4-State Watershed Academy: A sense of cooperation.

 

I am just back home from attending the 4-State Watershed Academy in West Siloam Springs, OK. By all measures, this was a successful conference. Over 200 attendees heard from an impressive cast of speakers.  Speakers included the EPA Region 6 Administrator and the EPA Region 7 Deputy Director. The administrators of the environmental agencies for Missouri (DNR), Arkansas (ADEQ), Oklahoma (DEQ) and a representative from Kansas (KDHE) all presented.  Our elected officials were well represented by Arkansas Governor Beebe, Arkansas Congressman Womack, Missouri Congressman Long and various state and local elected officials from all 4 states. There were over 15 watershed groups and many state and federal agencies participating, again from all 4 states. Topics included nutrients, TMDLs, water rights, legislative concerns, BMPs and much more. You can look over the agenda and conference information by clicking this link. Additional photos of the conference can be found on our facebook page.

Professor Taiawagi Helton speaking on Water Rights

So over 200 people attended a conference and heard from a multitude of speakers on many water quality topics. The questions are "what did we accomplish" and "what impact did we make on water quality in the watersheds represented from the 4 states"? If there was one over-arching theme of this conference, it was cooperation. Many of these watersheds span 2 or more states. The Grand Lake watershed includes parts of all 4 states and 2 EPA regions. The Upper White River Basin that Ozarks Water Watch represents also is in 2 EPA regions and 2 states. It is no surprise that everyone sees things just a little differently as they look through their own locally shaded set of glasses. There are many different approaches to keeping our waters clear and clean. Some of the watersheds represented at the conference have or are currently dealing with litigation over water quality issues. Litigation stops the ability of the parties involved to talk with each other, to sit down and work things out. The solutions end up coming from the lawyers and judges which may not always be the best method. 

AR Governor Mike Beebe, luncheon speaker

What excited me about this academy is that in the same room we had the regulators, the legislators and the watershed groups along with many other individuals, organizations and municipalities from all 4 states, each with a stake in this process. In my career in the environmental arena I have never ever heard anyone say they are against clean water. But I have heard many, many different ideas on how we should protect and manage this very valuable natural resource. Only by getting all affected parties to join together in a spirit of cooperation can we achieve our goal of protecting our waters. It is my belief that this academy will help with this cooperation. At the end of the conference, Ozarks Water Watch was asked if we would host the 2nd 4-State Academy in Missouri next year. With the help of all our partner organizations, we hope to make that a reality.

Sara Parker Pauley, Missouri DNR Director

Left to Right: Drew Holt-Elk River Watershed Partnership, David Casaletto-Exec. Dir. Ozarks Water Watch, Melissa Bettes-James River Basin Partnership, John Moore-Ozarks Water Watch Board

On Friday afternoon, we had the option of attending one of three different tours: an Illinois River Float trip, a rain garden and stream restoration tour or a tour highlighting the history of the Cherokee Nation. I opted for the Illinois River float trip. On this trip, there were people from Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. In our daily lives we represented watershed organizations, regulatory and other state agencies and local river front property owners. But on this float trip we were all just representatives of humankind - who have only briefly been a part of our planet's long history. And we were all in one accord as to the beauty and grandeur of this outstanding river and the need to cherish and protect it for generations to come.

Preparing to float the Illinois River

Quote of the Week

"The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation."  

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Current News Articles

ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2011)

Daphnia -- also known as water fleas -- act like microscopic lawnmowers in lakes, feeding on algae and keeping it in check. However, without sufficient calcium, these water fleas cannot reproduce. "When water calcium levels get low and Daphnia populations decrease in any lake, algal growth goes unchecked and blooms can occur," says lead author and biology doctoral student Jennifer Korosi. "Losing an important grazer like these water fleas has a domino effect that leads to other water quality problems."

Declining calcium concentrations in some lakes, which is linked to acid deposition and logging, has only recently been identified as a serious environmental problem in North America and Europe.

By studying microscopic fossils and other indicators preserved in a lake sediment core from Lake George (Nova Scotia), the Queen's research team found that algal production remained relatively constant throughout the last century until around 1990 when the levels tripled. The increase in algae directly coincided with the decrease of Daphnia in the lake.

An algal bloom in a lake near Parry Sound, Ontario, located on the Canadian Shield, another region of Canada experiencing lakewater calcium decline. Image courtesy of Andrew Paterson. (Credit: Ontario Ministry of the Environment)

"Algal blooms appear to be increasing in many lake regions," says biology professor John Smol, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change, and previous winner of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Herzberg Gold Medal as Canada's top scientist. "Decreasing calcium levels appear to be one more factor that can exacerbate this problem. This is particularly worrisome given that many other stressors, such as climate warming and fertilizer runoff, are already contributing to the production of nuisance algal blooms. This is one more nail in the coffin." Other members of the research team include PhD candidate Joshua Thienpont and undergraduate student Samantha Burke. Funding for the research comes from NSERC.

Energy Resources

EPA defends its rules to Republicans

Published: Sept. 23, 2011, UPI.com

To read this article click HERE 

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By Cliff Erwin, KY3 News,  September 27, 2011

ROGERSVILLE, Mo. - Water wells in the Rogersville area have been tested for a chemical known as TCE for several years.  Now, the Environmental Protection Agency thinks a small cluster of wells in and around the Compass Plaza on the west side of town should be put on the Superfund National Priorities List.

Many of the businesses in the area have not been affected because they're on city water. Being added to the Superfund list means further study and possible cleanup on the government's dime.

Rogersville Mayor Jack Cole says he doesn't think people will be affected by the contaminated water and looks at this proposal as a chance to have federal help to insure clean drinking water for the future.

"It'd help us to protect our ground source water for not only those who already have a problem, but for the future, to keep it from going down into deeper aquifer," Rogersville Mayor Jack Cole said.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the EPA are planning to hold a meeting in the next couple of months to answer questions from residents.

To listen to this article click HERE

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