PUB2768

Water Resources Program

fact sheet

Missouri Geological Survey

Director: Carey Bridges, RG

The Spring River streamgage at La Russell is owned by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and funded in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Stage (water-surface elevation) measurements are made and recorded at 15-minute intervals and transmitted to the USGS office every hour. Stage and streamflow values are displayed in near real-time.

The Spring River, originating in southwest Missouri’s Ozark Highlands section, passes through Kansas and empties into Oklahoma’s Grand Lake o' the Cherokees. The stream is named for the numerous springs that provide its flow.

The streamgage is located at the State Highway U bridge over the Spring River, north of La Russell in Jasper County and consists of a shelter, a data collection platform, an electronic pressure transducer used to measure stage, a crest stage gage to automatically record crest height during high water events and a wire weight gage used to manually verify the electronic measurements. Learn how a USGS streamgage works.

Streamgage Information

  • Streamgage Drainage Area: 306 square miles
  • 10-Digit Hydrologic Unit Code: 1107020705
  • Area of HUC10 Basin: 288 square miles
  • Gage Location: 37°09'01", -94°03'41" (Jasper County)
  • Gage Datum: 1014.63 feet above NGVD29

USGS Tools

  • Average Discharge (cubic feet per second): April 30, 1957 to present
  • Observation Gage Height (feet): May 2, 2007 to present
  • Peak: Gage Height, Discharge (feet, cubic feet per second) 17.58, 27,800 (Nov. 1, 1972, Dec. 27, 2015)

The Spring River at La Russell streamgage webpage is maintained by USGS. Users are able to create graphs and tables utilizing the recorded parameters, which can be customized to show current and historical observations, daily data, daily statistics, monthly statistics, annual statistics, peak streamflow and field measurements for any time frame within the period of record. A location map and Water-Year Summary also are available. Customize your own data output online.

Why is the Spring River Streamgage at La Russell Important?

The streamgage provides recreational users in the area, surrounding landowners and the public with accurate stream height data. The Water Resources Center uses discharge data from this streamgage for flood, drought and water supply studies.

People can enjoy the following activities in the area:

  • Bird-watching 
  • Hunting
  • Camping
  • Hiking
  • Fishing
  • Boating and Floating

For more information about recreation activities located within the basin, contact the Missouri Department of Conservation or similar organizations in Kansas and Oklahoma.

 
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Figure 3. Vegetation inundated by local flooding.    
 
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Figure 4. Channel detail.
 
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Figure 5. Bridge cross section.

     
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Figure 6. View of area surrounding streamgage.

Nothing in this document may be used to implement any enforcement action or levy any penalty unless promulgated by rule under chapter 536 or authorized by statute.

For more information