Groundwater Contribution to Cowling Arboretum Wetlands

Over the past fifty years, anecdotal and hydrogeologic evidence have accumulated suggesting that groundwater from the Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer flows under significant pressure beneath the Cannon River floodplain in Carleton College\u27s Cowling Arboretum. This study documents the contribution of this high-pressure groundwater to wetlands in the Cowling Arboretum by measuring specific conductance and temperature values across these wetlands. These results were then compared to baseline water quality report data, and data collected from the Cannon River Wilderness Area\u27s Prairie du Chien spring. Sampling from three wetlands on the Cannon River floodplain revealed wetlandspecific trends in specific conductance and temperature that connected one of the three wetlands to groundwater input. Specific conductance and temperature data from the Cowling Arboretum, in conjunction with data from the Cannon River Wilderness Area, identifies that groundwater contributions are important to wetlands along the Cannon River floodplain, though not all wetlands in the Cowling Arboretum are groundwater fed. As the Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer is the primary water supply for southeastern Minnesota, it is important to understand the hydrologic relationship it has with fragile ecosystems, like wetlands in the Arboretum