Watershed Restoration & Protection Strategy Group

Roger McKinney reports in The Joplin Globe, Flow of Ideas, Group Establishes Top Environmental Priorities for Spring River, the progress that the Spring River Watershed Restoration & Protection Strategy Group (SRWR&PSG) made at its meeting, Thursday, August 9, Baxter Springs, KS. The group, supported by See-Kan RC&D along with Pittsburg State University, identified: clean drinking water as the #1 priority, a healthy and abundant aquatic life as #2, and safe water for recreation as the #3 priority.

Groups attending or represented at the Strategy meeting were:

• Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council of Southwest Missouri - Craig Jones
• Elk River Watershed Improvement Association
• Southwest Missouri Water Quality Improvement Project
• Upper Shoal Creek Watershed Improvement Group-Barry County
• Shoal Creek Watershed Partnership
• Grand Lake of the Cherokees Watershed Foundation - Carl Metcalf & John Gillette
• Pittsburg State University - Shirley Drew, Jim Triplett
• Cherokee County Health Department - Carl Hayes

This was the fourth meeting of the SRWR&PSG. Carl Metcalf is quoted as saying that the group strives to be cooperative rather than confrontational, and having representatives from Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma is critical. Previously, the group had targeted Spring River issues, including (1) water quality and the contamination from heavy metals and fecal bacteria; (2) water quality and the depletion of the area aquifer by large consumers in Missouri; and (3) the stability of the river banks.

Septic tanks continue to be a contributing cause of water contamination, according to a presentation by Craig Jones. He said that 70% of septic systems in Missouri are considered to be failing. Jim Triplett added that the soil type in southeast Kansas is mostly clay, which is not good for septic tanks.

The groups next meeting will be Thursday, Septemeber 6, 2007.