TOPICS IN WATER USE: SOUTHERN MISSOURIii Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003108876 Missouri Classification Number: MO/NR Ge9:63 Missouri Department of Natural Resources,

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Water Resources Report Number 63

TOPICS IN WATER USE:SOUTHERNMISSOURI

Integrity and excellence in all we do

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCESGeological Survey and Resource Assessment Division

Mimi R. Garstang, Director and State GeologistP.O. Box 250, Rolla, MO 65402-0250

Phone: (573) 368-2100 FAX: (573) 368-2111e-mail: www.dnr.mo.gov/geology

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1853 200315 0 YEARS

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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003108876Missouri Classification Number: MO/NR Ge9:63

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey and Resource Assessment Division, 2003,Topics in Water Use: Southern Missouri, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, GeologicalSurvey and Resource Assessment Division, Water Resources Report Number 63, 90 p., 17 figs., 4 tbls.

As a recipient of federal funds, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources cannot discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, color,national origin, age, sex or handicap. If anyone believes he/she has been subjected to discrimination for any of these reasons, he/she may file acomplaint with either the Missouri Department of Natural Resources or the Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior,Washington, DC, 20240.

Cover: Lower outlet of Big Spring in Carter County, Missouri. Photo by Susan C. Dunn

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PageTable of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1The Regional (Economic-Environmental-Social-Political Boundary) Approach .............................................................. 1Economic Overview ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3Watershed Based Approach ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3Temporal Aspect of Water Use .................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

2. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

3. REGIONAL DESCRIPTION ...........................................................................................................................................................................................7Southeastern Missouri Regional Description ....................................................................................................................................................7

Colleges and Universities ........................................................................................................................................................................................7Regional Transportation...........................................................................................................................................................................................7Population Characteristics .................................................................................................................................................................................... 9Industry, Commerce and Agriculture ........................................................................................................................................................ 13Physical Characteristics ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 13Recreation ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Southwestern Missouri Regional Description ............................................................................................................................................... 17Colleges and Universities ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 17Regional Transportation....................................................................................................................................................................................... 20Population Characteristics ................................................................................................................................................................................. 20Industry, Commerce and Agriculture ....................................................................................................................................................... 24Physical Characteristics ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 24Recreation ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 26

4. REGIONAL WATER USE OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................................. 29Southeastern Regional Water Use Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 29

Water Resources Management ....................................................................................................................................................................... 29Public Water Supply ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 31Domestic Water Use ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 31Industrial and Commercial Water Use ..................................................................................................................................................... 31Agricultural Water Use .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 32Water Use in Power Production .................................................................................................................................................................... 32Other Instream Flow Uses ................................................................................................................................................................................. 33

Southwestern Regional Water Use Overview............................................................................................................................................... 34Water Resources Management ....................................................................................................................................................................... 34Public Water Supply ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34Domestic Water Use ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34Industrial and Commercial Water Use .................................................................................................................................................... 35Agricultural Water Use .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 35Water Use in Power Production .................................................................................................................................................................... 35Other Instream Flow Uses ................................................................................................................................................................................. 36

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5. WATER USE PROBLEMS ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 37DRINKING WATER USE ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 37

Groundwater Assessment Needed ............................................................................................................................................................... 37Overuse of Groundwater in Site Specific Areas ............................................................................................................................. 39Unplugged Abandoned Wells .......................................................................................................................................................................... 44Private Water Well Construction and Water Quality .................................................................................................................. 45Seismic Activity ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 49Aging Infrastructure of Public Water Supply Systems ............................................................................................................. 50True Cost of Water .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50Inefficient Water Use ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 51Lack of Water Rights Laws ............................................................................................................................................................................... 52

AGRICULTURAL WATER USE .............................................................................................................................................................................. 54Improper Land Application of Poultry Litter ................................................................................................................................... 54Fish Farming .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 55

INDUSTRIAL WATER USE ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 57Effects of Metallic Mineral Mining .............................................................................................................................................................. 57Industrial Pollution ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 57Building in Flood Plains ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 58Dam Operations .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 60

RECREATIONAL WATER USE ............................................................................................................................................................................... 62The Condition of Water Can Affect Tourism ..................................................................................................................................... 62Watershed Conservation and Land Use ................................................................................................................................................. 63Pathogenic Coliform Bacteria in Streams ............................................................................................................................................ 64National Scenic Rivers .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 65Problems Associated with Recreational Uses ................................................................................................................................... 65Problems Associated with Water Allocation ...................................................................................................................................... 67

ENVIRONMENTAL WATER USE .......................................................................................................................................................................... 68Population Dispersion ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 68Stormwater Runoff ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 69Introduction of New Chemicals into Use .............................................................................................................................................. 70Endocrine Disrupters and Water Pollution .......................................................................................................................................... 72Coal ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 74Landfills and Dumps ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 74Gravel Mining ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 75Deforestation ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................77Water and the Ability of our Plant Life to Help Keep it Clean ........................................................................................ 78Altered Watercourses in the Bootheel ..................................................................................................................................................... 79Governmental Agencies Coordination .................................................................................................................................................... 80

6. WATER USE OPPORTUNITIES AND REGIONAL OBSERVATIONS.................................................................................. 83Long Range Studies ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 83Water Efficiency Makes Good Economic Sense .............................................................................................................................. 84Sustainable Groundwater Resources ......................................................................................................................................................... 84Dry Hydrants ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 85Rainwater Capture .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 86Bootheel Area Multifunctional Wetlands ............................................................................................................................................... 86

7. COMMENTS RECEIVED............................................................................................................................................................................................... 89

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List of Figures

Figure Page

1. Counties covered by each regional report .................................................................................................................................................... 22. Map showing counties of southeast Missouri region covered by this report .................................................................63. Locations of colleges and universities in southeast Missouri ......................................................................................................84. Railways and river ports in southeast Missouri ................................................................................................................................... 105. Major roads and cities in southeast Missouri ......................................................................................................................................... 126. Missouri average annual precipitation from 1971-2000 ............................................................................................................... 147. Physiographic provinces of Missouri ............................................................................................................................................................. 158. Map showing counties of southwest Missouri region covered by this report ............................................................. 189. Locations of colleges and universities in southwest Missouri .................................................................................................. 19

10. Railways in southwest Missouri ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2111. Major roads and cities in southwest Missouri ........................................................................................................................................ 2212. Freshwater-salinewater transition zone ..................................................................................................................................................... 2513. U.S. Forest Service acres in southern Missouri ................................................................................................................................... 3014. Idealized “cone of depression” from pumpage of a high-yield well ................................................................................... 4015. Groundwater-level hydrograph, Noel observation well, McDonald County ................................................................ 4316. Map showing drilling areas for private well construction regulations ............................................................................. 4617. Private water well test results from U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 1994 study ............................................... 48

List of Tables

Table Page

1. Southeast Missouri region counties and their population ............................................................................................................... 112. Number of state and federal recreational facilities in southeast Missouri ........................................................................ 163. Southwest Missouri region counties and their population ........................................................................................................... 234. Number of state and federal recreational facilities in southwest Missouri ...................................................................... 26

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1

Introduction

According to the Missouri Water ResourcesLaw (sections 640.400 to 640.435, RSMo), thestate water resources plan is to address waterneeds for the following uses: drinking, agricul-ture, industry, recreation and environmentalprotection. Addressing water “needs” requiresus to establish why these needs exist in the firstplace. In some cases, an existing water need istied to one or more unresolved water problems.For example, communities “need” clean water.To meet this need, communities may have toaddress problems with water supply infrastruc-ture, adequate quantity and, at the same time,source water quality. This report takes a steptoward addressing the water needs of southernMissouri by identifying problems it faces.

As noted in the legislation, there are manyaspects of water use problems. Missouri waterlaw is concerned both with protecting privateindividual water rights and protecting the pub-lic health and welfare. In addition to social andeconomic needs, there are the environmentalneeds of forests, fish and wildlife of Missouri.There are the facets of quantity and quality ofthe water resources, themselves. And there arethe political jurisdictions that administer publicwater supplies under Missouri statutes. It iswithin this matrix of considerations that we haveapproached these regional water use problemsand opportunities as well as the broader topicof State Water Planning.

To ensure equal consideration for all uses,emphasis was placed on identifying water useproblems in each topical area identified in theWater Resources Law. Similar topics sometimesare addressed in more than one category, re-flecting the different viewpoints of those whoraised these topics as water use problems.

When reading the water use problems iden-tified in southern Missouri, it will become ap-parent that many of them are, in fact, veryclosely related. In addition, because of the di-verse perspectives the various contributors bringto this effort, what, from one standpoint, mayappear to be a “serious problem,” may not seemso, from another. For these reasons, the follow-ing problems underscore the importance ofworking cooperatively in addressing the wateruse problems facing southern Missouri.

The Regional (Economic-Environmental-Social-Political Boundary)Approach

Water resource professionals commonlysubdivide the state into physiographic units, suchas watersheds or aquifers. While this approachis important for resource-based discussions, itinadequately addresses water use problems.While the water supply side is chiefly focusedon where the water resource is located, its quan-tity and quality, the water use side is focusedprimarily upon administering demands, needs,and the purposes the water serves. In this se-ries of reports, we have chosen to address thesubject using the broad geographic similaritiesof the six field service areas of the Departmentof Natural Resources. This volume is the forthin the series of five reports that will cover theentire state. As of June, 2003 the Missouri De-partment of Natural Resources has reduced itsfield offices from six to five. This has resulted in

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TOPICS IN WATER USE: SOUTHERN MISSOURI

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Dunklin

Pemisc

ot

New M

adrid

Stoddard

ButlerOregon

Mississ

ippi

ScottWayneBoll

inger

CapeGirardeau

Madison

PerryIron

Reynolds

Carter

Shannon

Ripley

Texas

Howell

Ozark

Douglas

WrightWebsterGreene

Christian

TaneyStoneBarry

Lawrence

Dade

McDonald

Newton

Jasper

Barton

Vernon

Bates

Cedar

St. Clair

Henry

Polk

Hickory

Benton

Camden

DallasLaclede

Morgan

Miller

Pulaski

Maries

Phelps

Dent

Crawford

St.Francois

Ste.Genevieve

JeffersonW

ashi

ngto

n

Franklin

St. LouisG

asco

nade

OsageCole

Moniteau

JohnsonCass

Jackson Lafayette

Pettis

Saline

Cooper

Howard

Boone

Callaway

Audrain

Randolph MonroeChariton

Mon

tgom

ery

WarrenSt. Charles

Lincoln

Pike

Ralls

Marion

Lewis

ClarkScotland

Knox

Shelby

Schu

yler

Putnam

AdairSullivan

MaconLinn

Mercer

Grundy

Livingston

CarrollRayClay

Platte

Caldwell

Daviess

Clinton

Harrison

Worth

Gentry

DeKalb

Buchanan

Andrew

Holt

NodawayAtchison

Dunklin

Pemisc

ot

New M

adrid

Stoddard

Butler

Oregon

Mississ

ippi

ScottWayne

Bolling

erCape

GirardeauMadison

PerryIron

Reynolds

Carter

Shannon

Ripley

Texas

Howell

Ozark

Douglas

WrightWebsterGreene

Christian

Taney

StoneBarry

Lawrence

Dade

McDonald

Newton

Jasper

Barton

Vernon

Bates

Cedar

St. Clair

Henry

Polk

Hickory

Benton

Camden

Dallas Laclede

Morgan

Miller

Pulaski

Maries

Phelps

Dent

Crawford

St.Francois

Ste.Genevieve

JeffersonW

ashi

ngto

n

Franklin

St. LouisG

asco

nade

OsageCole

Moniteau

JohnsonCass

JacksonLafayette

Pettis

Saline

Cooper

Howard

Boone

Callaway

Audrain

RandolphMonroeChariton

Mon

tgom

ery

WarrenSt. Charles

Lincoln

Pike

Ralls

Marion

Lewis

ClarkScotland

Knox

Shelby

Schu

yler

Putnam

AdairSullivan

MaconLinn

Mercer

Grundy

Livingston

CarrollRayClay

Platte

Caldwell

Daviess

Clinton

Harrison

Worth

Gentry

DeKalb

Buchanan

Andrew

Holt

NodawayAtchison

Kansas City Regional Office500 NE Colbern RdLee's Summit, MO 64086-4710(816) 554-4100FAX: (816) 554-4142

Northeast Regional Office1709 Prospect Dr.Macon, Mo 63552-2602(660) 385-2129FAX: (660) 385-6398

Jefferson City Regional Office210 Hoover Dr.P.O. Box 176Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176(573) 751-2729FAX: (573) 751-0014

St. Louis Regional Office10805 Sunset Office DriveSt. Louis, MO 63127-1017(314) 301-7100FAX: (314) 301-7107

Southwest Regional Office2040 W. Woodlandspringfield, MO 65807-5912(417) 891-4300FAX: (417) 891-4399

Southeast Regional Office948 Lester StreetP.O. Box 1420Poplar Bluff, MO 63901-1420(573) 840-9750FAX: (573) 840-9754

MACON

ST. LOUISJEFFERSON CITY

KANSAS CITY

SPRINGFIELD

POPLAR BLUFF

Figure 1. Counties covered by each regional report.

3

Introduction

an increase in the number of counties that eachremaining field office services. But, for the pur-pose of this series of reports the traditional ser-vice areas will still be used to complete the re-maining reports. Figure 1 shows the areas cov-ered by each of the regional reports. Each ofthese regions has distinctive physiographic fea-tures and socio-economic characteristics, as wellas being composed of counties, and thereforewas chosen for the ease of referencing wateruse problems. This approach allows us to rec-ognize Missouri’s diversity, and lends itself wellto Phase 2 of the State Water Plan.

The areas served (pre-June, 2003) bythe department’s Southwest and SoutheastRegional Offices in Springfield and PoplarBluff are the focus of this report. These tworegions of Missouri are mostly identified as theOzarks and the Bootheel region of the state.Staff members of these two offices and ofother state agencies dealing with waterresources were the primary sources ofinformation for this effort. This enables us todraw upon the insights and experiences offield staff who, by virtue of their work, dealwith many water use problems facingresidents of southern Missouri on a daily basis.

Economic Overview

For Missouri as a whole, agriculture, tour-ism, and manufacturing are the three major in-dustries. Formerly more significant than today,mining has a long history in the region and hasthe potential for future significance as a basicindustry.

For Southern Missouri, agriculture is theprimary industry, in a state that ranks amongthe top producers in the nation. SouthwesternMissouri is principally known for poultry pro-duction, even though it also is a top producer ofbeef, and southeastern Missouri is principallyknown for such southern crops as cotton, rice,and watermelons, even though it is a producerof corn, wheat, soybeans, and orchard fruits.Meatpacking, especially poultry, increases thevalue of the agricultural economy in the region.

Southwestern Missouri is the home ofBranson, one of the live music capitols of theworld and one of the top tourist destinations in

the U.S. Headliner entertainers, especially mu-sicians, make their homes in Branson, wheretheir theatres host thousands of patrons daily.The counties that showed the greatest popula-tion growth, as measured in the 2000 census,were Christian, Stone, and Taney Counties, allof which gained more than 50 percent. Bransonis in Taney County, Christian and Stone Coun-ties lie just to the North and West of TaneyCounty. Other popular tourist attractions in-clude Table Rock Lake and other Corps of En-gineers reservoirs, numerous state parks, andfabulous fishing. Canoeing, most often in theform of float trips, is one of the important tour-ism industries. The Ozark National ScenicRiverways, including the Current River andJack’s Fork, in southern Missouri, abundantwater resources and the aesthetically beautifulsetting of the Ozarks are also principal touristdraws.

The manufacture of aluminum boats andcanoes is a big industry in the region. Namessuch as Osage Canoes, Bass Tracker Boats,Landau Boats, Ranger, and Lowe, all in thegreater Lebanon area, have easy access to In-terstate Highway 44. The Bass Pro Shop’s Out-doors Missouri complex in Springfield is also amajor tourist draw. Southern Missouri is ahunter’s, floater’s, fishermen’s, and equestrian’sparadise with many acres of national forest landand exceptional lakes and waterways.

The Watershed BasedApproach

The watercourses of the southern Missouriregion drain either directly or indirectly into theMississippi River. Those of southeastern Mis-souri drain to either the Diversion Canal or theMississippi, except for those that drain to theSt. Francis River or the Black River. Those ofsouthwestern Missouri drain to the ArkansasRiver by way of either the White River or theGrand River. North of Springfield, the water-courses drain toward the Osage River, whichflows into the Missouri River. Rising nearHartville, the seat of Wright County, the Gas-conade River flows northeasterly into the Mis-souri River.


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Watersheds may be defined as the areasof land that drain surface water runoff into acentral watercourse. The watershed usually isnamed after its stream, such as the St. FrancisRiver Watershed. In the 1990s, federal and stateenvironmental planners began to put a greateremphasis on consideration of water resourcesand water problems within a watershed con-text. In this manner, they hoped to take intoconsideration all the factors that affect waterquality, from a geographic perspective. Com-prehensive watershed assessment, planning, andmanagement of water resources makes sense,but political boundaries (cities, counties, states)rarely follow watershed boundaries. Indeed,boundaries often follow watercourses, effectivelydividing any watershed where this occurs.Therefore, cooperation and coordination amongall the jurisdictions within any watershed is criti-cal to taking a watershed approach to the solv-ing of problems like nonpoint source pollution.

Concerning this watershed based ap-proach, segments of the separate watersheds arefurther subdivided into increasingly smaller “hy-drologic units” so that distinct watersheds maybe broken into more manageable sizes for study.Watersheds (or hydrologic units) have been as-signed identification numbers so that the sev-eral agencies working with them can be in agree-ment on the piece of land they are studying.There are 2-digit, 4-digit, 6-digit, 8-digit, 10-digit,and 12-digit watersheds. The more digits, thesmaller the watershed identified. The water-shed approach has been endorsed by leading

federal agencies like the Environmental Protec-tion Agency and the U.S. Department of Agri-culture. It should be remembered that thesewatersheds define surface water drainage areasonly, and while interacting with groundwaterareas and political boundaries, they are butpieces of the bigger picture of the interrelation-ships of water supply and water use.

Temporal Aspect of WaterUse

Times change, and styles change. Percapita, more water is used today than ever be-fore. Those folks who are self-supplied (mostlyrural dwellers on their own wells) use much lesswater per capita than those on public watersupply systems. Hydropower use has evolvedfrom water wheels that turned the stones ofgristmills of early Missourians to the large powergenerating plants of today. Bathing, clotheswashing, and other occasional uses of water byMissouri’s previous generations was nothingcompared to the water use demands of today’slarge population of Missourians. Greater de-mands, in each generation, have resulted in ef-forts to supply ever-greater quantities of finitesupplies of water to our population. Not only isit just more people using more water, but rathermore people using greater quantities of waterin a greater variety of ways.

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Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

2.

The State Water Plan staff thanks the fol-lowing people for their guidance and support inthe preparation of this State Water Plan report:Stephen M. Mahfood, director of the MissouriDepartment of Natural Resources, MimiGarstang, State Geologist and director of thedepartment’s Geological Survey and ResourceAssessment Division (GSRAD); Mike Wells,deputy director, GSRAD; and Steve McIntosh,director, Water Resources Program withinGSRAD.

The State Water Plan staff is grateful forthe help of the department’s Southwest RegionalOffice (SWRO), under the direction of BruceMartin and Southeast Regional Office, under thedirection of Gary Gaines, for initial identifica-tion of water use problems and opportunities insouthwestern and southeastern Missouri. Weextend a special thanks to Cindy Davies, SWROdeputy director for her assistance.

In addition, the staff acknowledges the con-tributions made by the State Water Plan, Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) members. The IATFrepresentatives were: Al Buchanan, represent-ing the Missouri Department of Conservation

(a special thanks for the many written com-ments), Steven Krysiak, representing the Mis-souri Department of Health and Senior Services,David Silvester, representing the Missouri De-partment of Transportation; Don Yoest, repre-senting the Missouri Department of Agriculture.Missouri Department of Economic Development,Missouri Department of Public Safety, and Uni-versity of Missouri are member agencies of theIATF but were not able to attend.

The State Water Plan staff especially ex-press their appreciation to Susan Dunn (graphicartist – GSRAD) for preparing illustrations andlayout of this report. Denise Becker (editor –GSRAD) provided final editing and Steve McIn-tosh, director of GSRAD’s Water Resources Pro-gram served as project manager. Special thanksto Dr. Mubarak Hamed, water resources econo-mist and the State Water Plan staff withoutwhose work this would not be possible – Rich-ard M. Gaffney, Charles Hays, Terry Frueh, andBruce Netzler, who as the State Water Plan staffdirector, was an important contributor and oversaw editing changes and final organization ofthis report.


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TEXAS

DENTIRON

HOWELL

WAYNESHANNON

OREGON RIPLEY

BUTLER

REYNOLDS

STODDARD

PERRY

SCOTT

DUNKLIN

CARTER

NEW MADRID

WASHINGTON

BOLLINGER

MADISON

PEMISCOT

MISSISSIPPI

ST. FRANCOIS

CAPE GIRARDEAU

STE. GENEVIEVE

TEXAS

DENTIRON

HOWELL

WAYNESHANNON

OREGON RIPLEY

BUTLER

REYNOLDS

STODDARD

PERRY

SCOTT

DUNKLIN

CARTER

NEW MADRID

WASHINGTON

BOLLINGER

MADISON

PEMISCOT

MISSISSIPPI

ST. FRANCOIS

CAPE GIRARDEAU

STE. GENEVIEVE

LOCATION MAP

�

40 0 40 80KM.

25 0 25 50MI.

Figure 2. Map showing counties of southeast Missouri region covered by this report.

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Regional Description

3.


The scope of this report covers the entiresouthern region of Missouri, which includes 46counties (figure 1). Due to this large number ofcounties this regional description section hasbeen divided into two separate sub-sections, thesoutheastern region and the southwestern re-gion.

Southeastern MissouriRegional Description

The southeastern region covers 24 coun-ties in Missouri. These counties are Bollinger,Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dent, Dunklin,Howell, Iron, Madison, Mississippi, NewMadrid, Oregon, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds,Ripley, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Scott,Shannon, Stoddard, Texas, Washington, andWayne (figure 2).

The State of Arkansas forms the southernboundary of the region (except where the St.Francis River separates the states), and the Mis-sissippi River forms the eastern boundary. Sevenof the 24 counties in the southeastern regionfront on the Mississippi River, a path of com-merce since aboriginal times.

Colleges and Universities

There are four primary colleges situated inthe counties of the southeastern region. Thelist includes, alphabetically, Mineral Area Col-lege, Park Hills (St. Francois Co.); SoutheastMissouri State University, Cape Girardeau (CapeGirardeau Co.); Southwest Missouri State Uni-versity-West Plains (Howell Co.) and Three Riv-

ers Community College, Poplar Bluff (Butler Co.)(figure 3). There also are branches of other col-leges that offer courses in the region.

Regional Transportation

Navigation

River transportation in the southeasternregion of Missouri is entirely by way of the Mis-sissippi River, other than the numerous streamsused for recreational purposes. The MississippiRiver handles large amounts of out-bound graindestined for export. The inland waterway sys-tem of southeastern Missouri is a valuable re-source that reduces the costs of transportation,encourages agricultural and industrial develop-ment, and establishes a direct link to regional,domestic, and world trade for Missouri products.The growth rate of waterborne commerce insoutheastern Missouri is growing at approxi-mately the same pace as the National GrossDomestic Product (Black & Veatch, 2000).

Pemiscot County Port is an intermodal in-terchange facility, slack-water harbor, and ranksamong the top facilities in the state in shippingtonnage. It is a year-round, ice-free facility.Southeast Missouri Port is also a slack-waterharbor that handles general cargo, dry bulk com-modities and liquid fertilizer. It has a fleet areathat can hold up to 100 barges. The MississippiCounty Port handles dry bulk materials and isoperational during periods of high water. NewMadrid Port facility is an ice-free harbor that isaccessible by rail and truck. The New BourbonRegional Port is under construction. When com-pleted, it will be a slack-water harbor and pub-


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Poplar Bluff:THREE RIVERS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Cape Girardeau:SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

West Plains:SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE U.−WEST PLAINS

Park Hills:MINERAL AREA COLLEGE

�

�

�

�Poplar Bluff:THREE RIVERS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Cape Girardeau:SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

West Plains:SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE U.−WEST PLAINS

Park Hills:MINERAL AREA COLLEGE

�

�

�

�

LOCATION MAP

�

25 0 25 50MI.

40 0 40 80KM.

Figure 3. Locations of colleges and universities in southeast Missouri.

9


lic transfer facility that can accommodate in-bound and outbound products by rail or truck(MoDOT, 2002). Numerous private facilities canbe found along the river (figure 4).

Two ferries cross the Mississippi River, oneis at Ste. Genevieve crossing to Modoc, Illinoisand one is at Dorena, crossing to Hickman, Ken-tucky. One ferry is located on the Current Riverin Shannon County at Akers (MoDOT, 2002).

Railroads

Passenger rail transportation via Amtrakhas one trunk line across the southeastern Mis-souri region, stopping in Poplar Bluff, runningbetween St. Louis and Little Rock, Arkansas.There are two Class 1 rail freight service com-panies in the southeastern region of Missouri:Burlington Northern-Santa Fe (BNSF) andUnion Pacific (UP) (figure 4).

Aviation

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is the onlyone with commercial airline service. There arenumerous other small airports serving the re-gion.

Highways

U.S. Interstate Highway transportationroutes include I-55, which roughly parallels theMississippi River, and a small portion of I-57,which crosses the Mississippi River near Cairo,Illinois and ends at Sikeston; I-155 crosses theMississippi River south of Caruthersville, goinginto Tennessee.

Other major U.S. numbered highways in-clude Route 61, north-south through the south-eastern Missouri region, paralleling and some-times coinciding with I-55; Route 63, runningnorth-south, which connects West Plains withRolla and Columbia; Route 67, north-south andconnecting Poplar Bluff with St. Louis; Route60, east-west, connecting Sikeston, Poplar Bluff,and Springfield; and Route 160, east-west, con-necting Poplar Bluff, West Plains, and theBranson area (figure 5).

Population Characteristics

Some of the southeastern Missouri coun-ties grew in population during the 1990s, andsome lost. In contrast to the large populationgrowth in southwestern Missouri, three Bootheelcounties (Mississippi, New Madrid, and Pemiscot)were in the top 5 counties in the state in losingpeople. Howell was the only county in the re-gion to grow by more than 15 percent in popu-lation during the decade. The entire region’spopulation grew by 7 percent (35,000) duringthe past decade, which is less than the state-wide average of 9.3 percent.

The largest city in the region is CapeGirardeau, at 35,349 people; Sikeston followsat 16,992. Total population for the region, ac-cording to the 2000 census, was 548,795 (table1). This represents an average of 34.6 personsper square mile. 51.3 percent of the populationin the 24-county region is female, with 48.7percent male. Sixty-three percent of the totalpopulation were rural residents in 1990. By agegroups, 25.3 percent of the population is lessthan 18 years old, 8.9 percent is 18-24, 26.8percent is 25-44, 23.4 percent is 45-64, and 15.6percent is 65 or older. The median age is 37years, 7 months. The 2000 census identified246,121 housing units and 215,804 householdswithin the region (Census Bureau, 2002).


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Figure 4. Railways and river ports in southeast Missouri.

Poplar BluffWest Plains

Cape Girardeau

Sikeston

Perryville

Jackson

Kennett

BN

SF

UPUP

BN

SF

BNSF

UP

Ste. Genevieve

Bird’s Pt.

DorenaNew Madrid

Caruthersville

Cottonwood Pt.

BNSF

UP

UP

Scott City

Doniphan

Alton

Van Buren

Greenville

Centerville

Houston

Eminence

Salem

Potosi

Ironton Fredrickton

Farmington

Marble Hill

CharlestonBloomfield

Benton


Cape Girardeau

Sikeston

Perryville

Jackson

Kennett

BN

SF

UPUP

BN

SF

BNSF

UP

Ste. Genevieve

Bird’s Pt.

DorenaNew Madrid

Caruthersville

Cottonwood Pt.

BNSF

UP

UP

Scott City

Doniphan

Alton

Van Buren

Greenville

Centerville

Houston

Eminence

Salem

Potosi

Ironton Fredrickton

Farmington

Marble Hill


Benton

Burlington NorthernS anta FeUnion PacificCounty SeatCity over 10,000 peoplePortRailroad

LOCATION MAPBNSF UP

40 0 40 80KM.

25 0 25 50MI.

LEGEND

11


County Name. County Seat Major Town(s) . River Port(s)Bollinger-12,029 Marble Hill-1,502Butler-40,867 Poplar Bluff-16,651Cape Girardeau-68,693 Jackson-11,947 Cape Girardeau-35,349 Cape Girardeau-35,349Carter-5,941 Van Buren-845Dent-14,927 Salem-4,854Dunklin-33,155 Kennett-11,260 Campbell-1,883

Clarkton-1,330Malden-4,782Senath-1,650

Howell-37,238 West Plains-10,866 Mountain View-2,430Willow Springs-2,147

Iron-10,697 Ironton-1,471Madison-11,800 Fredrickton-3,928Mississippi-13,427 Charleston-4,732 East Prairie-3,227 *Bird’s Point

*DorenaNew Madrid-19,760 New Madrid-3,334 Gideon-1,113 New Madrid-3,334

Lilbourn-1,307Morehouse-1,015Portageville-3,295

Oregon-10,344 Alton-668 Thayer-2,201Pemiscot-20,047 Caruthersville-6,760 Hayti-3,207 Caruthersville-6,760

Steele-2,263 *Cottonwood Pt.Perry-18,132 Perryville-7,667 Perryville-7,667Reynolds-6,689 Centerville-171Ripley-13,509 Doniphan-1,932St. Francois-55,641 Farmington-13,924 Bonne Terre-4,039

Desloge-4,802Leadwood-1,160Park Hills-7,861

Ste. Genevieve-17,842 Sainte Genevieve-4,476 Sainte Genevieve-4,476Scott-40,422 Benton-732 Chaffee-3,044 Scott City-4,591

Miner-1,056Oran-1,264Scott City-4,591Sikeston-16,992

Shannon-8,324 Eminence-548 Winona-1,290Stoddard-29,705 Bloomfield-1,952 Advance-1,233

Bernie-1,777Dexter-7,356

Texas-23,003 Houston-1,992 Cabool-2,168Licking-1,471

Washington-23,344 Potosi-2,662Wayne-13,259 Greenville-451 Piedmont-1,992

Source: Census Bureau Website: www.census.gov, June 2001.(* indicates place is unincorporated, and therefore does not have census data)

Table 1. Southeast Missouri region counties and their population.


12

Figure 5. Major roads and cities in southeast Missouri.


Cape Girardeau

Sikeston

Perryville

Jackson

Kennett

Ste. Genevieve

New Madrid

Caruthersville

DoniphanAlton

Van Buren

Greenville

Centerville

Houston

Eminence

Salem

Potosi

Ironton Fredrickton

Farmington

Marble Hill


Benton

63

62

63

160

60

412

60

67

61

55

55

57


Cape Girardeau

Sikeston

Perryville

Jackson

Kennett

Ste. Genevieve

New Madrid

Caruthersville

DoniphanAlton

Van Buren

Greenville

Centerville

Houston

Eminence

Salem

Potosi

Ironton Fredrickton

Farmington

Marble Hill


Benton

63

62

63

160

60

412

60

67

61

55

55

57

County SeatCity over 10,000 people

LOCATION MAP

40 0 40 80KM.

25 0 25 50MI.

LEGEND

13

Education statistics list 16 percent of theregion’s residents 25 and older with less than a9th grade education, 20.5 percent had greaterthan 9th grade but less than 12th, 45.3 percenthad graduated from high school, 13.5 percentwere college degreed and 4.7 percent held gradu-ate degrees. Employment and income data show22.4 percent of the available workforce weremanagers/professionals, 21.6 percent held tech-nical/ sales/ administrative positions, 15 per-cent were employed in a service industry, 1.7percent farming and farm related, and 32.7 per-cent in “other” employment sectors. The aver-age annual household income was $28,582 andthe average home value was $63,552. The un-employment rate for the region was at 6.5 per-cent. Approximately 17.4 percent of the region’sresidents were at or below the poverty level(Census Bureau, 2002).

Industry, Commerce andAgriculture

Industry in the southeastern region is highlydiversified. This helps keep the area’s economystable. In 2000, the manufacturing sector em-ployed over 37,000 people, which accounted for20 percent of the regional employment. Someof the large companies in the region includeBriggs and Stratton, Gates Rubber Co., the DoeRun Resources Corp., Tyson Shared Services,Inc., Rowe Industries, Noranda Aluminum, Inc.,and others.

Trade and services industries employ over90,000 people, which accounted for 50 percentof the regional industry employment in 2000(DED, 2000). In 2001, Cape Girardeau and NewMadrid were among the seven counties thatexperienced the largest gains in retail consum-ers and sales from outside their borders in Mis-souri (DED, 2001).

Agriculture continues to be a solid base forthe economy of Southeast Missouri. In 1997,16 percent of Missouri farms were located inthe southeast region (USDA, 1997). The South-eastern region specialized in rice and cottonproduction. Dunklin, New Madrid, Pemiscot,Scott, and Stoddard Counties accounted for 99percent of the total cotton produced in Missouri

(Missouri Agricultural Statistical Services, 2001).Butler, Dunklin, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Ripley,and Stoddard Counties accounted for 98 per-cent of the total rice produced in Missouri (Mis-souri Agricultural Statistical Services, 2001).Texas County led the State in beef cows pro-duction in 1998-99. Howell County ranked sec-ond in cattle and calves production in Missouriduring 1998-99. Mississippi, New Madrid,Pemiscot, and Stoddard were the leading coun-ties for wheat and soybean production in thestate during 1998-99.

Physical Characteristics

Climate

Southeastern Missouri has a humid, conti-nental climate with average annual tempera-tures from about 55 degrees F to 58 degrees F.Long term annual precipitation averages from37 to 47 inches throughout the region (figure6). Rainfall amounts are generally highest inthe spring and lowest in the fall and wintermonths. Evapotranspiration, the process of pre-cipitation being returned to the air through di-rect evaporation or transpiration of plants, con-sumes from 28 to 31 inches of annual rainfall.Surface runoff of precipitation averages from12 to 20 inches annually.

Physiography

Southeastern Missouri lies mostly in theSalem Plateau of the Ozarks, with the St.Francois Mountains and Southeastern Lowlandscomprising the rest of the region (figure 7). TheSalem Plateau is composed of mostly Ordovi-cian and Cambrian-age sedimentary rocks. Thelandscape is maturely dissected with steep-sidedvalleys separated by more gently rolling uplands.Modern soils are typically thin except for theupland areas. In those areas, bedrock is over-lain by thick deposits of unconsolidated residuum(weathered rock), typically permeable, allowinghigh rates of groundwater recharge. Karst to-pography here is typical and widespread, andon a larger scale than in the Springfield Plateau



14

Figure 6. Missouri average annual precipitation from 1971 – 2000. Source: Office of State Climatologist, University of Missouri-Columbia.

AVERAGE 1971-2000 TOTAL ANNUAL PRECIPITATION

INCHES33.6 - 36.036.1 - 39.039.1 - 42.042.1 - 45.045.1 - 48.048.1 - 51.0

0 25 50 100 150 200 MILES

15


Figure 7. Physiographic provinces of Missouri. Source: Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Geological Survey andResource Assessment Division.

L I M I T O

F G L A C I A T I O N

O Z A R K SOSAGE PLAINS

SPRINGFIELD

PLATEAU

SALEMPLATEAU

SOUTHEASTERN

LOWLANDS

ST.

FRANCOIS

MOUNTAINS

DISSECTED TILL PLAINS

E U

R E

KA

SPR IN

GS

E SC

AR

PM

ENT

0 20 40 60 80 100 Miles

0 20 40 60 80 100 Kilometers


16

area. Water-supply wells in this area can yieldlarge quantities of good-quality water. The aqui-fer in this area is known as the Ozark Aquifer,and is unconfined. It receives recharge prima-rily from precipitation and lateral movement ofgroundwater from outcropping bedrock.

The St. Francois Mountains are the high-est points in Missouri, with the oldest rockoutcroppings, a Precambrian igneous rock. Thehills are steep, with thin soils. The igneous rockmakes for a poor aquifer, and wells supply smallquantities of water, although of good quality.

Water stored in the flood plain deposits ofthe Mississippi River and others is called allu-vial groundwater. These deposits generally arevery good sources of drinking water and allu-vial wells generally yield large quantities of wa-ter. For example, the city of Ste. Genevieve getsits water from the alluvium.

Recreation

The hills, rivers and lakes in southeasternMissouri provide a scenic backdrop for 21 stateparks and historic sites, and numerous conser-vation and wildlife areas (table 2). All types ofwater recreation, including fishing, sailing, swim-ming, canoeing, water-skiing, and motor boat-ing are available on the area’s reservoirs (pri-marily Clearwater Lake and Lake Wappapello).The area’s pristine streams draw visitors fromaround the nation. These include the Current,Black, Eleven Point, Jacks Fork, and St. FrancoisRivers.

County State Parks1 MDC2 Federal3

Bollinger 0 13 2Butler 0 17 2Cape Girardeau 2 9 0Carter 0 5 2Dent 1 11 2Dunklin 1 8 0Howell 0 9 1Iron 3 7 2Madison 0 6 1Mississippi 2 9 0New Madrid 1 5 0Oregon 1 6 1Pemiscot 0 7 0Perry 0 6 0Reynolds 1 8 2Ripley 0 11 1Ste. Genevieve 2 10 1St. Francois 3 5 1Scott 0 3 0Shannon 0 9 2Stoddard 0 7 1Texas 0 20 2Washington 2 7 1Wayne 2 13 3

Sources: 1www.dnr.mo.gov/dsp/index.html; 2www.conservation.state.mo.us; 3www.fws.gov;3www.usace.army.mil; 3www.nps.gov; 3www.af.mil; 3www.fs.fed.us

Table 2. Number of state and federal recreational facilities in southeast Missouri.

17


Sources:

Black and Veatch, July 19, 2000, Public riverports of Missouri strategic plan andport capital improvement program:project summary, prepared for MissouriDepartment of Transportation.

Missouri Agricultural Statistical Services, 2001,2001 Missouri farm facts, Missouri De-partment of Agriculture.

Missouri Department of Economic Development(DED), 2000, Missouri Economic Researchand Information Center, Missouri re-gional data , available online atw w w . d e d . m i s s o u r i . g ov / b u s i n e s s /researchandplanning/regional/Bootheel/index.shtml

Missouri Department of Economic Development(DED), 2001, Missouri Economic Researchand Information Center, Missouri retailtrade 2001 , available online atw w w . d e d . s t a t e . m o . u s / b u s i n e s s /researchandplanning/industry/retail/retail.shtml

Missouri Department of Transportation, 2002,w w w . m o d o t . s t a t e . m o . u s /othertransportation/index.htm

Missouri Department of Transportation, 2002,h t t p : / / w w w . m o d o t . s t a t e . m o . u s /o t h e r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n /waterwaysmissouriwaterwaysmap.htm

Missouri Department of Transportation, 2002,Missouri fast facts: water resourcesprograms for Missouri.

Missouri Department of Transportation, 2002,Domestic waterway commerce, fromNational Waterways Conference.

Missouri Port Authority Association, 2002,www.missouriports.com

United States Department of Agriculture(USDA), 1997, National Agricultural Statis-

tical Services, Census of agriculture,available online at www.nass.usda.gov/cen-sus

United States Department of Commerce, Sep-tember, 2002, United States Census BureauWebsite: www.census.gov

Southwestern MissouriRegional Description

The southwestern regional covers 22 coun-ties in Missouri. These counties are Barry,Barton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Douglas,Greene, Hickory, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence,McDonald, Newton, Ozark, Polk, St. Claire,Stone, Taney, Vernon, Webster, and Wright (fig-ure 8). There are parts of 7 major reservoirslocated in the region. This is the only region ofthe state that does not border on a major river(either the Missouri or the Mississippi).

Colleges and Universities

Fourteen colleges and universities aresituated in the counties of the southwestern re-gion. The list includes, alphabetically, BaptistBible College, Springfield (Greene Co.); CentralBible College, Springfield (Greene Co.); CotteyCollege, Nevada (Vernon Co.); Crowder College,Neosho (Newton Co.); College of the Ozarks,Point Lookout, (Taney Co.); Drury University,Springfield (Greene Co.); Evangel University,Springfield (Greene Co.); Forest Institute of Pro-fessional Psychology, Springfield (Greene Co.);Global University, Springfield (Greene Co.); Mis-souri Southern State College, Joplin (Jasper Co.);Ozark Christian College, Joplin (Jasper Co.);Ozarks Technical Community College, Spring-field (Greene Co.); Southwest Baptist University,Bolivar (Polk Co.); Southwest Missouri StateUniversity, Springfield (Greene Co.) (figure 9).There also are branches of other colleges thatoffer courses in the region.


18

MCDONALD

POLK

BARRYOZARK

VERNON

TANEY

DADE

LACLEDE

WRIGHT

DOUGLAS

ST. CLAIR

JASPERGREENE

STONE

BARTON

CEDARDALLAS

NEWTON

WEBSTER

LAWRENCE

CHRISTIAN

HICKORY

MCDONALD

POLK

BARRYOZARK

VERNON

TANEY

DADE

LACLEDE

WRIGHT

DOUGLAS

ST. CLAIR

JASPERGREENE

STONE

BARTON

CEDARDALLAS

NEWTON

WEBSTER

LAWRENCE

CHRISTIAN

HICKORY

LOCATION MAP

�

40 0 40 80KM.

25 0 25 50MI.

Figure 8. Map showing counties of southwest Missouri region covered by this report.

19

Bolivar:SOUTHWEST BAPTISTUNIVERSITY

Neosho:CROWDER COLLEGE

Point Lookout:COLLEGE OF THE OZARKS

Joplin:MISSOURI SOUTHERN STATE COLLEGEOZARK CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

Springfield:BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGECENTRAL BIBLE COLLEGEDRURY UNIVERSITYEVANGEL UNIVERSITYFOREST INST. OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGYGLOBAL UNIVERSITYOZARKS TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGESOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

�

Nevada:COTTEY COLLEGE�

�

�

�

�

Bolivar:SOUTHWEST BAPTISTUNIVERSITY

Neosho:CROWDER COLLEGE

Point Lookout:COLLEGE OF THE OZARKS

Joplin:MISSOURI SOUTHERN STATE COLLEGEOZARK CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

Springfield:BAPTIST BIBLE COLLEGECENTRAL BIBLE COLLEGEDRURY UNIVERSITYEVANGEL UNIVERSITYFOREST INST. OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGYGLOBAL UNIVERSITYOZARKS TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGESOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

�

Nevada:COTTEY COLLEGE�

�

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�

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LOCATION MAP

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40 0 40 80KM.

25 0 25 50MI.


Figure 9. Locations of colleges and universities in southwest Missouri.


20

Regional Transportation

Navigation

There is no river transportation in thesouthwest region of Missouri, other than thenumerous streams and rivers used for recre-ational purposes.

Railroads

There is no passenger rail service in thesouthwestern region of Missouri. However, thereare several rail freight service lines in the re-gion. Among the Class 1 railroads operatinghere are the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe(BNSF), and the Kansas City Southern Railway(KCS). The only Class 2 railroad is the regionalMissouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad (MNA).There are two Class 3 railroads, the Arkansasand Missouri Railroad (AM), and the SoutheastKansas Railroad Company (SEKR) (figure 10).

Aviation

There are two commercial airports in theregion, Springfield (the largest) and Joplin. Inaddition, numerous small or private airfields arelocated across the 22-county area.

Highways

The only U.S. Interstate in the region is I-44, which trends from northeast to southwest.It connects Springfield with St. Louis to thenortheast, and Tulsa to the southwest. Othermajor U.S. numbered highways include Routes71 and 65, north-south through the southwest-ern Missouri region; 54, 60, and 160 runningeast-west (figure 11).

Population Characteristics

All of the southwestern Missouri regiongrew in population during the 1990s. Christian,Taney and Stone Counties grew by over 50 per-cent during the decade, with Barry, Dallas,Hickory, Laclede, McDonald, Polk, and WebsterCounties growing by 20-30 percent. The entireregion’s population grew by 25 percent (150,000)during the past decade.

The largest city in the region is Springfield,with over 150,000 people; Joplin follows at40,000. Total population for the region, accord-ing to the 2000 census, was 831,289 (table 3).This represents an average of 60.3 persons persquare mile with 50.1 percent of the populationin the 22-county region being female and 49.9percent were male. Fifty three percent of thetotal population was rural residents in 1990. Byage groups, 24.9 percent of the population isless than 18 years old, 10.2 percent is 18-24,27.4 percent is 25-44, 22.9 percent is 45-64,and 14.6 percent is 65 or older. The medianage is 36 years, 8 months. The 2000 censusidentified 369,481 housing units and 328,606households within the region (Census Bureau,2001).

21

KC

S

AM

MNA

KC

S

BNS

F

MNA

BNSF

��

��

��

��

Pineville

Cassville

NixaOzark

Galena

Forsyth

Gainesville

Ava

Neosho

Mt. VernonJoplin

CarthageSpringfield

Marshfield

Hartville

Lamar

Greenfield

Bolivar

Nevada

OsceolaHermitage

Buffalo Lebanon

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��Stockton

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Table Rock Lake

LakeTaneycomo

Bull Shoals Lake Norfolk Lake

Harry S Truman Reservoir

Pomme de Terre Lake

Stockton Lake

BNSF

MN

AKC

S

AM

MNA

KC

S

BNS

F

MNA

BNSF

��

��

��

��

Pineville

Cassville

NixaOzark

Galena

Forsyth

Gainesville

Ava

Neosho

Mt. VernonJoplin

CarthageSpringfield

Marshfield

Hartville

Lamar

Greenfield

Bolivar

Nevada

OsceolaHermitage

Buffalo Lebanon

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LakeTaneycomo

Bull Shoals Lake Norfolk Lake


Pomme de Terre Lake

Stockton Lake

BNSF

MN

A

LOCATION MAP

AM BNSF KCS MNA

Arkansas and MissouriBurlington Northern Santa FeKansas City SouthernMissouri and Northern ArkansasCounty SeatCity over 10,000 peopleRailroad

�

25 0 25 50MI.

40 0 40 80KM.LEGEND

��


Figure 10. Railways in southwest Missouri.


22

��

Nevada

Lamar

Carthage

Neosho

Pineville

Osceola

Stockton

Greenfield

Mt. Vernon

Cassville

Springfield

Ozark

Forsyth

Galena

Bolivar

Hermitage

Buffalo Lebanon

MarshfieldHartville

Ava

Gainesville


Pomme de Terre Lake

Stockton Lake

Table Rock Lake

Bull Shoals LakeLake Taneycomo

Norfolk Lake

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Lamar

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Neosho

Pineville

Osceola

Stockton

Greenfield

Mt. Vernon

Cassville

Springfield

Ozark

Forsyth

Galena

Bolivar

Hermitage

Buffalo Lebanon

MarshfieldHartville

Ava

Gainesville


Pomme de Terre Lake

Stockton Lake

Table Rock Lake

Bull Shoals LakeLake Taneycomo

Norfolk Lake

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25 0 25 50MI.

40 0 40 80KM.

LEGENDCounty SeatCity over 10,000 people

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Figure 11. Major roads and cities in southwest Missouri.

23


County Name. County Seat Major Town(s)

Barry-34,010 Cassville-2,890 Monett-7,396Barton-12,541 Lamar-4,425Cedar-13,733 Stockton-1,960 El Dorado Springs-3,775Christian-54,285 Ozark-9,665 Nixa-12,124Dade-7,923 Greenfield-1,358Dallas-15,661 Buffalo-2,781Douglas-13,084 Ava-3,021Greene-240,391 Springfield-151,580 Ash Grove-1,430

Battlefield-2,385Fairgrove-1,107Republic-8,438Strafford-1,845Willard-3,193

Hickory-8,940 Hermitage-406Jasper-104,686 Carthage-12,668 Carl Junction-5,294

Carterville-1,850Joplin-40,433

Webb City-9,812Laclede-32,513 Lebanon-12,155Lawrence-35,204 Mt. Vernon-4,017 Aurora-7,014

Marionville-2,113Pierce City-1,385

McDonald-21,681 Pineville-768 Anderson-1,856Goodman-1,183

Noel-1,480Newton-52,636 Neosho-10,505 Seneca-2,135Ozark-9,542 Gainesville-632Polk-26,992 Bolivar-9,143St. Clair-9,652 Osceola-835Stone-28,658 Galena-451 Crane-1,390

Kimberling City-2,253Taney-39,703 Forsyth-1,686 Branson-6,050

Hollister-3,867Vernon-20,454 Nevada-8,607Webster-31,045 Marshfield-5,720Wright-17,955 Hartville-607

Source: Census Bureau Website: www.census.gov, June 2001.

Table 3. Southwest Missouri region counties and their population.


24

Industry, Commerce andAgriculture

Industry in the southwestern region is var-ied. The manufacturing sector accounts for per-cent of the regional employment. In 2001, therewere 67,000 people employed in manufactur-ing. Some of the well-known companies in theregion include: Butterball Turkey, EFCO Corp.,La-Z-Boy Chair Co., Minnesota Mining andManufacturing Co., Bass Pro Shops, Fasco In-dustries, General Electric, Jack Henry, KraftFoods, MCI, Tracker Marine, Tyson Foods, andmany others.

Trade and services industries accounted for50 percent of the regional industry employmentin 2000 (DED, 2000). In 2001, Branson, Spring-field, and Joplin were among the areas that ex-perienced the largest gains in retail consumers/sales from outside their borders in Missouri, dueto the presence of tourism/recreation ameni-ties in the region (DED, 2001). The annual re-tail sales in the region have been over $8 billionand well over $5 billion for the Springfield metroarea (Springfield Chamber of Commerce, 2002).

Agriculture continues as a solid base for theeconomy of southwestern Missouri. In 1997, 26percent of Missouri farms were located in thesouthwestern region (USDA, 1997). Seven ofthe counties in the southwestern region wereincluded in the 1998-99 top ten list for hay pro-duction in Missouri. Barton County was a lead-ing county in Sorghum production in Missouriin 1998-99. Vernon County led the state in hogsand pigs production in 1998-99. Eight of thecounties in the southwestern region were rankedin the 1998-99 top ten list for the estimatednumber of milk cows. Broilers and turkeys aredominant in the southwestern counties. Thepoultry industries in the southwestern countiesproduce nearly enough chicken and enough tur-key to meet the needs of Missouri consumersplus some counties in surrounding states (Younget al., 2001).

Physical Characteristics

Southwestern Missouri has a humid, conti-nental climate with average annual tempera-tures from about 55 degrees F to 58 degrees F.Long term annual precipitation averages from39 to 42 inches throughout the region (figure6). Rainfall amounts are generally highest inthe spring and lowest in the fall and wintermonths. Evapotranspiration, the process of pre-cipitation being returned to the air through di-rect evaporation or transpiration of plants, con-sumes from 28 to 30 inches of annual rainfall.Surface runoff of precipitation averages from 9to 15 inches annually.

Southwestern Missouri contains parts ofthree distinct physiographic regions: the Salemplateau of the Ozarks, the Springfield plateau,and the Osage Plains (figure 7). The first twoare similar in their hilly nature and thin, easilyeroded soils. They both often have abundantgroundwater, in addition to numerous areas ofkarst topography.

The Osage Plains are distinct from the othertwo regions. Most of Barton, St. Clair, andVernon counties, and parts of Cedar, Dade, andJasper Counties lie in the Osage Plainssubprovince of the Central Lowlands physi-ographic province. These plains are unglaciatedand have more gentle topography than theOzarks. This is generally because more compe-tent Pennsylvanian-age shale, limestone, andsandstone underlie the area. This part of thesouthwestern region coincides with the fresh-water-saline water transition zone (figure 12).Therefore, the deeper Springfield Plateau aqui-fer and the Ozark Aquifer contain water toohighly mineralized for use. Nearer the surface,Pennsylvanian-age rocks locally are capable ofyielding small amounts of marginal-quality wa-ter. Most water districts in this area use surfacewater resources.

25


Figure 12. Freshwater-salinewater transition zone. Source: Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Geological Survey andResource Assessment Division.

F r

e s

h w a

t e

r -

s a

l i n

e w a t e r t r a n s

i t i

o n z o n e

AtchisonNodaway

Holt

Worth

Gentry

Andrew

Buchanan

De Kalb

Harrison

Daviess

ClintonCaldwell

Mercer

Grundy

Living

ston

Putnam

Sullivan

Schuy

ler

Adair

ScotlandClark

Knox Lewis

Linn Macon Shelby Marion

PlatteClay Ray

Carroll

Chariton

Rando

lph MonroeRalls

Pike

JacksonLafayette

Saline Howard

Boone

Audrain

Mon

tgom

ery

Callaway

Lincoln

Warren

St. Cha

rles

St. Louis

Jefferson

Franklin

Gas

cona

de

OsageCole

Moniteau

Cooper

Morgan

Miller Maries

Pettis

John

son

Cass

Henry

Bates Benton

St. Clair CamdenHickory

Vernon

Barton

Jasper

Newton

McDonald

Cedar

Dade

Lawrence

Barry

Polk

Greene

Christian

StoneTaney

Dallas Laclede

Webster Wright

PulaskiPhelps

Crawford

Was

hingt

on

Ste.Genevieve

Douglas

Ozark

Texas

Howell

Dent

Shannon

Reynolds

Iron

St.Francois

Madison

Perry

Oregon

Carter

Ripley

Wayne

Butler

Bol

linge

r Cape

Girard

eau

Scott

StoddardM

ississ

ippi

NewMadrid

Pem

isco

tDunklin

Freshwater-salinewatertransition zone

LEGEND

Fres

h

water - sali ne

water transition zon

FRESHWATER

SALINEWATER


26

Recreation

The hills, rivers and lakes in southwesternMissouri provide a scenic backdrop for elevenstate parks and historic sites, and numerousconservation and wildlife areas (table 4). Alltypes of water recreation, including fishing, sail-ing, swimming, canoeing, water-skiing, and mo-tor boating are available on the area’s reservoirs,of which there are parts of seven major reser-voirs. Stockton Lake is highly regarded for sail-ing, because the hills surrounding the lake arelow enough to allow good sailing winds to reach

the water surface. In other parts of the Ozarksregion, the hills shield the water from breezes.

The Branson area of Missouri is very sce-nic. Table Rock Lake is noted for bass fishing,and below the lake, in the Upper White River(Lake Taneycomo), there is a cold-water troutfishery that is renowned. Besides water sportsand historic sites, the Branson area also is hometo a wealth of musical entertainment, primarilyof the Southern Appalachian-Ozarkian style ofcountry music. Large theaters, restaurants, andshopping attract an international array of visi-tors of all ages.

County State Parks1 MDC2 Federal3

Barry 1 7 2Barton 2 16 0Cedar 1 6 1Christian 0 4 1Dade 0 8 1Dallas 1 11 0Douglas 0 5 1Greene 1 9 1Hickory 1 6 2Jasper 1 5 0Laclede 1 13 1Lawrence 0 7 1McDonald 1 9 0Newton 0 15 1Ozark 0 10 2Polk 0 7 2St. Clair 0 9 1Stone 0 8 2Taney 1 6 2Vernon 1 14 0Webster 0 4 0Wright 0 8 1

Sources: 1www.dnr.state.mo.us/dsp/index.html; 2www.conservation.state.mo.us; 3www.fws.gov;3www.usace.army.mil; 3www.nps.gov; 3www.af.mil; 3www.fs.fed.us

Table 4. Number of state and federal recreational facilities in southwest Missouri.

27

Sources:

Missouri Department of Economic Development(DED), 2000, Missouri Economic Researchand Information Center, Missouri re-gional data , available online atw w w . d e d . s t a t e . m o . u s / b u s i n e s s /researchandplanning/regional/northwest/index.shtml

Missouri Department of Economic Development(DED), 2001, Missouri Economic Researchand Information Center, Missouri retailtrade 2001 , available online atw w w . d e d . s t a t e . m o . u s / b u s i n e s s /researchandplanning/industry/retail/retail.shtml

Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, 2002,Springfield Business and DevelopmentCorporation, Demographic and statis-tics , avai lable onl ine atwww.businessforspringfield.com

United States Department of Agriculture(USDA), 1997, National Agricultural Statis-tical Services, Census of agriculture,available online at www.nass.usda.gov/cen-sus

Young, R., et al., 2001, Positive approachesto phosphorus balancing in southwestMissouri, report # 16-01 November 2001,Food and Agricultural Policy Research In-stitute - University of Missouri - Columbia.



28

29

Regional Water Use Overview

The scope of this report covers the entiresouthern region of Missouri, which includes 46counties. Due to this large number of countiesthis regional water overview section has beendivided into two separate sub-sections, thesoutheastern region and the southwestern re-gion.

Southeastern RegionalWater Use Overview

Water Resources Management

There are many issues that confront andhinder water resource managers. Watershedmanagement has now become the preferredmethod for evaluating water resources and iden-tifying problems and solutions. A watershed maybe defined as the natural or disturbed unit ofland on which all the water that falls (or ema-nates from springs or snowmelt), collects bygravity and fails to evaporate, and runs off via acommon outlet (Gaffney and Hays, 2000). Whilethese units are natural and logical boundaries,they seldom follow political boundaries. Thiscreates a problem for planners who must nowcoordinate many agencies, municipalities, andvaried interests. Cooperation among all stake-holders is usually needed to implement andmanage an effective watershed managementplan. This cooperation is often difficult, if notimpossible. On the local level, municipalitiesmay not have the funding, expertise, or politicalwill to become involved in a regional or stateplan.

On many water topics, there are organiza-tional challenges to address. For example, theprotection of wetlands involves many state andfederal agencies. Some wetlands manipulationrequire federal permits while others do not, andthis situation appears to change frequently inthe wake of federal court decisions. There arefederal and state guidance and executive orders,all of which back the concept of stopping theloss of wetlands. However, there are few formalmeans to prevent wetlands loss when manyactivities that destroy wetlands are beyond regu-lation. An understanding of the missions of eachagency involved in the discussion, as well as whatassistance each can lend, would be useful in solv-ing the larger problem (Madras, 2001).

The state is working with the Corps ofEngineers (COE) districts to unify the ap-proaches to Section 404 permits and their cor-responding Section 401 water quality certifica-tions. Similarly, the state is working with par-ties that frequently obtain certifications so thatthe requirements of certifications can be accom-modated within the design of the projects. Amajor initiative is to make these requirementsknown at an early stage of the process so thedesign can anticipate them (Madras, 2001).

Jurisdictional issues also arise in water re-sources planning and management. Most riverbasins are inter-state and therefore, fall underfederal oversight. This is implicit in the UnitedStates Constitution, in which the federal gov-ernment reserves the right to “regulate com-merce with foreign nations, and among the sev-eral states, and with the Indian tribes.” In theearly years of our country, commerce was car-ried out via waterways and navigation was animportant issue. A stream is considered navi-gable if it can float a boat that can be involved

4.



30

in commerce. It was also deemed that the de-fense of our country was dependent in large parton the protection of navigable waters.

The COE is now involved with grantingpermits for dredge and fill in navigable waters,flood control, water supply, dam safety, flood-plain management, and more recently, environ-mental protection and restoration. The Envi-ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) is anotheragency involved in water resources. Created in1970 by President Nixon, it is an arm of theexecutive branch and has risen to cabinet level.It is charged with administration of the “CleanWater Act (CWA).” It is involved in water re-source planning, research, and enforcement. Inmost cases, the EPA has delegated much au-thority to the states in regards to water resourcesprotection and management. Recent court rul-ings may have both clouded and clarified therole of the COE in determining what wetlandareas are and are not within their administra-tive jurisdiction to regulate under the CWA andother federal laws.

Because Missouri has 1,320,900 acres ofNational Forest, a brief discussion of the U.S.Forest Service is warranted (figure 13). One ofthe earliest mandates of the national forest ser-vice was to protect water supplies as well astimber resources. Today, forestry and logging

Figure 13. U.S. Forest Service acres in southern Missouri. (Shaded areas represent Forest Service lands.)

Texas

DentIron

HowellButler

ShannonWayne

OregonRipley

Stoddard

Perry

Reynolds

Scott

Carter

Dunklin

Bollinger

Washington

NewMadrid

Madison

Pemiscot

St. Francois

Mississippi

CapeGirardeau

Ste. Genevieve

Barry

Polk

Ozark

Vernon

Wright

Taney

St. Clair

Douglas

Laclede

Jasper

Dade

Greene

Barton

Stone

Dallas

Newton

Cedar

Webster

ChristianLawrence

Hickory

McDonald

LOCATION MAP

�

activities take place on national forests, includ-ing those in Missouri. The forest service man-ages our forests under the concept of “multipleuse” in which many activities such as recreation(hunting, fishing, biking, bird watching, etc), wa-ter protection, and logging are permitted. Re-cently, the Forest Service has begun to use anecosystem management approach to guide for-est policy. This also opened the policy-makingprocess to public participation in which com-peting demands are often considered and evalu-ated. The way these forests are managed hasimportant implications for water quality in ourstate.

The following description of water use insouthwestern Missouri is included to providecontext for the water use problems identified inthis report. As part of the major Water UsersLaw (RSMo 256.400), the Department of Natu-ral Resources’, Water Resource Program com-piles water use information. Major water usersare defined as those users that are capable ofpumping greater than 100,000 gallons of waterper day from either groundwater or surface wa-ter. The Major Water Users Database includesinformation about location, amount of waterused, and type of use (domestic, municipal, elec-trical generation, fish and wildlife, and drainage.)This data is submitted to the United States Geo-

LOCATION MAP

31

logical Survey, analyzed, and used extensivelyin their National Water-Use Information Pro-gram. Most of the water use data provided inthis section is referenced from this program(USGS, 2002).

Public Water Supply

The percentage of publicly supplied waterin southeastern Missouri allocated to commer-cial, domestic, and industrial uses is lower thanstatewide averages. Public water use is oftendefined as community-wide applications of wa-ter, such as firefighting and filling public swim-ming pools. Public water use also includes trans-mission losses (water lost from leaking pipes andjoints while being delivered to domestic, com-mercial and industrial users). Approximately 30percent of southeastern Missouri’s publicly sup-plied water went to public uses in 2000 com-pared to 27.7 percent statewide.

The percentage of water withdrawn forpublic supply delivered for domestic use in 2000was approximately 58 percent compared to 50percent for Missouri statewide.

Similarly, 2000 commercial use of publicwater supplies was slightly lower in southeast-ern Missouri than for the state overall. Com-mercial water use is defined by the USGS as“water for motels, hotels, restaurants, office build-ings, other commercial facilities, and institutions”(Solley, et al., 1993). In 2000, approximately 5percent of southeastern Missouri’s publicly sup-plied water was delivered to commercial waterusers compared to 8 percent statewide. Simi-larly, public water supply deliveries for indus-trial use in southeastern Missouri were low in2000. Compared to the statewide figure of 14percent, industrial water users in southeasternMissouri accounted for only 7 percent of totalpublic water supply usage.

Eighty percent of the population of south-eastern Missouri receiving water from publicwater systems are supplied by groundwater wellscompared with a state average of 43 percent. Insoutheastern Missouri, 65 percent of citizens areconnected to a public water supply comparedto 85 percent statewide.

Domestic Water Use

Domestic water use is often defined as “wa-ter used for household purposes”, such as drink-ing, cooking, bathing, and washing clothes anddishes. The National Water-Use InformationProgram of the United States Geological Sur-vey (USGS) estimated 2000 domestic water usein southeastern Missouri at 16.1 billion gallonsof water. These figures indicate that per capitausage was approximately 80 gallons/day fordomestic usage. While three-fourths of south-eastern Missouri’s domestic water requirementsare supplied by public water systems, privatewater supplies serve much of the area’s popula-tion. Approximately 190,000 people in south-eastern Missouri drew water from private sup-plies in 2000. The data from 2000 indicatesthat 100 percent of self-supplied domestic wa-ter withdrawals came from groundwater sources,although it is likely that a small percentage ofusers obtained water from surface water sources.In the 1990 U.S. Census of Population and Hous-ing, approximately 4,600 housing units in south-eastern Missouri reported using “some othersource” for water, a catch-all category which theCensus Bureau defines as “water obtained fromsprings, creeks, rivers, lakes, cisterns, etc.”

Industrial and CommercialWater Use

Industrial water use in southeastern Mis-souri is low, and accounts for nine percent ofpublic water supply deliveries. The USGS esti-mated 2000 industrial water withdrawals at 4.8billion gallons throughout the year. Industrialwater users across Missouri typically rely onpublic supplies rather than self-supplied water.However, in 2000, industrial water users insoutheastern Missouri received 1.3 billion gal-lons of water from public water systems, ap-proximately 22 percent of their total water use.In 2000, 71 percent of total self-supplied with-drawals for industrial use came from groundwa-ter sources. The data indicates varying levels ofindustrial water use throughout southeastern



32

Missouri, with 12 out of 24 counties showinglittle or no industrial water use at all.

In southeastern Missouri, commercial wa-ter use is less than industrial water use. Com-mercial water use in southeastern Missouri to-taled nearly 1.2 billion gallons in 2000. Com-mercial water use in southeastern Missouri de-pends upon both public water supply deliveriesand private supplies, with public water systemssupplying approximately 75 percent of theregion’s commercial water requirements.

Agricultural Water Use

Farmers in southeastern Missouri drawwater both to irrigate farmlands and to watertheir livestock. Water withdrawals for irriga-tion watering far surpass withdrawals for live-stock in southeastern Missouri. Groundwatersources account for most of southeasternMissouri’s agricultural water use. In 2000, over99 percent of the 480 billion gallons of waterused for agricultural operations in southeasternMissouri was taken from the region’s ground-water, most of which went to irrigation in theBootheel.

Irrigation water use in southeastern Mis-souri surpassed livestock water withdrawals in2000. Three-fourths of livestock water with-drawals were from surface water sources, con-sistent with the state as a whole. Livestock pro-duction is evenly distributed across southeast-ern Missouri, with individual counties using upto 503 million gallons per year. A variety oflivestock is raised in southeastern Missouri, eachof which must have access to water throughoutthe year. Farmers in southeastern Missouri usedslightly more than 3.1 billion gallons of water towater their livestock in 2000. Irrigation wateruse is concentrated in the Bootheel area ofsoutheastern Missouri, with three counties (But-ler, Stoddard, and New Madrid Counties) ac-counting for over 73 percent of the region’s irri-gation water use.

Less than 1 percent of irrigation withdraw-als in southeastern Missouri came from surfacewater sources in 2000, as compared to the state-wide value of 4 percent. It should be noted that

over 90 percent of all of Missouri’s irrigationwater is used in the Bootheel.

Water Use in PowerProduction

The Major Water Users Database of theMissouri Department of Natural Resources, es-timated total thermoelectric power generationwithdrawals in southeastern Missouri at approxi-mately 306 billion gallons of water in 2000 (Mis-souri Department of Natural Resources, 2001).Withdrawals for thermoelectric power genera-tion are used primarily for power plant coolingand come mainly from surface water sources.Although thermoelectric power generation re-quires vast amounts of water, very little of it isactually consumed. Statewide, more than 99percent of all thermoelectric power withdraw-als were returned to their source waters. Insoutheastern Missouri, six facilities (CTG Plant,Cape Girardeau Co.; St. Francis Power Plant inDunklin Co.; City of West Plains, Howell Co.; St.Jude Industrial Park and New Madrid PowerPlants, New Madrid Co., and Sikeston PowerStation, Scott Co.) account for the region’s ther-moelectric power generation. All of the plantsget their water from groundwater, except theNew Madrid plant, which uses Mississippi Riverwater.

One hydroelectric power generation facil-ity operates in southeastern Missouri, Taum SaukPlant in Reynolds County. It is a pump-backunit, where excess electrical power at night isused to pump water from a lower retention pondto a higher one, which is then released duringthe day to generate electricity. This facility usedapproximately 780 million gallons of water togenerate electricity in 2000 (Missouri Depart-ment of Natural Resources, 2001). Hydroelec-tric power generation is generally considered anon-consumptive use of water, although somewater is lost every year through evaporation.

33


Other Instream Flow Uses

Fish and other aquatic organisms in south-eastern Missouri’s lakes and streams dependupon flowing water for survival and aquatichabitat preservation. Many municipalities insoutheastern Missouri rely upon flowing waterto safely release wastewater back into the envi-ronment. Swimming areas and boat launchesfound on nearly every body of water within theregion accommodate recreational activitiesthroughout most of the year. Although no wa-ter is withdrawn, each of these is a “use” of wa-ter as well. Collectively, these are often referredto as “instream” uses.

Southeastern Missouri’s water resources areknown across the state for the recreational op-portunities they provide. Wappapello andClearwater Lakes attract visitors throughoutMissouri. In addition, a number of state parkswithin southeastern Missouri draw upon theregion’s water resources, including Grand Gulf,Johnston Shut-Ins, Lake Wappapello, Montauk,and Sam A. Baker State Parks, to name but afew. Southeastern Missouri’s many rivers andstreams offer a variety of recreational opportu-nities, including fishing and canoeing. Threenational scenic rivers (the Current, the ElevenPoint, and the Jack’s Fork) also draw many waterrecreationers to the area from around the coun-try.

Preservation of aquatic wildlife and habitatis another important “instream” use of water.Numerous conservation areas maintained by theMissouri Department of Conservation are lo-cated in southeastern Missouri. Most of south-eastern Missouri falls within the Ozark AquaticFaunal Region (Pflieger, 1989). Although someupland drainages may become dry duringdrought conditions, many rivers and streams insoutheastern Missouri have permanentstreamflow that supports fish and wildlifethroughout the year.

Sources:

Gaffney, R.M., and Hays, C.R., 2000, Water Re-sources Report Number 51, A summary ofMissouri water laws, Missouri State Wa-ter Plan Series Volume VII, Missouri Depart-ment of Natural Resources, Division of Ge-ology and Land Survey, 292 pp.

Madras, John, Planning Section Chief, WaterPollution Control Program, Department ofNatural Resources, Water Protection and SoilConservation Division, written communica-tion, 2001.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 2001,Geological Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision, Water Resources Program. MajorWater Users Database.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 1996,Water Pollution and Soil Conservation Divi-sion, Inventory of Missouri public wa-ter systems.

Pflieger, William L., 1989, Aquatic commu-nity classification system for Missouri,Missouri Department of Conservation,Aquatic Series No. 19, 70 pp.

Solley, W. B., Pierce R. R., Perlman, H. A., 1993,Estimated use of water in the UnitedStates in 1990, United States GeologicalSurvey Circular 1081, p. 76.

U. S. Bureau of the Census, 1990, Census ofPopulation and Housing.

USGS water use, 2002; http://water.usgs.gov/watuse

Vandike, James E., 1996, Water Resources Re-port Number 45, Surface water re-sources of Missouri, State Water PlanSeries Volume 1, Missouri Department ofNatural Resources, Division of Geology andLand Survey, 122 pp.


34

Southwestern RegionalWater Use Overview

Water Resources Management

There are many issues that confront andhinder water resource managers. See explana-tion contained in Southeast Region Water UseOverview.

The following description of water use insouthwestern Missouri is included to providecontext for the water use problems identified inthis report. As part of the major Water UsersLaw (RSMo 256.400), the Department of Natu-ral Resources’, Water Resource Program com-piles water use information. Major water usersare defined as those users that are capable ofpumping greater than 100,000 gallons of waterper day from either groundwater or surfacewater. The Major Water Users Database includesinformation about location, amount of waterused, and type of use (domestic, municipal, elec-trical generation, fish and wildlife, and drain-age). This data is submitted to the United StatesGeological Survey, analyzed, and used exten-sively in their National Water-Use InformationProgram. Most of the water use data providedin this section are referenced from this program(USGS, 2002).

Public Water Supply

The percentage of publicly supplied waterin southwestern Missouri allocated to commer-cial, domestic, and industrial is lower than state-wide averages. Public water use is often de-fined as community-wide applications of water,such as firefighting and filling public swimmingpools. Public water use also includes transmis-sion losses (water lost from leaking pipes andjoints while being delivered to domestic, com-mercial and industrial users). Nearly 38 per-cent of southwestern Missouri’s publicly suppliedwater was allocated to public uses in 2000 com-pared to 28 percent statewide.

The percentage of water delivered in 2000for domestic use was approximately 44 percentcompared to 50 percent for Missouri statewide.

In 2000 commercial use of public watersupplies was the same in southwestern Missourias for the state overall, at 8 percent. Commer-cial water use is defined by the USGS as “waterfor motels, hotels, restaurants, office buildings,other commercial facilities, and institutions”(Solley, et. al., 1993). In 2000, approximately 8percent of southwestern Missouri’s publicly sup-plied water was delivered to commercial waterusers compared to 8 percent statewide. Simi-larly, public water supply deliveries for indus-trial use in southwestern Missouri were low in2000. Compared to the statewide figure of 14percent, industrial water users in southwesternMissouri accounted for only 9 percent of totalpublic water supply usage.

Fifty-six percent of the population of south-western Missouri receiving water from publicwater systems are supplied by groundwater wellscompared with a state average of 43 percent.In southwestern Missouri, 63 percent of citizensare connected to a public water supply.

Domestic Water Use

Domestic water use is often defined as “wa-ter used for household purposes”, such as drink-ing, cooking, bathing, and washing clothes anddishes. Excluding thermoelectric and hydroelec-tric power generation, domestic water use is thepredominant use of water in southwestern Mis-souri. The National Water-Use Information Pro-gram of the United States Geological Surveyestimated 2000 domestic water use in south-western Missouri at 26.4 billion gallons of wa-ter. These figures indicate that per capita us-age was approximately 87 gallons/day for do-mestic usage. While 70 percent of southwest-ern Missouri’s domestic water requirements aresupplied by public water systems, private watersupplies serve much of the area’s population.Approximately 308,000 people in southwest-ern Missouri drew water from private suppliesin 2000. The data from 2000 indicates that 100percent of self-supplied domestic water with-drawals came from groundwater sources, al-though it is likely that a small percentage ofusers obtained water from surface water sources.In the 1990 U.S. Census of Population and Hous-ing, approximately 2,600 housing units in south-western Missouri reported using “some other

35


source” for water, a catch-all category which theCensus Bureau defines as “water obtained fromsprings, creeks, rivers, lakes, cisterns, etc.”

Industrial and CommercialWater Use

Industrial water use in southwestern Mis-souri is low, and accounts for less than 9 per-cent of public water supply deliveries. The USGSestimated 2000 industrial water withdrawals at6 billion gallons throughout the year. Industrialwater users across Missouri typically rely onpublic supplies rather than self-supplied water.In 2000, industrial water users in southwesternMissouri received 3.5 billion gallons of waterfrom public water systems, approximately 60percent of their total water use. In 2000, nearly80 percent of total self-supplied withdrawals forindustrial use came from groundwater sources.The data indicates varying levels of industrialwater use throughout southwestern Missouri,with 12 out of 22 counties showing little or noindustrial water use at all.

In southwestern Missouri, commercial wa-ter use is less than industrial water use. Com-mercial water use in southwestern Missouri to-taled nearly 4.4 billion gallons in 2000. Com-mercial water use in southwestern Missouri de-pends upon both public water supply deliveriesand private supplies, with public water systemssupplying approximately 75 percent of theregion’s commercial water requirements.


Farmers in southwestern Missouri drawwater both to irrigate farmlands and to watertheir livestock. Water withdrawals for irriga-tion watering surpass withdrawals for livestockin southwestern Missouri, similar to the rest ofthe state. Surface water sources account formost of southwestern Missouri’s agriculturalwater use. In 2000, 58 percent of the 19.2 bil-lion gallons of water used for agricultural op-erations in southwestern Missouri was takenfrom the region’s lakes and streams.

Irrigation water use in southwestern Mis-souri surpassed livestock water withdrawals in

2000, with usage exceeding 11.5 billion gallonsof water. Three-fourths of livestock water with-drawals were from surface water sources, con-sistent with the state as a whole. Livestock pro-duction is evenly distributed across southwest-ern Missouri, with individual counties using upto 540 million gallons per year. A variety oflivestock is raised in southwestern Missouri, eachof which must have access to water throughoutthe year. Farmers in southwestern Missouri usedslightly more than 7.7 billion gallons of water towater their livestock in 2000. Irrigation wateruse is widely distributed across southwesternMissouri, but three counties (Barton, Jasper, andVernon Counties) account for over 65 percentof the region’s irrigation water use.

Approximately half of irrigation withdraw-als in southwestern Missouri came from surfacewater sources in 2000, in sharp contrast to thestatewide value of 4 percent.

Water Use in PowerProduction

The Major Water Users Database of theMissouri Department of Natural Resources es-timated total thermoelectric power generationwithdrawals in southwestern Missouri at ap-proximately 74 billion gallons of water in 2000(Missouri Department of Natural Resources,2001). Withdrawals for thermoelectric powergeneration are used primarily for power plantcooling and come mainly from surface watersources. Although thermoelectric power gen-eration requires vast amounts of water, very littleof it is actually consumed. Statewide, more than99 percent of all thermoelectric power with-drawals were returned to their source waters.In southwestern Missouri, three facilities (JamesRiver Power Station and Southwest Power Sta-tion, both in Greene County, and Asbury PowerStation in Jasper County) account for theregion’s thermoelectric power generation. TheJames River plant uses surface water, whereasthe other two plants have wells.

Three hydroelectric power generation fa-cilities operate in southwestern Missouri: Stock-ton Dam in Cedar County, and Powersite andTable Rock Dams in Taney County. Together,these three facilities used approximately 0.7 tril-


36

lion gallons of water (2,148 acre-feet of water)to generate electricity in 2000 (Missouri Depart-ment of Natural Resources, 2001). The powergenerated by these three plants in 2000 is asfollows: Ozark Beach (Powersite Dam) = 16mega watts, Table Rock = 1,181.5 mega watts,and Stockton = 45.2 mega watts. Hydroelec-tric power generation is generally considered anon-consumptive use of water, although somewater is lost every year through evaporation andseepage from reservoirs.

Other Instream Flow Uses

Fish and other aquatic organisms in south-western Missouri’s lakes and streams dependupon flowing water for survival and aquatichabitat preservation. Many municipalities insouthwestern Missouri rely upon flowing waterto safely release wastewater back into the envi-ronment. Swimming areas and boat launchesfound on nearly every body of water within theregion accommodate recreational activitiesthroughout most of the year. Although no wa-ter is withdrawn, each of these is a “use” of wa-ter as well. Collectively, these are often referredto as “instream” uses.

Southwestern Missouri’s water resources areknown across the state for the recreational op-portunities they provide. Table Rock andTaneycomo Lakes attract visitors from through-out the Midwest, along with Bull Shoals, Nor-folk, Pomme de Terre, and Stockton Reservoirs.In addition, a number of state parks withinsouthwestern Missouri draw upon the region’swater resources, including Bennett Springs StatePark, Pomme de Terre State Park, Roaring RiverState Park, Stockton State Park, and Table RockState Park. Southwestern Missouri’s many riv-ers and streams offer a variety of recreationalopportunities, including fishing and canoeing.

Preservation of aquatic wildlife and habitatis another important “instream” use of water.Numerous conservation areas maintained by theMissouri Department of Conservation are lo-cated in southwestern Missouri. Most of south-western Missouri falls within the Ozark AquaticFaunal Region (Pflieger, 1989). Although someupland drainages may become dry duringdrought conditions, many rivers and streams insouthwestern Missouri have permanentstreamflow that supports fish and wildlifethroughout the year.

Sources:

Gaffney, R.M., and Hays, C.R., 2000, MissouriState Water Plan Series Volume VII, A Sum-mary of Missouri Water Laws, WaterResources Report Number 51, page 50 of292 pp., Missouri Department of NaturalResources, Division of Geology and LandSurvey.

Madras, John, Planning Section Chief, WaterPollution Control Program, Department ofNatural Resources, Water Protection and SoilConservation Division, written communica-tion, 2001.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 2001,Geological Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision, Water Resources Program, MajorWater Users Database.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 1996,Water Pollution and Soil Conservation Divi-sion, Inventory of Missouri Public Wa-ter Systems.

Pflieger, William L., 1989, Aquatic Commu-nity Classification System for Mis-souri, Missouri Department of Conservation,Aquatic Series No. 19, 70 pp.

Solley, W. B., Pierce R. R., Perlman, H. A., 1993,Estimated Use of Water in the UnitedStates in 1990, United States GeologicalSurvey Circular 1081, p. 76.

U. S. Bureau of the Census, 1990, Census ofPopulation and Housing.

USGS water use, 2002; http://water.usgs.gov/watuse

Vandike, James E., 1996, State Water Plan Se-ries Volume 1, Surface Water Resourcesof Missouri, Water Resources Report Num-ber 45, 122 pp. Missouri Department of Natu-ral Resources, Division of Geology and LandSurvey.

37

Water Use Problems

Drinking Water Use

Groundwater AssessmentNeeded

Problem:

In order to maintain the quantity and ad-equate quality of our groundwater resources, weneed a comprehensive county by county ground-water assessment in the state to help managethe resource.

Discussion:

Although much is known about Missouri’sgroundwater, as evidenced by Water ResourcesReport # 46, Groundwater Resources of Missouri,much more detailed information is needed. Theauthors of this report state that “this report isan overview of the groundwater resources ofMissouri” (Miller and Vandike, 1997).

Groundwater is used extensively through-out most of southern Missouri, for many pur-poses, including drinking water, irrigation, in-dustrial purposes, etc. Unlike surface water,where streams or reservoirs are relatively easyto quantify, aquifers are more difficult to assessbecause one can’t directly see their entire ex-tent and physically measure the resource.

Utilizing a county framework will help tofocus on the specific areas that need assessmentimmediately due to groundwater use issues thathave already occurred. But, it needs to be statedthat most of the following assessment compo-nents do not adhere to political boundaries butdeal with subsurface geology, which is irrespec-tive of county boundaries.

Study and continuing data generation onthe following assessment components is neces-sary to enable coherent scientific based deci-sions, both present and future, to be made con-cerning groundwater resources:

1. Groundwater Use – the amount or numberof gallons of groundwater used is necessaryfor all user types. This must include con-sumptive and non-consumptive uses. Theanalysis of the historical data is necessaryto show groundwater use trends. Presently,the Major Water User law (section 256.400to 256.430 RSMo) which was passed in1983, requires major water users (capabilityto produce at least 100,000 gallons of waterper day) to register their use each year withthe Department of Natural Resources, Geo-logical Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision. Compliance with this law is atissue because of a lack of penalty provisionsfor users who do not follow the law. Com-plete information is not being gathered.

A compliance strategy needs to be cre-ated to ensure full reporting. Also, no re-quirement exists for less than 100,000 gal-lon per day users. This information is nec-essary to get a thorough picture of presentgroundwater use. It is also important toregister usage because if Missouri’s water lawchanges in the future from “riparian” to“prior appropriation” water rights, the wa-ter registration of a user would help deter-mine the “first in time” stipulation of priorappropriations water law. This would be-come important in the future if water de-mand were higher than water availability.

2. Groundwater Level Measurements – thevolume of groundwater in storage varies de-

5.

Water Use Problems


38

pending on rainfall, water use, and otherfactors. Groundwater storage is monitoredby measuring the water level in aquifers.Beginning in the 1950’s, information onMissouri’s groundwater levels were gatheredby the Geological Survey and Resource As-sessment Division. This system of ground-water monitoring wells was begun in the1950’s due to the extended drought thatoccurred during that time which caused se-rious water supply conditions. It has beenin operation since then and was expandedto 70 wells in 2002.

Each of the observation wells is equippedwith an electronic data collection platform.The heart of the installation is a data re-corder that is essentially a dedicated com-puter. It receives data from a water levelsensor and stores that information. A wa-ter-level value is recorded every 30 minutes.Every four hours, each station has a one-minute time window when it can transmitthe recently-collected data back to the of-fice using data channels in a GOES weathersatellite that is in geostationary orbit about22,000 miles above the equator. This re-sults in data not more than about four hoursold being accessible to anyone with accessto the Internet.

The data is stored in the U.S. GeologicalSurvey ADAPS data storage system. TheUSGS also hosts the Internet site where thedata can be accessed. This site can be ac-cessed at www.dnr.mo.gov/water.htm thenunder the category “monitoring” select “Cur-rent Groundwater Conditions”. AlthoughMissouri’s monitoring well system has beendeveloping historical groundwater level datafor approximately 50 years, much moreneeds to be done in this area. Many morewells need to be placed across Missouri toadd to this database on groundwater levelmeasurement.

3. Recharge Area - another area that needs tohave a comprehensive ongoing assessmentis the relationship between surface waterand groundwater. When it rains how doesthe surface water get into the ground or doesit all run off into surface steams and rivers.Much of southern Missouri has abundant

sinkholes, caves, losing streams and springs(collectively known as karst). This formsbecause of the regions predominant carbon-ate rock type (dolomite and limestone) whichcan be dissolved by water, thereby formingthese types of structures. Sinkholes andlosing streams can act as direct conduits tomove surface water to groundwater quickly(much faster than happens where watermust slowly percolate through layers of soiland rock).

Since the karst features are constantlybeing shaped by moving water, they are al-ways changing (although, usually at a ratetoo slow for humans to observe). But insome cases dramatic changes can occur rap-idly. For example, the city of West Plainslost the contents of their sewage lagoonovernight in 1978, due to the opening up ofa sinkhole. Apparently, they had con-structed the municipal lagoon over the sink-hole that they did not know existed.

There is also the problem of perceptionleading to false assumptions. Often, springshave clear cold water flowing into a beauti-ful area that appears pristine. However, dueto the nature of the quick movement ofwater from surface to groundwater (therebybypassing the filtrating and cleansing prop-erties of soil and rock), there is no guaran-tee that springs are contaminant-free, al-though they may appear so.

In addition to the quantity of water inaquifers, potential vectors of contaminationare important to understand so that appro-priate protection can be established. Wateris recharged into aquifers through the sur-face of the earth, with some locations con-tributing proportionately more rechargethan others. These locations may requirespecial land use measures to ensure the qual-ity of the recharge is maintained. It is simi-larly difficult to understand recharge char-acteristics (how much goes into the aquiferover a given period of time, and if there areareas that have proportionately greater af-fect on the amount of water entering theaquifer) as it is the characteristics of theaquifer itself. Once an aquifer is polluted, itis very difficult and expensive to clean up.

39

Water Use Problems

Knowing exactly where the pollution is,where it is headed, and how fast it is mov-ing are difficult questions to answer.

The Geological Survey and AssessmentDivision has conducted ongoing work inmany areas that partly address these ques-tions. They include: study of the geology,water traces to determine the recharge ar-eas of springs, loosing stream inventory,springs database, sinkhole inventory, etc.What is needed is a focused expansion ofthese studies and databases. Additionally,putting the data into a format that can beused by decision-makers would be most use-ful. Utilizing Geographic Information Sys-tem (GIS) technology would help unravelthe complicated interrelationships betweenall these features.

4. Aquifer Geology - another assessment tool,would provide extensive geologic detail, in-cluding extent of aquifers, both lateral andvertical with effective porosity and perme-ability percentages. This would allow cal-culations to be made showing how muchwater was in each aquifer and how muchwater could be produced from the aquifer.Although the Geology Survey and Assess-ment Division has been the repository forgeological knowledge since 1853 much moreneeds to be done in the areas noted above.

Sources:

Miller, Don E., and Vandike, James E., 1997,Water Resources Report Number 46,Groundwater resources of Missouri,Missouri State Water Plan Series Volume II,Missouri Department of Natural Resources,Division of Geology and Land Survey, 210p.

Vandike, James E., Groundwater Section Chief,Geological Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision, Missouri Department of NaturalResources, personal communication, No-vember, 2002.

Overuse of Groundwater inSite Specific Areas

Problem:

There are several areas in Missouri wherethe overuse of groundwater has led to declininggroundwater levels. When a well is pumped,the water level in the well is lowered, which in-duces water in the aquifer adjacent to the wellto flow into the well. The difference betweenthe static or non-pumping water level in a well,and the water level at the end of the pumpingcycle, is called the drawdown. The drawdowndepends on the pumping rate, the pumping pe-riod, and the hydrologic characteristics of theaquifer such as its thickness, hydraulic conduc-tivity, and storage coefficient. The drawdown isgreatest in the pumped well, and decreases withdistance from the well. A well producing a largequantity of water for a long period of time candevelop a substantial “cone of depression” or“drawdown cone” around the well. The cone ofdepression that forms around a high-yield wellthat is pumped for an extended period may ex-tend several thousand feet or more from thewell. The distance from the pumped well to theedge of the cone of depression is called the ra-dius of influence. When pumping ends, the waterlevel in the well begins to rise and the cone ofdepression begins to decrease in size. If there isample time between pumping cycles, the wellwill fully recover and water level will return toits pre-pumping level (figure 14).

Well interference results when the draw-down cones of multiple pumping wells merge.If drawdown cones of two wells overlap, the re-sult is increased drawdown in both wells as com-pared to the drawdowns generated by the indi-vidual wells. Spacing wells as far apart as pos-sible reduces well interference. Groundwater-level declines often occur where there are nu-merous high-yield wells producing within a rela-tively small area such as a municipal well field,industrial park, irrigation area or confined ani-mal feeding operation. As long as the produc-tion wells are of similar depth, well interferencetypically is not an immediate or major problem.However, in areas where relatively shallow do-mestic wells are drilled into the same aquifer as


40

Figure 14. Idealized “cone of depression” from pumpage of a high-yield well.

300

200

100

00 100 200 300

Scale in Feet

Scale

in F

eet

50 ft.Drawdown

100 ft.Drawdown

150 ft.Drawdown

200 ft.Drawdown Pumping level

Pump

Cone ofInfluence

Casing Land SurfaceLand Surface

Static Water Level

ProductionWell

CementGrout

ProductionWell

150

ft. Drawdown

10

0 ft. D

rawdown

5

0 ft. D

rawdown

C

one of

Influence

PlanView

LongitudinalView

41

Water Use Problems

deep high-yield wells, production by the high-yield wells may lower water levels to the pointthat the shallow wells will no longer function.There is no statute to assure that earlier usersare not harmed by later users.

Discussion:

Groundwater is water beneath the earth’ssurface within a zone of saturation. The uppersurface of the zone of saturation in an uncon-fined aquifer is called the water table. Layers ofrock and other geologic materials capable oftransmitting and storing economically signifi-cant quantities of water are called aquifers.Groundwater is a finite resource that is ulti-mately replenished by precipitation soaking intothe earth. Each water well has a source-waterarea that supplies it. Depending on geology andwell construction, some wells receive their re-charge entirely from infiltration of precipitationinto the earth within its source water area. Oth-ers may not be appreciably affected by localrainfall, but rely on lateral movement of ground-water from a more substantial distance.

Although it is a finite resource, groundwa-ter is also a renewable resource. However,groundwater recharge can be a slow process.The time it takes to replenish a given volume ofgroundwater in the earth depends on many fac-tors including the porosity and hydraulic con-ductivity of the earth materials, aquifer depth,presence of confining units, precipitation, andarea groundwater withdrawal rates. Relativelyshallow unconfined aquifers are typically morereadily recharged than deeper confined aqui-fers. In some cases, groundwater may take yearsto move only a few feet, while in the karst ter-rain of southern Missouri, groundwater flowingthrough major spring systems may travel a mileor more per day through solution-enlargedopenings in the carbonate bedrock. Rechargerates may be less than 1 inch of water per year(33 gallons per minute per square mile) in low-permeability glacial drift and Pennsylvanian-agebedrock north of the Missouri River, to morethan 12 inches of water per year (400 gallonsper minute per square mile) in the karst water-

sheds in the southern part of the region. Wheregroundwater extraction exceeds recharge thereis a net loss of water in storage and the waterlevel in the aquifer will decline proportionally.Groundwater recharge can also be decreased inurban areas due to pavement and buildings,which increase the amount of impervious sur-face area.

Groundwater availability and potability varywith location across the region. In most areasof the region, however, large quantities of high-quality groundwater is readily available and issufficient to provide for municipal, agricultural,and industrial uses. Under certain conditions,such as in low groundwater yield areas or areasof high groundwater production; the rate thatwater is being extracted exceeds the rechargerate. This can lower groundwater levels andaffect groundwater availability, especially in shal-lower wells. Excessively lowering groundwaterlevels will negatively affect water supply eco-nomics in the area. Pumping costs will increase,wells ultimately may need to be deepened orabandoned, or in extreme cases alternative wa-ter supplies may eventually need to be devel-oped.

Lowering groundwater levels can have anegative effect on spring discharge and streambase flow contributions. Which in turn couldimpact aquatic life, especially any rare, threat-ened and endangered species that are relianton groundwater (ie. Ozark cavefish etc.).

Some of the major aquifers in southernMissouri serve private homes and public watersupply districts, and supply water for agricul-ture and industry. Missouri usually has enoughsnow and rainfall to replenish the water supplyin most aquifers, but during years of drought,water levels in many aquifers decline. Volun-tary water conservation is common duringdroughts. Missouri has no statute that requirescurtailment in certain circumstances but theMissouri Drought Plan sets out a method toaddress drought and its effects. However, citi-zens can file suit under the “reasonable use”doctrine to curtail what is alleged to be unrea-sonable or excessive use.


42

Site Specific Examples:

“For many years, there has been a slow,steady decline of the Ozark aquifer potentio-metric surface in southwestern Missouri fromabout McDonald County to Jasper County.Since 1962, groundwater levels have been moni-tored in this area using an abandoned munici-pal well at Noel in McDonald County, near thesouthwest corner of the state. The well is 850ft. deep and is open to the Cotter and JeffersonCity dolomites and the Roubidoux Formation.It contains 99 ft. of casing, and is cased throughthe Chattanooga Shale. When this well wasdrilled in 1931 for the Noel Water Company, itwas a flowing artesian well that discharged about60 gpm without pumping. Static water level ofthe well was several feet above land surface.Water level in the well decreased to the pointthat it ceased flowing in the late 1950s. In Mayof 1962 when it was converted into an observa-tion well, depth to water in the well was 48.7feet. In 1997 the water level in the observationwell was about 270 feet below land surface”(Miller and Vandike, 1997). In November 2002the water level averaged about 430 below groundsurface (figure 15) (Vandike, 2002).

“Much of the water-level decline is thoughtto be due to municipal well pumpage at Miami,Oklahoma, about 24 miles northwest of Noel.However, during the past two decades there hasbeen considerable groundwater use a few milessouth of Noel at large retirement developmentsin northern Arkansas, as well as from large poul-try operations in the McDonald County area.Estimates indicate that the Ozark aquifer is themost significant aquifer in the Springfield Pla-teau groundwater province. It contains an esti-mated 112.6 trillion gallons, or about 346 mil-lion acre-feet of usable water” (Miller andVandike, 1997).

The City of Branson in Taney County ex-perienced declining groundwater levels in theearly to mid 1990’s. This was the time that areatourism was at its peak and the tourism ‘off sea-son’ became shorter. Historically, it was duringthe ‘off season’ that groundwater usage de-creased and groundwater levels typically recov-ered. Prior to this period, most deep wells weredrilled to total depths of around 1500 feet, which

placed the bottom of the well in the EminenceDolomite. However, the area’s rapid growth ofthe early 1990’s led to the construction of moreand deeper wells resulting in further loweringof groundwater levels. Because groundwaterlevels were declining so rapidly, new municipalwells were drilled deeper. Adequate water quan-tities are available from the Ozark aquifer at greatdepth, but it quickly becomes economically in-feasible to pump and deliver. Branson was for-tunate to have a ready surface water sourcenearby in Lake Taneycomo. The city chose todevelop an additional surface water treatmentplant and use surface water to supply the bulkof their water demand. Since completion of thenew treatment plant, groundwater levels steadilyrecovered and are currently at or above pre-1990 levels in the immediate Branson area(Brookshire, 2003).

Springfield, in Greene County Missouri hasbeen experiencing declining water levels for quitesome time. Studies by the U. S. Geological Sur-vey in the late 1980’s determined that a cone ofdepression centered on Springfield indicated a500-foot decline in groundwater levels comparedto levels prior to extensive pumping. Althoughthe city’s water supply is mostly from surfacewater sources, there are numerous industrialusers that pump water from the Ozark aquifer.Each well drawing water from this aquifer hasits own cone of depression, and many of theseare in close proximity to other similar wells sothat the subsequent cones of depression coa-lesce to form large regional cones of depres-sion. In addition to this occurrence, new lawsgoverning the construction of domestic wells inGreene and part of Christian counties furthercomplicate the problem because domestic usersare required to seal out the upper aquifer anddraw water from the same Ozark aquifer uti-lized by municipal and industrial users. Theconsequences of this requirement have recentlybeen illustrated just beyond Springfield in north-eastern Greene County. It is an area of smallacreages where homeowners depend upon do-mestic wells for water supply. In addition, it isan area that has several industrial users and onemain municipal user of the Ozark aquifer. Sev-eral hundred domestic wells and numerous in-dustrial wells have been drilled in this area that

43

Water Use Problems

Figure 15. Groundwater-level hydrograph, Noel observation well, McDonald County.

measures approximately one township, or 36square miles. Since the summer of 2000, domes-tic well owners there have experienced continueddeclines in groundwater levels in their wells, some-times to the point of rendering the well useless(Brookshire, 2003).

Sources:

Brookshire, Cynthia; Hydrologist, Geological Sur-vey and Resource Assessment Division, De-partment of Natural Resources. Personal writ-ten correspondence, January, 2003.

Miller, Don E., and Vandike, James E., 1997,Water Resources Report Number 46,Groundwater resources of Missouri,Missouri State Water Plan Series VolumeII, Missouri Department of Natural Re-sources, Division of Geology and LandSurvey, 210 p.

Vandike, James E., Groundwater Section Chief,2002, Geological Survey and ResourceAssessment Division, Missouri Depart-ment of Natural Resources, website – Cur-rent Groundwater Conditions,www. dn r .mo . g ov/geo l o gy/wrp/grdh2o.htm


44

Unplugged Abandoned Wells

Problem:

Historically, most abandoned wells have notbeen plugged. Abandoned wells are a hazard topeople and livestock, and an entry point for sur-face waters that may carry contaminants intothe groundwater. Rules requiring the pluggingof wells were established in late 1987, and gen-erally do not apply to wells abandoned beforethat time. Therefore, there are hundreds of thou-sands of wells, abandoned since Missouri wassettled, that have not been properly plugged.

Discussion:

It has been estimated that Missouri has from150,000 to 300,000 unplugged abandoned wells.This may be a conservative estimate. After look-ing into the origin of this estimate, it could eas-ily be at least 500,000 unplugged wells and cis-terns scattered across Missouri (Netzler, 2001).If the 500,000 number is used, then there couldbe approximately 202,000 unplugged wells inthe region covered by this report. Each of theseunplugged wells or cisterns is a danger either tothe health, welfare and safety of Missourians, orto the groundwater that we rely on so heavilyfor our water resources.

Many things have changed since Missouri’searly settlement days more than 200 years ago,but one thing that has not changed is the needfor a dependable supply of water (Departmentof Natural Resources, 1988). If early settlers didnot live near a river, spring, lake, or stream, theyhad to dig a well or cistern. Unlike wells thatproduce water, cisterns simply store water, filledby runoff from roofs and channeled by guttersand downspouts.

The first wells were hand-dug, and manyof them are still in existence today but are rarelyused, and often forgotten. A hand-dug well istypically five to ten feet in diameter, and up tofifty feet deep. These wells were lined with lo-cal rock or brick and were covered with a con-crete or wooden cap. (The biggest hand-dugwell in the U.S. is located in southwestern Kan-sas in the town of Greensburg and is 32 feet indiameter and 109 feet deep.) These types of

wells are considered a major danger to life andlimb. People have died in Missouri by acciden-tally falling into one of these hand-dug wells.These types of tragedies can be avoided with alittle preventive action: plugging the well.

Unplugged abandoned drilled wells are alsoa danger to personal safety and a potential con-duit for surface-derived pollutants. The sizes ofMissouri’s drilled wells range from the normalsix-inch diameter for a private domestic well,upwards to 36 inches in diameter. Many peopledo not realize that a well as small as eight inchesin diameter can be a death trap to young chil-dren. Some people still remember the dramathat played out on our television sets in Octo-ber, 1987, about a little girl named JessicaMcClure who was trapped in a well in Texas.The well was just eight inches in diameter. Shewas very lucky to have been rescued alive.

Fewer people today live in rural areas, thenwhen those early wells were dug. Additionally,many rural areas today are served by publicwater supply systems. Usually, when a watersupply system is built in an area, people hookonto the system and the wells are abandoned,but not properly plugged. There is a statute(Section 256.628, RSMo) that requires well own-ers, when they connect to a public water sup-ply, to report if they will be using their waterwell. If they are not going to use the well, thenit must be plugged. Usually, the well owner statesthat they will use the well in the future, andtherefore do not plug the well. In reality, manyof these wells are never used again and over theyears the well is forgotten and added to thenumber of unplugged abandoned wells. Follow-up and enforcement of this statute is extremelydifficult.

Another example of wells not being pluggedproperly can be illustrated by the following sce-nario. A state employee was investigating alakeside resort and discovered that the facilityhad been razed. Two water wells had served theresort. Remnants of one well remained, with arock placed on top of the casing to block theopening. The other well was covered with soil,and it could not be determined from site exami-nation if the well had been properly plugged.The statute requires that the well plugging fol-low certain procedures, and be registered with

45

Water Use Problems

the department’s Geological Survey and Re-source Assessment Division. Plugging aban-doned wells is the responsibility of the land-owner, who is liable for accidents.

The definition of an abandoned well, as itappears in Section 256.603 (1), RSMo, of theWater Well Driller’s Act, is as follows: “Aban-doned well,” a well shall be deemed abandonedwhich is in such a state of disrepair that contin-ued use for the purpose of thermal recovery orobtaining groundwater is impractical and whichhas not been in use for a period of two years ormore. The term “abandoned well” includes atest hole or a monitoring well which was drilledin exploration for minerals, or for geological,water quality or hydrologic data from the timethat it is no longer used for exploratory pur-poses and that has not been plugged in accor-dance with the rules and regulations pursuantto Sections 256.600 to 256.640. This definitionis ambiguous and seemingly open-ended, so itis extremely hard to determine when a well istechnically abandoned. Also, if a landowner doesnot cooperate or “agree” to plug abandoned wellson owned property, the only enforcement thatcan be done is to refer the party to the Attor-ney General’s Office for litigation. Litigatingagainst large numbers of property owners whohave abandoned wells on their property is notthe most efficient or cost effective way to ac-complish the goal of having all abandoned wellsplugged.

Sources:

Netzler, Bruce, (former Section Chief), WellheadProtection Section, Geological Survey andResource Assessment Division, MissouriDepartment of Natural Resources, personalcommunication, 2001.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Di-vision of Geology and Land Survey, “Elimi-nating an Unnecessary Risk: AbandonedWells and Cisterns,” Brochure 1, 1998.

Private Water WellConstruction and WaterQuality

Problem:

Quality of drinking water from private wells:before enactment of the Water Well Drillers’ Act(Sections 256.600 to 256.640, RSMo) and theMissouri Well Construction Rules, in 1987, therewere no set standards for private domestic wa-ter well construction. Inadequate well construc-tion could lead to water quality problems andcould affect human health.

Discussion:

State statutes and rules establish water wellconstruction standards for private water wells,with the goal of protecting both consumers andMissouri’s groundwater. The natural quality andquantity of groundwater varies considerablyacross the southern region, ranging from abun-dant high quantity and quality to mineralizedor muddy water of limited quantity. In someareas, past land uses have caused contamina-tion of aquifers with pollutants. Because of thesefactors, statutes cannot guarantee water from aproperly constructed well will be of high qual-ity. The water well construction rules are de-signed to ensure that surface contamination doesnot enter the well, contaminating it and theaquifer (Department of Natural Resources WebSite, 2000).

The most important features concerningproper well construction are that enough cas-ing is used in the well shaft, and that the annu-lus of the well is grouted. (The space betweenthe outside of the casing and the drilled hole iscalled the annulus). In the years prior to thewell construction rules (pre-October, 1987), therewere no requirements on the minimum amountor type of casing that must be used. It is notuncommon to encounter “old wells” that haveten feet of rusted-out “stove pipe casing” (Netzler,2001). Generally speaking, the casing shouldseal out the soil and unconsolidated material,and be set into good, solid bedrock. In the south-ern Missouri region minimum well casing re-


46

quirements vary greatly. Well casing require-ments are based on the geology of the area.Since southern Missouri has diverse geology italso has diverse well casing requirements. Fig-ure 16 shows the areas across Missouri that haveseparate well construction rules based on thelocal geology and groundwater availability. Cas-ing requirements range from 20 feet in Area 5

of the Missouri Bootheel to 420 feet in Sensi-tive area C around Springfield.

Grouting the annulus of a well is of utmostimportance. When a private domestic well isdrilled in this region, usually an eight and five-eighths inch (8 5/8”) diameter hole is drilled tothe required casing point. Then the six-inchnominal casing is set into the hole. Since the

Figure 16. Map showing drilling areas for private well construction regulations.

Area 4

Area 2SensitiveArea A

Area 3

Area 6

SensitiveArea C

Special Area 1

Area 1

Area 5

SensitiveArea B

AtchisonNodaway

Holt

Worth

Gentry

Andrew

Buchanan

De Kalb

Harrison

Daviess

ClintonCaldwell

Mercer

Grundy

Living

ston

Putnam

Sullivan

Schuy

lerAdair

ScotlandClark

Knox Lewis

Linn Macon Shelby Marion

Platte

ClayRay

CarrollChariton

Rando

lph Monroe

Ralls

Pike

JacksonLafayette

Saline Howard

Boone

Audrain

Mon

tgom

ery

Callaway

Lincoln

WarrenSt. C

harles

St. Louis

Jefferson

Franklin

Gas

cona

de

OsageCole

Moniteau

Cooper

Morgan

Miller Maries

Pettis

Johnson

Cass

Henry

BatesBenton

St. ClairCamdenHickoryVernon

Barton

Jasper

Newton

McDonald

Cedar

Dade

Lawrence

Barry

Polk

Greene

ChristianStone

Taney

Dallas Laclede

WebsterWright

PulaskiPhelps Crawford

Was

hingt

on

Ste.Genevieve

Douglas

Ozark

Texas

Howell

Dent

Shannon

Reynolds

Iron

St.Francois

Madison

Perry

Oregon

Carter

Ripley

Wayne

Butler

Bol

linge

r Cape

Girard

eau

Scott

Stoddard

Miss

issipp

i

NewMadrid

Pem

isco

t

Dunklin

SensitiveArea B

SensitiveArea B

Sensitive Area B

SpecialArea 2

47

Water Use Problems

casing has a smaller diameter than the drilledhole, the space left after the casing is installedmust be sealed. This space, the annulus, mustbe grouted, according to the Missouri Well Con-struction Rules.

Whenever surface contamination (pesti-cides, septic tank effluent, animal waste, chemi-cals, petroleum products, solvents, etc.) finds anungrouted annulus of a well, it can quickly by-pass the natural filtering system of soil, uncon-solidated material and rock, and directly con-taminate the underground sources of water, theaquifers. Once an underground aquifer is con-taminated, it is very difficult and very expensiveto clean up. Prevention is always cheaper andmore effective than remediation. For example,when septic tank effluent comes in contact withthe ungrouted annulus of a well, the water willtest positive for fecal coliform bacteria (Netzler,2001).

The quality of the drinking water producedby these wells is very dependent on how wellthe annulus has been grouted. Enforcement ofhow these wells are grouted is a problem. Thepresent regulatory system operates on an af-ter-the-fact reporting requirement based on self-reporting. The permitted well driller has sixtydays to report how the well was constructed.Since the regulatory agency, (the department’sGeological Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision) does not know when and where a wellis to be drilled, it cannot have staff present toinsure that wells are grouted properly (Netzler,2001).

Domestic water wells installed after 1987must comply with Section 256.600 to 256.640,RSMo (The Water Well Drillers’ Act). However,once installed, there are no requirements formaintenance of these wells. The Centers forDisease Control (CDC) Nine-State Well Survey,completed in 1994, gives very good backgroundinformation on the state of water quality pro-duced from private wells. The CDC Survey wasinitiated after the flood of 1993 (on the Mis-souri River) submerged many wells located inthe flooded areas. Questions were raised aboutthe impact of inundation upon well water qual-ity. This study was conceived because little back-ground information existed on a statewide ba-sis. Through the efforts of the nine flooded states

(Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ne-braska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wis-consin) and the CDC, this study plan was pre-sented to the U.S. Public Health Office, Officeof Environmental Protection, and ultimately wasfunded by that organization.

The CDC Study systematically placed a gridof longitude/latitude intersections across theentire state of Missouri, with a minimum of eightsample sites for every county. Sampling per-sonnel were to locate and obtain a sample fromone private domestic water well within a three-mile radius of each intersection. This samplingmethod provided a true cross-section of well typeand construction. The only criterion was thateach well had to be used for drinking water pur-poses. Each sample taken was tested for bacte-ria, nitrate, and atrazine contamination. Figure17 shows the results of the bacteria tests for thecounties in the southern Missouri region.

The CDC Study tested for two types ofbacteria. The first is a group of bacteria calledColiform. This type of bacteria is present insoils and at the surface of the ground. This isan indicator bacterium which suggests that thesebacteria have gone from the surface into thesubsurface either by way of an ungrouted an-nulus, improper well cap, or an unplugged aban-doned well. The second type of bacteria testedfor was of the subgroup called fecal coliform,specifically the potential disease causing E-colistrain. Fecal coliform bacteria represent a groupof bacteria commonly found in the intestinaltract of warm-blooded animals.

Approximately 56 percent of the wellstested in the southern Missouri region testedpositive for coliform bacteria and 17 percenttested positive for E-coli bacteria. The averageage of these wells was 24 years, and the aver-age depth was 212 feet, with 59 percent show-ing poor construction features. For drilled wells,a number of factors were significantly associ-ated with coliform results: depth, age, diameter,type of casing, whether or not the well had acap, type of pump installed with the well, andproximity to a septic tank leach field. Well depthover one hundred feet, age less than eight years(remember, this was done in 1994), and plasticor steel casing were associated with significantlylower positive coliform percentages. Addition-


48

ally, well diameter less than nine inches, cappedwells, submersible pumps and location greaterthan one hundred feet from a lateral field wereprotective from coliform contamination (CDCSummary, 1994).

A concern with the construction of pre-1978 wells is the type of pump that may havebeen used. Specifically, the lubricating oil usedin some pre-1978 wells may contain PCB’s. Themanufacture of PCB’s ended in 1977 but beforethat time it was an additive to some lubricatingoil utilized in well pumps. If these old pumpsleaked while in use then a problem could occur.There is also a concern for proper disposal whenpulling the pump during the plugging these wells(Netzler, 2001).

Sources:

Centers for Disease Control, Community Envi-ronmental Health, Summary (CDC Sum-mary), 1994.

Netzler, Bruce, (former Section Chief), WellheadProtection Section, Geological Survey andResource Assessment Division, MissouriDepartment of Natural Resources, personalcommunication, 2001.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources WebSite on line at: www.dnr.mo.gov/geology/geosrv/wellhead.htm

Figure 17. Private water well test results from U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 1994 study.

86 − 2

40 − 0

74 − 0

93 − 0

82 − 1

64 − 3 8

3 − 0

84 − 1

85 − 0

73 − 1

85 − 3

93 − 0

82 − 1

74 − 1

83 − 1

83 − 0

83 − 1

87 − 1

85 − 1

84 − 1

97 − 1

98 − 3

106 − 1

85 − 1

83 − 1

92 − 0

84 − 2

106 − 4

74 − 1

82 − 1

85 − 4

73 − 2

73 − 1

85 − 2

83 − 0

9 3 − 0

83 − 0

82 − 0

83 − 0 8

6 − 5 72 − 1

83 − 1

80 − 0 8

1 − 0

60 − 0

84 − 0

TEXAS

DENTIRON

HOWELL BUTLER

SHANNONWAYNE

OREGON RIPLEY

STODDARD

PERRY

REYNOLDS

SCOTT

CARTER

DUNKLIN

BOLLINGER

WASHINGTON

NEW MADRID

MADISON

PEMISCOT

ST.FRANCOIS

MISSISSIPPI

CAPEGIRARDEAU

STE.GENEVIEVE

BARRY

POLK

OZARK

VERNON

WRIGHT

TANEY

ST. CLAIR

DOUGLAS

LACLEDE

JASPER

DADE

GREENE

BARTON

STONE

DALLAS

NEWTON

CEDAR

WEBSTER

CHRISTIAN

LAWRENCE

HICKORY

MCDONALD

�

LEGEND # Top number represents total well water samples taken per county# − # Lower left number represents number of well water samples testing positive for Coliform bacteria Lower right number represents number of well water samples testing positive for E−coli bacteria

LOCATION MAP

49

Water Use Problems

Seismic Activity

Problem:

A major earthquake in the southeastMissouri region could have disastrous results ondrinking water supplies, wastewater systems, andlocal ecosystems.

Discussion:

The New Madrid seismic zone of thesoutheast Missouri Bootheel region released sev-eral of the most powerful recent (geologicallyspeaking) earthquakes in North America in late1811 to early 1812. Three to five of these earth-quakes have been estimated to be 7.5 to 8 mag-nitude earthquakes using the magnitude scalesmost quoted today (Hoffman, 2002). It is stillan active fault system, which is being studiedextensively. Although research has been con-ducted in earthquake prediction no one reallyknows when the next quake of that magnitudemight occur. If there is a repeat of the temblor,there could be serious infrastructure damagewhich would possibly include: breakage of wa-ter and wastewater system piping, petroleumproduct pipeline damage, altered aquifers, dis-rupted barge traffic, well damage, road andbridge damage, electricity outages and contami-nation releases.

Water supply systems could be com-pletely disrupted. Distribution lines and wellscould be broken and leaking. The electricitymight go out for a long period of time, thus ren-dering the treatment plants and pumps requiredto run the system inoperable. Similar thingscould happen to wastewater systems.

In the event of a large earthquake, aquiferscould be seriously altered. It is possible due tothe liquefaction potential of the Bootheel re-gion that upper aquifers and the wells locatedin them might be damaged or destroyed. Al-though some disturbance of deeper aquifer sys-tems (including karst) would result in water levelchanges and muddy water the long-term prob-lems would be minimal.

A recent example of this was shown bythe 7.9 magnitude earthquake that occurred onNovember 3, 2002 in a remote area in centralAlaska. “Numerous wells have developed muddyor cloudy water. Large distant earthquakes canaffect water levels in wells and can cause sedi-ments in the rock and soil to be shaken andsuspended in well water. Reports and recordsdocument these same phenomena caused by theGood Friday earthquake, a 9.2 magnitude event,that took place in Alaska in 1964. In 1964, theGeological Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision’s groundwater level-monitoring networkhad several wells where the water level fluctu-ated significantly. The same thing has happenedas a result of November 3, 2002 Alaskan earth-quake. Geologists examined data from thegroundwater level monitoring network andfound significant changes in water level in atleast 21 of the 70 wells that are in the network.The effected wells are located in 19 differentcounties, primarily in southern Missouri”(Hoffman, 2002).

Mississippi River navigation would atleast be temporarily halted. There might bebridge collapses, making it impossible for bargesto move past them. The course of the rivermight be altered, and the navigation channelfilled in with sediment. Ports along the rivermight have their infrastructure severely dam-aged, rendering them inoperable. These po-tential changes could also make the river lesssuitable for recreation and wildlife habitat.

There are numerous opportunities forwaterways to become contaminated due to ac-cidental spillage from tank trucks, potential pipe-line ruptures, mine tailings dam failures, landfillliner ruptures to name a few.

Sources:

Hoffman, David, Geologist III, Geological Sur-vey and Resources Assessment Division,Missouri Department of Natural Resources,personal communication, November, 2002.


50

Aging Infrastructure of PublicWater Supply Systems

Problem:

The basic equipment, structures and instal-lations public water suppliers use to provideservices can become less efficient or break downwith age. Also, with increasing water demandsome systems can no longer supply the neededwater. It is difficult for many communities tofind the money to adequately update their sys-tems. Since much of the population of south-ern Missouri is served by public water supplies,any problems associated with aging water sup-ply infrastructure need to be addressed.

Discussion:

The National Water-Use Information Pro-gram of the USGS estimated in 2000 that 61percent and 66 percent of the population ofsouthwestern and southeastern Missouri, respec-tively, was served by public water supplies. Whilethe ages of municipal water supply systems andpublic water supply districts in southwesternMissouri range between 7 and 102 years, 64percent of them are between 7 and 30 yearsold, 24 percent of them are between 31 and 50years old, and 12 percent of them are 51 yearsold or more. For southeastern Missouri, therange is 10-102 years and 36 percent of themare between 10 and 30 years old, 19 percent ofthem are between 31 and 50 years old, and 45percent of them are 51 years old or more.

The problems caused by aging water sup-ply infrastructures are many. Aging water linesmade of materials inferior to those allowed bycurrent technology become fractured and beginto leak. Leakage, also called “transmission loss”,reduces system efficiency and can have a nega-tive impact on the system’s revenue generation.This, in turn, may make it more difficult for thewater supply system to finance much neededimprovements in the future. A more commonproblem is rupture of these old water lines, whichmeans that customers are without water until itis fixed, and there can be significant disturbanceabove-ground since workers have to tear up the

surface (often a road) to get to the pipes (Ryser,2001).

Aging water supply infrastructures may alsoimpact water quality. Outward leaking pipesalso can leak inward if there is a sudden loss ofpressure, allowing the system to become con-taminated. In addition, service connections mayhave lead joints, which may leach lead into drink-ing water. Accumulations of lead and prolongedexposure to even very small amounts of leadcan result in serious health effects. Older sys-tems may also have “dead-end” lines in whichwater may become stagnant and undrinkable.Some rural water districts laid water lines withan older form of PVC piping, which in somecases may leach vinyl chloride (a known hu-man carcinogen) into the water (Timmons, 2001).

Quite often, lines and facilities that wereadequate when they were first constructed, areundersized when it comes to present servicerequirements. With age, systems may no longerbe able to convey the amount of water that sys-tem users need. Present household, industrialand public uses (such as firefighting and droughtresponse) may be limited. Without viable alter-natives, future development may also be re-stricted as potential users are discouraged fromlocating their facilities in a service region un-able to support their needs.

Sources:

Ryser, E., Manager of Systems Engineering Di-vision, Kansas City Water Department, per-sonal communication, February, 2001.

Timmons, T., Environmental Specialist IV , Wa-ter Protection and Soil Conservation Divi-sion, Missouri Department of Natural Re-sources, personal communication, February,2001.

True Cost of Water

Problem:

The real costs associated with having cleanwater for all uses are often not directly paid for,

51

Water Use Problems

neither by the consumer, entities that may pol-lute water quality, or entities that produce wa-ter.

Discussion:

What is the real cost of clean water? Theanswer to this question is complicated for thecosts are often dissipated throughout society.Some of the costs are relatively easy to quan-tify, such as the physical infrastructure to de-liver treated water. There are costs that did notexist several years ago, such as those related toprotection from terrorists and new regulationsrequiring treatment or testing for additionalpotential contaminants. Quantifying the finan-cial cost of harmful effects on wildlife is difficult,especially if there is no apparent affect on gamespecies.

Missouri is a riparian water law state,wherein there is no charge for taking water fromits source in the environment, but we pay fortreatment and distribution. However, the latterare often not fully paid for directly by the con-sumer, but subsidized through both state andfederal grants. Supply lines need periodic re-placement, which is a very expensive process(see topic on aging infrastructure). The Ameri-can Society of Civil Engineers estimates thatMissouri’s infrastructure needs over the next 20years are $1.9 billion and $3.2 billion, respec-tively, for drinking water and wastewater (ASCE,2001).

There have been documented declines inthe groundwater table in parts of McDonald,Greene, and Jasper Counties due to over-pump-ing (Brookshire, 2002). These lowered watertables can cause local residents’ wells problems.This is an example of the cost being transferredfrom the entity causing the problem (costexternalization) to society whereas individualwell-owners must pay a relatively high price tohave their wells redeveloped, or pay for costlylitigation to try to prove harm done.

In areas where water resources can be over-used, water is often not priced to reflect theimportance of conservation. Money can be madeby selling water since raw water can be pro-duced free of charge, if water supply entitieshave the existing infrastructure to produce, treatand distribute the water.

The Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)program, which is part of the Clean Water Act,sets up criteria to determine the maximum pol-lutant load a water body can assimilate withoutbecoming impaired. This load maybe dividedup, or allocated, to all existing sources of thepollutant, which includes point and nonpointsources. The goal is to use existing regulationsto address point source concerns and promotevoluntary actions on the part of nonpointsources through the provision of funding for theinstallation of best management practices (2002Missouri Department of Natural Resources). Thecost associated with the established TMDL lim-its must be added into the cost of cleaning upthe water for consumption.

Sources:

ASCE, 2001: www.asce.org/reportcard/index.cfm?reaction=states&state

Brookshire, C., Groundwater Hydrologist, Geo-logical Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision, Missouri Department of NaturalResources, personal communication, May,2002.

Missouri Department of Natural Resource, Geo-logical Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision, 2002, 2002 Missouri Water Re-sources Law – Annual Report, WaterResources Report Number 71.

Inefficient Water Use

Problem:

Water is a precious and often abundantnatural resource with many uses. However, dueto its apparent abundance it is used in ways thatare not always efficient.

Discussion:

Water is essential to life. We often think itis unlimited, in part because we pay so little for


52

delivered water, which can lead to our wastingit. Water waste becomes a problem felt moststrongly during times of drought, but there areother times as well when it is felt (i.e. the gradualgrowth of overall use by an increasing popula-tion such that it exceeds the supply in a region).

During times of drought, the need for wa-ter is felt more strongly. In part, this is becausethere is less of it and people are encouraged toconserve water so that a supply will last for ev-erybody. It is exacerbated because drought im-pacts usually occur most during the time of yearwhen water is needed most. Heat (plus drought)often makes people crave water more (for swim-ming, drinking, etc.).

Water supplies can be taxed even duringtimes of abundant rainfall. Water use increasesfor two reasons: 1) increasing population and 2)per capita consumption tends to increase overtime (USGS, 2002). Developing more water sup-plies is often expensive, and the amount of wa-ter available from a new reservoir is significantlymore expensive than the amount of water savedvia conservation practices (Gleick, 2000).

As water supplies become stressed manyproblems can occur. If a source runs out, it mayneed to be replaced, usually at a very high cost.If the source is from a reservoir, the quality maygo down dramatically as the reservoir falls. Thisis due to water at the bottom often being turbid(muddy). If the source is from wells, the ground-water table may drop (see related topic), whichcan make wells go dry or make them produceless water, resulting in need to redevelop thewell at great cost. Dropping groundwater tablescan also cause subsidence in the surface of theland, causing all types of structural problems(although the geology of southern Missouri doesnot lend itself to subsidence). If the supply isfrom a stream, living organisms may have prob-lems (i.e. low dissolved oxygen, habitat loss, etc.)because they may be considered less importantthen humans need for water.

Water waste takes on many forms. NorthAmericans use many appliances that consumemore water than the same appliance in otherparts of the world. For example, your averageEuropean washing machine and dishwasher useconsiderably less water than models in the states.The way people landscape around buildings af-fects the amount of water they use.

High quality groundwater can be foundthroughout most of the region (there are a fewareas of contaminated groundwater, and someareas with naturally-occurring high salinitygroundwater that is unsuitable for drinking). Thegroundwater is an excellent source of drinkingwater since it is generally low in contaminantsand does not need heavy treatment before use.However, population changes and increasingindustrial uses have placed a burden on the re-source, which is currently being mined in someareas (“mining” of groundwater refers to the pro-cess of extracting it at rates faster than it canbe replenished).

Thermoelectric plants use lots of water, andsome of them are considered “single-pass” us-ers, (which means that fresh water is used oncebefore being released into the environment).This water could easily be reused for many pur-poses.

Sources:

Gleick, P. H., 2000, The changing waterparadigm: a look at twenty-first cen-tury water resources development,Water International, Vol. 25, Number 1,PP127-138, March, 2000.

USGS, 2002; http://water.usgs.gov/watuse

Lack of Water Rights Laws

Problem:

The lack of statutory laws that delineatehow much water a user is entitled to take froma source can be an impediment to the long termeconomic development and use of surface andgroundwater resources of Missouri.

Discussion:

Missouri is a riparian water rights state. Thelaws guiding individuals and municipalities rela-tive to water withdrawal and use are almostentirely court-made law (known as case law),rather than legislated (known as statutory) law.

53

Water Use Problems

Under the law, each riparian landowner has thesame water rights.

The right of a riparian landowner to takewater from a watercourse or an aquifer not onlyis recognized in law, but also is protected by law.But the guiding principle of riparian water rightslaw today is that the landowner may withdrawa reasonable quantity of water for personal ben-efit. The quantity withdrawn may not be somuch that it adversely affects another riparianwater user utilizing water from the same source.This allows the water user a great amount offreedom to utilize the surface water and ground-water located on and under their property.

Following case law, if the actions of oneriparian adversely affect another riparian (per-ceived to be withdrawal of an unreasonablequantity or other adverse action), it is up to thoseparties to work out an amicable solution. Fail-ing that, the plaintiff must bring suit in a courtof law to enforce water quantity rights and seeklegal relief and even reparation. The state gov-ernment is not normally a party to such dis-putes in riparian water rights states.

A comprehensive case law review may notprovide much guidance to someone who wantsto withdraw large quantities of water. Statu-tory law does not address the question of quan-tity of water that can be withdrawn for use byriparian landowners.

Missouri courts which have addressed wa-ter quantity issues have fairly consistently heldthat water withdrawal and use questions involv-ing quantity would be resolved on a case-by-case basis, with the courts as the determiners ofwhat is reasonable.

This being the case, no riparian landownercan be completely sure of exactly how muchwater they are entitled to withdraw and whatbeneficial uses are recognized (by the court), toavoid the potential liability of “using too muchwater.” In times of plentiful supply, the quan-tity of water that an individual may withdrawand use may not be the same as during times ofdrought. There is no guarantee of the quantityof water that a riparian can withdraw and use,and this can be a distinct disincentive to thedevelopment of long-term large quantity wateruses. Farmers, businesses, and even municipali-ties can be reluctant to invest in the equipmentneeded to develop a water system if there is

any doubt that in the future they might not beable to legally take the quantity of water theyneed in order to continue operation. If a changein water law is contemplated this needs to beaddressed so that farmers, businesses and mu-nicipalities have assurances in these areas, andso that future investments in the equipmentnecessary to supply their needs would be pro-tected by statutory law and not subject to judi-cial law.

Under riparian water rights law, landown-ers have the right to use the water that is besideor below their lands, but they do not own it.Water in Missouri, like the air we breathe, is rec-ognized in Missouri courts as a non-commodity,or a “free good,” to which riparian landownersare entitled.

Hydrologically, southern Missouri is gener-ally blessed with large quantities of good-to-excellent quality water. There are exceptions,such as the St. Francis Mountains area (wherethe groundwater is not available in large quan-tities), and the Osage Plains area (where thegroundwater is highly mineralized). Nearly theentire region has an annual average rainfall of42 inches or more. Parts of southeastern Mis-souri receive an annual average rainfall of 51inches or more. Nevertheless, droughts do oc-cur, and in the water-soaked year of 1993, theBootheel part of Missouri suffered from a lackof rainfall.

While water is a “free good,” only those whohave the financial means can fully develop thesupply sources. This general economic disin-centive of water source development translatesinto a restricted general economic developmentcondition.

Also, when there is a drought, the environ-mental needs of Missouri usually are not placedabove drinking water concerns. Without legis-lation to provide guidance, fish and wildlife wa-ter needs may remain unprotected, and the ques-tion of how much water may be removed froma given source will remain unresolved.

Sources:

Gaffney, R.M., and Hays, C.R., 2000, Water Re-sources Report Number 51, A summaryof Missouri water laws, Missouri StateWater Plan Series Volume VII, Missouri


54

Department of Natural Resources, Divisionof Geology and Land Survey, 292 p.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geo-logical Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision, 2002, Topics in water use:northwestern Missouri, Missouri StateWater Plan Series – Phase 2, Water Re-sources Report Number 61.


Improper Land Application ofPoultry Litter

Problem:

Nutrient overloading of watercourses result-ing from land application of poultry litter, inexcess of agronomic rates, leads to eutrophica-tion of waterbodies and degradation of ground-water. This is a potential health hazard as wellas a water quality problem for aquatic organ-isms. The nutrient of particular interest here isphosphorus.

Discussion:

The focus of attention in this topic is a sub-region of ten counties in the southwestern cor-ner of Missouri. This sub-region is a supplier ofboth agricultural products and recreation forMissouri and surrounding states. Some prod-ucts are shipped across the entire United Statesand exported to other countries. Recreationaldevelopments in the area attract visitors fromMissouri, across the United States, and othercountries. High quality water is the key factorcontributing to the success of these industries,and must be sustained in order to keep themboth economically viable. (See also the topic,“The Condition of Water Can Affect Tourism.”)The lakes of the sub-region are special attrac-tions for the recreation and tourism industriesthat annually bring in over a billion dollars ofrevenue. Table Rock Lake is of particular noteas an attraction (Young, 2001).

While poultry raising is common in Mis-souri, the poultry industries are concentrated inthe ten counties of southwestern Missouri. Inthis area, enough chicken is raised to meet theneeds of nearly all Missouri consumers, andenough turkey is raised to meet all the needs ofMissouri consumers, plus many in nearby states(Young, 2001). Within this sub-region, four Mis-souri counties (Barry, Lawrence, McDonald, andNewton) raise most of the birds.

The poultry industries began vertically in-tegrating in the 1950s, a process nearly com-pleted by the end of the 1960s. Today, poultryproduction is extremely efficient financially, andvery concentrated, geographically (northwest-ern Arkansas also is involved). One result hasbeen that the market price of chicken meat hasdeclined. Chicken has gone from a meat soexpensive that it was consumed only on specialoccasions in the 1930s and 1940s, to a meatthat is consumed almost daily in one form oranother because it can be produced and mar-keted efficiently (Young, 2001).

The poultry raising farms, including con-centrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs),have animal waste materials (manure), andground cover materials (such as sawdust or woodshavings), that together constitute “litter,” whichmust be disposed of properly. Poultry litterrightly is considered a fertilizer resource, and isnot just “thrown away.” The common manage-ment procedure is applying the litter to hayfields, pastures, and cropland. One challenge isthat litter must be disposed of all year long, andnot just during the growing season. Anotherchallenge is that it must be applied at agronomicrates (the rates at which growing plants maytake up the nutrients). Excess nutrients eithersoak into the top layer of soil, or run off intowatercourses with stormwater. In addition tothe nutrients, poultry litter has microbes thathelp the soil, and sometimes have other elementsthat hurt the soil. One such element is arsenic,approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-tration, used as an anti-coccidial (the coccids area class of protozoan internal parasites of ani-mals) (R. Foster, 2002).

In determining agronomic rates, agricultureprofessionals consider nitrogen as the criticalnutrient. But poultry litter also is rich in phos-phorus. Some within the industry are looking

55

Water Use Problems

at changing to consideration of phosphorus asthe critical nutrient. Feed corn contains phos-phorus, but in addition, a mineral supplement(containing calcium and phosphorus) is providedgrowing birds to assure good skeletal growth, aswell as egg production in laying birds. Egg-lay-ing birds require a ratio of about 12 parts cal-cium to 1 part phosphorus, whereas birds raisedfor their meat require a ratio of about 2 partscalcium to 1 part phosphorus (R. Foster, 2002).

Another, related, problem is the availabil-ity of phosphorus, itself. The U.S. is an exporterof phosphorus fertilizer, but reserves of highquality domestic phosphorus are dwindling, andit is predicted that most of our future phospho-rus needs will be met by Southeast Asian andNorth African mines.

Dead birds are not part of “poultry litter.”On the other hand, dead birds commonly aresuccessfully composted on the farms, rather thanburned or buried. Compost is not a regulatedproduct, and does not have to meet quality stan-dards.

The opportunity exists for value-added pro-cessing of poultry litter in some manner thatwould allow easier handling, shipping, and mar-keting, so that the fertilizer needs of those whoraise grain for feeding operations could be met.Perhaps pelletizing the litter, packaging it inpaper sacks, trucking it to market locations, andselling it as fertilizer would help move the litteraway from those farms where it is not needed (asurplus exists beyond agronomic rates) to wherethere is a need. This is mentioned not as a so-lution to the problem, but to indicate that stud-ies are currently underway to determine howbest to make use of the manure resource safelyand avoid the problems.

Until recently, scientists believed that phos-phorus usually bound itself to soil particles, andmoved primarily via erosion. Lately, it has beenshown that phosphorus can move in relativelyhigh concentrations in solution with runoff wa-ter when the soil levels become saturated. Ifpoultry litter from southwestern Missouri wereused at agronomic rates on other cropland inMissouri, there would be enough to supply threequarters of the state with fertilizer (Young, 2001).

In the Missouri Department of Natural Re-sources, the Environmental Assistance Office(EAO) now is working on a grant in southwest-

ern Missouri from the Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) under the terms of the CleanWater Act, Section 319, called the Elk RiverPoultry Litter Project. The Elk River also flowsinto Oklahoma, which has established stringentwater quality standards. Phosphorus is the majoridentified problem in this grant project becauseit is a persistent nutrient. The goal of this projectis to demonstrate the economic feasibility ofcomposting poultry litter.

Poultry litter will decompose eventually, butcomposting hastens the process, resulting in avalue-added product that improves both the fer-tility and the tilth of the soil. Composted poul-try litter would be a commodity with marketvalue (J. Foster, 2002).

Addressing the problem of too much phos-phorus, land-applied more heavily than agro-nomic rates, will help to solve three problems.One is the disposal of poultry litter, another iswater pollution, and the third is the conserva-tion of the mineral phosphorus.

Sources:

Foster, Jerry, Missouri Department of NaturalResources, Outreach and Assistance Center,Environmental Assistance Center, presenta-tion to the Missouri Water Quality Coordi-nating Committee, August 20, 2002.

Foster, Rose, Missouri Department of Agricul-ture, personal communication, October 29,2002.

Young, Robert E., et al., 2001, Positive Ap-proaches to Phosphorus Balancing inSouthwest Missouri, Food and Agricul-tural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), Uni-versity of Missouri, College of Agriculture,Food and Natural Resources.

Fish Farming

Problem:

Commercial aquaculture is a water inten-sive agricultural use that can have problematicside effects.


56

Discussion:

Commercial fish farming is increasing inMissouri and especially in the southeastern areaof the state. Aquaculture chiefly involves spe-cies used for human consumption (food fish), butcan include baitfish, ornamental fish, sport andgame fish, crustaceans, and other plants andanimals adapted for aquaculture. Catfish is thepredominant food fish that is aqua-farmed. Ofthe 49 aquaculture farms identified in the 1998Missouri agriculture census 44 are listed as rais-ing food fish (fish for human consumption). In1998 these 49 farms reported over $5 million insales, with food fish generating over $3.7 mil-lion of that overall total. Ponds comprised themain method used for aquaculture (90 percent)with flow through raceways and tanks second(8 percent) and cages third (2 percent) (MissouriAgricultural Statistics Service, 2002). Missourihas a diverse aquaculture industry and manyindividual aquaculture businesses raise and sella variety of products (Missouri Aquaculture Di-rectory, 2002).

Raising fish for sale requires fish, a holdingarea, adequate quantities of water, fish food, andsometimes water and fish treatments or chemi-cals. Each of these places a quantity demandon the available water and can impact waterquality and biological diversity downstream fromthe aquaculture farm.

Rearing ponds that utilize continuously ac-tive outlets can cause nutrient loading of wa-ters downstream when bio-solids leave the con-fines of the pond. This can include uneatenfood pellets and waste products directly fromthe concentrated numbers of fish. Rearing pondwater conditioning regimens that are sometimesplaced in the ponds to stimulate food chain or-ganisms include horse or sheep manure, strawand alfalfa. These too, depending upon the situ-ation, can cause downstream nutrient overload-ing. Water treatment chemicals are sometimesadded to rearing ponds, as are bactericides andfungicides that are used to treat the confinedfish. These substances can also move down-stream and cause unintended consequences.Rearing ponds are sometimes flushed to removeexcessive sediment or waste that has accumu-lated. When a rearing pond undergoes repair

to its gates or water control mechanisms, or todeepen or enlarge the capacity, the pond is of-ten drained. If that rearing pond is connectedto a stream then all these activities cause what-ever is in the pond to be flushed out, into thedownstream outlet, and into the environment.

The quantities of diverted water used inaquaculture applications can be small or can berelatively large. The aquaculture rearing pondscan utilize a short-term simple diversion, alonger-term diversion and retention system, ora passive instream method. Whatever the sys-tem, there is an active demand for adequatequantities of water. In times of water shortage,quantities that would have otherwise been leftfor other uses are utilized, increasing the overallwater demand and thereby increasing the com-petition for the water that is available.

An unintended side consequence ofaquaculture, in southeast Missouri, may be anincrease in the otter population. Wild ottersfind a bonanza when they come across a pondfull of farm raised fish. Otters are especiallyattracted to aquaculture ponds due to the rela-tively large number of fish in a confined space.Left unchecked this can lead to population in-creases of otters that feed on the farmed fishuntil that stock is exhausted or moved. Theotters are then left to prey intensively on wildfish in surrounding water bodies. The MissouriDepartment of Conservation is studying theimpacts otters may be having on small streamfish populations. Presently otters may be beingblamed for declines in small stream fish stocksthat are being impacted by drought. A factorthat clouds the issue is that of increased sus-ceptibility of fish to otter predation in streamswhich drought has reduced to a series of iso-lated pools resulting in reduced chances for fishto escape predation (Buchanan, 2003).

Sources:

Buchanan, Al, Missouri Department of Conser-vation, personal communication, March 10,2003.

Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service, 2002Missouri farm facts, 1998 census ofaquaculture, www.agebb.missouri.edu/mass/farmfact/aqua.htm

57

Water Use Problems

Missouri Department of Agriculture, MissouriAquaculture Association, and UniversityOutreach & Extension, 2002, Missouriaquaculture directory.

Industrial Water Use

Effects of Metallic MineralMining

Problem:

Metallic mineral mining and explorationdrilling in southern Missouri can be a water qual-ity and quantity problem if proper safeguardsare not followed.

Discussion:

Extensive mining in both southeastern andsouthwestern Missouri, particularly for metallicminerals (lead, zinc, iron, copper and silver) hasoccurred for several centuries. Presently, mostof the country’s lead supply comes from Mis-souri, with active mining occurring around Vibur-num, Iron County. The metallic mineral mines,processing facilities, and exploration holes havecaused pollution of surface water and ground-water, and could cause dewatering of an aquiferin a localized area.

When ore is processed, it is smelted to ex-tract the desired mineral. The remaining wasterock is placed in huge piles or ‘tailings ponds’.This waste rock contains trace amounts of met-als and acids that can leach runoff into surfacewaters and/or leach into the groundwater ifproper precautions are not taken. Sometimes,the tailings are placed behind earthen dams.Strong earthquakes may destabilize tailingponds, triggering a release of the contaminatedmining waste.

The impacts of metallic mineral mininghave been widespread in the old “tri-state min-ing district” of southwest Missouri. This is anarea that was mined from the mid 1800s to themid 1900s. The approximately 100 years ofmining activity has resulted in many problems.

Mining practices during this period of time didnot take environmental protection into accountresulting in land and water contamination.

Several problems can occur from unpluggedexploratory drill holes. First of all, any un-plugged drill hole can allow surface contamina-tion into the groundwater. Another problemthat can be indicative of some deep exploratorydrill holes in southeast Missouri is that theseholes can penetrate several aquifers. When thishappens mixing of aquifers can occur usuallyresulting in the upper aquifer draining into thelower aquifer. Not only is there a potential forsurface derived contaminates to be allowed toenter the lower aquifers but also dewatering ofthe shallow aquifers may result. This happenednear Bixby, Iron County, when the casing for aventilation shaft in a mine split and the upperaquifer drained into the ventilation shaft lower-ing the water table so that domestic wells ranout of water. The shaft was repaired and themine that was responsible for the accident drillednew wells for the affected residents. There arethousands of unplugged, unknown mineral ex-ploration test wells that can be a hazard forhumans on the surface (who might fall in), aswell as act as a conduit for pollution to enter anaquifer.

Industrial Pollution

Problem:

There are numerous pipelines, carryingpetroleum, liquefied natural gas, propane, andother products, crossing the Mississippi Riverand passing through southeastern Missouri, sub-ject to possible leaks. Closed city dumps andactive sanitary landfills have the potential topollute groundwater. Siting of sanitary landfillsis difficult in the 46-county southern Missouriregion because of seismic, karst, and groundwa-ter issues. Various hazardous wastes are gener-ated within the region, but there is no hazard-ous waste landfill in southern Missouri. Minetailings ponds, often containing heavy metals,are unstable and could leak or give way as aresult of a large earthquake.


58

Discussion:

Various kinds of petroleum products, refinedin Texas and other nearby states, are transportedby pressurized pipelines northeastward towardChicago and other eastern markets. In the re-cent past, there have been pipeline breaks andspills of petroleum products in other Missourilocations such as the Chariton River and Gas-conade River, which are not in this region.However, nowhere in Missouri is there a greaterconcentration of pipelines crossing the Missis-sippi River than in southeastern Missouri.

Because of the few numbers and locationsof shut-off valves, and the potential for seismicevents (the “New Madrid Earthquake Zone”) orvandalism (terrorism) to cause a leak or a cata-strophic break in a pipeline, the potential forloss of product and pollution of water bodiesand groundwater is very great. Pipelines areregulated by the Missouri Public Service Com-mission.

Contaminants of various kinds, leachingfrom closed city dumps, have the potential topollute community water supplies. Locationsof closed city dumps are known only to thosewho remember where they used to be, or whocome across one by accident. There is no stateinventory of closed city dumps, and dumps, perse, are illegal. There are regional solid wastemanagement districts, now, in Missouri. Thereare five active sanitary landfills in southern Mis-souri. Stringent regulations of what may or maynot go into sanitary landfills, and the costs tosupport the regional system, contribute to ille-gal dumping along roadsides. There are notenough convenient places to put solid waste inthe region. With only five active permitted sani-tary landfills in the 46-county region, and theexpense of having to design for seismic and karsthazards, there is a problem with people dump-ing solid waste in the woods or roadside ditches.

Hospitals generally have incinerators forbiohazardous wastes, but other hazardous wasteshave no place to go. There is no hazardouswaste transfer or storage site in the region. LoneStar Cement kiln, Cape Girardeau, formerlyburned hazardous wastes at high temperatures.

Mine tailings typically are stored behindearthen dams. Typically, these are located near

mined areas of the state. These tailings damsand the tailings stored behind them soon be-come saturated with water, hence are called tail-ings ponds. Seismic events could cause theearthen dams to give way and release the con-tents to downstream sites. Often, these damscontain large volumes of water, and the tailingscontain various heavy metals, with the poten-tial for environmental and safety concerns if theyare breached.

The forest products industry is strong insouthern Missouri. Among the products madein the region are dimension lumber, hardwoodcharcoal, shipping pallets, barrel staves, and vari-ous cedar and walnut items. Old sawdust pilescan release a waterborne leachate that couldcontaminate downstream water supplies.

Sources:

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Airand Land Protection Division, Solid WasteManagement Program, www.dnr.mo.gov/alpd/swmp/sanopr.htm

Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geo-logical Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision, Geological Survey Program: Por-tion of Energy Resources Map showing pipe-line areas, and portion of Earthquake Haz-ards Map of Missouri.

Building in Flood Plains

Problem:

Significant areas of southern Missouri areflood hazard areas, those locations where flood-ing has occurred in the past and will occur againin the future. Investment in flood plain devel-opment is risky. Some cities and counties haveregulations to guide development and allow thejurisdiction’s participation in the National FloodInsurance Program. Nevertheless, flood plaindevelopment continues to occur in several dif-ferent ways, with potential for socio-economicand environmental consequences.

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Water Use Problems

Discussion:

Flood plains, by definition, occasionallyflood. Often called “bottomlands,” flood plainsgenerally are the low areas beside rivers andstreams, and contain sediments that have beendeposited by those rivers or streams over cen-turies. The deposits come from the particlescarried by the water flowing in the streams dur-ing times of high flows and at high stages, andlaid down on the bottomlands when the floodsrecede.

In Missouri, the muddy Missouri River car-ried soil from the Rocky Mountain states andhigh plains states to the Mississippi River, where,at their confluence, the flood plain lands aremade of some of the most fertile soils in theworld (Les Volmert, 1979).

In southeastern Missouri, the area spokenof as the “Bootheel” is a large flood plain. Inpre-historic times, the counties of the Bootheelwere a part of what is called the “MississippiEmbayment”. Much of the area is underlain byQuaternary-age alluvial sediments deposited bythe ancestral and modern Mississippi and Ohioriver systems on top of older Tertiary, Creta-ceous and Paleozoic strata (Miller and Vandike,1997).

When explorers and settlers first arrived inthis area it was mostly swamplands. Since theturn of the century, the Bootheel area has beendrained for agricultural development and lev-eed to prevent most floods. But, flooding canstill occur in this area. The National Flood In-surance Program (NFIP), administered by theFederal Insurance Administration (FIA), an armof the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA), offers flood insurance for buildings andcontents located in flood hazard areas. Cus-tomarily property owners’ and renters’ insur-ance policies do not cover flood losses, and onemust ask for flood insurance coverage as an “ex-tra,” like earthquake insurance. Rates are basedon the elevation of the lowest floor of a struc-ture, relative to the elevation of a base flood(BFE) (a once-in-a-hundred-years flood, or a oneper cent chance flood), as determined by a FloodInsurance Study (FIS).

In order to avoid being required by a lenderto purchase flood insurance, owners of floodplain property often opt to build structures up

on fill material. Building on a mound above theBFE reduces the risk of flood damage. How-ever, the floodwaters that once might have over-spread where that mound is, must go somewhereelse. Filling flood plain lands force flood watersonto other properties that may not have beenflooded.

In addition, altering the flooding of formerlyflood plain lands changes the groundwater-sur-face water relationship, may jeopardize accessto and from those lands, may increase flow ve-locities in the vicinity of the filling, and changethe ecology of the territory that has been al-tered. Many local governments have had topurchase flood plain lands to restore them totheir former grades, so that nearby roadways orother property will be safer, and so that futureflood damages will be reduced.

Examples

In 1993, in the Upper Mississippi RiverBasin, which includes the Missouri River Basin,heavy summer rains caused unusually long-termflooding between April 1 and November 1, withthree federal disaster declarations in Missouribecause of extensive damages to real and per-sonal property. In 1995, after repeat floodingof near-similar proportions, flood damages weremuch less. The reason was that in 1994, nu-merous buy-outs of property, with removal ofstructures, had eliminated many properties atrisk.

In McDonald County, southwestern Mis-souri, a large discount store’s distribution centeris being built in a flood plain (Buck, 2001). Thelowest floor is above the base flood elevation atthat location. The sewer lift station also wasdesigned and installed above the 100-year floodelevation. McDonald County is participating inthe NFIP, flood insurance is available, flood plaindevelopment regulations are in place, and lend-ers are aware of the hazards and the require-ment to protect their loan portfolios. Somecounties, however, are not participating in theNFIP and do not regulate flood plain develop-ment. Such regulations are separate from build-ing codes, land use zoning, or master planning.

Floods can happen at any time of year.They are not limited to spring rainy seasons.Areas that are at risk of flooding can be mapped.


60

Levees are subject to failures, fill can be under-mined, and flood insurance can be costly. De-velopment can push floodwaters onto neighbors.The best uses of flood plains are uses that arecompatible with occasional inundation, espe-cially uses that take advantage of the richnessof the bottomland soils.

Responsibility for governing developmentof flood plain lands rests with local levels ofgovernment, where they wish to exercise it, inthe name of public safety, public health, andgeneral welfare, as provided in the statutes ofMissouri (Gaffney and Hays, 2000).

Sources:

Buck, Richard, Southwestern Missouri RegionalOffice, Missouri Department of NaturalResources, personal communication, Octo-ber 24, 2002.

Gaffney, R.M., and Hays, C.R., 2000, Water Re-sources Report No. 51, A summary ofMissouri water laws, State Water PlanSeries Vol. VII, Missouri Department ofNatural Resources, Division of Geology andLand Survey.

National Flood Insurance Program, Federal In-surance Administration, FEMA.

Schmutzlet, Dale, Missouri Department of Pub-lic Safety, State Emergency ManagementAgency.

Volmert, Les, St. Charles County (Mo.) DistrictConservationist, U.S.D.A., 1979.

Dam Operations

Problem:

The purpose, operations and managementof dams, as well as their physical presence, im-pact the social, environmental and economicaspects not only of the immediate area but ofthe surrounding region.

Discussion:

Within the southwestern region of Missouri,there are four hydropower dams. Three of theseare United States Army Corps of Engineers(USACE) managed and one is privately owned.The three USACE dams are Table Rock, Stock-ton and Pomme de Terre. Power Site Dam(Ozark Beach Power Plant) forms LakeTaneycomo and is managed by Empire DistrictElectric Company. The largest lake in the re-gion is Table Rock Lake, which can store3,462,000 acre-feet (52,300 surface acres) ofwater. Table Rock Dam discharges into LakeTaneycomo, which is impounded by PowersiteDam. Table Rock Dam and Power Site Dam areon the White River. Stockton Dam can store1,619,000 acre-feet (38,300 surface acres) ofwater in Stockton Lake and Pomme de TerreDam can store 407,000 acre-feet (16,100 sur-face acres) of water in Pomme de Terre Lake(Davis, 2002).

The Geological Survey and Resource As-sessment Division’s (GSRAD) Dam and Reser-voir Safety Program (D&RSP) lists 253 damswithin the southwestern region and 18 of thoseare D&RSP regulated. The lakes created bythese dams range in size from less than 1 acreup to 24,900 acres. Eleven of the 253 lakes areover 100 surface acres (Missouri Department ofNatural Resources, 2002).

Within the southeastern region there aretwo major USACE dams, Clearwater andWappapello. Wappapello Lake is the larger ofthe two, impounding a maximum of 625,000acre-feet (23,100 surface acres) of water(USACE, 1946). Clearwater Dam can impound413,700 acre-feet (10,400 surface acres) of wa-ter in Clearwater Lake (USACE, 1995).Wappapello is on the St. Francis River andClearwater is on the Black River. Authorizedfor flood control and other purposes, Wappapelloand Clearwater do not have hydroelectric powergenerating facilities.

The GSRAD D&RSP lists 637 dams withinthe southeastern region and 165 that are undertheir regulatory authority. The lakes createdby these dams range in size from less than anacre to over 23,000 acres. Thirty-two of the637 lakes are over 100 surface acres (MissouriDepartment of Natural Resources, 2002).

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Water Use Problems

Benefits that dams provide can includewater supply, aquatic habitat, recreational ben-efits, flood control, drought mitigation and hy-dropower generation. Compared to streamswithout dams, those with dams on average havegreater water-volume continual flows, and gen-erally have more stable year ‘round flows. Suchstreams generally are not subject to the samefrequency, duration and size of hydrologic events.Dams typically mitigate, to some degree, thepeak of the hydrologic event (flood and drought).While it is not always the case, on rivers wheredams are in place, they may provide continueddownstream water flow, when otherwise thestream would go dry during extreme droughts.During flood events, dams typically retain thepeak of the flood and release it over a longertime span, thereby lessening the downstreamdamage.

The primary or priority purpose of how thedam is managed and operated under varyingwater quantity conditions is also a water useissue. While some dams are installed and oper-ated for the sole purpose of water supply, floodcontrol, or recreation, generally the larger damsand their reservoirs are operated and managedfor a variety of uses, resulting in these differentuse demands competing with one another – es-pecially during time of extreme hydrologic wa-ter events. During extreme hydrologic andweather events, events can, at times, transpirein unique sequences with the resulting damagesworse than if the dam were not there. Reser-voirs may give a false sense of security for floodand drought protection and for a continueddrinking water supply.

Power generation dams have different im-pacts than do water supply and flood water re-tention dams. Dams whose primary purpose isflood water retention may have very low waterlevels almost all the time, thereby making flood-water storage capacity available when needed.Once the flood has passed, the water is releasedfrom the reservoir in a controlled manner. Powergeneration dams, by their very nature, requirecertain amounts of water on an ongoing basisin order to generate electrical power. The heightof the water column in the reservoir, behind thedam, determines not only how much water isavailable but also how efficiently power can begenerated. Generally power generation dams

do not have as great a percentage of dedicatedflood attenuation capacity as do dams intendedpurely for flood control, however power gen-eration dams and reservoirs are generally muchlarger, so the actual volume of water is larger.While the greater volume of more stable waterin a reservoir may be a benefit to plants, fishand wildlife, fluctuations in that water level atcertain times may have a deleterious effect onthose same plant and animal species.

Dams and reservoirs change the naturalcharacteristics of the stream they impound, bothabove and below the dam. They definitelychange water quantities and can change thechemical and temperature characteristics of thewater, both above and below the dam. As a sideeffect of their construction they alter the natu-ral environment, resulting in a generally morestable, but more unnatural, downstream envi-ronment. Obviously, upstream from the damundergoes major environmental changes, as theonce flowing stream becomes a lake. Thesechanges directly impact the aquatic and terres-trial flora and fauna in both positive and nega-tive ways.

Streams that are not dammed may havemore natural flow regimes and as such are gen-erally subjected to a greater variability in shortterm and long term average flows, due to thevariability of precipitation, floods and droughts.Undammed streams typically have a more natu-rally evolved bio-community than do the artifi-cially created and maintained environments ofreservoirs and streams below the dam.

The competing uses for the available quan-tities of water both in the reservoir and releasedinto the stream below the dam, is a water useissue. The more notable include water supply,recreation, and the support of aquatic and ter-restrial species and the environments in whichthey live. Outflows of the dam can, under somesituations, cause excessive channel cutting, banksloughing and erosion, or even downstreamflooding. Bottom releases from dams can havelow dissolved oxygen under some situations.This can have a negative impact upon riverineaquatic species. Quantity of water can becomean issue for the environmental, economic, andsocial oriented interests on both the lake andbelow the dam. This typically occurs duringspecific times of the year and is based upon the


62

water quantity demands, for example, of recre-ation or agriculture interests.

There is typically more economic and so-cial activity centered on large lakes and reser-voirs than free-flowing streams. However, thereare notable exceptions to this, such as the Cur-rent, Jacks Fork, and Eleven Point Rivers, toname a few. Instream environmental differences,as previously noted, contrast sharply betweenreservoirs and free-flowing streams. Lakes andreservoirs not only change the floral and faunalcontent of the original stream but its very char-acter as well. With construction of a dam, ashallow, fast flowing, warm water stream maybe changed to a deep, cool water reservoir. Someplant and animal species adapted to survive inthe stream are ill suited for life in the reservoir.Dams may also prevent the movement of aquaticwildlife. This is somewhat of a trade-off as thelake, however, may provide an expanded habi-tat for not only more but a greater variety offish, animals and plants than the undammedstream. This is quite often seen as an opportu-nity, as many ponds, lakes and reservoirs cre-ated by dams are artificially stocked withgamefish species.

Reservoirs and rivers associated with damsgenerally provide greater recreational and eco-nomic opportunities. Greater recreational andeconomic opportunities equals more people,which means more pollution potential in lakesand streams including the use of motorized wa-tercraft, which may release petroleum productsinto the stream and reservoir causing waterpollution.

Sources:

Clearwater Lake Water Control Manual,United States Army Corps of Engineers,July 1995.

Davis, J., United States Army Corps of Engi-neers, Pomme de Terre Office, personalcommunication, July 25, 2002.

Missouri Department of Natural Resources,August 1, 2002, Missouri dam and res-ervoir inventory list, Dam and Reser-voir Safety Program, Geologic Survey and

Resource Assessment Division, MissouriDepartment of Natural Resources.

Shannon, P., May 24, 2000, Missouri Departmentof Health and Senior Services, presenta-tion on water quality findings in Lake ofthe Ozarks to the Bagnell Dam relicensingstakeholder workgroup.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The MasterPlan Recreational DevelopmentLake Wappapello, Mississippi RiverCommission, 1946.

United States Army Corps of Engineers website:www.swl.usace.army.mil

United States Army Corps of Engineers website:www.nwk.usace.army.mil

Recreational Water Use

The Condition of Water CanAffect Tourism

Problem:

Situations where water quality is degradedor quantity is lacking can have a negative im-pact on tourism.

Discussion:

Many people travel to southern Missourifor water related recreation purposes. With partsof seven major reservoirs and many beautifulsprings, canoeing streams, and caves, there isample opportunity to enjoy water. For example,it is estimated that Taneycomo and Table RockLakes are in the top five lakes in the state interms of fishing (Weithman, 1991). People en-joy water in various ways: boating, canoeing, jetskiing, water skiing, fishing, swimming, cruiseson the lakes, etc. Many tourists are drawn tothe region primarily for other purposes; but alsoparticipate in water recreation. The increased

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Water Use Problems

tourism population may put a strain on localwater supplies. A lot of money comes into thisarea as a result of tourism, which is an essentialcomponent to the region’s economy. For ex-ample, Stone and Taney Counties both had tour-ism-related sales revenues of over 40 percentof their total sales (Kaylen and Langham, 2001).

If there are water quality problems to theregions waterways, tourists might stay away, fora variety of reasons. Areas might be declaredoff-limits for whole body contact because of el-evated fecal coliform counts. This happened inthe James River and Crane Creek (Kiner andVitello, 1997). Although such a warning mightlast for a defined period, it can linger in people’sminds thus affecting their decision to return.

Some water uses have adverse impacts onother water uses. For example, when the Corpsof Engineers releases plenty of water out of TableRock Lake, trout fishing is excellent on LakeTaneycomo. However, when they hold waterback, Taneycomo’s trout fishing is very poor.Although this may be good for the Corps’ pur-poses, it may hurt others’ uses of the same wa-ter. Several years ago there was a drought, whichlead the Corps of Engineers to release less wa-ter out of Table Rock Lake into Lake Taneycomo.The latter’s water, hurt the Rockaway Beachtourism industry. The Corps of Engineers isworking to remediate the problem.

The health of the fish are an important in-dicator of water quality which can also effectlocal tourism. In the early 90’s, there were healthadvisories on paddlefish in the James River dueto chlordane contamination (Kiner and Vitello,1997). Since many people come to the regionfor fishing, they may be reluctant to return ifthere are problems with either the fish or bodyof water. Lack of water could potentially ham-per tourism as well. Severe restrictions on wa-ter use might make the beautiful landscapingand luxurious golf courses less attractive to tour-ists.

Sources:

Bayless, M. and Vitello, C., 1999, White RiverWatershed Inventory and Assess-ment, Missouri Department of Conserva-tion.

Kaylen, M. and Langham, P., 2001, Economicimpact of Missouri’s tourism andtravel industry: January-December2000, MU Tourism and Development Cen-ter.

Kiner, L., and Vitello, C., 1997, James RiverWatershed Inventory and Assess-ment, Missouri Department of Conserva-tion.

Weithman, A.S., 1991, Recreational use andeconomic value of Missouri fisheries,Missouri Department of Conservation.

Watershed Conservation andLand Use

Problem:

Commercial development in the GreaterBranson Area of Stone and Taney Counties ischanging the face of the land (topography) andthe way stormwater runs off (hydrology).

Discussion:

While the geology of the greater Bransonarea is largely bedrock with a light soil (residuum)covering, adequate for trees and shrubs, theOzark mountains of this area are fractured, andwater is able to move quickly from the surfaceinto the groundwater. Due to Branson’s hillyterrain, it is necessary for commercial develop-ment to adapt. Theaters and motels, for ex-ample, are “terraced” onto the hillsides. Park-ing lots, which are numerous and covered withimpervious paving allow more stormwater tobe shunted to storm sewers and streams, alter-ing the hydrology of those streams and the riv-ers to which they run, as well as groundwaterrecharge.

Commercial development is not limited tohotels, music halls, and stores. It includes theuse of natural resources to supply the basic needsof construction (i.e. stone quarrying). While thewatershed characteristics are being changed bythe rapid development activities, there also isanother consequence and that is the changingscenic characteristics.


64

There are many who know of the areasbeautiful diversity. Those who have read thebook, The Shepherd of the Hills, by Harold BellWright, an early 20th Century novel about life inGreater Branson in the late 19th Century, havebecome familiar with many landmarks of thearea, such as the White River, Roark Creek, andDewey Mountains. Those who visit Bransontoday, often visit Old Matt’s Cabin and the view-ing tower called Inspiration Point. The OzarkMountains constitute one of the scenic attrac-tions of Branson and visitors enjoy the forestedmountainsides in all seasons. Highlights of theyear are in April when the dogwoods are inbloom and in October when the fall colors areoutstanding.

Population growth in the region presentsvarying points of view. Those who espouse “pri-vate property rights” proclaim that landownershave a right to do what they wish with theirown property. Conversely, there is a point ofview that recognizes that there is public inter-est in what is done, especially in a location ofgreat scenic interest and attraction. It is themelding of the two that presents a challenge.

Two things are being disrupted in theGreater Branson Area, its watersheds and thescenic beauty of the area. Many Branson en-trepreneurs make an effort to capitalize on themagnificent Ozark vistas and regional historyand lore, including attractions like Silver DollarCity, but some do not. As a result, land useplanning must be a vital consideration in futureplans for this area.

Pathogenic ColiformBacteria in Streams

Problem:

Streams can be rendered unsafe for wholebody contact recreation by the presence of mi-crobes.

Discussion:

There are numerous places (streams, lakes)in the southwest Missouri region where people

like to enjoy whole body contact recreation (i.e.swimming, water skiing, etc.). Unfortunately,many of these locations may suffer from con-tamination of human or animal origin. Thiscontamination can enter waterways from leak-ing sewage pipes, sewer overflows, animal feed-lots, wild animal waste, malfunctioning onsitesewage systems (septic or lagoon), etc.

Local health departments test at these rec-reation sites to see if there are indicators of fe-cal contamination (i.e. E. coli, total coliform),weekly in some instances, monthly in others. Ifa minimum threshold is surpassed further test-ing is instigated. In some cases, the location isdeclared off-limits.

An extensive study was undertaken in thesummer of 2001 to analyze pollution in theJames River basin (Weckenborg, 2001). Sam-pling took place during warm weather over theperiod of 1998-2001. Most of the sites exceededthe EPA-proposed single sample limit for E. coli(236 colonies) over 50 percent of the time, withone site in Wilson Creek having all of its samplesgreater than this limit. The sites with the few-est exceedences had the smallest populationsliving in their watersheds. The sources of thefecal pollution have not yet been clearly identi-fied, other than those that occurred during theSpringfield Wastewater Treatment Plant’s sew-age spill in the summer of 2000 (in the upperreaches of Wilson Creek).

Sources:

American Water Works Association (AWWA),1990, Water quality and treatment: ahandbook of community water sup-plies-4th ed.

Weckenborg, S., 2001, Summer Intern, South-west Regional Office, Missouri Departmentof Natural Resources, In-stream samplehistory for full body contact bathingbeaches within the James River Ba-sin as well as the Taneycomo and BullShoals Lakes Basin, Missouri Depart-ment of Natural Resources internal publi-cation.

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Water Use Problems

National Scenic Rivers

Problem:

There are several potential environmentalconcerns to the National Scenic Rivers in south-eastern Missouri.

Discussion:

The Eleven-Point National Scenic River andthe Ozark National Scenic Riverways (compris-ing the Jacks Fork and Current Rivers) drawtourists from around the country. This providesvital support to the local economy. However,numerous sources of pollution pose current andpotential threats to the quality of the water,which can adversely impact tourism (see relatedtopic “The condition of water can affect tour-ism”). These include: municipal sewage treat-ment plants, commercial logging, lead miningand an overload of waste from horses and hu-mans during large gatherings.

The possibility of lead mining is anotherpotential source of problems for these rivers (seerelated topic). Lead ore is known to exist in theregion and there has been some exploratorydrilling, with more proposed. The mining coulddewater the aquifers or otherwise alter them.These aquifers sustain the flows of springs ofthe region, which in turn enable the rivers toremain navigable for small craft during driertimes of the year. During drought conditionsthe spring flows allow these streams to flow aspermanent streams, which is critical for survivalof wildlife species. The mining could also bringvarious pollutants to the surface, which wouldbe contained, in tailings ponds. These pondscan have catastrophic failures that could seri-ously pollute the rivers with heavy metals andacid. A study conducted in the Ozarks concludedthat children had elevated blood lead levels dueto the remnants of mining, posing serious healththreats (Murgueytio et al., 1998).

Commercial logging can cause other prob-lems. Should clearcutting (one form of harvest-ing logs) consume greater acreage, it can have asignificant change on the hydrology (increasingpeak flows, and decreasing base flows) of therivers. It can also lead to greater sedimentation

of the streams, thereby decreasing fish habitatand hurting the tourism industry.

There also may be negative impacts of largegatherings of people and horses in the region.The shod horses can be rough on streamsidetrails, causing greater erosion. Additionally, theyadd undesirable nutrients and fecal pollution.The large numbers of visitors (with their horses)could be a problem if their waste is not man-aged properly. These are possible reasons (alongwith municipal effluent) for the fecal contami-nation of the Jacks Fork River (Davis andRichards, 2002).

Sources:

Davis, J. and Richards, J., 2002, Assessmentof microbiological contamination ofthe Jacks Fork within the Ozark Na-tional Scenic Riverways, Missouri-phase I , found at: http ://missouri .usgs.gov/wtrqual/images/jsfork4.pdf

Murgueytio, A., Evans, R.G., Sterling, D., Clardy,S., Shadel, B., and Clements, B., 1998, Therelationship between lead miningand blood lead levels in children, Ar-chives of Environmental Health, 53:414-423.

USGS, 2002: http://mo.water.usgs.gov/mining/dyetracing.htm

Problems Associated withRecreational Uses

Problem:

Recreational use of waters and lands adja-cent to waterbodies by large numbers of peopleand over long periods of time can cause directand indirect water problems.

Discussion:

The Ozark region of southern Missouri is arecreational destination for both Missourians and


66

out-of-state visitors. The regions are dottedwith numerous lakes and rivers - Table Rock,Taneycomo, Clearwater, Wappapello, and BullShoals Lakes and Current, White, Jacks Fork,Eleven Point, and James Rivers, to name afew, that attract millions of people annuallyto water-related recreational activities. In1999, estimated tourism expenditures in thesouthwest and southeast regions amounted toover $2 billion, with over $1.6 billion of thatgenerated in the Springfield and Branson areaalone. For southern Missouri, tourism andrecreational expenditures ranges from a highof over 11 percent of the region’s economy incertain areas to a low of 2 percent. Approxi-mately 58,000 southwest and southeast Mis-sourians are directly and indirectly employedin tourism and recreational industries (Highfill,2002). In southern Missouri, water relatedrecreation is big business.

Across southern Missouri canoeing, float-ing, swimming, wading, boating, fishing, andjet boating are common. Unfortunately, wher-ever people congregate, pollution may becomea problem. The water pollution can be causedby leaking, spilled or improperly disposed en-gine fluids from watercraft, trucks, cars, mo-torcycles, and ATV’s. The pollutants can be aresult of improper human waste disposal orsanitation facilities. It can come from pets orimproperly disposed of trash. The pollutantcan be in the form of chemical (petroleumproducts, insect repellents, cosmetics, deter-gents, and pharmaceuticals) or biological (bac-teria from feces or spoiled and rotting food-stuffs).

Much of the Ozark National ScenicRiverway (ONSR) area is underlain by karsttopography of soluble limestone and dolomite,which gives rise to losing and gaining streams,sinkholes, caves, and springs. There are over300 identified caves within the ONSR bound-ary area. It contains the world’s largest col-lection of First Magnitude springs. The Cur-rent and Jacks Fork Rivers attract approxi-mately 1.5 million recreational visitors eachyear, most to canoe, float, swim and fish. Pol-lution incidents, both acute and chronic, haveoccurred within ONSR. Possible sources in-clude recreationally contributed wastes fromboth humans and horses (NPS, 2002). Trail

rides, rodeos, and horseback riding is espe-cially common in Shannon County in theEminence area. Horse derived waste instreams in the Ozark National Scenic Rivershas been confirmed by sampling analysis andis a concern. Horses that are ridden across orin streams dislodge and stir up sediment, whichcan be problematic for aquatic animals, aes-thetics, boaters, and fishermen.

Studies by the US Geological Survey, Na-tional Park Service, Missouri Department ofNatural Resources, and others indicate thatheavy recreational use is causing adverse im-pacts on water quality to the point that wa-ter-quality standards for whole-body-contactrecreation is sometimes exceeded. The intenserecreational use of the Jacks Fork River hascaused problems associated with greater com-petition for the use of a finite resource, sani-tation facility issues, and the proliferation oflitter. In 1998 a 5-mile stretch of the JacksFork was added to the Missouri Departmentof Natural Resources’ Section 303(d) impairedwaters listing. The identified pollutants con-tributing to the listing included fecal coliformbacteria from humans and other warm-blooded animals. Potential sources includecross-country horseback riding, campgroundtoilets, canoers, boaters and float tubers(USGS, 2001).

The widespread use of recreational all ter-rain vehicles (ATV’s) can cause terrestrial andaquatic damage by wearing trails and ruts onhillsides and streambanks and destroying ter-restrial vegetation which leads to erosion, dis-turbing streambeds, and leaking gasoline andoil. Ozark streams are characterized by graveland sand streambeds. Excessive sedimenta-tion can adversely impact aquatic species thatrequire high quality clear water. Excessivesedimentation also makes the stream less at-tractive as recreation sites. The West Fork ofthe Black River has had particularly heavy useby ATV users (Missouri Department of Natu-ral Resources, 2001). Except under certainconditions, driving an ATV in a stream is for-bidden by state statute RSMo 304.013.

Because of its karst topography, losingstreams in the southwest and southeast re-gions compound the surface water qualityproblems with ground water quality issues.

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Water Use Problems

Surface water pollutants can end up under-ground – in a sinkhole, cave or aquifer. Thepotential for damage to sensitive cave ecosys-tems and drinking water supplies is a concern.

While most issues are associated with wa-ter quality and water quantity, too manypeople trying to use the same body of waterfor different uses, can also become a problem.Increasing popularity and use of an area hascaused problems associated with greater com-petition for the use of a finite resource (USGS,2001). As an example, too many canoers andjet boaters trying to use the same water bodyat the same place can lead to arguments oraccidents, just the opposite of what peopleseek from recreation.

Sources:

Highfill, Kevin, 2002, The economic im-pacts of tourism in Missouri, MissouriDepartment of Economic Development.

Missouri Department of Conservation, 2002,Watersheds inventories and assess-ments, MDC Website: www.conservation.state.mo.us/fish/watershed/mdc40.htm

Missouri Department of Natural Resources,September 23, 1998, Section 303(d) Wa-ters list.

National Park Service (NPS), 2002, Ozark Na-t ional Scenic Riverways Website :www.nps.gov/ozar

Missouri Department of Natural Resources,Southeast Regional Office, State WaterPlan joint meeting, December 11, 2001,meeting minutes.

United State Geological Survey (USGS), March2001, Assessment of microbiologicalcontamination of the Jacks Forkwithin the Ozark National ScenicRiverways, Missouri—phase I, USGSFact Sheet 026ñ01.

United State Geological Survey, 2002, Na-tional Water-Quality AssessmentProgram—Ozark Plateaus surface-

water study, http://mo.water.usgs.gov/fact_sheets/surfwat.asp

Environmental Water Use

Population Dispersion

Problem:

Population dispersion adds to a number ofwater-related problems. These include increasedinstream sedimentation, flooding and droughtimpacts, watercourse pollution, water demand,spending on infrastructure, and human healthand property damage risks.

Discussion:

The population in southwestern Missourihas both increased and spread out into ruralareas. Christian, Taney and Stone Counties grewby over 50 percent during the 1990s, with Barry,Dallas, Hickory, Laclede, McDonald, Polk, andWebster Counties growing by 20 to 30 percent.The entire region’s population grew by 25 per-cent (150,000) during the past decade. Thisspread of suburbia often termed urban sprawl,leads to a host of water problems.

During construction, ground is often leftbare and heavy rains can cause the soil to erodeand wash into streams, causing turbidity andsedimentation. This in turn can cause prob-lems for aquatic species. Contractors can in-stall sedimentation mitigation measures, such asplastic fences to keep soil on site. However,often they are not effective and they are onlymandated for sites over 5 acres (to be changedto 1 acre effective in early, 2002) (Madras, 2001).

The increased impervious area (roofs andpavement) from the new development in wa-tersheds can exacerbate stream problems relatedto both flooding and drought. These hard sur-faces don’t allow for infiltration of the water intothe soil and subsequently the groundwater. In-stead, this water is shed quickly to thestormwater system. Many local government


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subdivision regulations require that stormwaterbe shunted as quickly as possible into the near-est watercourse in order to prevent local flood-ing. Since more water is added to the system inless time, a higher flood peak with a shorter lagbetween rainfall and flooding occurs. This flood-ing also causes greater streambank destabiliza-tion because of the increased frequency of higherpeak flows. There are porous paving systems,which (when combined with the right kind ofsoils) can increase infiltration.

Since many of the impervious surfaces getvery hot from sunshine, the water that runs offthem is heated and can increase the overall tem-perature of nearby streams, lakes and ponds.

Some of the water shunted to thestormwater system would normally infiltrate tothe groundwater, which in turn seeps back tothe surface at streams (termed a stream’s baseflow). This is especially important duringdrought, as this base flow is what keeps enoughwater flowing in streams to sustain aquatic life.This stormwater also carries an increased pol-lution load into local waterways (Smith, 2001).Oil on pavement, road salts, floatables and lawn-care chemicals are among the pollutants. Anincrease in pollution can render the treating ofwater for drinking more costly. This pollutioncan also kill or seriously impair the survival ofaquatic biota.

With this increase in populations comes agreater demand on drinking water systems. In-creased demand comes not only from a rise inpopulation, but also a rise in per capita demand.This situation can stress the resource. This in-creased demand can necessitate expandingtreatment plants which might increase costs thatwould be spread throughout the entire locality,raising everybody’s property taxes.

The negative effects of urban sprawl onwater resources are widespread, from pollutionto flooding, to impacting fish habitat. Theseeffects are not easily categorized and cross manydisciplines which makes addressing the issuesmore difficult because of their diverse nature.

Sources:

Drew, John and Chen, Sherry, 1997, Water Re-sources Report Number 49, Hydrologic

extremes in Missouri: flood anddrought, Missouri State Water Plan SeriesVolume V, Missouri Department of NaturalResources, Division of Geology and LandSurvey, 104 p.

Gaffney, Richard M., Chief Watershed Planner,Geological Survey and Resource AssessmentDivision, Missouri Department of NaturalResources, May, 2001, personal communi-cation.

Madras, John, Planning Section Chief, WaterProtection and Soil Conservation Division,Missouri Department of Natural Resources,April, 2001, personal communication.

Smith, Andrew, June, 2001, “New Satellite MapsProvide Planners Improved Urban SprawlInsight,” www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/earth/landsat/sprawl.htm

Stormwater Runoff

Problem:

Runoff from storms in urban areas causesmany problems related to both the volume ofwater that goes into streams and its quality.

Discussion:

We plan our development in ways that willminimize stormwater damage to humans, infra-structure, and buildings. This is usually donewith engineered infrastructure (i.e. gutters, stormdrains, storm sewers, retention basins, etc.) ratherthan with low-impact designs (i.e. vegetatedswales, porous paving, etc.). The engineered in-frastructure moves water away quickly and effi-ciently so as to decrease ponding and localizedflooding. Stormwater runoff in urban areascauses problems because of the changed flowvolume and velocity, and because of the pollu-tion that is added as it flows from the urbanarea. These problems include threats to publichealth, economic activity degradation, naturalresource degradation, decreased aquatic com-munity health, aesthetic decline and more.

69

The hydrology of the runoff’s flow is dras-tically changed in urban areas. As an impervi-ous area (i.e. roofs, roads, etc.) is added in devel-opment, more water runs off, since less can in-filtrate the ground. In addition, this runoff isdirected to receiving water bodies much quicker,since the flow is not slowed by vegetation. Bothof these factors make for the stream to have apeak discharge that is higher and quicker thanit would have been without development. Insome places, this can be by a factor of 2 to 5times the discharge for the same storm (USEPA,1993; Schueler, 1992). With a higher dischargecomes a greater velocity, thereby causing morekinetic energy available for causing channel andassociated infrastructure changes. When sur-face imperviousness reaches 25 percent of totalarea, flood magnitudes that once were one hun-dred year events can become five year frequencyevents (Klein, 1979). Unfortunately, stormwatersolutions (i.e. getting the water out of an area asquickly as possible to decrease flooding and as-sociated problems) for an area often cause in-creased flooding for a downstream area.

In addition to increased flooding, thischanged hydrology has other deleterious im-pacts. The high flows also can cause aquatichabitat loss from increased scouring.Streambanks can become destabilized, whichcauses increased erosion and subsequent chan-nel widening, which can “steal” somebody’s prop-erty. Silt carried in from construction projects,and increased streambank erosion can be a prob-lem for aquatic plants because they might notget the sunlight needed for photosynthesis dueto turbid water. This sediment can also clogfishes’ gills, causing infection, asphyxiation, andother diseases. Once water slows down, it de-posits the sediment. This can ruin aquatic habi-tat by filling spaces between rocks where fishlay their eggs and invertebrates hide. In addi-tion, sediment fills reservoirs and lakes, whichcan have serious economic impacts, such as thehigh cost of dredging.

The decrease of water infiltration due toimpervious surfaces causes problems as well.Since vegetated areas and their associated mi-croorganisms, plus the soil, act as filters andbioremediators of pollution, urbanization de-creases this functioning. Aquifers are not re-

plenished, which can negatively affect drinkingwater supplies because they may not be able topump enough water with existing wells. Theseaquifers also supply water to the river (termed“base flow”); this is critical for sustaining flowsduring times of low or no precipitation. Theseflows are important for maintaining aquatichabitat, and can help to dilute pollution fromwastewater treatment facilities.

Stormwater runoff carries a wide assort-ment of pollutants into streams. Trash washedinto receiving waters is an aesthetic problemand can cause problems for aquatic species.Since many surfaces in an urban environmentget hotter than a vegetated area, stormwaterrunoff can heat up significantly as it runs overthese surfaces. This, combined with fewer treesshading streams in many urban areas, make forincreased temperatures of streams, which de-creases dissolved oxygen levels and can harmaquatic species that need a certain temperaturerange for survival. Oils and pesticides transmit-ted to streams are often toxic and can be endo-crine disrupters (see related topic). These canbe harmful to both aquatic species and humanswho may consume the water downstream. Manyof these types of contamination can be a prob-lem for commercial and recreational fishing.Fecal coliform can adversely impact human rec-reation (swimming, boating, fishing) downstream.For example, it was determined that fecal indi-cator bacteria densities were several orders ofmagnitude higher from stormwater than thestate limit in the Springfield area (Richards andJohnson, 2002). This same study also deter-mined that contaminants from pesticides andpetroleum sources were added in such quantity,via stormwater, so as to possibly causegenotoxicity in aquatic fauna.

Sources:

Klein, R.D., 1979, Urbanization and streamquality impairment, Water ResourcesBulletin, Volume 15, Number 4, August1979, p. 955.

Richards, J.M. and Johnson, B.T., 2002, Waterquality, selected chemical character-istics, and toxicity of base flow andurban stormwater in the Pearson

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Creek and Wilsons Creek Basins,Greene County, Missouri, August1999 to August 2000, USGS Water-Re-sources Investigations Report 02-4124.

Schueler, T.R., 1992, Mitigating the adverseimpacts of urbanization on streams:a comprehensive strategy for localgovernments, in Metropolitan Council ofGovernments and the Anacostia Restora-tion Team, Watershed RestorationSourceBook, a collection of papers pre-sented at the Conference Restoring OurHome River: Water Quality and Habitat inthe Anacostia, November 6 and 7, 1991,College Park, Maryland, pp. 21–31.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA),1993, Handbook: Urban runoff pollu-tion prevention and control plan-ning, EPA 625-R-93/004, September1993, p. 3.

Introduction of NewChemicals Into Use

Problem:

There are many chemicals currently in usewhich end up in the water. The effects of manyof these are unknown, and it is unclear whatharm they may cause to public health and theenvironment.

Discussion:

Only a fraction of the 80,000 chemicalsregistered with the EPA have undergone testingto see if they have impacts on human healthand the environment (Weiss and Landigran,2000). Only 23 percent of the 3,000 chemicalsproduced or imported at over 1 million poundsper year have been tested to determine theirpotential for human developmental damage(Weiss and Landigran, 2000). With so littleknown, there could be serious problems withmany of the chemicals, problems that do notshow their effect for 20 to 40+ years, or we donot understand the problems because scientists

may not be looking in the right way. In addi-tion, there are instances where a company hascovered up their knowledge about the negativeimpacts of a chemical they produce (Grunwald,2002). Holding them accountable is both ex-pensive, time-consuming and doesn’t diminishthe physical afflictions from the chemical.

Chemicals can end up in the water in anumber of ways, primarily: in runoff from agri-culture, urban settings and industrial processes;from point sources such as industrial releasesand municipal wastewater treatment plants ef-fluent; and seeping into groundwater via infil-tration into the soil; and atmospheric deposi-tion (via dust and rainfall).

There is a group of chemicals, known aspersistent organic pollutants (POPs), that areknown to: bioconcentrate (they become moreconcentrated as they wind their way up the foodchain. They can also spread around the globe(a 1988 study found one, hexachlorobenzene, inpenguins, over 1000 miles from its source) andbe toxic with a long lifespan (i.e. they don’t de-grade quickly). An international POPs treatybanning the production and use of the 12 worstchemicals has been signed, but not yet ratified.Most of these chemicals are banned in the USA(i.e. PCB, DDT, etc.). However, many of themare still being found in cells of US citizens, partlybecause they persist since the time when theywere legal here, partly because they can travelaround the globe (via food and weather) fromplaces where their use is accepted. These areclear examples of the introduction of new chemi-cals into use where we didn’t know the ramifi-cations of the action. The cost to clean upsuperfund sites often runs in the $100s of mil-lions, with one site in this state (Weldon Springs)costing over $1 billion to remediate. There hasnot been a clear accounting of the costs fromlitigation, health care, lost economic productiv-ity, decreased tourism dollars, etc., but it is sureto be significant. Harder to quantify, yet of greatimportance, is the loss of human life, healthproblems, and environmental damage.

The toxicological testing paradigm has itsweaknesses, as well. The convention has beento look for carcinogenicity, and not explore othertypes of potential problems, such as endocrinedisruption (see related topic). In terms of carci-nogenic effects, acceptable limits in drinking

71

water are established (no adverse effect level,NOAEL). However, recent studies show adverseaffects to the endocrine systems at levels 0.0001that of the NOAEL, as well as a non-linear ef-fects relationship (i.e. significant problems at highand low doses, and none at medium doses)(Gupta, 2000; Sheehan et al., 1999; vom Saal etal., 1997). It has been shown that a group ofendocrine disrupters, phthalates, may potentiallycause birth defects in humans (Blount et al.,2000). This is another example of a chemicalbeing introduced into use without a good un-derstanding of its negative effects.

Some suggest that we follow the precau-tionary principle of the POPs treaty, which statesthat when scientific knowledge about the im-pact of a chemical is not fully known, but thereis enough information to raise legitimate con-cerns, then regulations should be introduced toprotect public health. As then-Governor of NewJersey Christine Todd Whitman said, “We mustacknowledge that uncertainty is inherent inmanaging natural resources, recognize it is usu-ally easier to prevent environmental damagethan to repair it later, and shift the burden ofproof away from those advocating protectiontoward those proposing an action that may beharmful” (Appell, 2001).

Sources:

Appell, David, 2001, The new uncertaintyprinciple, Scientific American, January,2001.

Blount, B.C., Silva, M.J., Caudill, S.P., Needham,L.L., Pirkle, J.L., Sampson, E.J., Lucier, G.W.,Jackson, R.J., Brock, J.W., 2000, Levels ofseven urinary phthalate metabolitesin a human reference population, En-vironmental Health Perspectives 108:979-982.

Gupta, Chanda, 2000, Reproductive malfor-mation of the male offspring follow-ing maternal exposure to estrogenicchemicals, Proceedings of the Society forExperimental Biology and Medicine 224:61-68.

Grunwald, Michael, January 1, 2002, Monsantohid decades of pollution, WashingtonPost, January 1, 2002, Tuesdaywww.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar-ticles/A46648-2001Dec31.html

Longnecker, M.P., Klebanoff, M.A., Zhou, H.,Brock, J.W., 2001, Association betweenmaternal serum concentration of theDDT metabolite DDE and pretermand small-for-gestational-age babiesat birth, The Lancet 358: 110-114.

Sheehan, D.M., Willingham, E., Gaylor, D.,Bergeron J.M., and Crews, D., 1999, Nothreshold dose for estradiol-inducedsex reversal of turtle embryos: howlittle is too much?, Environmental HealthPerspectives 107:155-159.

Sheehan, D.M. and vom Saal, F.S., 1997, Lowdose effects of hormones: a challengefor risk assessment, Risk Policy Report4(9) 31-39.

vom Saal, F.S., Nagel, S.C., Palanza, P., Boechler,M., Parmigiani S., and Welshons, W., 1995,Estrogenic pesticides: binding rela-tive to estradiol in MCF-7 cells andeffects of exposure during fetal lifeon subsequent territorial behavior inmale mice, Toxicology Letters 77:343-350.

vom Saal, F.S., Timms, B.G., M.M. Montano, M.M.,Palanza, P., Thayer, K.A., Nagel, S.C., Dhar,M.D., Ganjam, V.K., Parmigiani, S., Welshons,W., 1997, Prostate enlargement inmice due to fetal exposure to lowdoses of estradiol or diethylstil-bestrol and opposite effects at highdoses, Proceedings of the Natural Acad-emy of Sciences, 94:2056-2061.

Weiss, B. and Landrigan, P.J., 2000, The devel-oping brain and the environment: anintroduction, Environmental Health Per-spectives Volume 107, Supplement 3, June,2000.

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Endocrine Disrupters andWater Pollution

Problem:

Low-level chronic contamination of water-courses with toxic substances have effects onaquatic organisms that are still being studied.Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products(PPCPs) that include endocrine disrupter chemi-cals are among the environmental pollutantsthat are being studied by the Water ResourcesDivision of the United States Geological Sur-vey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,and others.

Discussion:

The Toxic Substances Hydrology Programof the Water Resources Division, USGS, cur-rently is performing investigations into whatthey term, “Emerging Water Quality Issues.”They call this a National Reconnaissance ofEmerging Contaminants.

To quote from one of the 2002 USGS in-formation bulletins,

“Recent decades have brought increas-ing concerns for potential contaminationof water resources that could result inad-vertently during production, use and dis-posal of the numerous chemicals offeringimprovements in industry, agriculture,medical treatment, and even commonhousehold conveniences.

Increasing knowledge of the environ-mental occurrence or toxicological behav-ior of contaminants has resulted in in-creased concern for potential adverse en-vironmental and human health effects. Formany contaminants, public health expertshave incomplete understandings of theirtoxicological significance (particularly ef-fects of long-term exposures at low-levels).

The need to understand the processescontrolling contaminant transport and fatein the environment, and the lack of knowl-edge of the significance of long-term expo-sures has increased the need to study envi-ronmental occurrence down to trace levels.Furthermore, the possibility that environ-

mental contaminants may interact syner-gistically or antagonistically has increasedthe need to define the complex mixturesof chemicals that are found in our waters.”

Of particular concern are endocrine disrupt-ers, those synthetic organic and other chemi-cals that mimic animal hormones, and interactwith cells to prevent normal activity. Otherconcerns relate to antibiotic resistance in theenvironment. The initial focus of the nationalreconnaissance is on 95 specific chemicals,sampled at low concentrations. Among theseare sulfonamide and tetracycline antimicrobialsin both groundwater and surface water.

In an effort to gain further information andunderstanding of the endocrine disruption prob-lem, the USGS co-sponsored the 2nd Interna-tional Conference on Pharmaceuticals and Endo-crine Disrupting Chemicals in Water, held in Min-neapolis, Minnesota, in October, 2001, and willbe co-sponsoring the American Water ResourcesAssociation specialty conference, AgriculturalHydrology and Water Quality, in Kansas City,Missouri, in May, 2003.

What is meant by PPCPs is a very diverseassortment of prescription and over-the-counterdrugs, fragrances, cosmetics, sun-screens, insectrepellants, nutrition products, and other prod-ucts used or consumed for personal health orcosmetic reasons. The overall concern is thatno sewage treatment plants are engineered forPPCP removal. The risks to aquatic wildlife andhuman beings from continual life-long exposureor consumption of minute quantities in waterare not known, but are being studied. Majorissues are pathogen resistance to antibiotics, anddisruption of endocrine systems by natural andsynthetic gender steroids. There may also beunknown consequences. Most research to datehas been done in Europe, with North Americanstudies more recently.

The EPA’s involvement has been throughthe National Exposure Research Laboratory(NERL) and the Office of Research and Devel-opment (ORD). The ORD has assumed the lead-ership role in EPA research in this field. Alsoinvolved are the American Chemical Society(ACS) and the German Institute for Water Re-search. One of the significant publications inthis field is the periodical, Environmental HealthPerspectives.

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Threats

The threats posed by endocrine disruptersand other chemicals to the natural environmentinclude the development of resistance amongnaturally occurring pathogens to antibiotic com-pounds that cure or stave off infectious diseases,and the presence of estrogenic and androgenichormones in water that can feminize or mascu-linize aquatic wildlife. Other chemicals beingstudied include calcium channel blockers andefflux pump inhibitors. The ultimate disposi-tion of these chemicals in the environment iswater, from streams to leachate from landfillsand groundwater.

The presence of female hormones in riversin Great Britain has been affecting male fish inthose rivers. Detected for several years, scien-tists now are pinpointing the cause. ProfessorAlan Pickering of the Natural EnvironmentalResearch Council (United Kingdom) suggeststhat estrogen in the urine of pregnant womenand those taking either estrogen therapy or birthcontrol pills could be creating the “gender-bend-ing” pollution.

The professor noted that the hormonescould be reactivated by processes used in mod-ern sewage treatment, which use bacteria tobreak down wastes. In some rivers, such as theAire in Yorkshire, 100 per cent of male fishshowed female characteristics. Because not allfish need to reproduce to maintain a species,fish numbers have not yet shown a decline, butthe professor said that a question relates topredators, such as otters, which might also beaffected. The amounts of hormones needed toalter the gender of a fish are so small that evenwith modern scientific testing, they are hard todetect, he said (Chapman, 2000).

Occurrence, persistence, and trends arebeing studied and monitored. Most PPCPs inthe environment occur at concentrations wellbelow therapeutic doses. Therefore, looking foracute reactions is different from looking for theless-obvious chronic effects of exposure. Theeffects of low concentrations on multiple gen-erations of aquatic species may be subtle butsignificant, and research is continuing. For ex-ample, exposure to the insecticide diazinon isknown to affect signaling pathways, leading to

alteration of homing behavior (implications re-late to predation, feeding, and mating).

It may be that one of the outcomes of theresearch now being done will relate to “properdisposal of unused or expired” drugs, such asbirth control pills. Often, patients are advisedto flush unwanted pills down the toilet. Butsewage treatment plants are not designed toremove such chemicals and they end up in natu-ral watercourses. Another outcome might re-late to imprudent prescribing and over-prescrib-ing of certain drugs, and even of over-dispens-ing of drugs via the Internet or by mail. Stillanother may relate to the design and operationof wastewater treatment plants, which presentlyare unable to remove endocrine disrupters andmany other chemicals from the waste stream.

Here is an opportunity to educate physi-cians, pharmacists, manufacturers and consum-ers to the Precautionary Principal. The Pre-cautionary Principle is when the burden of proofis shifted to the makers of PPCPs and otherchemicals to prove that they are safe to use,and safe to dispose of. An example of a prod-uct that did a lot of environmental harm (whilebeing beneficial) includes the insecticide, DDT(banned in the U.S.A., but still being used over-seas). DDT accumulates in the bodies of fish,birds and animals in the food web, and causesthin eggshells in birds such as American baldeagles.

Sources:

Chapman, James, September 7, 2000, Howpollution is making river fish changesex, London Daily Mail.

www.epa.gov/nerlesd1/chemistry/pharma/index.htm October 17, 2002.

toxics.usgs.gov/regional/emc.html October 17,2002.

www.epa.gov/nerlesd1/chemistry/pharma/faq.htm October, 2002.

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Coal

Problem:

Using coal to generate electricity causes anumber of potential water pollutants to be re-leased in a variety of ways.

Discussion:

Coal combustion is the largest generatorof electricity not only in Missouri, but in theUnited States, as well. This combustion releasesa variety of pollutants. However, pollutant-re-lease is not confined to the time of combustion,but also occurs at various steps in the entireprocess of using coal. Many pollutants, such asmercury, are released into the atmosphere dur-ing combustion, only to be deposited later, down-wind. Eighty percent of mercury contamina-tion has been attributed to coal combustion.Others remain in the combustion ash and arecombined with those from the scrubbers (whichtake pollutants out of the exhaust), to be placedin a landfill, which in turn can leach out viastormwater if the landfill is not constructed prop-erly.

During coal firing, a lot of the pollutantsare emitted in the smoke stream. Some of theseare trapped by scrubbers, which are used tominimize the release of certain pollutants (e.g.sulfur dioxide, SO2, a major component formingacid rain) into the atmosphere.

Coal waste (the combination of ash andscrubber remains) can be a significant source ofpollutants in the region if not handled appro-priately. Although scrubbers extract pollutantsfrom the exhaust, it does not mean that theseno longer exist, it just means that they are trans-ferred from one medium (air) to another (solidor liquid, depending on the situation.

There are three coal-fired power plants insouthwestern Missouri: two in Greene County,one in Jasper County. However, water pollu-tion from coal (via aerial deposition andstormwater runoff) is not confined to downwindof power plants in Missouri since it can travellong distances in the atmosphere.

Landfills and Dumps

Problem:

Landfills and dumps (illegal landfills) aresources of pollutants for nearby water bodies.

Discussion:

Our society produces huge quantities ofwaste (solid and hazardous) that we usuallychoose to dispose of in landfills and dumps.Estimates of the quantity of landfilled materialin 1999 in the USA range from 165 million tons(USEPA, 2002) to 267 million tons (BioCycle,2002). Missouri places approximately 5 milliontons of waste in landfills annually. This mate-rial contains a large variety of substances, withmany potential pollutants included, such as or-ganic chemicals, oil and heavy metals, all ofwhich can mix with water.

The current design method for sanitarylandfills is termed “dry tomb”. The basic idea isto have impermeable barriers above and belowthe refuse so that no water gets to it, or out ofit, to spread pollution. The lower liner is slopedso that leachate will flow to a collection point,where it can be pumped for treatment. How-ever, even the USEPA, which promulgated thedesign standards, admits that these liners willeventually fail to prevent leachate from passingthrough them, although it may be delayed byseveral decades (USEPA, 1988a; USEPA, 1988b).This is problematic in that many of the compo-nents in a landfill that can pollute will not de-grade over a few decades, or even a few centu-ries. For example, it is estimated that thesecontaminants could pollute for at least 1,000years (Belevi and Baccini, 1989). Thus, it ap-pears inevitable that groundwater will be pol-luted from some of these sites (Lee and Jones-Lee, 1993). What is not known is when, withwhich pollutants, and how extensive it will be(all of these are site-specific). In addition, themonitoring regimes for detecting groundwatercontamination from a landfill are often inad-equate, detecting pollution only after widespreadcontamination (Lee and Jones-Lee, 1998).

Another source of pollution is from illegaldumps. In many rural locations, there is no gar-

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bage pickup by a local government. People liv-ing in these areas have no convenient or inex-pensive method for disposal of their waste.Therefore, some of them resort to throwing theirtrash in a convenient place, which may be in acorner of their backyard, or an absenteelandowner’s gully. This provides for direct leach-ing into watercourses and groundwater. Sincethis occurs in so many places, it is difficult topredict the extent and impact of this pollution.Often, there are car batteries with leaking acid,old refrigerators leaking toxic coolants, and vari-ous other contaminants. These dumps can be aparticular problem in the southern region be-cause they are often in a local sinkhole, whichprovides a direct conduit for the contaminantto enter the groundwater.

Sources:

Belevi, H. and Baccini, P., 1989, Water and el-ement fluxes from sanitary landfills,Sanitary Landfilling: Process, Technology andEnvironmental Impact, Academic Press: SanDiego, pp.391-397.

BioCycle, 2002: www.jgpress.com

Lee, G. F. and Jones-Lee, A., 1993, Landfillsand groundwater pollution issues:‘dry tomb’ vs F/L wet-cell landfills,Proc. Sardinia ’93 IV International LandfillSymposium, Sardinia, Italy, pp. 1787- 1796,October.

Lee, G. F. and Jones-Lee, A.,1996, Dry tomblandfills, MSW Management, 6:82-89.

Lee, G.F. and Jones-Lee, A.,1998, Assessingthe potential of minimum subtitle Dlined landfills to pollute: alternativelandfilling approaches, Report G. FredLee & Associates, El Macero, CA, March.

United States Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA), 1988a, Solid waste disposalfacility criteria: proposed rule, FederalRegister Volume 53, pp. 33314-33422, 40CFR Parts 257 and 258, US EPA, Washing-ton, D.C., August 30.

United States Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA),1988b, Criteria for municipalsolid waste landfills, US EPA Washing-ton, D.C., July.

United States Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA), 2002: www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/pubs/excsum99.pdf

Gravel Mining

Problem:

In-stream gravel mining can affect streamhydraulics and hydrology, and can damageaquatic flora and fauna, especially through habi-tat destruction.

Discussion:

Many southwest and southeast Missouristream channels are a convenient source ofgravel for construction projects, gravel roadmaintenance and other purposes. Most of theregion’s streams are Ozark-type gravel-bottomstreams.

Unsound gravel removal from and adjacentto, stream channels can alter stream channelform, may increase sedimentation and turbidity,may aggravate flooding problems, and can havenegative impacts at, below and above the re-moval location. Research in gravel bed streamsof the United States and elsewhere has indi-cated that in-channel extraction of gravel de-stabilizes the bed and banks of stream systems.Flood plain gravel removal does not have thesame hydraulic effects, as long as the streambank remains intact. However, there is a cleardanger of stream bank destruction in futureflooding, causing hydraulic effects.

Extraction can cause aquatic habitats to bedegraded and aquatic species to be reduced innumber or eliminated (Roell, 1999). The south-ern Missouri region contains several federallylisted species that have the potential to be nega-tively impacted by gravel removal.

Gravel removal is a common practice inmany Ozark streams in the regions. Gravel isused for building construction and roads. It is

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in high demand, especially because of the largeand rapid population growth and related devel-opment the southwestern region is experienc-ing now. Gravel is taken directly from streamchannels, often in large quantities. Stream gravelis an industrial natural resource. It is used inseveral ways. For example, gravel is used as anaggregate in Portland cement concrete and inbituminous concrete, as a porous fill materialaround drainage tile, as a backfill material insome kinds of on-site sewage disposal systems,as a fill material when laying water pipes, andas a surface material in unpaved roads and drive-ways. Stream gravel can be graded to size. Inthese regions, it usually is an attractive light tancolor, and is popular for driveways. Gravel is avaluable economic commodity.

The most widespread effects of in-channelgravel mining on aquatic habitats are bed deg-radation and sedimentation. Several studies havedocumented the bed degradation that occursduring in-stream gravel mining. Two generalforms of in-stream mining occur: pit excavation(trenching) and gravel bar skimming (scalping)(Kondolf, 1997). Bed degradation is manifestedin two ways. First, excavation of gravel miningpits in the active channel causes a local lower-ing of the stream bed, creating a so-called“nickpoint” that locally increases channel slopeand therefore flow energy. During high flows,nickpoints are a location of vertical bed erosionthat gradually moves upstream in a processcalled headcutting (Bull and Scott, 1974; Kondolf,1997) which mobilizes significant quantities ofstream bed materials that are then transporteddownstream to refill the excavated area.Headcuts often move well upstream and intotributaries (Scott, 1973; Harvey and Schumm,1987; Kondolf, 1997), in some locations as far asheadwaters or until halted by non-erodible sur-faces in the stream channel such as bedrock orman-made structures.

A form of mining-induced bed degradationoccurs when gravel removal creates a local sedi-ment deficit either at a bar-skimming site or anin-channel pit (Kondolf, 1997). A sediment deficitexists when there is not enough sediment beingcarried by the stream. Any stream has the abil-ity to carry sediment, depending on factors such

as the availability of sediment, velocity of flow,volume of water in the stream and the tempera-ture of the water. A skimming operation lo-cally increases channel flow capacity and a pitoperation locally increases flow depth; bothoperation types result in decreased flow energy,causing heavier sediment arriving from upstreamto deposit at the mine site. As stream flow movesbeyond the site and flow energies increase inresponse to the “normal” channel slope down-stream, the amount of transported sedimentleaving the site is now below the sediment car-rying capacity of the flow. The water picks upmore sediment from the stream reach below themine site, furthering the bed degradation pro-cess (Kondolf, 1997). This degradation is also dueto the flow energy increasing as it leaves themine site.

Channel incision not only causes verticalinstability in the channel bed, but also causeslateral instability, in the form of stream bankerosion, followed by channel widening (Heedeand Rinne, 1990). Incision increases stream bankheights, which cause bank failure when themechanical properties of the bank material can-not sustain the material weight. This instabilityincreases the mobility of channel sediments andtheir transport downstream (Parker andKlingeman, 1982).

Diverse physical habitats of alluvial gravelstreambeds provide resources for diverse com-munities of fish and other creatures. Pools be-low gravel removal sites tend to be longer andshallower than undisturbed areas, and rifflesoccur less frequently than would be expected.In most cases, channel widths also increase atand downstream of gravel removal sites. Differ-ent species of fish require unique spawning, rear-ing, and feeding areas, as do different species ofmacro invertebrates (Brown, 1992). Gravel min-ing can adversely affect diverse habits.

The extent of instream gravel mining is notwell quantified. Although commercial gravelextraction operations need permits, noncom-mercial operations and county and local gov-ernments do not. It is estimated that approxi-mately 75 percent of all operations are not per-mitted by the state (Femmer, 2002).

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Sources:

Brown, A., 1992, Impacts of gravel miningon Ozark stream ecosystems, Arkan-sas Game and Fish Commission.

Bull, W.B., and Scott, K.M., 1974, Impact ofmining gravel from urban streambeds in the southwestern UnitedStates, Geology, 2:171-174.

Femmer, S., 2002, Instream gravel miningand related issues in southern Mis-souri , USGS Fact sheet: http://mo.water.usgs.gov/factsheets/wtrqual/Gravel/fs012.02.pdf

Harvey, M.D., and Schumm, S.A., August, 1987,Response of Dry Creek, California,to land use change, gravel miningand dam closure, Pages 451-460 in Ero-sion and Sedimentation in the Pacific Rim,proceedings of the Corvallis symposium,International Association of HydrologicalSciences Publication 165.

Heede, B.H., and Rinne, J.N., 1990, Hydrody-namic and fluvial morphologic pro-cesses: implications for fisheriesmanagement and research , NorthAmerican Journal of Fisheries Manage-ment, 10:249-268.

Kondolf, G.M., 1997, Hungry water: effectsof dams and gravel mining on riverchannels, Environmental Management,21:533-551.

Parker, G., and Klingeman, P.C., 1982, On whygravel bed streams are paved WaterResources Research, 18:1409-1423.

Roell, M.J., June, 1999, Gravel and sand ex-traction in Missouri stream systems:potential effects and proposed ac-tions, Missouri Department of Conserva-tion.

Scott, K.M., 1973, Scour and fill in TujungaWash - a fanhead valley in urbansouthern California – 1969, U.S. Geo-logical Survey Professional Paper 732-B.

Deforestation

Problem:

Harvesting of trees on a large scale can havenegative effects on water quantity and waterquality.

Discussion:

Much of the Ozark region in southern Mis-souri is covered with forests. Timber produc-tion supports the local economy by providingjobs for lumberjacks, haulers, saw-mill opera-tors, etc. These jobs can continue to be main-tained through sustainable harvesting, whichensures sustained productivity of forest ecosys-tems and maintains their health. However, whenproper techniques are not followed, the hydro-logic cycle can be altered, and aquatic habitatcan be degraded.

When a forest is clearcut, most of the treesin an area are harvested or cut down and thehydrologic cycle is changed. Less water infil-trates the ground since it does not have the treesto intercept the rain and slow it down so that ithas time to enter the soil. In addition, the soilsurface becomes hard from a combination ofthe soil cover (decomposing leaves, downedlimbs, etc.) washing away, and the underlyinglayer compacting from raindrop impact. Thislowered infiltration decreases groundwater re-charge, which in turn lowers the amount ofbaseflow and spring flow into streams. Sinceless water infiltrates, more runs off, and faster,which increases the volume of floodwaters’ flow.This higher peak flow can increase stream bankdestabilization. Higher flow velocity, combinedwith bank destabilization, can endanger bridgesand other structures close to a stream’s edge.

Clearcutting can also cause problems withwater quality. During harvesting, often the actof dragging trees out and driving over the ter-rain leaves significant portions of soil vulner-able to erosion with moderate to heavy rainfall.This eroded soil enters a stream, becoming sus-pended sediment. This sediment can clog fishgills and cause other harm to aquatic species.When the sediment settles out, it fills inter-gravelspaces, thereby ruining spawning habitat. Thequantity of soil eroded can be large, which is

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problematic in the Ozark Hills because of theiralready thin soils, and the steep slopes that ex-acerbate erosion. This erosion decreases thelong-term (i.e. measured in centuries) produc-tive potential of an area. The lack of trees by astream’s side can also cause it to heat up, de-creasing the amount of dissolved oxygen it canhold and causing other problems for tempera-ture-sensitive aquatic species.

There are currently two large mills in thesoutheastern region (at Scott City and MillSprings) that consume enormous amounts ofwood. When running at full capacity, they usethe equivalent of 20-30 acres clearcut per day.These mills turn the wood into chips to be trans-ported for processing. Most of the land theyget wood from is privately owned, although someof it is public. Although operation of these millsdoes not mean that best management practicesare not followed during timber harvesting, it hasbeen shown that they encourage poor harvest-ing (Guldin, 1999). A study conducted in theOzarks indicates that uneven-age managementof forest resources produces a larger amount oftimber, and thus economic returns during a 25-year period than even-age management(clearcutting) (Iffrig et al., 1999). This type ofharvesting is also better for water quantity andquality, as well as wildlife habitat.

Economic and water quality contentionsmay be true although following silvicultural bestmanagement practices, clear cutting should haveminimal impact on water quality. Some speciesof wildlife benefit more from clear-cutting, par-ticularly a series of small clear cuts which pro-duce a lot of “edge”, than uneven-aged man-agement (Buchanan, 2003).

Sources:

Buchanan, Al, Missouri Department of Conser-vation, personal communication, March 10,2003.

Guldin, J., July, 1999, Hardwood chip exportmill harvests in Arkansas: good for-estry or not?, Presentation to Governor’sAdvisory Committee on Chip Mills.

Iffrig, G.F., Trammel, C.E., and Cunningham, T.C.,March 4 and 5, 1999, A case study for

sustainable forest management inthe Missouri Ozarks—45 years ofsingle-tree selection harvests and aneconomic model for income produc-tion, Draft Paper Presented to The 1999Environmental Sustainability and PublicPolicy Conference, Towards a Vision forMissouri’s Private Forests.

Perlin, J., 1989, A forest journey: the roleof wood in the development of civili-zation, W. W. Norton, Publisher, New York,New York.

Water and the Ability of ourPlant Life to Help Keep itClean

Problem:

Forests, savannahs, and prairies, which per-form their functions of respiration, transpira-tion, and absorption, cleanse the air of wind-borne pollutants, including dust and chemicals,and cleanse the water of dissolved and silt-bornepollutants. While this is good for the air andwater, the ability of our plant life to clean anever increasing contaminant load may havenegative consequences.

Discussion:

Forests are not plantations of trees. Theyare forest ecosystems that contain trees of manyspecies in addition to shrubs, ferns, and otherundergrowth, in biosynthesis with animal life ofmany genera. Savannahs are much more openthan forests, being mostly grasslands, with oc-casional trees. Prairies are combinations ofgrasses, shrubs and occasional trees. The dif-ferent combinations give each prairie landscapea character of its own.

When the human population was small (asin tribal times before the days of large settle-ments), the pollution or contamination compo-nent in air and water resources was small. (Airpollution can have a direct effect on water qual-

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ity, therefore it is referred to in this problemstatement and discussion.) The landscape couldcleanse the air and water of all the customaryproblem components without difficulty. This isdone in a complex biogeochemical process, inwhich organic and inorganic forms of nitrogenand other elements are processed by naturalsystems.

Large settlements of human beings, withcharacteristic industrial and commercial enter-prises, created new and different chemicals, con-centrated mine tailings, concentrated animalwaste, and removed large expanses of vegeta-tion which would have helped clean up the pol-lution.

The pollution that is not “cleaned up” byMissouri’s plant life either runs off and eventu-ally ends up in the Gulf of Mexico or seeps intothe ground. If it seeps into the ground the natu-ral filtering action of soils and rock layers helpto clean it up. But, due to the karst geology ofmuch of southern Missouri some of the surfacewater infiltrates so fast or contains so muchpollution that it carries with it its contaminantload into the subsurface groundwater of Mis-souri.

Unnaturally high levels of plant nutrientsand other coastal pollution have caused so muchdamage that 44 percent of coastal waters nowcannot fully support aquatic life, human activi-ties such as fishing, or both. According to Rob-ert Wayland, the EPA director of wetlands,oceans and watersheds, “The message for thepublic is ... not to take these valuable resourcesfor granted” (Watson, 2002).

As reported in USA Today, “Wayland attrib-uted the Gulf’s low standing in part to the vastacreage from which it collects water. More than40 percent of the land mass of the continentalUSA discharges water to the Gulf,” he said.Among the observations were eutrophic condi-tions, sediment contaminants, and fish contami-nation with toxins. High levels of nutrients fromfarm, forest, and urban runoff, industry, and sew-age treatment plants in the Midwestern States(including Missouri) have contributed to the pol-lution of the Gulf of Mexico. Coal-burning powerplants in the Midwest are cited as contributingto acid rain in the eastern United States.

Missouri’s forests and waters are importantresources, being damaged by the pressures of

today’s civilization. The more we know, the morewe need to mitigate and remediate the prob-lems we are discovering.

Sources:

Watson, Traci, “EPA gives coast waters gener-ally low grades,” in USA Today, March 2002,reporting on the National Coastal Condi-tion Report, Washington, D.C., 2002.

ScienceDaily Magazine, ©2002, atwww.sciencedaily.com

Altered Watercourses in theBootheel

Problem:

Over the past century, waterways in theBootheel section of southeastern Missouri havebeen drastically altered, increasing the poten-tial threat to humans and their property, anddecreasing ecosystem functions.

Discussion:

The lowlands part of southeastern Missouri,known as the Bootheel, are both low in eleva-tion and have very low slopes. Before European-Americans came to the area, it was primarilywetlands.

Since the early twentieth century, Missou-rians have drained the wetlands, and created aseries of drainage ditches, all in order to makethe land available for farming. This has beenand is still the most productive agricultural landin the state. The rivers were straightened toincrease their drainage efficiency as they car-ried water toward Arkansas and the MississippiRiver.

During the period 1914-1928, several riv-ers of southeastern Missouri were cut off by thedigging of a large drainage canal across the re-gion by the Corps of Engineers (COE). Thisdrainage canal is located just south of CapeGirardeau, and is crossed, today, by Interstate

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Route 55, from which the traveler can get a goodview of the size of the canal. The Castor andWhitewater Rivers are major rivers cut off bythe digging of the drainage canal. They origi-nate in the eastern Ozarks. What is left of theCastor River below the cut-off carries drainagewater from the Bootheel only. Two other rivers,the Black and St. Francis, had dams built onthem in the 1940s, thereby finishing the workof preventing too much water from entering thelowlands (Gideon, 2002).

The waterways of the bootheel system arereally drainage ditches (straightened, leveedwatercourses engineered to move water awayas quickly as possible), as opposed to naturalstreams. Very little of the original flora and faunais left, which could have been a draw for tour-ists (and still is in some of the state parks andconservation areas where parts of the originalecosystems remain intact). In addition, theditches no longer perform the ecosystem ser-vices (cleansing the water, minimizing problemsassociated with stormwater runoff, etc.) that thenatural streams and wetlands do. There are vir-tually no riparian corridors in the bootheel.

Another potential area of concern regardsthe Mississippi River floodplain, specifically theNew Madrid Floodway. This area is designed tobe a relief valve. When the river is at high floodstages, a front-line levee is designated to be de-stroyed (flooding a large area) to bring the riverlevel down, thereby minimizing the floodingdownstream in places like Memphis. The areato be flooded by this levee breach is rural andagricultural. The COE has easements to floodthe entire area. However, this will not be popu-lar with the local residents, who do not wanttheir homes and farmland flooded. One day,there will be a flood large enough where suchan action will be recommended (as occurred in1937).

Concerning restoration of wildlife habitat,there is a program sponsored by MDC, NRCSand Ducks Unlimited to encourage farmers toflood their rice fields over the winter (NRCS,2002). This is to provide over-wintering habitatfor waterfowl, and to help cleanse water andprovide more recharge. It is rather like restor-ing wetlands, for part of the year.

Sources:

Gideon, 2002, http://gideon.k12.mo.us/town/river3.htm

Natural Resource Conservation Service(NRCS), 2002, www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov/bootheel1.html

Governmental AgenciesCoordination

Problem:

There are numerous government entitiesthat deal with water-related issues. For a vari-ety of reasons, they are often reactive ratherthan proactive concerning various issues. Eachagency has its own mandates and viewpointsconcerning water related issues which can onrare occasions create disagreement on how toaddress an issue.

Discussion:

Government agencies (federal, state, andlocal) deal with water related issues in manyways: permitting and regulation, research, moni-toring, basic resource assessment, technical andfinancial assistance, planning, etc. They dealwith many aspects of water from quality issuesto quantity issues relating to the environment,drinking water, water safety, transportation onwater, flooding control, drought mitigation toname a few. All of these different functionalareas of government can create conflict if coor-dination and cooperation does not occur. Suchproblems are not specific to one agency, ratherthey can cross all levels of government.

Sometimes agencies are too busy reactingto problems, and therefore, do not have enoughtime to be proactive concerning potential prob-lems. Problems are more expensive and diffi-cult to take care of once they have occurredthan if they had been prevented from happen-ing in the first place. It is a bit of a catch-22: tobe able to prevent such problems, they must

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have the staff to complete the work, but areoften understaffed and therefore are forced toplay catch-up. A proactive approach requiresforesight, planning, proper management, andgood data. It may cost more up front, but theamount of money saved in the long run can betremendous.

Another area where management of watermight be enhanced concerns interagency andinterstate cooperation. There are numerousinstances of agencies working together to cre-ate something better than if one were under-taking it alone (i.e. the Stream Teams Program,which is a collaboration between Missouri De-partment of Natural Resources, Missouri Depart-ment of Conservation, and the Conservation

Federation of Missouri). However, there aretimes when effective working relationships areimpaired. Sometimes this is due to lack ofknowledge about what another entity is doing.Sometimes it is about someone defending their‘turf’. Sometimes there are external controlsthat inhibit cooperation, such as a lack of fund-ing, or legal frameworks that impede positiveinteractions. It is the citizens of Missouri andthe water resources that lose from such poorcooperation.

Also, “unfunded mandates” complicate thepicture. When a governmental agency requiresanother one to implement a regulation withoutalso allotting the funds necessary to do so, thisis termed an unfunded mandate.

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In the process of creating this report, sev-eral “success stories” and opportunities in wa-ter use have been recognized as well. Althoughthe goal of this series is to identify problemsrather than offer solutions, some of these find-ings are described below. By taking note of suc-cesses (and opportunities for success), we rec-ognize approaches that work, and can use themas stepping stones to problem resolution. Wa-ter use opportunities are presented in this sec-tion to stimulate further thought and discussion,without endorsement of feasibility or merit.

Long Range Studies

The value of long-range studies is becom-ing increasingly important as a tool to help inaddressing water use issues defined in the StateWater Plan. The basic need for scientificallyderived data is essential to be able to make ac-curate decisions on water resource issues. Thelong-range aspect is essential to determine thenature of a specific problem. The ability to showtrends and analyze these trends is also impor-tant to not only protect the water resource, butso no unnecessary regulation of the resourceoccurs.

An example of a long-range study that isreaping dividends is the departments ground-water monitoring network that has been col-lecting groundwater level data since the mid1950s. This data shows which areas within thestate have dropping water levels and which onesdo not. This information is vital in addressingwater quantity issues.

A newly begun long-range study focuseson monitoring shallow groundwater for four ag-

ricultural pesticides. This study began in early2002 and is designed to provide data necessaryto develop and implement effective pesticidemanagement plans. This study, which is car-ried out by the departments Water ResourcesProgram, focuses on the distribution and occur-rence of atrazine, simazine, alachlor, andmetolachlor, which are herbicides used exten-sively on corn and soybeans.

The study focuses on water yielding rocksnear the surface, which are also sensitive to sur-face activities. The area of the study encom-passes a portion of the Missouri River alluviumin central Missouri and the Missouri Bootheelregion. These are the areas that meet the shal-low aquifer requirement and have the above-mentioned pesticides applied to corn and soy-bean crops.

Data show that about 96 percent (43) ofthe samples did not contain any detectable con-centrations of any of the pesticides analyzed for,including four pesticides that are not the focusof this project. The concentration of alachlor(.88 micrograms/liter) detected in one well wasabove the method detection limit (MDL) (.2 mi-crograms/liter) and practical quantitation limit(PQL) (.5 micrograms /liter) of the analyticalmethod but was lower than the USEPA drink-ing water standard of 2 micrograms /liter. Theconcentration of metolachlor (1.86 micrograms/liter) detected in an additional well was alsoabove the MDL (.2 micrograms /liter) and PQL(.5 micrograms /liter) of the analytical methodbut less than the USEPA drinking water stan-dard of 70 micrograms/liter (Baumgartner,2002).

6.

Water Use Opportunities and RegionalObservations

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Sources:

Baumgartner, Scotty, D., 2002, Results ofmonitoring Missouri’s shallowgroundwater for four agricultural pes-ticides – Spring 2002, Department ofNatural Resources, Geological Survey andResource Assessment Division.

Water Efficiency Makes GoodEconomic Sense

It is easy to take water for granted. When-ever we turn on the tap, water comes out - pure,clean, and drinkable. What most of us do notrealize is that every drop of water that comesout of the tap has been carefully treated to re-move impurities and make it safe for drinking(unless you have a private domestic water sup-ply). Processing all that water is an expensivejob. It is wise to use water efficiently in ourhomes and businesses.

The industrial, commercial and institutionalsectors are key allies in helping municipalitiessave money. Reducing water consumption willreduce the need to build new water and waste-water treatment plants. Taxpayers could savethemselves billions of dollars over the near fu-ture if excessive water usage is reduced. Waterefficiency makes good business sense. Reduc-ing water consumption is one option that busi-nesses may not have considered to lower costs,become more efficient, and increase competi-tiveness.

Residential water use accounts for 47 per-cent of all water supplied to U.S. communitiesby public and private utilities. Increasing waterefficiency in this important sector can preservemore water for the environment, reduce watersupply, wastewater-treatment, and related costsfor communities. There are many opportuni-ties to use household water more efficiently with-out reducing services (RMI, 2002).

Water-saving techniques save money, re-duce the amount of pollutants entering rivers,lakes, and streams, and protect aquatic ecosys-tems. Efficient water use reduces water andwastewater treatment costs and the amount of

energy used to treat, pump, and heat water.Conserving water also eases the burden on wa-ter resources during drought conditions. Thereare a wide variety of fixtures and appliancesthat help reduce water use. Installing high effi-ciency plumbing fixtures and appliances canhelp a typical family of four reduce indoor wa-ter use by one-third, save about $95 per yearon their water and sewer bill, and cut energyuse by as much as six percent (USEPA, 2002).

The less water we use, or abuse, the lesswe degrade this precious resource and the lessmoney we have to spend bringing our waterresource back to an acceptable standard. Toensure that the water coming out of your tapsis clean and of good quality, use water wiselytoday.

Sources:

United States Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA), 2002, Water Conservationand Efficiency , available online atwww.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency/sectwco.htm

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), 2002, House-hold Water Efficiency, available onlineat www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid123.php

Sustainable GroundwaterResources

Missouri’s greatest groundwater resourceslie in the southern part of Missouri. The ground-water is the least understood and almost alwaysundervalued. For many cities and counties inSouthern Missouri, incorporating conservationand increased efficiency in water managementmay be the most economically feasible way tomeet their future needs. Postel concluded thatonly by managing water demand, rather thanceaselessly striving to meet it, is there hope fora truly secure and sustainable water future(Postel, 1986).

Groundwater in Missouri is mostly replen-ished, or recharged by precipitation. Shallowaquifers receive this recharge relatively quickly,

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but deeper aquifers covered by hundreds of feetof strata are generally recharged much moreslowly. Thus, water pumped from these deeperzones is not being replenished at the same rateas is it being withdrawn. Drawdown occurs aswells are pumped and the water level in thewell bore lowers. However, drawdown is notlimited to the well bore – it occurs in all direc-tions from the pumping well and creates whatis termed a cone of depression. Drawdown de-creases as distance from the pumping well in-creases. However, as more wells are drilled,cones of depression often overlap and then thedrawdown has a cumulative effect on water level.Domestic wells and smaller industrial or mu-nicipal wells will suffer the effects of a regionalwater level decline first, due to their shallowerdepths and smaller capacity pumps.

Most municipalities in Southern Missouridepend upon groundwater as a partial to fullsource of supply for their customers. Because itis generally more economical than purchasingwater from another supply, commercial usersof groundwater tap into the resource almostdaily. Irrigation demands further stress the onthe groundwater ‘pool’. And finally, domesticwells supply water to thousands of homes andsmall farms throughout the area. As more resi-dential and commercial growth occurs in thesouthern part of Missouri, groundwater levelswill continue to decline unless a sustainablewater demand management approach has beenadopted or other sources of water are pursued.

Water quality problems in the lower aqui-fer may begin to appear as upper aquifer ground-water, which is more easily contaminated, movesdownward as a result of changes in hydraulichead caused by pumping. As more growth anddevelopment occur in the southern part of thestate, groundwater resources are becoming im-pacted on a regional basis.

Developing new water supplies may not bethe only opportunity that exists to meet theincreasing water demand. There is a limitationto the traditional supply–side approach. Themost accessible sources of water have now beendeveloped, and deeper drilling is becoming in-creasingly expensive. The answer may lie inreducing the demand-side of the equation. Re-ducing water demand and incorporating con-

servation measures in water management maybe the only economically feasible way to achievea sustainable water future.

Sources:

Postel, S., 1986, Increasing Water Efficiency,State of the World, 1986, L. R. Brown et al.(Editors), W. W. Norton and Company, NewYork, New York.

Dry Hydrants

With the increasing demand for drinkingwater for a growing human population (as wellas suburban areas increasing in number andexpanding into previously rural areas), dry firehydrants may be a practical and cost effectiveway to provide fire protection to certain areas.

Dry hydrants look like regular pressurizedfire hydrants. The difference is that instead ofbeing hooked to a drinking water main, theyare piped to a pond, lake, stream or other watersource. When needed, a firefighting truck pumpswater through a pressurized suction hose fromthe hydrant that is linked to the pond by buriedpipes. These are especially effective during thewinter when the water source may be frozen. Ifa dry hydrant is not installed and the watersource is frozen a tradition pumping truck wouldhave to pull up to the water source, and thensomeone would have to cut into the ice to reachthe water, which would take precious time dur-ing a fire situation.

Especially in southeast Missouri, anotheradvantage of dry hydrants is they’re earthquake-proof. Were an earthquake to occur, causingbreaks in water supply lines, dry hydrants wouldhave less detrimental impact upon the publicwater supply system because they are nothooked into that system, and therefore can notcause a loss of water pressure from water mainruptures. It is also possible that a water linewould be ruptured, and there would be no wa-ter to fight the fire with. This is especially im-portant because earthquakes often cause firesto start.



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Dry hydrants generally have less expensiveinitial installation costs and lower operation andmaintenance costs than wet hydrants that arehooked to the public water supply water mains.Dry hydrants are not feasible for all areas andall conditions, but where adequate quantities ofreliable surface or groundwater exist, dry hy-drants are a viable option.

Rainwater Capture

In areas with insufficient potable ground-water resources (e.g. St. Francois Mountains orthe Osage Plains), capturing and storing rain-water provides an alternative water supply.Often this is done in the form of a dammeddrainage area to form a reservoir. However, thismay be too expensive for an individual house-hold, or not possible due to the local geology, orthe landowner might not have enough or theright property (i.e. they own only bottomland)for such a pond.

Rain harvesting is a time-tested methodthat may be a viable alternative in some loca-tions, particularly remote ones. This involvescapturing and storing the rain that falls on aroof. Usually, this is done by having gutters di-rect the water into some sort of cistern or otherlarge container for storage (note: there have beensignificant improvements in cisterns and con-tainer technology over the past 75 years). TheTexas Water Development Board has publisheda technical bulletin discussing the hows andwhys of rainwater harvesting, including manycase studies (TWDB and CMPBS, 1997). It ap-pears it is often a safe, sufficient and economi-cally viable water supply in many situations.

Rainwater harvesting can have the extrabenefit of mitigating stormwater runoff prob-lems in developments. For example, if all thehouses in a subdivision had some form of rain-water capture, it would decrease the stormwaterrunoff and its associated problems. In addition,this stored water could then be used for water-ing lawns, which turns out to consume largequantities of water throughout the warm sea-son, thereby decreasing the amount of drinkingwater used for irrigation.

Sources:

Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) andthe Center for Maximum Potential Build-ing Systems (CMPBS), 1997, Texas guideto rainwater harvesting, found onlineat: www.twdb.state.tx.us/assistance/conser-vation/Rain.htm

Bootheel AreaMultifunctional Wetlands

Landowners in southeastern Missouri,blessed with abundant water supplies, gentletopography, and a mild climate, could take ad-vantage of opportunities to grow rice crops inthe summer and keep water on the land in fall,winter, and spring months for additional pur-poses.

Some farmers who now raise rice in theBootheel region of the state already have ex-perimented with keeping water on their landsafter rice harvest, through the winter, and be-fore spring planting.

One farmer in Stoddard County, for ex-ample, after combining his rice crop, goes overthe fields with a heavy roller, breaking (or bend-ing) rice stalks down so that they will be sub-merged when he re-floods his fields. The floodedfields then become habitat for various speciesof macroinvertebrates that are food for migra-tory waterfowl. Rails, which like muddy shore-line habitat; puddle ducks, which like shallowwater for “dipping,” and diving ducks, which likedeep water, all have a chance to rest and forageon their way south toward Louisiana for thewinter months.

Again, in the spring, the farmer manipu-lates the water level in his fields to accommo-date the schedules of the northward migratingwaterfowl species, so that there are muddy,marginal areas, shallow water areas, and deepwater areas to the liking of the different speciesof birds. When the migration is done, it is timefor planting another year’s crop of rice. Themanipulation of water levels is done by meansof existing pumps and weirs that he uses in hisrice-growing operation during the warm monthsof the year.

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There are obvious wildlife habitat benefitsto the above mentioned practice, but also thisincreases the potential of other revenue gen-eration. Some farmers build “blinds” for watch-ing, photography, or hunting, adjacent to theirfields, and go out hunting during the migratorywaterfowl season. Others even rent huntingblinds to folks who have no rice fields of theirown, earning a little extra cash in the off-sea-son. The presence of the water also draws otherwildlife to the wetlands, such as deer. Manyfarmers harvest venison as a crop in season, toaugment their meat supplies. Some maintain


the “wetlands” for aesthetic reasons. Many land-owners like to see the migratory waterfowl stop-ping by during fall and winter travels. They likethe sight and sound of the migrating water fowland song birds.

Sources:

Gaffney, Richard M., Geological Survey and Re-source Assessment Division, Missouri De-partment of Natural Resources, personalcommunication, 2002.


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7.

Comments Received

Comments Received

Topics in Water Use: Southern Missouri wasreviewed by various staff in the division at sev-eral stages of preparation. The Interagency TaskForce made comments and then the draft re-port was placed on the Department of NaturalResources’ Geological Survey and Resource As-sessment Division’s Internet web page for ac-cess and comment by the public. This requestfor comment was issued in a statewidenewsrelease. The public comment period was30 days on this report.

The draft report was accessed only threetimes during the comment period.

The following comments were received froma geologist that has statewide groundwater ex-perience. The comments are of a detailed theo-retical nature concerning the movement ofgroundwater over geologic time and resultantquality of groundwater. While these commentsare good issues to consider relating to manage-ment of our water resources in southern Mis-souri, this planning document was not intendedto address detailed geologic theories. We do ap-preciate the time spent on preparing these com-ments, the publications referenced for additionalinformation and the need expressed to consideralternative sources of drinking water in the re-gion. The comments are reproduced as received.

Comment: “As far as I know, this is thefirst DNR document to admit groundwater min-ing is occurring in Southern Missouri. The au-thors are to be commended. However, this docu-ment fails to address THE first order questionin the southern Missouri water situation, namely:“Why does the deep Ozark Aquifer contain sa-line water in some areas and freshwater in otherareas?” If this question is not scientifically ad-dressed, higher truths will remain elusive. Theanswer can be found in a USGS publication pre-

pared in cooperation with the Geological Sur-vey of Missouri:

Equivalent freshwater head and dissolved-solids concentration of water in rocks of Cam-brian, Ordovician, and Mississippian age innorthern Mid-continent, U.S.A., by Jorgensen,D.G., Helgesen, J.O., Leonard, R.B., and Signor,D.C., 1985, Geological Survey MiscellaneousField Studies Map MF-1835-B, scale 1:1,000,000,2 sheets.

According to Jorgensen et al., the explana-tion for the salinity concentrations found in mid-continent groundwater is that in the geologicpast “….water flowed from east to west underdifferent geologic and hydrologic conditions.”The unfortunate consequence of this reality isthat large parts of the confined Ozark Aquiferin western Missouri (and northeastern Missouri)lack a real recharge area. Having no rechargearea is bad. The situation is graphically illus-trated on the worldwide web in a recent reportby Wittman Hydro Planning Associates. Thereports are attached to this e-mail. WittmanHydro Planning Associates break with a longtradition of egregiously bad science: namely thepractice of ignoring the groundwater divide thatseparates the Mississippi Basin and ArkansasBasin. This groundwater divide effectively sepa-rates the deep, western Missouri Ozark Aquiferfrom its former recharge areas in the Salem Pla-teau region. Research done since 1985 has re-inforced the conclusion reached by Jorgensen,et al. Most notably, the relative lack of tritiumin highly productive Ozark Aquifer wells, mean-ing the groundwater is old. See USGS WRI 00-4038. Microbiological and chemical quality ofground water used as a source of public supplyin southern Missouri; phase I, May 1997-March1998, by J.V. Davis and E.C. Witt, III. 2000. 77 p.


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Specific comments

On pages 14 and 15, the Draft states‘…..This part of the southwestern region (Os-

age Plains) coincides with the freshwater-salinewater transition zone. Therefore, the deeperSpringfield Plateau aquifer and the Ozark Aqui-fer contain water too highly mineralized for use.”

This section implies that the freshwater-saline water transition zone coincides with theeastern border of the Osage Plains, apparentlyendorsing the popular notion that salinity in theOzark Aquifer is somehow related to the pres-ence or absence of Pennsylvanian-age shale.This notion does not stand up to scrutiny. Inreality, the freshwater-saline water transitionzone does NOT coincide with the eastern bor-der of the Osage Plains. Vernon County andJohnson County are virtually covered withPennsylvanian-age shale. Yet both counties en-joy huge freshwater supplies in the deeply bur-ied Ozark Aquifer, despite their location on theOsage Plains. Meanwhile, on the opposite sideof the state in Jefferson County and CapeGirardeau County, significant salinity is encoun-tered within the Ozark Aquifer, despite the vir-tual absence of Pennsylvanian-age shale. Again,the real reason for the current position of fresh-water-saline water transition zone is that theposition of groundwater divides has migratedwithin the recent geologic past.

On Page 29, the draft states that:“….If there is ample time between pumping

cycles, the well will fully recover and water levelwill return to its pre-pumping level.”

The treatment of aquifer overexploitationin the draft focuses on water levels and ignoresthe very real and irreversible deterioration dueto the resulting saline groundwater intrusion.The eastward encroachment of saline ground-water along the freshwater-saline water transi-tion zone has been documented in Water re-sources of west-central Missouri: U.S. Geologi-cal Survey Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-491 by Gann, E.E., Harvey, E.J., Barks, J.M., Fuller,D.L., and Miller, D.E., 1974.

On Page 30, the draft states that:….. (groundwater is a) resource that is ulti-

mately replenished by precipitation soaking intothe earth. Each water well has a source-water areathat supplies it. Depending on geology and wellconstruction, some wells receive their rechargeentirely from infiltration of precipitation.

In reality, many water wells (for all practi-cal purposes) lack a real recharge area. Manywater wells in western Missouri have no source-water area. These include wells used by thecities of Noel and Joplin. The areas that lackrecharge are generally depicted on Figure 9 inUSGS WRI 00-4038. Microbiological and chemi-cal quality of ground water used as a source ofpublic supply in southern Missouri; phase I, May1997-March 1998, by J. V. Davis and E. C. Witt,III. 2000. 77 p. Areas that are west of the mainOzark groundwater divide and designated asaquifer type C(OzCu) an C(W) on Fig. 9 shouldbegin to protect and eventually develop surfacewater sources.

Documents

TOPICS IN WATER USE: SOUTHERN MISSOURIii Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003108876 Missouri Classification Number: MO/NR Ge9:63 Missouri Department of Natural Resources,