TOPOGRAPHY & SOILS
Topography ranges from gently sloping to strongly sloping. Local relief is about 160 feet with
elevations ranging from approximately 890 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum
(NGVD) at the
northern end of the watershed to 730 feet near the outlet of the Higginsville City Lake dam.
The Lafayette County Soil Survey (USDA-SCS, 1975) indicates that the watershed is within the
Marshall-Higginsville soil association. Marshall and Higginsville soils were formed under tall
prairie grasses and mostly consist of silt-sized particles and range from moderately to slowly
permeable. Minor soils in the watershed were formed in loess, residuum, and alluvium, and are
found on uplands and flood plains. These soil mapping units include Winfield, Minden,
McGirk, Macksburg, Sampsel, Sogn, Snead, and Blackoar.
All soils in the watershed are rated severe to moderate with respect to the installation of
septic tanks and sewage lagoons which implies that soil properties or site conditions are not
favorable. Nearly all soils found in the watershed have moderate to severe potential for
pesticide loss due to runoff or leaching. Sampsel, Sogn, and Snead have very slow infiltration
rates and high runoff potentials and have severe potential for atrazine herbicide runoff.
(Refer to the Atrazine Runoff Potential map.) All
three soil mapping units are in Class D hydrologic soil group. They underlie many of the
drainageways and therefore are important to water quality concerns.
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