MoWIN: Elk River Basin - Water Quality

In 1998, some sections of streams within the Elk River Basin were placed on the EPA’s TMDL list (see water monitoring section). These include the following:

These streams are included based on current nutrient loading from nearby livestock operations. Current pollution control measures are not expected to be sufficient enough to offset this nutrient input.

In 1996, the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology found that Town Branch, a tributary of Little Sugar Creek, was not clean enough to be used for drinking water and only partially clean enough to support aquatic life within the stream. This was due to nutrient loading from point-source pollution from nearby cities. Little Sugar Creek also had high levels of turbidity and nutrients from non-point-source pollution and was determined to only partially support aquatic life.

Some wells have recently been contaminated within the Elk River Basin. High levels of radium were found in groundwater in Lanagan and Noel, Missouri, and hydrogen sulfide has been found in high levels in wells in some homes. Hydrogen sulfide is the gas that smells like rotten eggs.

If the water in a river is too hot or if there is not enough dissolved oxygen in the water, large numbers of fish can die. See the table below for a record of large mortality events known as “fish kills” that have occurred in the Elk River Basin. Most fish kills in the Elk River Basin are attributed to wastes from confined animal feeding operations and poultry farms.

Fish kills and water pollution investigations in the Elk River Basin, 1970 - 1998

Date	Stream	County	# of Fish	Est. value	Cause/Source
7-Jul-81	Miser Hollow Branch	McDonald			petroleum
29-Jul-80	Elk River	McDonald			grain
Nov. 20, 1978	Elk River	McDonald			septic tank seepage
Nov. 20, 1978	Little Sugar Creek	McDonald			sewage effluent/silt
Pre-1982 Total			0	0
Oct. 13, 1998	Cave Spring Branch	McDonald	8	$4.02	poultry processing waste
Sep. 3, 1998	Elk River	McDonald			ammonia
Jul. 14, 1998	Elk River	McDonald	250-300 mussels		sewage suspected
Apr. 2, 1998	Honey Creek	McDonald			concrete
Feb. 24, 1998	Cave Spring Branch	McDonald	0		poultry processing waste
Jul. 28, 1997	Elk River	McDonald			high temp./low flow
7-May-97	Elk River				unknown
Aug. 9, 1996	Thief Hollow Creek	McDonald			hydraulic fluid
Jul. 26, 1996	Butts Ponds	McDonald			poultry manure
Mar. 29, 1996	Elk River (floodplain)	McDonald			food processing wastes
Sep. 25, 1995	Elk River	McDonald			municipal wastewater
Oct. 07, 1994	Little Sugar Creek	McDonald			diesel fuel
Oct. 22, 1994	Stogdon Creek	McDonald			poultry waste
Dec. 20, 1991	Honey Creek	McDonald			petroleum
Aug. 09, 1989	Little Sugar Creek	McDonald	0		mining
Mar. 13, 1987	Cave Springs Branch	McDonald	317	$50.62	poultry waste
Dec. 08, 1986	Indian Creek	McDonald	0	0	railroad
12-May-85	Buffalo Creek	McDonald	0	0	unknown
Apr. 27, 1984	Indian Creek	McDonald			municipal sewage
Dec. 09, 1983	Indian Creek	McDonald	unknown	0	dodecyl benzen/railroad
Aug. 08, 1982	Patterson Creek	McDonald			unknown pesticide
Post-1982 Total			325	$54.64