Status of the Watershed 2019
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Status of the Watershed 2019 Summarizing 2018 Water Quality in the Upper White River Basin Citizens Measuring Water Quality The Upper White River Basin, home to over a million resources. Volunteer efforts from 2012 through 2018, people, covers 14,000 square miles and features the wa- representing more than 3,400 monitoring events across tersheds of Beaver Lake, Table Rock Lake, James River, the basin, provide the essential testing data for the 120 Lake Taneycomo, and Bull Shoals Lake. These waters lake and stream sites evaluated for this assessment. of northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri are the heart of the region. Good stewardship of these invalu- The primary metrics of water quality we consider here able resources is imperative for our economy, well-be- are water clarity, dissolved oxygen levels, the types of ing, and legacy to our children. aquatic invertebrates present, and laboratory-tested nutrient levels of phosphorus and nitrogen. Phospho- The Upper White River Basin is blessed with many in- rus and nitrogen contribute to algae growth, which in dividuals who donate their time to collect samples and excess degrades the general health of our stream and participate in water quality monitoring events. This lake ecosystems. We compare 2018 water testing results community’s passion for engaging with the natural to those of the previous six years for insight into prog- environment is the cornerstone of grassroots efforts ress or decline in general water quality over time. Sites to understand and protect the health of these shared with healthier water quality results across this six-year interval and with continuing positive results into 2018 receive the highest scores. Sites with lesser water qual- ity results across this six-year interval and with little to no improvement into 2018 receive lower scores. Aver- aging individual lake and stream testing scores togeth- er provides us with insight into water quality results at a broader watershed level for this report. Those interested in viewing the scores of individual lake and stream sites may do so at the Ozarks Water Watch website, see the back page for more information. SPRINGFIELD Water Quality By Region James River Watershed This region includes the James River Arm of Table Rock Lake and had the only site with an overall “A” grade outside of the Beaver Lake watershed. This site received an “A” due to im- provements in water quality. Nitrogen concentrations have been historically high throughout the watershed, but de- MISSOURI creased slightly in 2018. ROGERS ARKANSAS Beaver Lake Watershed Half of the 120 sites monitored in the Upper White River Basin were in the Beaver Lake watershed. Of FAYETTEVILLE the 11 sites receiving an overall “A” grade, 10 were in this region. However this region also had the only sites with an overall “F” grade, 5 in all. All of these sites had problems with excessive nutrients, including increased 2018 concentrations. Our Water Quality Grade We’re lucky to have so many water resources in the Upper White River Basin. It’s imperative that we protect Upper White River Basin Water Quality Report Card 2018 Water Overall these resources. While many of our Water Quality Grade streams and lakes are doing fine, oth- Improvement Quality C ers aren’t. There is work to do. C C B Beaver Watershed C D B Across the basin, increases of the nu- Bull Shoals Watershed C C C James River Watershed C trient nitrogen were common. High C C Table Rock Watershed C levels of nutrients encourage the D C growth of problem algae, including Taneycomo Watershed the toxic varieties that can harm wild- life, livestock, pets, and humans. of Theodosia on Pond Fork and Turkey Creek (Bull Shoals watershed). The highest 2018 nitrogen value in the basin, by far, was measured in Wilson’s Creek in Springfield, Missouri Compared to previous years, 2018 water clarity was (James River watershed). Several sites with high nitro- lower in upper Beaver Lake but higher near the dam. gen levels are in or near War Eagle Creek, downstream Clarity was down at several mid-lake Table Rock sites, of Huntsville, Arkansas (Beaver watershed). Other sites in Taneycomo, and in Bull Shoals. with high nitrogen levels are in Roaring River (Table Rock watershed) and 2 springs in upper Bull Creek Water Quality in the Upper White River Basin is gen- (Taneycomo watershed). erally very good and safe for the “intended uses” such as swimming, fishing, boating, drinking water, etc. One indicator of excess algae is extremely high dis- However, largely because of increases in the nutrient solved oxygen levels. Measured only in Missouri by nitrogen and decreases in water clarity, the overall Ba- volunteers, the highest oxygen levels observed are in sin earns a C- for water quality improvement, a C+ for Roaring River (Table Rock watershed) and 2 sites north 2018 with an overall grade of C. SPRINGFIELD Taneycomo Watershed Of the 10 sites in this watershed, only 1 scored better than a “C” overall. Nitrogen was higher in 2018 than during the 2012- 2017 period at 8 of the 10 sites. High nitrogen concentrations in 2 spring sites had a strong influence on the watershed’s overall 2018 grade, which would otherwise have been a “B”. Bull Shoals Watershed Volunteers monitored 8 sites in this watershed during 2018, MISSOURI 2 lake sites and 6 stream sites. The lakes sites had lower water clarity in 2018 and 3 of the stream sites had high dissolved ROGERS ARKANSAS oxygen concentrations, indicating potential problems with ex- cessive algae. FAYETTEVILLE Table Rock Lake Watershed The 23 sites in the Table Rock Lake watershed had overall grades in the “B” and “C” range. While most sites received a “B” grade for 2018 water quality, these grades were lower than in the 2012- 2017 period. Water clarity in the lake, for example, decreased by an average of 6 inches in 2018 and by more than a foot at 6 sites. Volunteer Water Monitoring in the Upper White River Basin Ozarks Water Watch coordinates three volunteer monitoring programs StreamSmart volunteers monitor 4 times per year on 20 waterbodies that flow into Beaver Lake. Volunteers collect water samples, analyzed by the Arkansas Water Resources Center at the University of Arkansas, conduct habitat surveys, and collect macroinvertebrate data. LakeSmart volunteers monitor 7 sites on Beaver Lake and 3 sites on To get involved with either StreamSmart or smaller lakes in the Beaver Lake LakeSmart in Arkansas, contact Angela at Watershed. [email protected] The Ozarks Water Watchers is a team of dedicated volunteers who collect water quality data from 21 sites on streams and rivers in the Upper White River Basin in Missouri. Volunteers collect 4 water samples per season at their site to be analyzed at the University of Missouri. Following the Missouri Stream Team protocols, our trained volunteers also record chemical and phys- ical information, such as dissolved oxygen concentration and macroinvertebrate community data. Ozarks Water Watchers could use a few more volunteers! To get involved, contact Ronna at Ozarks Water Watch 417-739-5001 or [email protected] Other volunteer water quality monitoring programs Volunteers with the Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program sample their lakes sites 8 times per season. They perform on-lake mea- surements, collect water samples and process them for laboratory analysis at the University of Missouri. Missouri Stream Team is a working partnership of citizens who are concerned about Missouri streams with a focus on education, stewardship, and advocacy. Volunteers monitor the invertebrate community and perform stream-side chemical analyses. Beaver Lake Secchi Day engages the public with the lake and rais- es awareness about the importance of the lake to our community. Volunteers measure water clarity and collect samples for labora- tory analysis during a day-long event in August. To see a map featuring scores for each of the 120 sites evaluated, visit: https://www.ozarkswaterwatch.org/status-of-the-watershed-reports.