If your house is not connected to the sewer, then the wastewater from your house goes into a septic tank located under the ground in your yard or surrounding land.  The wastewater in a septic tank must be pumped out every 3 years or it could overflow and leach into the surrounding soil and potentially run into the groundwater.  

There are nearly 60,000 septic tanks in southwest Missouri. 

Since many septic tanks were installed years ago, before permits for their installation were required, there is no record of exactly how many septic tanks lie underground across the Ozarks.  

Most counties in the Spring River Basin began to issue permits for new septic tanks in 1996. Since 1996, Barry County has permitted 1,678 septic tanks.   In Newton County, there are an estimated 3,000 permitted septic tanks, with an average of 350 septic tanks permitted per year since the permitting program began in 1996.  In Dade County, 313 new installations have been permitted since 1998. Jasper County started its permitting program in September of 1995.   Since that time (up to April 2004), 2,671 new septic systems have been permitted.  Lawrence County began permitting new septic tanks in 1996, and has since permitted 225-250 septic tanks per year.   In Barton County, if a septic tank is installed on a piece of land larger than 3 acres, the septic tank is exempt from requiring a permit.   This is because the soil in Barton County can handle more sewage than soil of the Ozark Plateau.  Because of the 3-acre exemption, only 127 new installations have been permitted in Barton County since 1996.

Plants along a river banks are called “riparian vegetation”.  These plants slow the flow of runoff into streams, which reduces erosion on stream banks.   Riparian vegetation also allows more water to infiltrate the soil before entering the stream, which can also serve to filter pollutants out of the runoff before entering the stream

Riding all-terrain vehicles, such as four-wheelers or three-wheelers, through a stream can be harmful to the water quality and habitat of a stream.   ATVs, when ridden along the banks of a river or stream, can increase the rate of erosion by removing stabilizing vegetation and by directly removing soil from the banks.   In addition, disturbance of the gravel on the river bottom can eliminate habitat for small animals such as insect larvae and mussels that use the spaces between pebbles as a refuge.   Insect larvae serve as food for larger animals, and elimination of their habitat can have effects that are felt higher up in the food chain.

Many urban areas contain parking lots, buildings, paved drainage ditches, and other areas that do not allow water to infiltrate into the soil.   These areas are termed “impervious surfaces”.   When a large percentage of the land in a watershed is covered by impervious surfaces, pollution can run into our rivers and lakes very quickly.   Rainwater can move very fast across impervious surfaces, picking up soil and pollutants along the way, and eventually flowing into area lakes and streams.   Impervious surfaces also restrict rainwater from sinking into the ground after a storm.   As a result, groundwater levels recede.   In addition to the lowering of the groundwater table, the large amount of impervious surfaces can cause Ozark streams to go dry during the summer.

Pollutants from urban areas include metals, gasoline, paint, oil, and other chemicals.  Weed sprays, bug sprays, and fertilizers from yards and gardens, bacteria from animal and human wastes, and soil from homes, construction sites, and landscaping, are all pollutants that can harm a stream. 

Heat can be a pollutant too.   When rainwater falls on impervious surfaces like concrete and pavement, the water is warmed up.  When the warm water reaches the stream, this can put stress on the plants and animals living in the stream.   Some fish, like trout, require cool water to live and can not survive in unusually warm water.

Several things are being done to reduce polluted runoff from cities and towns.  They are called Best Management Practices (BMP’s).   They include the following:

• Seeds are planted or mulch is added to areas with loose soil to reduce erosion.
• Bare ground at construction sites is covered with hale bales and straw to reduce erosion.
• Downspouts on gutters are pointed towards grassy areas instead of towards paved areas.  This allows the water more time to infiltrate into the soil before it runs into the streams.
• Stormwater is collected in holding basins to allow suspended sediment and pollutants to settle out before entering streams.

Landfills are a water quality concern because if the lining of the landfill is breached, wastes can leach into the groundwater, eventually reaching area lakes and streams.  There are many safeguards at a landfill to prevent groundwater contamination.

There is one major landfill and two transfer stations located in the Spring River Basin .  A closed, non-operating landfill that was used in the past is located at the current transfer station in Carthage .

Lamar Sanitary Landfill
The Lamar landfill receives an average of 2,000 tons of trash a day! Trash processed by this landfill comes from Joplin, MO, Galena, KS, Reeds Springs, MO, Springfield, MO, Verona, MO, and Bella Vista, AR.   The liquid leachate that seeps out from the decomposing trash in the landfill is collected and sent to the Lamar sewage lagoon to be broken down by natural microorganisms.   Groundwater testing around the landfill is performed on a quarterly basis.  

Carthage transfer station and non-operating landfill
Trash collected at the Carthage transfer station is accepted from locations with Carthage addresses only.   The trash is brought to the transfer station and then hauled to the Lamar landfill.   About 6-8 tons of trash comes to the transfer station each day.   

A landfill that serviced Carthage until 1996 is also located at the transfer station.   When the landfill ran out of space in 1996, the landfill was sealed over and trash was then forwarded to the Lamar landfill.   The old landfill does not have a leachate collection system, but a thick layer of clay at the bottom of the landfill stops leachate from reaching groundwater.  Historical testing has not shown any problems with leakage from the old landfill.

Joplin transfer station
Trash from Joplin, MO, is taken to a transfer station just west of the town.   Over 100 tons of trash comes to the transfer station daily.  The trash is then sent to landfills in Wheatland, KS, Coffeville, KS, Bella Vista , AR, or Lamar, MO.