Maramec Spring Fish Hatchery
Maramec Spring
Normal Flow
Duing a period of High Rainfall
Maramec Spring is Missouri's Fifth Largest Spring
This spring has an average 100 million gallon per day discharge. Maramec Spring is recharged from a 310 square mile area west and south of the spring in Dry Fork, Norman Creek, and Asher Hollow watersheds. All of these watersheds contain losing streams which contribute a large part of their runoff to the substrate.
Maramec Spring is a Product of Karst Topography
Karst is a term used to describe areas of water soluble rock. All of the bedrock in the Maramec Spring area is predominantly dolomite, and the dissolving of the rock has created numerous caves, sinkholes, losing streams and springs. Maramec Spring is dynamic and still growing. Fifty tons of dissolved dolomite are discharged each day with the water.
Water Quality
Maramec Spring has an overall good water quality. It is dependent on the composition of the rock it travels through as well as activities that occur in the recharge area. This good quality cannot be protected at the mouth of the spring however. It is only the residents and landowners who live within the recharge area that can ensure the continued quality of water at Maramec spring.
