LAWRENCE COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) – A new report from Environment America shows concerning data for Missouri’s rivers, lakes and streams. Out of 202 locations across the state the group pulled data from, 85%of those locations had at least one day with potentially unsafe levels of contamination.
“Waterway pollution in Missouri poses a threat to the swimmers far more often than we should tolerate,” said Abby Longo, a Clean Water Advocate with the Environment America Research & Policy Center.
Environment America is a national nonprofit, aiming to “protect the natural world.” For this study, data was pulled on freshwater waterways from the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s water quality portal and the state of Missouri. Each site is tested differently, and at different frequencies.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) monitors many sites across the state, but also gets data from others, like local health departments, to monitor these bacteria levels.
“Every two years, we generate a report assessing the data that we collect against the state’s water quality standards, and we generate a list of the water bodies that don’t meet the state standards called the ‘Impaired Waters list,” said Robert Voss, an environmental specialist from the DNR. “We go through all of that same data that they reported on, and we assess that against the state standards, nd we generate a list of impaired waters that aren’t meeting those criteria.
The bacteria can come from many places, like sewage overflows, stormwater runoff, manure from livestock, or even, as Environment America says, failing septic systems.
“There’s something called a beach action value, which is when the amount of pathogen in the water is exceeding, and this indicates whether or not there could be health risks associated with making contact with the water. So, swimming primarily, or secondary contact like paddling or boating,” said Longo.
The best way to avoid a contaminated waterway is to look it up online or take a look at how the water looks. If you do choose to swim, wash your hands and face when you eat. And take a shower as soon as you’re home.
“If it looks like a typical creek, it’s flowing well, it’s clear, it’s not very turbid. You’re not seeing a lot of debris or trash or other things in the water. It hasn’t rained in the last 24 to 48 hours. It’s probably okay to swim in there,” said Voss.
Environment America has an interactive map on its website that shows you each site they took data from.
“I would never want to dissuade anyone from, you know, enjoying our rivers and lakes, and that’s why it’s so important to, you know, be aware of our water quality,” said Longo. “We are primarily just trying to educate people on understanding that too often this pathogen pollution is putting the health of swimmers and boaters and paddlers at risk.”
You can also access the DNR’s Impaired Water list here.
“We’re blessed to have a lot of water, and there’s a lot of opportunities to recreate, but that also makes it a challenge to try to monitor all of those resources,” said Voss. “We should protect those and be aware of what’s happening with those.”
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