Sunday, June 24, 2007

Watershed Task Force

The Carthage Press, reported Saturday, June 23, 2007, that Officials are hoping to turn a number of separate efforts to clean up the waters of the Spring River and North Fork of the Spring River in Jasper and Barton counties, into a coordinated effort to get more federal money for water cleanup projects. Jasper County Commissioner Jim Honey, Jasper County Health Department Director Tony Moehr and Bob Nichols, with the Tri-State Water Resources Coalition, met on Tuesday with Ron Paul, USDA offices in Jasper and Barton Counties, to discuss forming a Spring River Watershed Task Force, to coordinate groups and people wanting to clean up the waters flowing into the North Fork River and the Spring River.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a new Watershed Builder program (Internet based), called Watershed Planning Process - Design an Implementation Program. Perhaps we can get the Lawrence County, Barton County, and Newton County Commissions involved, along with Cherokee County Kansas. That would be a comprehensive plan.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Baxter Springs KS, KDHE and Lagoon

The Kansas Department of Heath and Environment (KDHE) has ordered the City of Baxter Springs (KS.) to stop poluting Spring River. The Joplin Globe, Friday, June 22, 2007, reports that the sewage lagoon east of Spring River on the eastern edge of town has been a source of complaints about odors for several years. The Administrative Order from KDHE (dated June 13, 2007) tells Baxter Springs Mayor Huey York and the City to find a solution to problems with its lagoon that are causing partially untreated sewage to be discharged into Spring River. The options include: building a mechanical sewage treatment plant; adding a pre-treatment system at the sewage lagoon; and/or requiring any industry discharging high amounts of waste to treat the waste before it enters the city's system.

Jasper County Health Department Stream Sample Results

The Joplin Globe, Friday, June 22, 2007 reports on the water quality results, as determined by the Jasper County Health Department, May 24 through June 19, on twenty (20) sites thoughout Jasper County. The rivers and creeks being monitored are all part of the greater Spring River watershed. Those being monitored include: Turkey Creek, Center Creek, Spring River, North Fork Spring River, and Dry Fork. Tony Moehr, Jasper County Health Department Director, has assigned source identifiers for the 20 test sites. They are:
Center Creek, High Street, Sarcoxie grocery - CC1
Center Creek, Highway 37, golf course - CC2
Center Creek, C.R. 110 - CC3
Center Creek, Highway 71 - CC4
Center Creek, Old 66 Highway - CC5
Center Creek, Stones Corner - CC6
Center Creek, C.R. 303 - CC7
Dry Fork, C.R. 100 - DF1
North Fork, West Mercer, Jasper - NF1
North Fork, C.R. 210 - NF2
Spring River, C.R. 3 - SR1
Spring River, C.R. 85 - SR2
Spring River, Kellogg Lake - SR3
Spring River, Francis Street - SR4
Spring River, Quaker Mill C.L. 216 - SR5
Spring River, C.R. 270 - SR6
Spring River, Kafir and State Line - SR7
Turkey Creek, Kenser Road - TC1
Turkey Creek, Lone Elm - TC2
Turkey Creek, Fox Bluff -TC3

Click on chart to enlarge. The data is expressed in number of E.coli colonies per 100 milliliters of water sampled.