Water Quality Information Clearinghouse

Water is abundant in Missouri, from the Missouri and Mississippi rivers to spring-fed Ozark streams, but the quality of that water is all too often poor. More than 230 streams and lakes are on the 2002 list of impaired streams that the state has provided to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and with more complete and recent data, the list would doubtless be much larger. And many more streams still suffer the daily effects of an expanding populace and continuing disregard for the importance of healthy watersheds.

The contaminants that pollute the water are as varied as their origins. Legal, permitted discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants and other sewage treatment facilities convey organic matter that reduces the oxygen in the water that fish need while adding sediment, bacteria, chlorine, and other chemicals. Legal, permitted discharges from industrial sources often add chemicals and metals that are toxic to aquatic and sometimes human life. These discharges are permitted because the pollutants are limited to levels that are presumed to be safely diluted by the water in the stream or lake. However, the cumulative effects of several discharges into the same waterbody are seldom considered when the permits are written, and the water quality is rarely monitored to assure that pollutant concentrations have not risen to toxic levels. In any event, "dilution is not the solution to pollution."

Streams and lakes are also subjected to "non-point" sources of pollution. These include sediment from construction sites and plowed fields; pesticides, fertilizer, and herbicides from farms and lawns; leaking septic tanks, and stormwater washing oil and other materials off streets, parking lots, and other impervious surfaces. Such non-point sources are marginally if at all regulated, yet their impacts can exceed those of the point-source legally-permitted discharges above.

But don't despair! Stream conditions and water quality can improve, and watersheds can be protected and restored. One way to address these issues is to make sure that existing regulations are enforced and encourage the adoption of legislation and rules that better protect water quality. This is an approach that the Coalition has vigorously pursued, with good success. A recent Coalition lawsuit is currently forcing the state to update many of its lax regulations to comply with requirements of the Clean Water Act.

Another approach is to become a strong advocate for one's own watershed. Advocacy can take many forms: learning how the watershed functions and sharing that knowledge with others, assessing and monitoring its water quality, organizing a stream cleanup, commenting on discharge permits, reporting violators, and promoting watershed-based planning. These activities are not as difficult as they might at first seem. Citizen action on behalf of watersheds and water quality has been growing steadily over the past few decades to the point where it's practically a national movement. As a result, there are now many groups that new stream advocates can join with and abundant resources they can draw on.

With funding from the ASC Foundation, the Coalition is providing information on such groups and resources through this website. When advocates share experiences and ideas and work together in common cause, they are much more likely to bring about desired change. If you follow the Network link below, you'll find listings of water-oriented groups throughout Missouri as well as state and federal agencies that are concerned with watershed issues. The Resources link will provide you with web-based information on laws and regulations regarding water quality, watershed activism, water quality monitoring, pollutants, and wastewater treatment. And clicking on Advocacy will bring you a guide to discharge permitting and suggestions for writing effective comments on proposed discharges in your watershed.

We hope that you find this site useful, and given that this is intended to be an "information clearinghouse," we hope you will share with us resources and groups that should be included on this site. Please send your comments and suggestions to dsherburne@moenviron.org.

Please also contact us (314-727-0600) if you have questions or concerns about your stream, lake, or watershed. We would be happy to provide assistance in addressing water quality issues.