50+ Attend Watershed Public Meeting

The Carthage Press reported , Friday, April 24, 2009, that over 50 people attended the Spring River Watershed Partnership Public Meeting, Thursday night. After an explanation of watershed planning by Dan Downing, University of Missouri Extension, and a review of watershed maps, those attending were divided into four smaller discussion groups. Each group discussed, then responded to four questions: (1) In general terms, how do you feel about the main stem of the Spring River and its watershed? Positive, neutral, negative? (2) What concerns do you have about the Spring River and its watershed? (3) What factors do you feel have the most influence on the watershed? and (4) What are some outstanding features about the river and its watershed? The responses will be included in the development of a Spring River Watershed Plan. Below are the consolidated responses from the four discussion groups:

In general terms how do you feel about the main stem of the Spring River and its watershed? Positive, neutral, negative?
• Don’t have a problem with it.
• Positive – 2 votes
• Negative – 5 votes
• Negative
• Much better now than 50 years ago
• Below Carthage, much better than 10 years ago.
• As a parent, will not let my child in the water.


What concerns do you have about the Spring River and its watershed?
• We make a living here. How will this impact us?
• Cow calf operations
• Regulations
• Personally ingesting _____?
• Bad press for agriculture
• What do e-Coli levels mean?
• Trash: Walnut Bottoms-Turkey Ford
• Raw poultry wastes
• Pesticides
• Human waste –sludge and industrial
• Food industry in Carthage bottoms
• Cattle
• Recreation
• Kellogg Lake
• What are we going to do to support agriculture because everyone wants distilled water flowing down the river?
• Want to be really certain where the problem comes from (if you don’t know the source, how are you going to fix it).
• Come up with solutions that aren’t a burden to any one entity.
• How are we going to measure any good we do-factor out outside sources such as headwater flow?
• Need to know more about the river and its watershed, i.e. sink holes, karst topography.
• Wildlife being poisoned
• Lagoons
• Educating people: urban and rural
• Prospect of excessive regulation (inc. determination of benchmarks)
• Excessive water usage
• Respect usage
• Opening Pandora’s Box (unintended consequences)

What factors do you feel have the most influence on the watershed?
• New Zealand dairies
• Soil conservation
• All soil disturbances
• Carthage Waterworks treatment
• ConAgra-waste (blood, guts, etc, knifed in)
• Heavy metals
• Dates on data
• Purcell Landfill
• Clean water: Is it used for drinking water?
• White Oak Creek influence
• How far does regulation reach?
• Urban run-off testing
• Trash: Walnut Bottoms-Turkey Ford – 5 votes
• Raw poultry wastes – 2 votes
• Leachate from septic systems
• Runoff from CAFOs
• Agriculture and residential chemical use
• Illegal trash dumps
• Industrial waste
• Be selective with what is detrimental to human and environment
• Psychology
• Population
• Erosion
• Enforcement of existing regulations
• Difference in core values
• Municipal water retention

What are some outstanding features about the river and its watershed?
• Recreation
• Living here
• People moving in
• Beautiful
• Wildlife
• Good access points
• Good fishing.
• Recreation, fishing and canoeing
• Supports agriculture
• Lots of springs on it (at least at one time)
• Many rivers provide drinking water for municipalities, Spring River does not. (Maybe not outstanding but is unique)
• How many species of wildlife/plants endangered by low quality water-should be checked out.
• Many concerned citizens
• Multi-use
• Supports a diverse wildlife
• Canoeing
• Scenic