Monett Observation Wells

Monett Well No. 10

Well Owner: City of Monett

Location: Sec. 6, T. 25 N., R. 27 W

Barry County

Period of record: May 2006 to present

Land surface elevation: 1288 feet, msl

Date installed: May 17, 2006

Date drilled: 1965

Well log number: 23,644

Water level when drilled: 249 feet

Total depth: 1475 feet

Casing dept: 500 feet

Producing aquifer: Ozark Aquifer

Formations open to production: Cotter – Derby-Doerun Formations

The City of Monett in Lawrence and Barry counties has a population of about 7,400, and is a completely supplied by groundwater produced from the Ozark aquifer. The city’s 14 active wells produce a total of about 1.1 billion gallons of water each year to provide for the municipal, commercial, industrial, and recreational water needs of this growing southwestern Missouri community. The relatively high per capita use rate is mostly due to usage at several high-use, municipal-supplied industries.

In 2003, Monett donated the use of an inactive well (Monett well #3) located near City Hall to the Department of Natural Resources for measuring groundwater levels. A video survey of the well made prior to installation of the water-level monitoring equipment showed that the well was partly blocked at a depth of about 540 feet below land surface. Water level at that time was above the blockage, so it was felt the well would still be usable for water-level measurements. During the nearly three years that the Monett observation well operated, water level in the well fluctuated greatly depending on production from other nearby municipal wells. The 320 feet of fluctuation experienced at this well made it nearly impossible to track water level using a float and digital encoder. In mid-2004, a pressure transducer was installed, which resulted in a great improvement in data quality.

During periods of relatively low water use, typically during winter months, water level could be as shallow as about 220 feet below land surface. The deepest levels generally occurred during late summer months when water demands were highest. Dry conditions during 2005 and early 2006 led to increased water usage throughout southwestern Missouri, as well as at Monett. Water level in the Monett observation well declined to more than 540 feet below land surface, which was below the bottom of the pressure transducer. The transducer could not be lowered below the partial blockage, so Monett offered the use of another well, Monett well #10, which is located at the golf course in the southwestern part of the city about 4,000 feet southwest of well #3. The city had the pump removed from the well and the equipment was transferred from well #3 to well #10 in mid-may, 2006. The average daily water-level data collected at the original observation well are shown on the long-term hydrograph below. However, the data from well #3 will no longer be accessible as “real-time” or “recent daily” data through the U.S. Geological Survey web site.

 

Old Monett Well

Well Owner: City of Monett

Location: Sec. 31, T. 26 N., R. 27 W

Barry County

Period of record: August 2003 to May 2006

Land surface elevation: 1308 feet, msl

Date installed: August 21, 2003

Well log number: N/A

Water level when drilled:

Total depth: 1460 feet

Casing dept: 522 feet

Producing aquifer: Ozark Aquifer

Formations open to production: Cotter – Eminence Formations