Quality of Ozark Streams and Ground Water,1992-95

Land use and human activities result in water quality differences in the Ozarks. These differences 

can affect humans and biota that live in or visit the Ozarks.

• Land use is almost equally divided between forested and agricultural land (the two 

most extensive land uses in the Ozarks), but is not distributed evenly across the 

Ozark Plateaus. The eastern and extreme southern parts of the Ozark Plateaus

are primarily forested, while agricultural land is most common in other areas.

• Much of the agricultural land is pastureland associated with production of 

poultry and cattle.

• Lead and zinc mining occurs or has occurred in some areas. 

• Large urban areas are not common and only four cities have populations 

exceeding 25,000 (1990 census). However, even small urban areas can affect 

water quality.

What differences in water quality can result from these land uses 

and activities?

• Nutrients, bacteria, pesticides, and other organic compounds generally are found 

in higher concentrations or more frequently in agricultural or urban areas than in 

forested areas.

• Lead, zinc, and some other metals are found in higher concentrations in water, 

bed sediment, or biological tissue downstream from mining areas.

What does this mean to the humans, animals, and plants that live in or 

visit the Ozarks? 

• Elevated nutrient concentrations in some areas appear to be affecting biological

communities but generally do not make water unsafe for drinking.

• Bacteria concentrations may be high enough to cause concern in some

areas at some times.

• Pesticides and other organic compounds generally are not of concern.

• Metal concentrations in some mining areas are of concern to humans and wildlife.

• Biological communities are being altered by habitat and water-quality changes.

What are some of the major land uses and human activities that can affect 

water quality in the Ozarks?

Inside...

Specific information about nutrients, 

bacteria, pesticides, and metals 

and their effects

On the back...

Information about effects on biological communities

How to get more information

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet FS-092-99

July 1999

• Land use is almost equally divided between forested and agricultural land (the two 

most extensive land uses in the Ozarks), but is not distributed evenly across the 

area. The eastern and extreme southern parts of the Ozarks are primarily

forested, while agricultural land is most common in other areas.

• Much of the agricultural land is pastureland associated with production of 

poultry and cattle.

• Lead and zinc mining occurs or has occurred in some areas. 

• Large urban areas are not common and only four cities have populations 

exceeding 25,000 (1990 census). However, even small urban areas can affect 

water quality.

What differences in water quality can result from these land uses 

and activities?

• Nutrients, bacteria, pesticides, and other organic compounds generally are found 

in higher concentrations or more frequently in agricultural or urban areas than in 

forested areas.

• Lead, zinc, and some other metals are found in higher concentrations in water, 

bed sediment, or biological tissue downstream from mining areas.

What does this mean to humans, animals, and plants in the Ozarks?

• Elevated nutrient concentrations in some areas appear to be affecting biological

communities but generally do not make water unsafe for drinking.

• Bacteria concentrations may be high enough to cause concern in some

areas at some times.

• Pesticides and other organic compounds generally are not of concern.

• Metal concentrations in some mining areas are of concern to humans and wildlife.

• Biological communities are being altered by habitat and water-quality changes.

Mississ pi pi R.

MISSOURI

STUDY AREA

ARKANSAS Springdale

Fayetteville

Illinois River

Osage R

Gasconade

Missouri

Me rame c

Springfield Joplin

Black Rive r

Arkansas River

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS

White River
State water-quality standards vary from State to State, by 

time of year, and with use of the water body. A value of 200 col/

100 mL (subject to specific sample frequency and statistics and 

time of year) is often used by State regulatory agencies as the 

maximum allowable concentration for whole-body contact 

waters. Median fecal coliform bacteria concentrations at some 

sites in agricultural areas are greater than this concentration.

Nutrient concentrations in streams and ground water 

are higher in areas with greater agricultural land use or 

downstream from wastewater-treatment plants than in forested areas. These higher concentrations seldom exceed U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standards, but 

may result in increased algal growth in streams and lakes. 

Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential plant nutrients. 

However, elevated concentrations can cause excessive growth of 

aquatic plants and can have detrimental effects upon desired uses 

of water. Major sources of nitrogen and phosphorus are poultry, 

cattle, and swine wastes, human wastes, and fertilizers.

Nitrate and phosphorus concentrations are higher at Ozark 

stream sites representing agricultural (mostly poultry and cattle 

production) basins than at sites in forested basins. Streams 

downstream from wastewater-treatment plants or urban areas can 

have nutrient concentrations that are substantially higher than 

concentrations in some agricultural basins. MEDIAN TOTAL PHOSPHORUS, IN MILLIGRAMS PER LITER 0.12

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10 FORESTED STREAM SITE

AGRICULTURAL STREAM SITE

FORESTED, AGRICULTURAL, AND

 URBAN MIX STREAM SITE

URBAN STREAM SITE

Nutrient concentrations are elevated in streams in 

agricultural or urban areas.

Land use also affects nutrient concentrations in wells and 

springs. Nitrate concentrations are strongly associated with the 

percentage of agricultural land near wells or springs. Concentrations in samples from densely forested areas almost always are 

less than 1 mg/L (as nitrogen). Concentrations increase as the 

percentage of agricultural land increases. Concentrations in 

areas with greater than 75 percent agricultural land use generally 

are about 3 mg/L. 

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

AGRICULTURAL LAND USE, PERCENT

4

0

1

2

3

NITRATE, IN MILLIGRAMS PER LITER

AS NITROGEN

SPRINGS AND

DOMESTIC WELLS

(Drinking-water standard is 

 10 milligrams per liter)

Nitrate concentrations in ground water

increase as nearby agricultural land use 

increases.

Bacteria concentrations in streams are lower in basins 

with greater forest land use. Fecal coliform bacteria concentrations generally are higher at stream sites representative of 

agricultural and urban basins than at sites in forested basins. 

Median concentrations ranged from about 10 to 20 colonies 

per 100 milliliters (col/100 mL) at forested sites and about 60 

to 460 col/100 mL at other sites. MEDIAN FECAL COLIFORM BACTERIA, IN COLONIES PER 100 MILLILITERS500

0

100

200

300

400

FORESTED STREAM SITE

AGRICULTURAL STREAM SITE

FORESTED, AGRICULTURAL,

 AND URBAN MIX STREAM SITE

URBAN STREAM SITE

Fecal coliform bacteria concentrations are lowest in 

streams in forested areas.

The Ozarks is almost equally divided between forest and 

agricultural land use; small areas of urban and mining land also 

occur. About 2.1 million people live in the area (1990) and about 

30 percent of these people get their water from relatively shallow 

domestic wells. Geology of much of the area allows rapid and 

substantial movement of water between the surface-water and 

ground-water environments.

FORESTED LAND

AGRICULTURAL LAND

URBAN LAND

MINING AREA

WATER

0 50 100 MILES

0 50 100 KILOMETERS

MISSOURI

ARKANSAS

EXPLANATION

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS
Concentrations of pesticides and other organic compounds in water, bed sediment, and biological tissue were 

usually low. Concentrations are usually below detection limits 

and when detected are usually relatively low compared to concentrations from other areas of the Nation, and to water-quality 

standards or criteria. However, no standards or criteria exist for 

many of the detected compounds.

In streams and ground water, pesticides are less prevalent in forested areas than in other areas. Pesticides are 

detected more commonly and in higher concentrations in 

streams in agricultural or urban basins than in streams in forested basins. Pesticides in ground water are detected more frequently at sites associated with greater percentages of 

agricultural land use.

SPRING

 

 No pesticides detected

 Pesticides detected

WELL›Domestic

 No pesticides detected

 Pesticides detected

MISSOURI

ARKANSAS

KANSAS

OKLAHOMA

In ground water, more pesticides are found in agricultural areas. 

In bed sediment, the greatest numbers of pesticides 

and other organic compounds generally are detected at sites 

downstream from urban areas. Pesticides and semivolatile 

organic compounds in 27 bed-sediment samples were detected 

more frequently at sites downstream from urban areas. Samples 

from three sites each contained detectable concentrations of 

more than 16 compounds. Two of these sites (downstream from 

Springfield and Joplin, Mo.) are in urban basins; the third site is 

in a forested basin.

James

River

Richland

Creek

Joplin Springfield

MISSOURI

ARKANSAS

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS

BED-SEDIMENT

 SAMPLING 

 SITE›

 Color

 indicates 

 number of 

 detections

 1 to 6

 7 to 11

 12 to 16

 More than 16

Center

Creek

In bed sediment, more organic compounds generally

are found near urban areas. Concentrations 

generally are low.

In biological tissue, pesticides were detected at 5 of 26 

stream sites. Three chlordane compounds were detected in Asiatic clam tissue at a site downstream from Springfield, Mo. 

These compounds frequently are present downstream from 

urban areas. DDT, DDE, or dieldrin was detected at four widely 

separated sites.

Concentrations of sulfate and some trace elements in 

water from streams in areas of historical or active lead-zinc 

mining tend to be higher than in areas where mining has not 

occurred. Lead concentrations are not higher in mining areas. 

Metal concentrations usually did not exceed U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency drinking-water standards or criteria for protection of human health or aquatic life. However, zinc concentrations 

often exceeded freshwater aquatic life criteria in Center Creek 

west of Joplin, Mo.

Lead-zinc mining areas of the Ozarks. The Viburnum Trend 

subdistrict is the only area currently (1999) being mined 

for lead or zinc.

 Indicates subdistrict of the 

 Southeastern District

Center

Creek Strother Creek

Big River

Meramec

River

West Fork of

Black River

FREDERICKTOWN

VIBURNUM

TREND

CENTRAL 

DISTRICT

Joplin

TRI-STATE

DISTRICT

Harrison

OLD 

LEAD 

BELT

NORTH 

ARKANSAS

DISTRICT

Farmington

*

*

*

*

Lead and zinc concentrations in water, bed sediment, and fish or clam tissue from 

mining areas of the Ozarks

[Values in red substantially exceed background concentration data. <, less than]

Site Mining

area

Water

(micrograms

per liter)

Bed

sediment

(micrograms

per liter)

Tissue

(micrograms

per gram)

Lead

Center Creek Tri-State <1 370 0.3

Big River Old Lead Belt <1 2,300 134

Meramec River Old Lead Belt no data 180 12.2

West Fork of 

Black River

Viburnum 

Trend

<1-11 100-950 0.5-8.3

Strother Creek Viburnum 

Trend

<1-3 200 0.7

Zinc

Center Creek Tri-State 67-270 5,600 770

Big River Old Lead Belt 8-19 670 514

Meramec River Old Lead Belt no data 140 296

West Fork of 

Black River

Viburnum 

Trend

13-33 120-460 70-110

Strother Creek Viburnum 

Trend

33-148 1,200 150

Concentrations of lead and zinc in bed sediment and tissue are substantially higher in areas with mining activities 

(historical or active). Lead and zinc concentrations in bed sediment at sites downstream from lead-zinc mines may have adverse 

biological effects on streambed organisms.

The elevated 

lead and zinc

concentrations 

in tissue and biochemical changes in fish exposed to lead in mining areas of the Ozarks (Schmitt and others, 1993) suggest that 

both elements are available to fish and Asiatic clams for biological processing. Missouri currently (1998) advises the public not to 

eat some species of fish from some rivers affected by past mining 

in the Old Lead Belt of eastern Missouri (Gale Carlson, Missouri 

Department of Health, written commun., 1998).
0

10

20

30

40

STONEROLLERS

SUNFISH

DARTERS

AGRICULTURAL

RELATIVE ABUNDANCE,

IN PERCENT

FORESTED

Proportions of some types of fish are different

between agricultural and forested streams.

Compared to other parts of the United States, 

many fish species live in the Ozarks. Approximately 175 

species (including introduced species) are present in the 

Ozarks; at least 19 of these species exist nowhere else in 

the world. Many of these 175 species are intolerant of habitat or water-chemistry degradation.

Fish community composition appears to be 

related to riparian vegetation, substrate, and water 

chemistry. Several factors that can be affected by land use 

appear to be related to community composition. These 

factors are riparian vegetation, substrate size and embeddedness, and nutrient and sediment concentrations. Elevated concentrations of lead, zinc, and semivolatile 

organic compounds in bed sediment may be factors affecting the fish community at some sites. Urbanization, agriculture, lead-zinc mining, gravel mining, and other 

activities can affect some of the factors, which consequently affect fish, invertebrate, and algal communities.

Cleared pastureland commonly extends to (or 

nearly to) streambanks in agricultural areas, probably 

resulting in faster growth of attached algae in these 

streams. Small streams in agricultural basins generally are 

more open to sunlight because of lack of overhead trees 

than small streams in forested basins. More sunlight and 

higher nutrient levels in streams in agricultural areas probably result in faster growth of algae in these streams.

Stonerollers make up a greater percentage of the 

fish at agricultural and urban sites than at forested 

sites. Faster algal growth in nutrient-enriched streams 

would encourage greater numbers of these algae-eating 

minnows. The relative abundance (46 percent) of stonerollers at a site downstream from a small wastewater-treatment plant and instream gravel mining may be elevated 

because of nutrient enrichment and other habitat changes.

Sunfish (including the black basses) and darters 

make up a smaller percentage of fish at agricultural 

sites than at forested sites. Members of the sunfish family, especially smallmouth bass, are important game fish in 

Ozark streams. Darters generally are considered to be sensitive to water-chemistry or habitat degradation. At least 

10 species of darters in the Ozarks exist nowhere else in 

the world.

References

Petersen, J.C., Adamski, J.C., Bell, R.W., Davis, J.V., Femmer, S.R., Freiwald, D.A., and Joseph, R.L., 1998, 

Water quality in the Ozark Plateaus, Arkansas, Kansas, 

Missouri, and Oklahoma, 1992-95: U.S. Geological 

Survey Circular 1158, 33 p.

Schmitt, C.J., Wildhaber, M.L., Hunn, J.B., Tieger, M.N., 

Steadman, B.L., and Nash, T., 1993, Biomonitoring of 

lead-contaminated Missouri streams with an assay for 

d-amino-levulinic acid dehydratase (ALA-D) activity in 

fish blood: Archives of Environmental Contaminants 

and Toxicology, v. 25, p. 464-475.

Photo credits: smallmouth bass angler, Gregg Patterson; forest area, 

A.C. Haralson, Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

How Do Land Use and Human

Activities in the Ozarks Affect 

Biological Communities?

Water quality also is affected by hydrologic, geologic, and biologic factors. Some examples:

• Hydrologic—nutrient and bacteria concentrations downstream from wastewater-treatment 

plants usually are lower during wet periods 

because of more water for dilution.

• Geologic—median nitrate and phosphorus concentrations generally are higher in small springs 

than in wells because water flowing from small 

springs generally has moved along shallower 

pathways and thus is more susceptible to surface 

contamination.

• Biologic—riparian trees provide shade and bank 

stability, lowering water temperatures and the 

amount of sediment eroding into streams.

James C. Petersen, James C. Adamski, Richard W. Bell, Jerri 

V. Davis, Suzanne R. Femmer, David A. Freiwald, and Robert 

L. Joseph

The National Water-Quality Assessment 

(NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey is 

designed to describe current water-quality conditions 

for a large part of the Nation's ground- and surfacewater resources, to describe how water quality is 

changing over time, and to improve our understanding 

of the natural and human factors that affect water quality. These goals are being achieved through investigations of more than 50 of the Nation's most important 

river basins and aquifer systems. The Ozark Plateaus 

study was among the first 20 investigations that began 

this water-quality assessment in 1991. This fact sheet 

summarizes the results of water-quality sampling and 

ecological assessments performed between 1992-95 in 

the Ozark Plateaus. A more detailed summary can be 

found in Petersen and others (1998).

For additional information contact: On the web:

NAWQA Study Unit Chief www.ark.usgs.gov

U.S. Geological Survey

401 Hardin Road

Little Rock, AR 72211