Sinkholes: In the news, in our backyard!

Sinkholes have been in the news these days, both for their sudden and frightening appearances and for the implications they have for surface and groundwater quality. Imagine rising some morning and you look out the window and notice that a sizable part of your yard has been replaced by a large hole. Or, perhaps, you are navigating through traffic and watch the back end of the truck in front of you drop into a hole that literally formed beneath its rear wheels. Such events, termed sinkhole collapses, can and do occur in Missouri on a fairly frequent basis. And they occur for a number of reasons. While most are natural phenomenon, some are due to construction, mining and other human activities.

Sinkholes in Missouri

A sinkhole is a depression in the Earth's surface that forms due to the subsurface removal of soil and rock. Most sinkholes are naturally occurring and develop in areas, such as in Southwest Missouri, that have bedrock that can dissolve in water (such as limestone or dolomite), also known as "karst" areas. The combination of slightly acidic precipitation or surface water runoff, karstic bedrock, and time gradually result in complex, elaborate sculpting of bedrock, development of caves and sinkholes, and "robbing" of water flow from surface streams into underground flow systems.

2006 Sinkhole swallows home in Nixa, MO

Some sinkholes have bedrock walls, are steep-sided and frequently form entrances into caves. Most sinkholes, however, have more gentle side slopes and no large openings in their bases. Sinkholes can form in a variety of ways, but all require collapse into voids that have developed in the subsurface.

Click HERE for larger version.

One of the remarkable, natural characteristics of karst watersheds is the presence of high flow-rate springs. Entwined with the natural beauty of these springs is a high level of potential vulnerability to contamination from improper chemical or waste management in a sinkhole. The porosity of karst underground terrain, and the free movement of water through it, has some serious implications for water quality. Something that infiltrates the ground in one place can show up miles away. By injecting non-toxic fluorescent dye into sinkholes we can determine where the water (and pollutants) will show up downstream.

Sinkhole with gentle slope and no hole in the base.

In the past, some have often found it convenient to dispose of trash in sinkholes. Today, we have a better understanding of the health effects of improper waste disposal practices, and volunteer time is well-spent in removing trash from sinkholes. For example, a one-quart container of herbicide was recently removed from a sinkhole. Calculations using current public health protection standards indicate that the contents of the container could have potentially made a drinking water supply unfit to drink for 1,500 years.

Illegal dumping at a sinkhole in Missouri

What can you do to protect sinkholes? Most of all, be careful with fuels, fertilizer, chemicals, and waste material. Don't put anything in a sinkhole that you wouldn't want to have in your drinking water. For more information read the U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1182 entitled "Land Subsidence in the United States".

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Quote of the Week

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

~ Aldo Leopold

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Energy firms, environmental groups agree on tough new fracking standards

NBCnews.com

In an unlikely partnership between longtime adversaries, some of the nation's biggest energy companies and environmental groups have agreed on a voluntary set of standards for gas and oil fracking in the Northeast that appear to go further than existing state and federal pollution regulations.

The program announced Wednesday will work a lot like Underwriters Laboratories, which puts its UL seal of approval on electrical appliances that meet its standards. In this case, drilling and pipeline companies will be encouraged to submit to an independent review of their operations, and if they are found to be taking certain steps to protect the air and water, they will receive the blessing of the brand-new Pittsburgh-based Center for Sustainable Shale Development.

If the project succeeds, it could have far-reaching implications for both the industry and environmental groups. A nationwide boom in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has unleashed huge new energy reserves but also led to fears of pollution and climate change. Shell Oil Vice President Paul Goodfellow said this is the first time the company and environmental groups have reached agreement to create an entire system for reducing the effects of shale drilling.

To read more, Click HERE.

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Arkansas, Oklahoma Attorneys General Sign Illinois River Agreement

Arkansas Business

March 20, 2013

OKLAHOMA CITY - The quality of water in the Illinois River will be the focus of a comprehensive, three-year study under an agreement announced Wednesday by officials in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The agreement was reached following months of negotiations between the two states concerning phosphorus limits in parts of the river that travels from Arkansas through 100 miles of eastern Oklahoma, according to separate statements by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel.

The agreement extends a similar pact reached in 2003 after Oklahoma established standards for allowable levels of phosphorus released into the Illinois River and other scenic rivers from water treatment plants, farming operations and other sites that deposit excess levels of phosphorus into the river before it leaves Arkansas. Oklahoma filed a lawsuit in 2005 against Arkansas poultry companies that alleged poultry waste had damaged portions of the Illinois River watershed in northeastern Oklahoma, allowing bacteria to be carried into lakes and streams popular with boaters and campers. The lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court in Tulsa.

"Generations of Oklahomans have enjoyed the Illinois River for hunting, fishing, camping and floating, and their safety and enjoyment of the river is paramount," Pruitt said. "This agreement ensures that the progress we've made will continue, and that the river remains a recreation destination for future generations." The 2003 agreement required Arkansas to upgrade wastewater treatment plants and limit other discharges in the watershed. McDaniel said extending the new agreement eliminates the potential for costly litigation over Oklahoma's phosphorous standards in the watershed - standards Arkansas has maintained are unattainable.

To read more, Click HERE.

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Quantifying Nutrient Removal through Targeted Intensive Street Sweeping

University of Minnesota

March 2013

Urban watersheds face unique concerns, not the least of which is nutrient management, and it is quite possible we have been underestimating a key piece in the puzzle of how to improve urban water quality. Coarse organic debris (leaves, grass clippings) that finds its way onto streets can leach nutrients into stormwater runoff, and eventually make its way into storm sewers, unless removed by sweeping. Once in storm sewers, this material can accumulate in catch basins and pipes, or be transported into streams, lakes, and rivers, releasing nutrients along the way as it decomposes. The first step in managing this source of nutrients to stormwater is to quantify the magnitude of the problem.

In 2010, the City of Prior Lake partnered with the University of Minnesota in a street sweeping study to address nutrient management. The main objectives of the study were to measure the total amount of sediment and associated nutrients removed by street sweeping and to quantify the influence of overhead tree canopy on the character and quantity of sediments found on the street. Over a two-year period beginning in August, 2010, street sweeping operations were conducted in nine study routes classified as having "high", "medium", or "low" tree canopy cover. Sweeping operations were conducted over the entire snow-free period allowing us to capture seasonal influences on loading patterns.

To read more, Click: HERE.

Contact Info
OZARKS WATER WATCH MISSOURI OFFICE ARKANSAS OFFICE

David Casaletto, President PO Box 636, 2 Kissee Ave., Ste. C 1200 W. Walnut, Ste. 3405
(417) 739-5001 Kimberling City, MO 65686 Rogers, AR 72756

contact@ozarkswaterwatch.org