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Sac River Basin - Watershed Projects &
Groups
Soil Conservation Projects (AGNPS SALT) A soil conservation project called SALT (Special Area Land Treatment) is currently being started in the Sac River Watershed. This program is funded by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and run by the Greene County Soil and Water District. The program involves landowners in reducing erosion by improving land management practices. These projects focus on restoration through alternative cattle watering and grazing plans that improve riparian zones* and reduce agricultural related non-point source pollution. Similar projects can be found at the following address: (http://www.dnr.mo.gov/wpscd/swcp/swcpsalt.htm). Two SALT projects are currently underway in the Upper Little Sac Watershed, and similar projects might soon begin on Valley Water Mill in the Upper Little Sac and in the Bear Creek Basin in Polk County.*Riparian zone - an area along the banks of a river or stream University of Missouri Outreach and Extension, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Research Institute, is currently conducting a microbiotic assessment in the Little Sac Watershed. This project involves source tracking, which is a process that monitors the microbiota* within rivers and streams and attempts to find their source. *Microbiota: microscopic organisms not visible to the naked eye Watershed Committee of the Ozarks The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks is funded by Springfield ’s City Utilities and the Greene County Government, with additional supplement from the Department of Natural Resources and the EPA. The group focuses on water quality within the watersheds that provide Springfield ’s drinking water. Their mission is “to preserve and improve the water supplies of Springfield and Greene County through education and effective management of the region’s watersheds.” This group educates farmers and residents within the area and conducts ongoing studies of water quality. They are also involved in monitoring the groundwater levels in Springfield ’s watershed, and are planning a watershed education facility at Springfield ’s Valley Water Mill. See their website for details: http://www.watershedcommittee.org//The Watershed Committee is currently involved in the following projects within the Sac River Basin: Sac River Restoration Project The Watershed Committee has been conducting an ongoing project in the Little Sac River Basin for a number of years. This project, funded by the EPA’s 319 grant (formerly of the Clean Water Act) and administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, has three major components: 1) to assess conditions within the watershed through water quality monitoring, 2) to restore degraded areas within the watershed-this aspect involves landowners in restoration projects, and 3) to provide education to the local community. As a part of the educational component, the Watershed Committee hosts an annual “Pasture Walk” for the landowners within the basin. This event is run jointly by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Soil and Water Conservation District to educate landowners on better land management practices. Additional information can be accessed on the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks website: http://www.watershedcommittee.org//. This project is funded by the EPA’s 319 grant and is focused primarily on restoration of urban stream banks near Valley Water Mill, a small lake just north of Springfield Missouri. This project has also helped fund graduate research at Southwest Missouri State University that looked at contaminants in the sediment of the lake and surrounding land Many local water quality monitoring programs are ongoing in the Sac River Basin. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) funds a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) project that measures the total amount of pollutant a water body can receive and still maintain minimum water quality standards. To be included in a TMDL study, a water body has to first be included on an ‘impaired waters’ list created by the EPA. This program measures variables such as nutrients, chlorophyll a (an indirect measure of algal growth), sediment load (a measure of the amount of sediment suspended in the water), stream discharge, benthic (stream bottom) macroinvertebrates (i.e. insect larvae) and other chemical and physical measurements. More information on this program can be found at the following address: http://www.dnr.mo.gov/wpscd/wpcp/wpc-tmdl.htm .Currently, Fellows and McDaniel are are part of this project. More info on the program, and to find out the results of the Sac River TMDL project, check out: http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also conducts water quality monitoring within the Sac River Basin. Their project is called the National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). The focus of this program is to determine trends in water quality of surface water and groundwater throughout the nation. The Sac River Basin is part of the larger Ozark Plateaus study unit. More information on this project can be accessed at : http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa |
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Elk River | James River | Sac River | Spring River | North Fork Salt River |
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Missouri Watershed Information Network (MoWIN) |
Page last updated August 26, 2008 |
