Concerns for Red Cave Water in Sequiota Cave

[L Roebuck]

Sequiota Cave stream's red hue raises concerns
Wes Johnson
News-Leader

A river of gooey rust-red silt pouring for more than two weeks out of Sequiota Cave has captured the interest — and concern — of city and county officials.

The silt is piling up knee deep in spots inside the cave with the consistency of thick, warm butter.

It threatens to smother cave fish, snails and crayfish, and may point to some kind of subterranean collapse or developing sinkhole farther upstream.

Or it might be runoff from construction work or even a sinkhole filled long ago with soil that's now dissolving from below.

"We want to stress that people shouldn't worry, but just keep an eye on things around them," said Matt Forir, a naturalist with the Springfield-Greene County park system.

Forir said people living near Sequiota Park, especially north and east, should watch for unusual depressions forming in their yards, cracks developing in the ground or pavement suddenly becoming uneven.

If such signs appear, contact the Greene County Resource Management Department at 868-4015 or the Springfield Public Works Department at 864-1900.

The stream flowing out of Sequiota Cave turned bright red shortly after last month's winter storm dumped three inches of rain, several inches of ice and up to 11 inches of snow on the Springfield area.

The bright-red water surprised park visitor Phillip Richard.

"I've never seen it like this before," he said. "If they think it's from a sinkhole, that's pretty serious."

Full Article

[Azurerana]

I look forward to the analysis, but that color of red is characteristic of 'red phreatic clay' in the Ozarks.
Especially the breakdown silt and clay of the Burlington/Elsey/Reeds Spring formations, which are very common in the area. Not only Georgia has red clay roads.

What is causing it is to go into solution for such a long time is another problem entirely...indeed, Missouri got hit with bad weather on Nov. 30-Dec 1-- I had 3.5 inches of sleet/freezing rain/ice and Eugene had 14 inches of snow in Jefferson City. The storm came up I-44, which is where Springfield is located.

Haven't heard anything on Mocaves about it.

[L Roebuck]

Some residents think recent blasting for sewer lines placement may have opened up cracks which created an avenue for gooey water to pour into the cave.

More in this Wes Johnson Article, Mystery of Sequiota stream less murky

[L Roebuck]

With helmets and cavers headlights three cave experts Matt Forir, Dave Gaunt ( MSU geologist) and Lisa McCann went into the cave and discovered a red goo waterfall at the far end of Sequiota Cave but the orgin of the red goo water is still unknown.

Experts reach source of red silt; cause unclear

[L Roebuck]

Flow of red silt from cave no problem for neighbors

SPRINGFIELD (AP) - Researchers still don’t know what’s causing red silt to gush from the Sequoita Cave near Springfield, but they don’t think neighbors living overhead should be concerned.

Three cave experts waded more than 1,000 feet into the cave yesterday, slogging through mud that sometimes came up to their waists and enduring air and water temperatures around 58 degrees.

"It was cold and muddy in there," said Matt Forir, a naturalist with the Springfield-Greene County park system, who explored the cave with Missouri State University geologist Dave Gaunt and caving expert Lisa McCann.

They said they found rimstone dams at the back of the cave that spilled over into 4-foot waterfalls. Silt-colored water was flowing into the cave at almost 1,000 gallons a minute.

Full Article

[Brian Roebuck]

I guess if it is only red colored silt in the water it shouldn't hurt things. Initially I was concerned there was some sort of chemical spill or something more sinister at work. It appears the silt got stirred up into the water and is coming out of the cave. Hopefully it will clear up and all will be back to normal.

[Azurerana]

I figured it out. Missouri is both a "red" state and the "Cave" state (because of the number of showcaves). So, Springfield is combining both, and becoming the Red Cave State.

[L Roebuck]

I was Google drifting today and ran across the News-Leader.com Photo Galleries. Have a look at the photo's they posted of Sequiota Cave.

Exploration of Sequiota Cave

[Azurerana]

Yup. That's why Missouri cavers have permanently red-orange underwear. (I'm not kidding. Unctous red clay makes a really really good dye. Just add hot water....*|:-)

Seriously, if you wash red clay stained clothes in hot water you are just ASKING for trouble. Ask a KU coed who tried it on her pink mohair sweater. (Ouch! She asked us (a group of cavers) if we were so rich we could afford to throw all our clothes away after every trip. NOT....)

[L Roebuck]

Ah Ha! Finally they think they may have found the source of the Sequiota Cave Red Water!

---

Cave silt tied to sinkhole
Broken water main runs through private property with hole.

Wes Johnson
News-Leader

A City Utilities technician surveying water lines near Sequiota Cave discovered a massive sinkhole Wednesday that appears to be the source of the red silt flowing from the cave.

The sinkhole is about 75 feet wide, 125 feet long and 20 feet deep and continues to grow, according to Gary Pendergrass, a geologist and CU's manager of environmental affairs.

Full Article

[jonsdigs]

No plans to plug sinkhole near SW Missouri cave
Springfield News-Leader
Sat, Jan. 06, 2007
Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - City officials have no plans to plug an expanding sinkhole near a Sequiota Cave outside of Springfield - at least for now.

"From the parks point of view, we want to see its impact on Sequiota Cave and figure out what's best for the community," said Bob Belote, assistant director of the Springfield-Greene County parks system. "We'll want to observe it for a while and maybe see what else we've got out there."

The sinkhole, which was found Wednesday by a City Utilities worker who was surveying water lines, is responsible for a plume of heavy red silt flowing from the cave. Officials have been concerned the silt could end up in Lake Springfield.

The sinkhole is about 75 feet wide, 125 feet long, 20 feet deep and keeps growing, officials said.

Gary Pendergrass, environmental affairs manager for City Utilities, said it appeared the sinkhole was caused by a winter storm that brought rain, ice and snow to the area on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The sinkhole developed beneath a 6-inch water main, which failed and broke apart, hastening the sinkhole's collapse, he said.

"We had water flowing into the sinkhole from both directions," Pendergrass said.

The water has been shut off, and it's possible the sinkhole will stabilize more quickly on its own, Pendergrass said.

But Robert Hawkins, who owns the land in which the sinkhole formed, worries that it could hinder his plans to develop the 600 acres of pasture and timberland.

"I'd hate to see that whole area condemned as a `watch out what you do there' area," Hawkins said Friday at a meeting of the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, which monitors any potential problems with water supplies in Springfield and Greene County. "I'd like to see it stabilized so it's not going to continue to grow."

Matt Forir, a parks department naturalist and cave expert, disagreed.

"This is a natural geologic event," he told the committee. "We should leave it alone and let it run its course. I think it's best we don't monkey around with it at this point."

Pendergrass said it was possible an undiscovered cave could be below. "There is a pretty sizable void underneath there," he said.

Article

[jonsdigs]

Sequiota episode recalls Galloway's contributions
News Leader (Arkansas)
LORING BULLARD
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Red water, thick with suspended clay, surges from the mouth of Sequiota Cave, indicating that something might be amiss in the subterranean circulatory system of Sequiota Spring. The murky water looks bad and grabs headlines, but it is important to place the problem in perspective. After all, in decades past, Sequiota Spring carried a much filthier burden. From the 1950s through the 1970s, the spring suffered a heavy load of contamination, contributed by scores of malfunctioning septic tanks on the hill above. Would-be visitors recoiled at the slimy strands of algae wafting in the spring current and the noxious odor of raw sewage drifting from the cave opening.

Things are better now. With the installation of sewers and the removal of septic tanks, water quality in Sequiota Spring improved dramatically. Fortunately, we had learned something about living on karst — namely, that thin, rocky soils provide little in the way of filtration for on-site sewage systems. And while the latest source of the red water may have been found (this has been a recurring phenomenon), we still have a lot to learn about living on karst.

In December, while scientists attempted to solve the red water mystery, I attended a ceremony that would at first appear unrelated to the events at Sequiota — the funeral of Duane Galloway, who a few years ago retired from many years of faithful service with City Utilities of Springfield. After the funeral, it dawned on me that Duane had ties to Sequiota. Most directly, he is related to the Galloways for whom the village of Galloway is named, and where Sequiota Spring flows. At one time, before the sewage contamination, the spring fed the state's smallest fish hatchery and Sequiota Park was a major tourist destination, where visitors could take boat rides into the cave. One of Duane's ancestors, Major Charles Galloway, at one time operated a store in the mouth of the cave.

A second connection became apparent from Duane's work and his accomplishments. He served on the original Watershed Task Force, a group that in the early 1980s examined challenges and potential solutions related to the protection of our public water supply watersheds. Duane called attention to the failings of septic tanks in karst terrain — problems exemplified by what happened at Sequiota. He worried that with the booming growth of our community, the entire municipal drinking watershed could be carved into small lots, each with a potentially polluting septic tank. This, he reasoned, would not bode well for water quality or constitute wise stewardship.

Duane, a man of wisdom and vision, also saw the need for a citizen-based group to monitor and protect the public watersheds, leading him to support the formation of the Watershed Committee in 1984. And, at Duane's urging, one of the committee's first actions was to recommend reasonable new requirements for subdividing land and improved standards for on-site wastewater systems, so that the water supply would forever be protected from the kinds of corruption that once fouled Sequiota.

With Duane's further guidance and leadership in obtaining federal funds, the Watershed Committee embarked on the creation of a Watershed Center at Valley Water Mill in north Springfield, where citizens can learn about living in cave country and how to protect and conserve our precious water supplies. Knowing more about the workings of karst wouldn't necessarily have prevented what just happened at Sequiota. But it could certainly help us track down answers; and quite possibly prevent future problems. In any case, the long-term health of Sequiota Spring — and of all our springs, streams, lakes and groundwater — ultimately rests with a knowledgeable citizenry, people who are committed to the lofty but entirely practical goal of maintaining clean water for the use and enjoyment of future generations. Duane Galloway's clear vision continues to help guide us in that direction.

Article

[jonsdigs]

Old photographs help determine age of sinkhole
Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. --
Old area photographs show that a sinkhole near a Sequiota Cave outside of Springfield dates back to at least 1936, geography experts and city officials say.

Last year, a stream from Sequiota Cave suddenly turned rust red, raising concerns that silt could end up in Lake Springfield. It turned out that the silt was flowing from the sinkhole into the stream.

Bob Pavlowsky, professor of geography at Missouri State University, said aerial photos of Springfield taken over the years helped show that the sinkhole was a previously existing feature that wasn't caused by a City Utilities water line that broke in the fall of 2006. The photos are kept at the university's geography department.

"That was one of the issues -- whether the water line rupture caused the sinkhole or whether the sinkhole caused the water line to break," Pavlowsky said.

Parks officials were initially concerned about how much red silt was flowing from the cave, but water returned to normal after the broken water line was shut off.

Full Story