Big Springs flows holding steady

For many years there have been concerns about the flow of the mineral water through Hot Springs State Park.

A data collection chart dating back to 2006 shows the actual ebb and flow of not only the Big Spring, but the Maytag and Sacajawea Wells.

Of course, the flows change from month to month, some years staying pretty steady, yet others show considerable jumps in the flow as well as marked drops.

At the Big Spring itself, flows in January of this year were 1886.66 gpm (gallons per minute), while July showed a small drop to 1736.19 gpm.

Looking at the last few years, in January, 2017 the flow was 1738.76 gpm but rose in July to 1812.4. January of 2016 saw just 1444.1 gpm and a small rise in July to 1594.71.

March of 2014 marked the lowest the Big Spring has run since 2006, sending just 1169 gpm through. The highest flow? January of this year at 1886 gpm.

When you add the flows from the Maytag and Sacajawea Wells to that of the Big Spring, the numbers stay fairly steady as well.

Total flows from all three in January of this year were 3222.64 gpm with July having a bit of a drop at 3073.97 gpm.

January, 2017, the trio was sending out 3115.36 gpm, but by July had risen slightly to 3247.59 gpm. In 2016 the January flow was just 2666.46 while July had jumped to 3054.46 gpm.

The lowest flow from all three sources was seen in June of 2006 when just 1478 gpm were recorded. However, this April showed the highest flow for the past 12 years when it hit 3392.49 gpm.

According to geowyo.com, “The decreased flows at the Big Spring could possibly be due to a restriction caused by natural cementation of the subsurface plumbing.  Another possibility is hot water could be bypassing the historic springs and discharging directly into the bottom of the river.

“Several springs have been observed in the river and along the edge of the river from the swinging bridge downstream toward the White Sulphur Spring.  

“Another explanation for lower flows is a decrease in pressure or hydraulic head in the aquifer due to a combination of prolong drought, oil and water production from nearby oil fields in the southern Bighorn Basin, and uncontrolled hot water flows from artesian wells less than two miles from the Big Spring.”