Impaired Streams Updated

The Joplin Globe, Wednesday, October 18, 2006, did a thorough story on impaired streams in the area. The following are excerpts from the article. These Spring River Watershed streams, creeks and waterways were previously classified as impaired, but are not on the proposed 2006 lost of impaired streams:

Clear Creek (Barry, Lawrence and Vernon Counties), three segments that total 23 miles. The pollutants are sediment from non-point source agriculture, low dissolved oxygen, bacteria and nitrogen. A total maximum daily load(TMDL)plan has been approved, but part of the creek is still impaired because of low dissolved oxygen.

North Fork of Spring River(Jasper County), 51.5 miles. the pollution is sediment from non-point-source agriculture. Invertebrate data shows impairment, but the stream now is listed for an unknown pollutant.

Indian Creek (McDonald County), 26 miles. The pollutant is nutrients from livestock production. A TMDL plan has been approved.

Buffalo Creek (McDonald County), two segments that total 15.5 miles. the pollutant is nutrients from livestock production. A TMDL plan has been approved.

Indian Creek (Newton County), three segments that total 19.5 miles. the pollutant is nutrients from livestock production. A TMDL plan has been approved.

Shoal Creek (Newton County), 13.5 miles. the pollutant is fecal coliform bacteria from unknown agricultural sources. A TMDL plan has been approved.

The following regional streams are still classified as impaired:
Joyce Creek (Barry County), five miles. The pollutant is bacteria. The source is unknown.
Shoal Creek (Barry County), four miles. The pollutant is bacteria. The source is unknown.
North Fork of Spring River (Barton County)15.6 miles. The issues are low-dissolved oxygen an ammonia. The source is the Lamar wastewater treatment plant.
Center Creek (Jasper County)12.8 miles. The pollutants are lead, cadmium and zinc from former mining sites.
Turkey Creek (Jasper County)seven miles. The pollutants are cadmium and zinc from former mining sites.
Clear Creek (Lawrence County), three miles. The issue is low-dissolved oxygen from the Monett wastewater treatment plant.

Each waterway has been studied, and plans have been created setting out "total maximum daily loads," or TMDLs. The plan spells out the total nutrient load a stream can receive and still meet water-quality standards. It does not address levels of bacteria such as fecal coliform. Creating plans for each waterway means the Missouri Department of Natural Resources(MDNR) has met a key water-quality requirement of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA).

Does this mean the stream is no longer impaired? "No," said John Ford, with the MDNR's water-protection program in Jefferson City. "When a TMDL is written for a stream and approved by the EPA, the stream is dropped from the list of impaired streams. These streams are still impaired and are given a high priority for future monitoring to see if we can stay below the total maximum daily load." Ford said the DNR is working with organizations, including the National Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) and local watershed groups, to address pollution. That includes management of poultry litter, fertilizer and pesticides.

"We also have voluntary watershed programs that have been ongoing for many years," he said. "The TMDL just gives a target to these watershed groups to give them a goal of what we are shooting for." It's not only local groups that have a stake in the plan. The EPA looks carefully at what happens to interstate waters. "When the MDNR writes up its TMDLs, it is cognizant of water-quality standards across the state line," Ford said.

"We will now be able to look at the monitoring data and look at the TMDL recommendations for that river, and see whether we are meeting our goal." The state sends an impaired-streams, or "303d," list to the EPA every two years. The state had no problems with producing the list through 1996. But beginning in 1998, public interest in the lists, both local and national, began to grow, and the complaints soon followed. Ford said that when the public became active in the issue, the primary complaint was that the lists in most states were too small. The lists identified only point-source pollution. They did not identify non-point-source pollution, such as runoff from agricultural and livestock operations. In response, the EPA expanded the list to include non-point sources. The EPA, Ford said, changed its emphasis after it lost lawsuits in federal court. "The EPA, the environmental community, the regulated community and a lot more people got pulled into the process," he said. "It became very complicated for Missouri to prepare its list. This is a long-term process. We don't correct a problem that is this large in scope in a couple of years."

Add Spring River to List of Impaired Waters

The Joplin Globe, Sunday, November 5, 2006 reported that The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) is proposing that Spring River be added the the state's list of impaired waters because of high bacteria levels. The article reports that thirteen of 33 sites recently tested in Southwest Missouri, including Spring River, Shoal Creek and Little Sugar Creek, have bacteria levels so high they are unsafe for human contact. The article quotes (1) Renee Bungart, MDNR's Division of Water Quality, (2) Frank Martinez, Volunteer with a Stream Team in Carthage, (3) Bob Kulp, Administrator of the Newton County Health Department, and (4) Alethea Goodman, Administrator for Lawrwence County Health Department.

A majority of water quality samples collected on Spring River around Carthage in the last few years, whether done by state regulators or the volunteer Stream Team, have consistently found elevated levels of E. coli or another bacteria, enterococci, both of which can cause health problems for people who are exposed. Frank Martinez said that "By the criteria of the Environmental Protection Agency, this river (Spring River) should be put on a 303(d) list." The Stream team's latest tests on Spring River, done October 31 at five sites around Carthage, showed elevated levels of either E. coli, enteroccoi or both. Previous tests done on October 18 at the request of The Joplin Globe, on two sites downstream on Spring River, near Purcell and Waco, showed E. coli at levels considered unsafe.

Renee Bungart said 'only the area of Spring River near Carthage and two miles downstream are currently being proposed for the state's list of impaired rivers.'

The MDNR began testing in the Carthage area in the Spring of 2005, after the Stream Team identified high levels of bacteria and held public forums to educate the community about its findings. The MDNR initially began testing at several sites around Carthage, but has since scaled it back to an unnamed spring tributary near the Butterball Turkey Co. plant, where the Stream Team continues to find some of its highest levels of bacteria. MDNR testing resulted in the replacement of a city sewer line in that area earlier this year. Runoff from agricultural and/or human activity may still be contributing to overall elevated levels of E/ coli.

Water quality analysis in Newton County also indicates many streams and rivers there remain unsafe, too. Of 200 samples collected at 13 different sites around the county (April through October 14, 2006) 134 or 67% had elevated levels of E. Coli. Five of the 11 sites, last tested October 3 and October 18, 2006, by Newton County officials had elevated E. coli. Parts of Capps Creek, Clear Creek, Indian Creek, Lost Creek and Shoal Creek remained elevated throughout the year, regardless of rainfall or other changing stream conditions. Bob Kulp said that "eventually we are going to have to start posting some kind of advisories. If we are testing the water and the public is at risk, we want to get the word out."

The Joplin Independent, Wednesday, December 1, 2006 included an article about the Newton County Health Department's efforts to get a health tax levy passed in the November 7 election. Shocking statistics released by the department indicated that 100% of the rivers and streams tested in Newton County for E. coli bacteria were too high, with 72% of all samples at higher than minimum levels for safe body contact. They also found that one third of the water wells tested in the county were contaminated with bacteria. Dale Jobe, a member of the Newton County Health Department Board of Trustees said that "people don't like change. Everyone wants to blame everybody else. We need to identify it (the bacterial origin) beyond a shadow of a doubt." DNA testing would be able to definitely say whether contaminants in the water were from humans, chicken, cattle or any other livestock.

In answer to the critisism by some members of the Newton County Board of Commissioners, that water issues should continue to be handled on the state level, Bob Kulp pointed out that the MDNR does not function at the non-point source polution level.

Bacteria Levels (The Joplin Globe 11/05/2006)
The current health standard is 126 colonies of E. coli per 100 milliliters of water, according to the MDNR. The locations of sites tested and their bacteria levels are:
[Sampling done for The Joplin Globe by the Newton County Health Department on October 18, 2006]
Indian Creek at Anderson 56.3 colonies of E. coli/100 milliliters of water
Elk River at Cowskin Conservation Area (Highway 43 in McDonald County) 86.5
Elk River at Mount Shira Conservation Area near Noel 27.2
Elk River at River Ranch Campground Swim Beach near Noel 122.3
Elk River at Big Elk Camp Swim Beach in Pineville 77.6
Little Sugar Creek near Pineville 111.9
Little Sugar Creek near Caverna 866.4
Big Sugar Creek at Cyclone 15.4
Shoal Creek near Ridgely 2,419.6
Shoal Creek near Pioneer 110.0
Clear Creek west of Pierce City 224.7
Center Creek at Highway 43 79.4
Center Creek near Smithville 83.9
Spring River near Waco 435.2
North Fork of Spring River near Galesburg 30.5
Spring River near Purcell 272.3
Center Creek north of Fidelity 104.6

[Sampling done by the Stream Team #2416 on October 31, 2006]
Spring River near Morrow Mill 140.8
Spring tributary in Carthage for Spring River 2,419.6
Spring River at Francis Street 88.6
Spring River at Tucker's Ford 133.6

[Sampling done by the Newton County Health Department on either October 3, or October 18, 2006]
Hickory Creek east of Neosho 38.3
Hickory Creek on Business Highway 60 73.3
Indian Creek at Boulder City 111.2
Lost Creek at Racine 387.3
Shoal Creek at Tipton Ford 146.7
Shoal Creek north of Granby 121.1
Shoal Creek at Lime Kiln Conservation Area near Neosho 124.6
Shoal creek near Barry County line 1,553.1
Shoal Creek at Wildcat Park in Joplin 78.0