MISSOURI: SPRINGFIELD
Growth Concerns Spur Watershed Management
Background
Springfield is a city of about 150,000 residents located in southwestern Missouri, among
rolling hills on the southwestern edge of the Ozark uplift. Greene County, which contains
Springfield and several smaller cities, has a total population of about 210,000. The
region is currently experiencing a growth boom due to a diversified economy, modest
cost of living and abundant recreational opportunities. Around the city, and extending
north and eastward into the municipal drinking watersheds, is a rapidly urbanizing fringe
area. Outside the city, most of the land is used for agriculture, primarily beef and dairy
cattle production.
The Springfield region exhibits complex geology, which has important implications for
protection of its drinking water. Much of Springfield's bedrock is limestone and dolomite,
and karst features are very pronounced. There are numerous losing streams, springs
and large concentrations of sinkholes in the area.
The city's drinking water is provided by City Utilities of Springfield, a municipally-owned
utility. The water source located closest to Springfield is Fulbright Spring, with a
recharge area of 29 square miles, just north of the city. The city first began using this
spring in 1883, and today it provides about 12-17% of the city's water supply on an
annual basis. In 1915, the city began utilizing a large well near Fulbright Spring, which
currently produces about 3 million gallons a day (MGD). Springfield's first reservoir was
constructed in 1929 on the Little Sac River north of the city, and today holds about one
billion gallons. In 1955, another reservoir, capable of holding 11 billion gallons, was
added upstream. The combined watershed of these two reservoirs consists of an area of
about 39 square miles. Together, the reservoirs provide 40-60% of the city's drinking
water on an annual basis. In 1980, the James River, southeast of the city, was brought
on line. It has a 238 square mile watershed above the intake and is tapped to provide
20-30% of the city's water supply annually. Finally, in 1996, a 32-mile pipeline was built
to Stockton Lake, an established Corps of Engineers reservoir northwest of the city. With
Springfield's current daily water usage at approximately 30 MGD, it is projected that
Stockton Lake will help satisfy the water demands of the city through about 2050. The
City Utilities of Springfield has two lime/softening water treatment plants that utilize
activated carbon for taste and odor control and mixed-media filtration followed by
chlorination.
Priority Contamination Threats
The three primary threats to Springfield's water quality are:
• urbanization in the watershed, accompanied by the potential for spills and
contaminated runoff;
• wastewater treatment in suburban areas, which consists primarily of septic
systems on karst terrain (many of which are suspected of failing); and
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• agriculture, especially animal waste from concentrated beef and dairy cattle
operations.
Local Involvement and Developing the Protection Plan
In the early 1980s, as a result of episodes of taste and odor problems in the drinking
water, there were numerous public concerns regarding proposed development in the
watershed. At the mayor's encouragement, the Utility created a task force to investigate
these issues and recommend possible management solutions. The task force conducted
multiple stakeholder meetings to provide local developers, farmers, engineers and
concerned citizens with a forum to exchange information and voice their opinions. One
of the task force's recommendations to the mayor was that a permanent, citizen-based
Watershed Management Coordinating Committee be established to guide and oversee
water protection efforts. This group was initially comprised of representatives of the city,
county, and the water utility, along with some citizen "at-large" members. In 1989, this
group incorporated as a non-profit organization and renamed itself the Watershed
Committee of the Ozarks.
Today, the annual operating budget of the Committee is approximately $190,000 per
year, and funding is provided by three entities: Greene County (in which much of the
watershed areas lie) provides 20 % of the group's annual operating budget, the city of
Springfield (containing the bulk of the water "users") provides 20%, and the Utility
(responsible for delivering safe water) funds the remaining 60%. Each of the three
sponsoring agencies appoints one citizen representative to sit on the Committee, and
three at-large positions are appointed by the remainder of the Board of Directors. The
group has a paid staff of five: an Executive Director, an Operations Manager, a
Watershed Projects Coordinator, an Education/Outreach Coordinator, and an Office
Manager. The Watershed Committee has been very successful in obtaining grants for a
variety of watershed protection projects, and has a corps of about thirty trained
volunteers to help implement the projects (see below).
Since its inception, the Committee has enjoyed a high level of community support. For
example, when a county official recommended that the group be terminated (he felt
Springfield didn't need another burdensome layer of bureaucracy), the local citizenry
determined that it was highly beneficial to have an objective, citizen-based advisory
group to guide local decision-makers. Every month, 30 to 50 people attend the
Committee's meetings (many of them are citizens-at-large who are not affiliated with a
relevant agency) and discuss a variety of pertinent watershed issues and concerns.
Management Measures
The goal of the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks is to protect the sources of public
drinking water for the Springfield-Greene County community. The Committee seeks to
accomplish this mission through a variety of programs, including:
• Development Review. The Committee reviews all developments that are
proposed in the watershed, and makes recommendations to appropriate planning
agencies. When necessary, the Committee promotes more protective watershed
regulations and ordinances.
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• Educational Events. The Committee sponsors many education and outreach
events, including conferences, targeted workshops, and media campaigns.
• Cost-Sharing. Some of the Committee's most successful projects have involved
direct work with farmers, developers and landowners. Through grants, primarily
Clean Water Act Section 319 grants, the Committee has been able to cost-share
with these individuals on a variety of better management practices that help to
protect water quality.
• Demonstration Projects. The Committee has a variety of urban and agricultural
demonstration areas where citizens can observe improved watershed
management practices in action.
• Water Quality Monitoring. The Committee has worked with its sponsors and
state and federal agencies to monitor water quality and development in
watershed areas.
• Decision-making Tools. The Committee has developed water-resource GIS
applications to help the community make better informed decisions regarding the
watersheds.
Current Efforts
The Watershed Committee is in the seventh year of planning and construction of a
Watershed Education and Demonstration Center in Springfield. On 100 acres of land
owned by City Utilities, in the heart of the Fulbright Spring Recharge Area, the
Committee is developing a 10,000 square foot "green" building with workshop spaces, a
publicly accessible water quality laboratory, exhibit spaces and offices. This building and
site will feature a host of energy and water conservation strategies and best
management practice demonstrations (including green roofs, wetland filters, rain
gardens, cistern catchments for rainwater, passive solar, and wastewater recycling in a
plant-based treatment system). Already completed on the site are 2 1/4 miles of trail, two
outdoor classrooms (of the four planned, one each at the wetland, spring, stream and
lake), a wetland enhancement project, and a porous pavement parking lot
demonstration. The Committee is currently in a capital campaign to raise the $3.3 million
in funding necessary to complete this $7.5 million project.
Contingency Planning
The City Utilities of Springfield has contingency plans in place in the event of the loss of
any of its water sources, including mandatory conservation under worst-case scenarios.
As a result of the terrorist events of September 11th, water plant and watershed security
has been tightened. In conjunction with Greene County's nationally recognized Local
Emergency Planning Committee, the Watershed Committee has conducted several joint
exercises involving potential threats to the water supplies. In addition, the Committee
has made efforts to inform emergency personnel of watershed boundaries through
highway signs and by providing laminated watershed maps for emergency vehicles.
Measuring Program Effectiveness
The Committee's effectiveness has been measured using a variety of direct and indirect
methods. Through water quality monitoring, the Committee has documented water
quality improvements in targeted watersheds where better management practices have
been implemented, and water quality remains high despite increased development in the
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watersheds. The Committee also measures success by the increasing number of
developers and landowners who seek its help or advice early in the planning process,
and then implement the Committee's recommendations. Other indications of success
include the increasing number of people subscribing to the newsletter, and a growing
number of hits on its website. The Committee considers its greatest indicator of success
to be the fact that the three local sponsors have continued funding its efforts for over
twenty years.
For further information, contact:
Loring Bullard, Director
Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
Phone: (417)866-1127
loring@watershedcommittee.org
Website: www.watershedcommittee.org
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