Survey Results from Watershed Meeting

Spring River Basin Water Quality Assessment
Summary of Survey Responses from Attendees
May 24, 2005

1) What do you use the local rivers and streams for?

• Floating, fishing, swimming, recreation.
• Habitat, fish and invertebrate; aesthetics.
• Canoe, fish, wade, exercise dog, picnic, paint, photo, bird, animal and bug watching
• Swimming, floating, fishing.
• Recreation, education.
• Stormwater runoff and wastewater effluent.
• Fishing and pleasure/canoe/swimming; wildlife and recreation usage mostly.
• Fishing and own property on river.
• Fishing.
• Drinking water raw source.
• Recreation; drinking water supply.
• Boating, fishing, swimming.
• Fishing and swimming for personal use. Cooling water intake for business use.
• Floating, fishing.
• In my job I monitor water quality. Previously I like to fish a lot and swim.
• Recreational boating, fishing, spiritual maintenance and renewal.
• To drink.
• Recreational activities and work-related concerns.
• Boating, camping, fishing and scenic beauty.
• Water supply, wildlife habitat, flood management.

2) Why are the rivers in this watershed important to you?

• I live in this watershed. Also work for regulatory agency responsible for water quality.
• Important part of the ecosystem.
• All
• Important recreation source; long-term ecological health.
• They are important to all of us.
• It’s part of the environment, and a possible source of drinking water.
• We own land along Spring River into Oklahoma. Kansas state line for smiles (east side) and some land on 5-mile creek flowing into Spring River also.
• Impact on treatment ability and cost.
• Simply for the sake of the water use; use by future generations; current use/loss of use due to quality.
• Recreational resource; only surface water source for possible future drinking water resource; irrigation.
• I want it to be safe to eat the fish and to swim the water; aesthetic reasons; retain ready availability of water.
• It is very important to protect water quality (surface and groundwater). Water quality is a good indicator of the overall health of ecosystems.
• Good water quality is key to wildlife perpetuation and quality of life for humans. Poor stream water ultimately affects groundwater quality also.
• Surface waters as a resource for: water supplies; ecological services to the environment; and aesthetics.
• Recreational, economic development, water supply, it’s the right thing to do!
• It is always important to be concerned when it is in your backyard.
• Boating, camping, fishing and scenic beauty.
• Needed for above uses primarily (e.g., Water supply, wildlife habitat, flood management).

3) What are any activities in the watershed that cause you concern that you would like state and federal regulatory agencies to know about?

• Mining releases – water and sediments; cattle and poultry ‘ out-of-date sewage treatment facilities.
• Out dated practices of disposal by individuals; opportunistic business and industry seeing state as vulnerable because it lacks progressive and or established limits, watchdogs, penalties and “permits” the bad. This is not a wasteland
• Grants and programs. Now people don’t know or understand, so no use. Drain stencil program - 3 yrs - Joplin City has none and no one cares even though the ___ it. Birds with messed up feet??? Dead and alive.
• Livestock watering in streams listed for whole-body contact.
• CAFO; poor development management.
• Dumping and lack of monitoring of septic tanks and field within Jasper County.
• Concern is the Baxter Springs sewer when unofficially dumping raw sewage off and on into the River plus past damage from Jayhawk plant and Case Turkey Farm – pollutes badly in the Spring River.
• Baxter Springs, KS sewer.
• Drug activity, trash in Walnut bottoms
• Any introduction of E-Coli (e.g., chicken and cattle ranching); possible introduction of zebra mussel by recreational boaters; pesticide/herbicide runoff from farmlands.
• Dumping (boat sewage pumping), solid waste dumping, point sources with inadequate permit limits, non-point sources (litter application and septic systems); composting facility east of Miami, Oklahoma.
• Trash dumping in and along the river; possible leakage of municipal waste from sewer systems; feedlots, poultry houses, etc.
• CAFOs, mining wastes, septic systems, agriculture in general, development.
• Wastewater spills/discharges into River from municipalities and poultry processors and runoff from poultry litter application.
• Uncoordinated activities cause concern. People/groups doing “things” without awareness of what others are doing.
• Non-point sources, sewage (public and non-public), contamination from any sources – residential, industries, CAFOs, etc.
• Spreading manure; water usage, even surface water is decreasing; springs are drying up; contamination with commercial fertilizer.
• Agricultural/municipal/industrial point and non-point source contamination; historical mining.

4) Do you have any other suggestions for state and federal regulators?

• Work smart, efficient, cooperate instead of duplicate.
• Educate reporters so they report and write correct concerns and information; press release direct information for articles. Water users – enforce recycling of water – self-regulate and be responsible for their own pollution and that cost. Educate and help folks get up to speed and proactive. Adopt and use progressive, up-to-date practices and brake offenders of their poor practices and let forward thinkers improve quality of life for mid-westerners. Look to industry and business as a future for jobs and tax dollars. Stop tolerating the ugly, damaging thinking still tolerated in this area. Control sales of poor choice products and encourage/make better available. Reconsider water rights – “pollute no water;” clean users get priority, self-regulating get priority. Network, network – watchdogs and agencies so all informed and share energies – websites with searchable databases. Update technology and tools. Educate Garland 4 users about risk to water.
• Hats-off the basin-wide approach; please don’t forget long-term continuous monitoring.
• Develop more stringent requirement for county health departments in regard to regulation and monitoring of rural sewage sources.
• Stream Team/Blue Thumb needs organized to monitor the Spring River from Riverton to down to Twin Bridges.
• Keep eye on this River.
• Standardized collection and reporting methods.
• Check for Heavy Metals in Spring River and tributaries; regulation of septic tank pumpers.
• Develop a central clearinghouse for water quality data.
• Enforce the laws!
• Keep pushing or pulling or what ever you need to do. Blog for interested parties (posting privileges assigned by major agencies federal, state and local).
• Today’s meeting is a great start. Must set-up watershed organization to coordinate issues, projects and information.
• Restrict wells to residences; agribusiness should use their own impoundments; keep CAFOs small and disguise them throughout the state; restrict pesticides.
• Work to improve coordination of efforts at federal, state and local levels.

The opportunities for improving Spring River are (obviously) pretty overwhelming. What are your thoughts? Where do we start? What needs to be done first? What project would you willing to help with?