 0.11 1.07 0.27 0.00 0.15 0.00 1.60

1950 0.13 1.18 0.31 0.00 0.13 0.00 1.75

1955 0.14 0.85 0.27 0.03 0.14 0.00 1.43

1960 0.15 0.51 0.23 0.06 0.14 0.00 1.09

1965 0.16 0.33 0.22 0.07 0.16 0.00 0.94

1970 0.18 0.20 0.20 0.11 0.16 0.00 0.85

1975 0.19 0.32 0.23 0.08 0.17 0.00 0.99

1980 0.20 0.91 0.32 0.06 0.15 0.00 1.64

1985 10.31 0.56 11.03 10.07 0.13 10.00 2.10

1990 10.28 10.39 10.04 10.06 0.15 10.00 0.92

1995 11.62 10.58 10.00 10.03 0.18 10.00 2.41

2000 10.11 10.70 10.36 10.01 0.17 10.00 1.35

2005 20.12 10.57 10.41 10.00 0.17 10.00 1.37

2010 0.53 0.60 1.05 0.01 0.17 0.03 2.39

1

U.S. Geological Survey (2013b).

2

Tortorelli (2009).
42 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation Estimated water use, in million gallons per day

Year

1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

0

5

10

15

20

EXPLANATION

GW, groundwater; SW, surface water

Aquaculture, GW

Aquaculture, SW

Livestock, GW

Livestock, SW

Irrigation, GW

Irrigation, SW

Industrial self supplied, GW

Industrial self supplied, SW

Domestic self supplied, GW

Public water supply, GW

Public water supply, SW

Purpose and source

1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

0

5

10

15

20

Estimated water use, in million gallons per day

EXPLANATION

Groundwater

Surface water

Source

Figure 27. Estimated freshwater use, by purpose and source, in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 through 2010.

Figure 28. Estimated fresh surface-water and groundwater use by source in the Osage Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1890 through 

2010.
Water-Resource Estimates 43

Saline-groundwater use, as measured by reinjection of 

saline water after withdrawal during petroleum and naturalgas extraction, was many times larger than all freshwater use 

in the Osage Nation, as estimated for one petroleum field 

(Burbank Oil Field) in the Osage Nation (tables 11–13). 

Increases in saline-groundwater use during the 2000s 

(table 13) may be related to a combination of increased 

use of fracking in horizontal wells to withdraw remaining 

petroleum and natural gas and to a nearly fourfold increase 

in petroleum prices during that period (McElroy and Lu, 

2013; U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2013). With 

ongoing improvements in desalinization technology, salinewater resources may be used in increasing amounts for other 

purposes in addition to reinjection in petroleum-producing 

strata or deep disposal wells (Osborn and others, 2013).

Water-Resource Estimates

The Osage Nation is bounded on the west and southwest 

for 123 miles by the Arkansas River. At the Arkansas River 

near Ralston, Okla., streamflow-gaging station, annual mean 

streamflows ranged from 1,121 to 16,810 ft3/s (812,123 to 

12,407,788 acre-ft/yr or 724 to 10,900 Mgal/d) from 1977 

through 2012 (U.S. Geological Survey, 2013a). Five lakes 

operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other 

smaller lakes in the Osage Nation contain conservation 

storage of about 3,781,000 acre-ft (1,230,000 million gallons 

[Mgal]) of water (Shields, 1993). The alluvial aquifers 

adjacent to the Arkansas River have been estimated to contain 

about 4,116,000 acre-ft (1,340,000 Mgal) of water, terrace 

aquifers were estimated to contain about 1,250,000 acre-ft 

Table 13. Estimated saline-groundwater reinjection related to petroleum and natural-gas extraction in the Burbank Oil Field, Osage 

Nation, northeastern Oklahoma, 1950 through 2012.

[Saline-groundwater reinjection in million gallons per day]

Year Saline-groundwater 

reinjection1 Year Saline-groundwater reinjection1 Year Saline-groundwater reinjection1

1950 130.55 1976 10,164.75 2002 4,077.67 

1951 715.57 1977 9,529.09 2003 4,626.14 

1952 1,505.98 1978 8,840.70 2004 4,656.09 

1953 2,482.32 1979 8,832.83 2005 4,893.49 

1954 1,884.33 1980 8,298.53 2006 5,080.51 

1955 2,254.53 1981 8,763.24 2007 5,695.17 

1956 2,663.06 1982 8,573.18 2008 6,418.81 

1957 3,191.18 1983 8,476.53 2009 7,044.94 

1958 3,996.98 1984 8,014.47 2010 7,203.63 

1959 4,882.52 1985 7,681.90 2011 7,819.03 

1960 6,290.91 1986 4,094.40 2012 8,373.68 

1961 7,597.68 1987 2,986.50 

1962 9,026.83 1988 2,825.12 

1963 10,056.13 1989 2,228.40 

1964 11,236.65 1990 1,947.50 

1965 11,889.78 1991 1,713.00 

1966 11,932.87 1992 1,761.06 

1967 12,169.53 1993 1,810.60 

1968 11,380.70 1994 1,647.73 

1969 11,500.43 1995 822.56 

1970 12,043.79 1996 1,169.08 

1971 11,849.06 1997 1,974.32 

1972 11,652.28 1998 2,479.46 

1973 11,511.42 1999 2,819.36 

1974 10,774.52 2000 2,642.49 

1975 10,395.00 2001 3,299.99 

1

Erwin Pino, DeLon Flinchum, and Matt Stover, Chaparral Energy, Inc., written commun., 2013.
44 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

(407,000 Mgal) of water, and minor bedrock aquifers were 

estimated to contain 9,464,000 acre-ft (3,080,000 Mgal) of 

freshwater in the Osage Nation (D.C. Kent, Oklahoma State 

University, written commun., 1992). Mashburn and others 

(2003) estimated that alluvial aquifers along the Arkansas 

River in the Osage Nation contained about 200,000 acre-ft 

(65,200 Mgal). D’Lugosz and others (1986) estimated 

that the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer contained about 36,000,000 

acre-ft (11,700,000 Mgal) of freshwater, with the part of 

that aquifer in the Osage Nation being estimated by Shields 

(1993) to contain about 10,185,000 acre-ft (3,320,000 Mgal) 

of freshwater. Combining those estimates, which were based 

on previously published literature and USGS streamflow 

data for the Arkansas River, indicates that a range of about 

29,600,000–41,200,000 acre-ft (9,640,000–13,400,000 Mgal) 

of freshwater is theoretically available for use in the Osage 

Nation in any given year. Those estimates, however, are 

upper limits, because sustainable water use would preclude 

withdrawing the total flow of the Arkansas River, the total 

volume of all water-supply lakes, and the freshwater contents 

of all aquifers in the Osage Nation in any given year, because 

such withdrawals would cause substantial deleterious effects 

on aquatic ecosystems, water-related tourism, property 

values, water quality (from increased upward seepage of 

underlying saline water), and water availability for public 

suppliers and agriculture. Assuming annual precipitation of 

42 inches per year (fig. 2) and loss of half of that water to 

evapotranspiration, a maximum withdrawal of freshwater in 

the Osage Nation can be estimated to be 2,570,000 acre-ft 

or 838,000 Mgal per year (Mgal/yr, or 2,294 Mgal/d). That 

maximum amount of withdrawal, based on net precipitation, 

however, would be likely to substantially reduce streamflows 

and lake levels, locally reduce fresh groundwater levels, and 

increase upward seepage of saline waters to streams and 

shallow aquifers. Annual estimated combined surface-water 

and groundwater withdrawals of 6,790 Mgal/yr (or 18.6 

Mgal/d from the 2010 annual total withdrawals) indicate 

that only about 1 percent of freshwater resources and the 

annual net precipitation is being withdrawn as freshwater. 

Determination of sustainable use of water resources in 

the Osage Nation can best be made with groundwater and 

surface-water models that simulate and can identify the effects 

of climate variations and changes in water withdrawals on 

freshwater and saline-water resources in the Osage Nation.

In addition to freshwater resources, much larger 

reserves of saline-water resources underlie the Osage 

Nation. The upper unit of the Western Interior Plains aquifer 

system underlying freshwater aquifers in Osage County, 

which corresponds to the Mississippian-age sedimentary 

formations shown in table 7, is about 150 ft thick and contains 

groundwater with dissolved solids concentration larger than 

35,000 mg/L, which is considered to be a brine (Osborn and 

others, 2013). Lower units of that Western Interior Plains 

aquifer system, which consist of sedimentary formations 

of Late Cambrian through Ordovician ages of about 500-ft 

thickness also contain groundwater with dissolved solids 

concentration exceeding 35,000 mg/L (Osborn and others, 

2013). Those generalized thicknesses, with the assumptions 

that those units underlie the entire extent of the Osage Nation 

and that porosities of those units average 0.15 (Freeze and 

Cherry, 1979; Christenson and others, 2011), indicate that 

45,000,000 Mgal of brines may underlie the Osage Nation. 

At present, a small portion of those brines is a byproduct of 

petroleum and natural-gas extraction (produced water) that 

is reinjected into those deep strata to enhance petroleum 

extraction or is disposed into deeper strata. Such brines may 

be used for other purposes as desalinization technology 

continues to improve and becomes more economical (Osborn 

and others, 2013).

Data Gaps

Collection of additional hydrogeologic data could 

improve understanding of the water resources of the Osage 

Nation. Better understanding of streamflow, surface-waterquality variability and trends in time and place, and factors 

affecting surface-water quality could be provided by 

establishing long-term streamflow and water-quality sampling 

stations at (1) a site between Kaw Lake and the Arkansas 

River at Ralston, Okla., streamflow-gaging station, (2) a site 

on the Arkansas River downstream of Keystone Lake, (3) one 

or more sites in the Caney River Basin, and (4) a site in the 

Sand Creek Basin west of Bartlesville, Okla. Installation of 

continuous water-quality monitors for parameters such as 

turbidity, temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved 

oxygen concentration at one or more streamflow-gaging 

stations could provide additional information about daily and 

longer term changes in surface-water quality that cannot be 

determined from collection and measurement of a few waterquality samples per year.

Knowledge of fresh groundwater quantity and quality 

also is limited in the Osage Nation. Simulation of groundwater 

movement through freshwater aquifers underlying the 

Osage Nation with three-dimensional static and transient 

groundwater-flow models could improve knowledge of 

groundwater recharge and discharge and could be useful for 

testing scenarios of the effects of future projected climate 

conditions and changes in groundwater withdrawals on those 

water resources. Regular periodic sampling of a network of 

20–30 wells completed in freshwater aquifers could provide 

better information about changes in groundwater elevations, 

groundwater-flow directions, and changes in groundwater 

quality with time and place in the Osage Nation. Installation of 

pressure transducers in several wells could provide additional 

information about seasonal changes in groundwater levels, 

aquifer recharge, seepage rates through the unsaturated zone, 

and other factors that may affect groundwater movement, 

quality, and availability in the Osage Nation. Gathering 

additional data about saline-groundwater reinjection and 

disposal in the Osage Nation from all petroleum and 
Summary 45

natural-gas fields could provide a better understanding of the 

uses and value of saline-water resources in this area.

Water-use data for Oklahoma generally are based on 

self-reported withdrawal numbers by water withdrawers and 

generalized coefficients of water use by humans, livestock, 

agriculture, and industry. Metering water use of various types 

at selected locations could enable more accurate estimates of 

water use in the Osage Nation.

Better understanding of aquifer properties and saline/

freshwater interfaces through geophysical surveys, which 

are being done in 2013–14 in the Osage Nation by the Osage 

Nation, the USGS, and others, could improve understanding 

of the permeability and related properties of aquifer materials, 

aquifer stratigraphy, and quantities and spatial distribution of 

fresh and saline-groundwater resources underlying the Osage 

Nation.

Summary

The Osage Nation of northeastern Oklahoma is 

characterized by gently rolling uplands, incised stream valleys, 

and underlying sedimentary rock units of Pennsylvanian 

through Permian age. Cattle ranching and petroleum and 

natural-gas extraction are the principal land uses in this 

rural area. Freshwater resources in the Osage Nation include 

water flowing in the Arkansas River and several smaller 

streams, water stored in several lakes, and groundwater stored 

in unconsolidated alluvial aquifers and bedrock aquifers, 

including the Pennsylvanian-age Vamoosa-Ada aquifer and 

minor bedrock aquifers. Fresh groundwater is underlain by 

saline groundwater in deeper aquifers underlying the Osage 

Nation. Such saline waters commonly are brought to the land 

surface as produced water and are reinjected to deep strata for 

petroleum extraction.

Water rights in tribal lands such as the Osage Nation 

are Federal reserved rights, which have limits. Such rights 

supersede other rights for water withdrawals that may be 

granted by States or other entities. There are sufficient water 

resources for current land uses and economic activities in 

most of the Osage Nation. Because of the potential for future 

population increases, demands for water from neighboring 

areas such as the Tulsa metropolitan area, and expansion of 

petroleum and natural-gas extraction affecting water resources, 

the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with 

the Osage Nation, summarized existing hydrologic data and 

identified gaps in those data to facilitate better understanding 

of the water resources of this area for planning future 

development and water use.

Long-term streamflow measurements at several 

streamflow-gaging stations in or near the Osage Nation 

indicate that streamflows at several streamflow-gaging 

stations increased by as much as a factor of 2 during wetter 

periods from the 1970s to 2000, with subsequent decreases 

of as much as 50 percent during intermittent drier years of 

the early 2000s. Surface water generally contains sufficient 

concentrations of dissolved oxygen for survival of coldwater 

and warmwater aquatic biota. Water in several lakes sampled 

in the Osage Nation in 2011–12 by the Oklahoma Water 

Resources Board (OWRB) contained sufficient chlorophyll-a

concentrations to be ranked as mesotrophic to eutrophic, 

indicating water-quality impairment by nutrients. At sites 

sampled on Hominy Creek, Little Hominy Creek, and the 

Arkansas River, total dissolved solids concentrations exceeded 

the secondary drinking-water standard of 500 milligrams 

per liter (mg/L) in 25–75 percent of surface-water samples, 

indicating limitations for supplying drinking water or other 

purposes. About 25 percent of the water samples collected 

by the Osage Nation at the Hominy Creek site and by the 

OWRB at the Arkansas River site contained dissolved chloride 

concentrations exceeding the secondary drinking-water 

standard of 250 mg/L set by the EPA. Chloride concentration 

in surface-water samples collected by the USGS tended to 

be larger in watersheds with greater densities of numbers of 

petroleum wells. Larger dissolved chloride concentrations at 

smaller streamflows at several sites indicated that groundwater 

seeping as base flow to streams in the Osage Nation can 

contain dissolved chloride concentrations that exceed the 

secondary drinking-water standard. Because of the relatively 

large dissolved chloride concentrations and large streamflows 

measured at the Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla., site, the 

greatest dissolved chloride loads were measured at that site. 

The largest dissolved chloride yields were measured for 

the watershed upstream of the Little Hominy Creek site. 

Dissolved phosphorus concentration was significantly larger 

in surface-water samples collected at the Arkansas River at 

Ralston, Okla., site than in surface-water samples collected at 

the Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., site. Relatively large dissolved 

phosphorus concentrations compared to water-quality 

standards indicate that eutrophication can occur in these 

streams (usually dominated by periphyton, algae growing 

on solid surfaces) or in lakes receiving these waters (usually 

dominated by phytoplankton, algae growing predominantly 

near the top of the water column).

Groundwater also is an important source of water for the 

Osage Nation, which is underlain by three principal freshwater 

aquifers: (1) alluvial aquifers, consisting of unconsolidated 

sands, silts, clays, and gravels deposited along streams and 

rivers; (2) the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer, consisting of a sequence 

of sandstones, limestones, and shales; and (3) minor bedrock 

aquifers associated with shales, sandstones, and limestones. 

The amount of potable groundwater stored in the alluvial 

aquifers and the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer is adequate for current 

domestic and other purposes, but in areas where these aquifers 

are absent, groundwater must be pumped from minor bedrock 

aquifers that produce smaller amounts of water. About 

30 percent of water samples collected from alluvial aquifers 

and 60 percent of water samples collected from the VamoosaAda aquifer contained total dissolved solids concentrations 

larger than the secondary drinking-water standard of 

500 mg/L, indicating potential limitation of use of water from 
46 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

those aquifers in some areas. Local factors, such as natural 

seepage of brines up into fresh groundwater or leaks and spills 

from petroleum and natural-gas extraction activities conducted 

near the land surface, appear to cause substantial variations 

in dissolved chloride concentration in groundwater in the 

Osage Nation. Groundwater underlying freshwater aquifers 

in the Osage Nation can contain substantial concentrations 

of chloride. Total phosphorus concentrations measured in 

groundwater samples collected in the Osage Nation were 

similar to dissolved phosphorus concentrations measured in 

water samples collected at the Bird Creek at Avant, Okla., 

and the Arkansas River at Ralston, Okla., sites at smaller 

streamflows, indicating that local groundwater may be affected 

by phosphorus seeping into alluvial materials from surface 

water and also may be a source of phosphorus discharging to 

local streams.

Fresh surface-water and groundwater withdrawals 

(use) in the Osage Nation were estimated at 5-year intervals 

from 1890 to 2010 on the basis of population estimates of 

humans and livestock, previous estimates of water use from 

1985 through 2010, linear regression, and coefficients. Fresh 

surface-water use and fresh groundwater use were estimated to 

increase from 0.75 to 16.19 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 

and from 0.13 to 2.39 Mgal/d, respectively, for the 1890–2010 

period. Predominant fresh surface-water uses and groundwater 

uses in 2010 were for public water supply, livestock, and 

industrial self-supplied purposes. Annual estimates of 

quantities of saline groundwater reinjected into petroleum 

and natural-gas producing zones after withdrawals from the 

heavily developed Burbank Oil Field from 1950 through 2012 

indicate that much more saline water is used in Osage County 

than freshwater, with recent increases in use of saline water 

occurring in the 2000s. Additional large amounts of saline 

water probably are withdrawn from numerous other producing 

fields in the Osage Nation during extraction of petroleum and 

natural gas.

Estimates of freshwater resources in local streams, 

lakes, and freshwater aquifers and of net annual precipitation 

indicate that less than 1 percent of freshwater resources and 

net annual precipitation is being withdrawn annually in the 

Osage Nation. Generalized estimates of thickness and porosity 

of brine-filled aquifers indicate that the Osage Nation may be 

underlain by 45,000,000 million gallons of brines.

Additional measurement, sampling, and analyses of water 

resources in the Osage Nation could improve understanding 

about those resources and the ability to manage them. 

Simulation of groundwater movement through freshwater 

aquifers underlying the Osage Nation with three-dimensional 

static and transient groundwater-flow models could improve 

knowledge of groundwater recharge and discharge and be 

useful for testing scenarios of the effects of future projected 

climate conditions and changes in groundwater withdrawals. 

Additional long-term streamflow and water-quality sampling 

stations, some with continuous water-quality monitors, 

could expand and improve understanding of surface-water 

quality in time and place in the Osage Nation. Regular 

periodic measurement of water levels and water-quality 

sampling of wells completed in freshwater aquifers could 

provide additional information about trends of groundwater 

quantity and quality in time and place in the Osage Nation. 

More accurate monitoring of the use of fresh and saline 

water at selected sites could enable more refined estimates of 

water use across the Osage Nation. Better understanding of 

aquifer properties and saline/freshwater interfaces through 

geophysical surveys could improve understanding of aquifer 

properties and the spatial distribution of fresh and saline 

groundwater resources underlying the Osage Nation.

References Cited

Abbott, M.M., 2000, Water quality of the Quaternary and 

Ada-Vamoosa Aquifers on the Osage Reservation, Osage 

County, Oklahoma, 1997: U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigations Report 99–4231, 76 p.

Abbott, M.M., Runkle, Donna, and Rea, Alan, 1997, Digital 

data sets that describe aquifer characteristics of the 

Vamoosa-Ada aquifer in east-central Oklahoma: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 96–444, 1:250,000 

scale.

Abbott, M.M., and Tortorelli, R.L., 2002, Surface-water 

characteristics and quality on the Osage Reservation, Osage 

County, Oklahoma, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigations Report 02–4060, 68 p.

Andrews, W.J., Becker, M.F., Smith, S.J., and Tortorelli, R.L., 

2009, Summary of surface-water quality data from the 

Illinois River Basin in northeast Oklahoma, 1970–2007: 

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 

2009–5182, 39 p.

Beckwith, H.T., 1928, Oil and gas in Oklahoma, geology 

of Osage County: Oklahoma Geological Survey Bulletin 

No. 40–T, 62 p.

Bein, Amos, and Dutton, A.R., 1993, Origin, distribution, 

and movement of brine in the Permian Basin (U.S.A.)—A 

model for displacement of connate brine: Geological 

Society of America Bulletin, v. 105, no. 6, p. 695–707.

Bingham, R.H., and Bergman, D.L., 1980, Reconnaissance of 

the water resources of the Enid Quadrangle north-central 

Oklahoma: Oklahoma Geological Survey, Hydrologic Atlas 

7, 4 sheets.

Bourlier, B.G., Nichols, J.D., Ringwald, W.J., Workman, 

P.J., and Clemmons, Stanley, 1979, Soil survey of Osage 

County, Oklahoma: Soil Conservation Service and Bureau 

of Indian Affairs, variously paged, accessed January 

12, 2014, at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_

MANUSCRIPTS/oklahoma/osageOK1979/osageOK1979.

pdf.
References Cited 47

Boyd, D.T., 2002, Oklahoma oil and gas fields: Oklahoma 

Geological Survey Geologic Map 36. [Also available 

at http://www.ogs.ou.edu/level3-oilgas.php.]

Boyd, D.T., 2011, Oklahoma 2010 drilling highlights: The 

Shale Shaker, v. 61, no. 5, p. 293–305.

Bureau of the Census, 1927, United States Census of 

Agriculture—1925, reports for States, with statistics for 

counties and a summary for the United States, part II, the 

Southern States: Bureau of the Census, 96 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1936, United States Census of 

Agriculture—1935, reports for States with statistics for 

counties and a summary for the United States, Oklahoma, 

v. 1, part 2: Bureau of the Census, 947 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1942, United States Census of 

Agriculture—1940, reports for States with statistics for 

counties and a summary for the United States, Oklahoma, 

v. 1, part 2: Bureau of the Census, 638 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1946, United States Census of 

Agriculture—1945, Oklahoma, statistics for counties, v. 1, 

part 25: Bureau of the Census, 204 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1952, United States Census of 

Agriculture—1950, v. 1, counties and State economic areas, 

part 25, Oklahoma: Bureau of the Census, 325 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1956, United States Census of 

Agriculture—1954, v. 1, counties and State economic areas, 

part 25, Oklahoma: Bureau of the Census, 312 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1961, United States Census of 

Agriculture—1959, final report, v. 1, part 36, Oklahoma 

counties: Bureau of the Census, 299 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1967, 1964 Census of Agriculture, 

Oklahoma State and county data, v. 1, part 36: Bureau of the 

Census, 997 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1972, 1969 Census of Agriculture, 

Oklahoma State and county data, v. 1, part 36: Bureau of the 

Census, 997 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1977, 1974 Census of Agriculture, 

Oklahoma State and county data, v. 1, part 36: Bureau of the 

Census, 760 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1982, Preliminary estimates of the 

intercensal population of counties, 1970–1979: Bureau of 

the Census, accessed June 20, 2013, at http://www.census.

gov/popest/data/counties/totals/pre-1980/tables/e7079co.txt.

Bureau of the Census, 1984, 1982 Census of Agriculture, 

Oklahoma State and county data, v. 1, part 36: Bureau of the 

Census, 444 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1989, 1987 Census of Agriculture, 

Oklahoma State and county data, v. 1, part 36: Bureau of the 

Census, 492 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1992, Intercensal estimates of the 

resident population of States and counties, 1980–1989: 

Bureau of the Census, accessed June 20, 2013, at http://

www.census.gov/popest/data/historical/1980s/county.html.

Bureau of the Census, 1994, 1992 Census of Agriculture, 

Oklahoma State and county data, v. 1, part 36: Bureau of the 

Census, 480 p.

Bureau of the Census, 1999, 1997 Census of Agriculture, 

Oklahoma State and county data, Geographic Area Series 

Part 36: Bureau of the Census, AC–97–A–36, v. 1, 491 p.

Bureau of the Census, 2002, Resident population and 

apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives: 

Bureau of the Census, accessed June 20, 2013, at http://

www.census.gov/dmd/www/resapport/states/oklahoma.pdf.

Bureau of the Census, 2004, 2002 Census of Agriculture, 

Oklahoma State and county data, Geographic Area Series 

Part 36: Bureau of the Census, AC–02–A–36, v. 1, 611 p.

Bureau of the Census, 2009, 2007 Census of Agriculture, 

Oklahoma State and county data, Geographic Area Series 

Part 36: Bureau of the Census, AC–07–A–36, v. 1, 683 p.

Carlucci, J.R., and Westrop, S.R., 2009, Sequence stratigraphy 

and facies architecture of the Bromide Formation (Upper 

Ordovician; Sandbian) of Oklahoma: Portland, Oreg., 

Geological Society of America Paper no. 36–5, 1 p. 

Cartwright, Ian, Weaver, T.R., Cendon, D.I., Fifield, L.K., 

Tweed, S.O., Petrides, Ben, and Swain, Ian, 2012, 

Constraining groundwater flow, residence times, interaquifer mixing, and aquifer properties using environmental 

isotopes in the southeast Murray Basin, Australia: Applied 

Geochemistry, v. 27, no. 9, p. 1698–1700.

Chapman, Gary, 1986, Ambient water quality criteria for 

dissolved oxygen: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

EPA 440/5–85–003, 46 p.

Christenson, Scott, Osborn, N.I., Neel, C.R., Faith, J.R., 

Blome, C.D., Puckette, James, and Pantea, M.P., 2011, 

Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow in the 

Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer, south-central Oklahoma: U.S. 

Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011–

5029, 104 p.

Cleveland, W.S., and Devlin, S.J., 1988, Locally-weighted 

regression—An approach to regression analysis by local 

fitting: Journal of American Statistical Association, v. 83, 

p. 596–610.

Cohen, F.S., 1982, Felix S. Cohen’s handbook of Federal 

Indian law: Charlottesville, Va., Lexis Law Publishing, 

912 p.

Cohn, T.A., 1988, Adjusted maximum likelihood estimation 

of the moments of lognormal populations from Type 1 

censored samples: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File 

Report 88–350, 34 p.
48 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Collins, A.G., 1974, Saline groundwaters produced with oil 

and gas: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Report 

EPA–660/2–74–010, 68 p.

Colorado Geological Survey, 2008, Ground water atlas 

of Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey, accessed 

August 9, 2013, at http://geosurvey.state.co.us/water/

GroundwaterAtlas/Pages/GroundwaterAtlasofColorado.

aspx.

Cushman, R.C., 2004, Peterson Field Guides—The North 

American prairie: Boston, Mass., Houghton Mifflin 

Harcourt, 528 p.

DeHay, K.L., Andrews, W.J., and Sughru, M.P., 2004, 

Hydrology and ground-water quality in the mine workings 

within the Picher mining district, northeastern Oklahoma, 

2002–03: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations 

Report 2004–5043, 62 p.

D’Lugosz, J.J., McClaflin, R.G., and Marcher, M.V., 1986, 

Geohydrology of the Vamoosa-Ada aquifer east-central 

Oklahoma: Oklahoma Geological Survey Circular 87, 42 p.

Domalgalski, J.L., and Johnson, Henry, 2012, Phosphorus and 

groundwater—Establishing links between agricultural use 

and transport to streams: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 

2012–3004, 4 p.

Drever, J.I., 1988, The geochemistry of natural waters (2d 

ed.): Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice Hall, 437 p.

Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2012, 

Zonal Statistics as Table (Spatial Analyst): Environmental 

Systems Research Institute, Inc., ArcGIS Resource 

Center, Desktop 10, accessed December 9, 2013, at http://

help.arcgis.com/en%20/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.

html#//009z000000w8000000.htm.

Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 2013, Shaded 

relief: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., 

accessed September 11, 2013, at http://www.arcgis.com/

home/item.html?id=7fcb19a848f0497c940b2c7370afba06.

Esralew, R.A., Andrews, W.J., Allen, M.L., and Becker, C.J., 

2012, Comparison of load estimation techniques and trend 

analysis for nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment 

in the Eucha-Spavinaw Basin, northwestern Arkansas and 

northeastern Oklahoma, 2002–10: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5172, 60 p.

Esralew, R.A., Andrews, W.J., and Smith, S.J., 2011, 

Evaluation and trends of land cover, streamflow, and water 

quality in the North Canadian River Basin near Oklahoma 

City, Oklahoma, 1968–2009: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5117, 97 p.

Fenneman, N.M., and Johnson, D.W., 1946, Physical divisions 

of the conterminous United States: U.S. Geological Survey, 

1 sheet, scale 1:7,000,000.

Forstall, R.L., 1995, Oklahoma, population of counties by 

decennial census—1900 to 1990: U.S. Bureau of the 

Census, accessed June 20, 2013, at http://www.census.gov/

population/cencounts/ok190090.txt.

Franks, K.A., 1989, The Osage oil boom: Oklahoma City, 

Oklahoma Heritage Association, 180 p.

Freeze, R.A., and Cherry, J.A., 1979, Groundwater: 

Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, Inc., 604 p.

Fry, J.A., Cian, George, Jin, Suming, Dewitz, J.A., Homer, 

C.G., Yang, Limin, Barnes, C.A., Herald, N.D., and 

Wickham, J.D., 2011, Completion of the 2006 National 

Land Cover Database for the conterminous United States: 

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, v. 77, 

no. 9, p. 858–866.

Graham, J.L., Loftin, K.A., Ziegler, A.C., and Meyer, M.T., 

2008, Guidelines for design and sampling for cyanobacterial 

toxin and taste-and-odor studies in lakes and reservoirs: 

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 

2008–5308, 39 p.

Helsel, D.R., and Hirsch, R.M., 2002, Statistical methods in 

water resources: New York, Elsevier, 522 p.

Helton, Taiawagi, 1998, Indian reserved water rights in the 

dual-system State of Oklahoma: Tulsa Law Review, v. 33, 

issue 3, p. 979–1002.

Heran, W.D., Green, G.N., and Stoeser, D.B., 2003, A digital 

geologic map database for the State of Oklahoma: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 2003–247. [Also 

available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/ofr-03-247/.]

Huggins, D.G., and Anderson, Jeff, 2005, Dissolved oxygen 

fluctuation regimes in streams of the western corn belt 

plains ecoregion: Kansas Biological Survey Report no. 130, 

57 p.

Johnson, K.S., 1983, Maps showing principal ground-water 

resources and recharge areas in Oklahoma: Oklahoma State 

Department of Health, 2 sheets, scale 1:500,000.

Kharaka, Y.K., and Otton, J.K., eds., 2003, Environmental 

impacts of petroleum production—Initial results from the 

Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Sites, 

Osage County, Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey WaterResources Investigations Report 03–4260, 155 p.

Langbein, W.B., and Iseri, K.T., 1960, General introduction 

and hydrologic definitions—Manual of hydrology—Part 1. 

General surface-water techniques: U.S. Geological Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 1541–A, 29 p.

Lee, Wallace, Leatherock, Constance, and Botinelly, Theodore, 

1948, The stratigraphy and structural development of the 

Saline Basin of Kansas: State Geological Survey of Kansas 

Bulletin 74, 155 p.
References Cited 49

MacKichan, K.A., 1957, Estimated use of water in the United 

States, 1955: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 398, 18 p.

MacKichan, K.A., and Kammerer, J.C., 1961, Estimated use 

of water in the United States, 1960: U.S. Geological Survey 

Circular 456, 44 p.

Madsen, John, and Oberle, Frank, 1993, Tallgrass prairie: 

Kingwood, Tex., Falcon Press Publishing Company, 112 p.

Mashburn, S.L., Cope, C.C., and Abbott, M.M., 2003, Aquifer 

characteristics, water availability, and water quality of the 

Quaternary aquifer, Osage County, northeastern Oklahoma, 

2001–2002: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources 

Investigations Report 03–4235, 41 p.

McElroy, M.B., and Lu, Xi, 2013, Fracking’s future—Natural 

gas, the economy, and America’s energy prospects: Harvard 

Magazine, Nov.–Dec. 2013, accessed December 9, 2013, at 

http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/frackings-future.

Morel, F.M.M., and Hering, J.G., 1993, Principles and 

applications of aquatic chemistry: New York, John Wiley 

and Sons, Inc., 588 p.

Murray, C.R., 1968, Estimated use of water in the United 

States, 1965: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 556, 53 p.

Murray, C.R., and Reeves, E.B., 1972, Estimated use of 

water in the United States in 1970: U.S. Geological Survey 

Circular 676, 37 p.

Murray, C.R., and Reeves, E.B., 1977, Estimated use of 

water in the United States in 1975: U.S. Geological Survey 

Circular 765, 39 p.

Murray, K.E., 2013, State-scale perspective on water use 

and production associated with oil and gas operations, 

Oklahoma, U.S.: Environmental Science and Technology, 

v. 47, p. 4918–4925.

National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2011, Oklahoma 

agricultural statistics, 2011: National Agricultural Statistics 

Service, 86 p.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2013, 

Climate data online—Search tool: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, National Climatic Data 

Center, accessed August 6, 2013, at http://www.ncdc.noaa.

gov/cdo-web/search.

Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2006, Digital 

general soil map of the United States: Natural Resources 

Conservation Service, accessed February 13, 2012, at 

http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov.

Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2013, Geospatial 

Data Gateway: Natural Resources Conservation Service, 

accessed March 14, 2013, at http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.

gov/.

Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2014, The soil orders 

of Texas: Natural Resources Conservation Service, accessed 

March 13, 2014, at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/

nrcs/detail/tx/soils/?cid=nrcs144p2_003094.

New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, 1999, Glossary 

of water terms: New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, 

accessed August 9, 2013, at http://www.ose.state.nm.us/

water_info_glossary.html.

Oklahoma Climatological Survey, 2013, The climate of Osage 

County: Oklahoma Climatological Survey, accessed August 

8, 2013, at http://climate.ok.gov/county_climate/Products/

County_Climatologies/county_climate_osage.pdf.

Oklahoma Historical Society, 2013, Irrigation: Oklahoma 

Historical Society, accessed July 2, 2013, at http://digital.

library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/I/IR003.html.

Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 1998, Rural water systems 

in Oklahoma: Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 212 p.

Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 2013a, Groundwater—

Data and maps: Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 

accessed May 8, 2013, at http://www.owrb.ok.gov/maps/

pmg/owrbdata_GW.html.

Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 2013b, Results for station 

ID 621200010200–001AT: Oklahoma Water Resources 

Board, accessed July 19, 2013, at http://www.owrb.ok.gov/

maps/data/wqdatagrid.php?SID=621200010200-001AT.

Oklahoma Water Resources Board, 2013c, 2012 Oklahoma 

lakes report: Oklahoma Water Resources Board, accessed 

October 18, 2013, at http://www.owrb.ok.gov/quality/

monitoring/bump/pdf_bump/Current/Lakes/2012_

LakesBUMPReport.pdf.

Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the conterminous United 

States: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 

v. 77, no. 1, p. 118–125.

Osage Nation, 2006, Osage Nation historic reservation—

Information: Osage Nation, accessed August 7, 2013, at 

http://www.osagetribe.com/historicpreservation/info_sub_

page.aspx?subpage_id=14.

Osborn, N.I., Smith, S.J., and Seger, C.H., 2013, 

Hydrogeology, distribution, and volume of saline 

groundwater in the southern midcontinent and adjacent 

areas of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Report 2013–5017, 58 p.

Rantz, S.E., and others, 1982, Measurement and computation 

of streamflow—Volume 2, computation of discharge: U.S. 

Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2175, v. 2, 285 p.

Shields, R.H., Jr., 1993, A water resources management 

strategy for surface and groundwater in Osage County, 

Oklahoma utilized to formulate policy guidelines for water 

rights and resources protection and management for Indian 

lands: Oklahoma State University, Ph.D. dissertation, 161 p.
50 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Shivers, M.J., and Andrews, W.J., 2013, Hydrologic drought 

of water year 2011 compared to four major drought periods 

of the 20th century in Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Report 2013–5018, 52 p.

Solley, W.B., Chase, E.B., and Mann, W.B., IV, 1983, 

Estimated use of water in the United States in 1980: U.S. 

Geological Survey Circular 1001, 56 p.

Solley, W.B., Merk, C.F., and Pierce, R.R., 1988, Estimated 

use of water in the United States in 1985: U.S. Geological 

Survey Circular 1004, 82 p.

Solley, W.B., Pierce, R.R., and Perlman, H.A., 1993, 

Estimated use of water in the United States in 1990: U.S. 

Geological Survey Circular 1081, 76 p.

State of Oklahoma, 2006, Implementation of Oklahoma’s 

water quality standards, chap 46 of State of Oklahoma, Title 

785, Oklahoma Water Resources Board, unofficial 785:46, 

44 p., accessed December 15, 2011, at http://www.owrb.

ok.gov/util/rules/pdf_rul/Chap46.pdf.

State of Wisconsin, 2010, Chapter NR102. Water quality 

standards for Wisconsin surface waters: State of Wisconsin 

Register, November 2010, no. 659, 22 p.

TIBCO Software Incorporated, 2008, TIBCO Spotfire 

S-Plus version 8.1.1 for Microsoft Windows professional 

developer edition with release 4.0 of the U.S. Geological 

Survey S-PLUS library: Palo Alto, Calif., TIBCO Software 

Incorporated.

Tortorelli, R.L., 2008, Hydrologic drought of water year 2006 

compared with four major drought periods of the 20th 

century in Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific 

Investigations Report 2008–5199, 46 p.

Tortorelli, R.L., 2009, Water use in Oklahoma 1950–2005: 

U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 

2009–5212, 50 p.

U.S. Census Bureau, 2000, Cartographic boundary files—

Places (incorporated places and census designated places): 

U.S. Census Bureau, accessed February 13, 2013, at http://

www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cbf/cbf_place.html.

U.S. Census Bureau, 2013, 2010 census: U.S. Census Bureau, 

accessed August 6, 2013, at www.census.gov/2010census/.

U.S. Census Office, 1895, Report on the statistics 

of agriculture in the United States at the Eleventh 

Census—1890: U.S. Census Office, 606 p.

U.S. Census Office, 1902, Twelfth Census of the United States 

taken in the year 1900, agriculture: United States Census 

Office, Census Reports v. 5, part 1, 767 p.

U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2013, Cushing, 

OK WTI spot Price FOB: U.S. Energy Information 

Administration, accessed December 9, 2013, at 

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.

ashx?n=PET&s=RWTC&f=A.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013a, STORET Data 

Warehouse access: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

accessed July 18, 2013, at http://www.epa.gov/storet/dbtop.

html.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013b, Secondary 

drinking water regulations—Guidance for nuisance 

chemicals: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accessed 

July 19, 2013, at http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/

secondarystandards.cfm.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2006, Collection of water samples, 

chap. A4 of National field manual for the collection of 

water-quality data: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques of 

Water-Resources Investigations, book 9, chap. A4, 166 p., 

accessed March 17, 2014, at http://water.usgs.gov/owq/

FieldManual/chapter4/pdf/Chap4_v2.pdf.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2012, Multi-resolution land cover 

database: U.S. Geological Survey, accessed June 6, 2012, at 

http://www.mrlc.gov.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2013a, National Map Viewer: 

U.S. Geological Survey, accessed March 20, 2013, at

http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2013b, USGS water data for 

Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey National Water 

Information System, accessed November 13, 2013, at

http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/ok/nwis/.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2013c, Publications—Estimated 

use of water in the United States: U.S. Geological 

Survey, accessed June 20, 2013, at http://water.usgs.gov/

watuse/50years.html.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2013d, USGS water use data for the 

Nation: U.S. Geological Survey, accessed June 20, 2013, at 

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/wu.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2013e, Environmental impacts 

associated with disposal of saline water produced during 

petroleum production—Osage-Skiatook Petroleum 

Environmental Research Project: U.S. Geological Survey, 

accessed July 8, 2013, at http://toxics.usgs.gov/sites/

produced_water/.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2013f, Produced waters database: 

U.S. Geological Survey, accessed September 20, 2013, at 

http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/prov/prodwat/data2.htm.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2013g, The water cycle—

Groundwater discharge: U.S. Geological Survey, 

accessed August 1, 2013, at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/

watercyclegwdischarge.html.

U.S. Oil and Gas Corporation, 2008, Oil production and 

secondary recovery: U.S. Oil and Gas Corporation, accessed 

July 8, 2013, at http://www.usoilandgas.net/oilproduction.

htm.
References Cited 51

Watkins, Kevin, Carvajal, Liliana, Coppard, Daniel, Fuentes, 

Ricardo, Ghosh, Arunabha, Ciamberardine, Chiara, 

Johansson, Claes, Seck, Pape, Ugaz, Cecilia, and Yaqub, 

Shanin, 2006, Human development report 2006, beyond 

scarcity—Power, poverty, and the global water crisis: 

United Nations Development Programme, 424 p.

Wilcoxon, Frank, 1945, Individual comparisons by ranking 

methods: Biometrics Bulletin, v. 1, no. 6, p. 80–83.

World Water Council, 2014, Water crises—Towards a way 

to improve the situation: World Water Council, accessed 

March 13, 2014, at http://worldwatercouncil.org/index.

php?id=25.

Zouari, Kamel, Travelsi, Rim, and Chkir, Najiba, 2011, Using 

geochemical indicators to investigate groundwater mixing 

and residence time in the aquifer system of Djeffara of 

Medenine (southeastern Tunisia): Hydrogeology Journal, 

v. 19, no. 1, p. 209–219.
52 Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation

Glossary

aquatic Life forms or substances in water.

aquifer A geologic formation, group of formations, or part 

of a formation that contains sufficient saturated permeable 

material to yield large quantities of water to wells and springs 

(New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, 1999).

base flow Streamflow derived from groundwater seepage; 

synonymous with “low flow.”

climate The sum total of the meteorological elements 

that characterize the average and extreme condition of the 

atmosphere during a long period of time at any one place or 

region of Earth’s surface (Langbein and Iseri, 1960).

concentration The mass of a substance dissolved per unit 

volume of liquid or contained in a unit mass of solid.

criterion A number or narrative statement assigned to protect 

a designated beneficial use. A water-quality standard set by the 

State.

cubic feet per second (ft3/s) A unit expressing rates of 

discharge. One cubic foot per second is equal to the discharge 

of a stream of rectangular cross section, 1 foot wide and 1 foot 

deep, with water flowing at an average velocity of 1 foot per 

second (Langbein and Iseri, 1960). 

domestic water use Water used for normal household 

purposes, such as drinking, food preparation, bathing, washing 

clothes and dishes, flushing toilets, and watering lawns and 

gardens.

ecosystem A natural unit including all life forms and 

nonliving physical elements that function together.

eutrophication Nutrient enrichment (particularly of nitrogen 

and phosphorus) in aquatic ecosystems that leads to increased 

productivity, including excessive growth of algae and 

other aquatic plants (Graham and others, 2008). Excessive 

eutrophication changes aquatic habitat by changes in dissolved 

oxygen concentration, water temperature, availability of 

spawning beds, and visibility for predator fish. Aesthetic 

effects of hypereutrophication include degradation of water 

quality for swimming and other recreational activities and 

increases in concentrations of taste- and odor-producing 

organic compounds in drinking water.

irrigation water use Application of water on lands to 

assist in the growing of crops and pastures or maintaining 

recreational lands such as parks and golf courses.

load The mass of a substance flowing past a given point in a 

stream per unit of time, derived from multiplying streamflow 

by the aqueous concentration of a substance by unit correction 

factors. Loads are typically expressed in pounds or kilograms 

per day.

milligrams per liter (mg/L) Milligrams of a substance 

dissolved in 1 liter of water; that is, the same as a part per 

million in freshwater because 1 liter of distilled water weighs 

1 million milligrams (1 kilogram). This measure is equivalent 

to parts per million (ppm) (Colorado Geological Survey, 

2008).

mining water use Water used in the extraction of naturally 

occurring minerals such as coal and ores, crude petroleum, and 

natural gas. Also includes quarrying, well operation, milling, 

and other preparation at a mine site.

precipitation Includes atmospheric hail, mist, rain, sleet, 

and snow that descend upon Earth; the quantity of water 

accumulated from these events (New Mexico Office of the 

State Engineer, 1999).

public supply Water withdrawn for all uses by public and 

private water suppliers and delivered to users that do not 

supply their own water. Water suppliers provide water for a 

variety of uses such as domestic, commercial, and industrial.

recharge Addition of water to an aquifer by infiltration, 

either directly into the aquifer or indirectly through 

another rock formation. Recharge may be natural, as when 

precipitation infiltrates to the water table, or artificial, as when 

water is injected through wells or spread over permeable 

surfaces for the purpose of recharging an aquifer (modified 

from New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, 1999).

reinjection water Water injected into an aquifer or an 

unsaturated porous formation after having been withdrawn in 

the course of oil extraction.

runoff That part of the precipitation that appears in surface 

streams (Langbein and Iseri, 1960).

saline water Water that contains more than 1,000 milligrams 

per liter of dissolved solids.

self-supplied water Water withdrawn from a surface-water or 

groundwater source by a user and not obtained from a public 

supply.

streamflow Discharge in a natural channel of the course of 

a surface stream (New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, 

1999). 

streamflow-gaging station A device used to measure and 

record the elevation of water in a stream or lake in a semicontinuous manner. In a flowing stream, comparisons of 

measured streamflows to surface-water elevations are used to 

estimate streamflow, commonly at 15-minute intervals.

thermoelectric power Electrical power generated by using 

fossil-fuel, geothermal, or nuclear energy.

withdrawal Water removed from the ground or diverted 

from a surface-water source for use.
Glossary 53

yield The mass of a substance flowing past a given point 

in a stream per unit of time divided by the land area of the 

upstream watershed area. Yields are used to estimate relative 

contributions of constituents in surface water from particular 

watershed areas.

Publishing support provided by

Lafayette and Tacoma Publishing Service Centers

ISSN 2328-031X (print)

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20145134

I SBN 978- 1- 4113-3816- 6

9 7 8 1 4 11 338 166

Andrews and Smith—Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation—SIR 2014–5134 Andrews and Smith—Description of Landscape Features, Summary of Existing Hydrologic Data, and Identification of Data Gaps for the Osage Nation—SIR 2014–5134

Printed on recycled paper