Upper White River Basin Foundation

Upper White River Basin Foundation
Arkansas and Missouri

Upper White River Basin Foundation Projects

Targeted Watershed Grant

In 2003, the Upper White River Basin Foundation was awarded one of the first Targeted Watershed Grants by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Designed to further the goals of the Clean Water Act by developing community-based, results driven scientific and environmental practice, the Targeted Watershed Grant (TWG) program has awarded 46 watershed organizations with over $37 million in awards to further this goal.

The Upper White River Basin Foundation was awarded a $300,000 grant which had the following goals:

For more information on other 2003 Targeted Watershed Grant recipients, please visit the EPA’s Targeted Watershed Grant site here.

Below is the Foundation’s work plan for the Targeted Watershed Grant program. The original work plan in its entirety may be found here .

Targeted Watershed Goals/Tasks

  1. Task 1 – Assemble the human capital, and scientific resources necessary to develop a Watershed Management Plan for the three 8 digit HUC codes within the UWRB.
  2. Task 2 – Monitor the Water Quality Impact of Eliminating Septic Tanks within a Defined Area.
  3. Task 3 – Create a Unified GIS-based Database of all Available Watershed Data

Task 1 – Assemble the human capital, and scientific resources necessary to develop a Watershed Management Plan for the three 8 digit HUC codes within the UWRB.

2.1 Task 1 – Assemble the human capital, and scientific resources necessary to develop a future Watershed Management Plan for the three HUC codes within the UWRB.

Beaver Sub-Basin—HUC 1101001
Bull Shoals Sub-Basin—HUC 1101003
James River Sub-Basin—HUC 11010002

Watershed Management Plans are currently being developed and reviewed for Beaver, Bull Shoals and James River Basins. Please check back for more information.

2.1.1 Improve bi-state coordination of existing and future watershed groups representing areas within the basin.

2.1.1.1 Conduct the next Upper White River Basin Forum

Upper White River Symposium—Delegates
Upper White River Symposium--Agenda

PURPOSE: The Forum is designed to attract all of stakeholder groups for an exchange on scientific studies, industry projects, and state policy initiatives among other potential topics which have the potential to reduce surface water contamination in the watershed. The targeted audience will be active scientific researchers, academic institutions, watershed groups, industrial innovators, and environmental NGO’s. As a bi-annual event, the Forum plays a key role in institutionalizing ongoing communication over water quality issues between various organizations and agencies in both states.

2.1.2 Identify key community leaders in both states and educate them on their role in water quality management

2.1.2.1 Conduct the Arkansas Upper White River Basin Water Quality Summit

Water Quality Summit (2003)--Final Report

PURPOSE: To identify, organize and publish the key water quality issues regarding the Upper White River Basin from civic, business and NGO leaders in Northwest Arkansas and develop a list of quantifiable recommendations to address those issues.

PURPOSE: To create a set of consensus issues and recommendations that respect the differences between the two states, while addressing root causes of water quality degradation of concern to residents of both states.

2.1.2.2 Conduct a Joint Arkansas/Missouri UWRB Water Quality Summit

Arkansas Missouri Interstate Water Quality Summit (2005)—Final Report

2.1.3 Assist in Developing King’s River Watershed Management Plan
The Kings River Basin Partnership is currently beginning the process of developing a watershed management plan for the Arkansas portion of this sub-basin. All work is being done by volunteers with the result that effective planning may take several years. Both the James River Basin Partnership in Missouri and the Upper White River Basin Foundation have worked with the leadership of the Arkansas group to provide technical assistance and advice.

Kings River Watershed Management Plan—Review Draft
Please note that the Kings River Watershed Management Plan is currently under peer-review. The final edition of the plan will be published soon.

Task 2 - Monitoring Water Quality Impact of Eliminating Septic Tanks within a defined area

The Foundation is already working with the newly incorporated Village of Bradleyville to replace current on-site wastewater treatment systems from all the homes in the Village utilizing county and state grants and loans. The Foundation’s partners include the Village Board of Trustees, Taney County Sewer District, and Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The community is located along Beaver Creek in extreme northeast Taney County downstream from the Mark Twain National Forest and other minimally impacted lands.

2.2.1 Initiate a sub-grant to conduct water quality monitoring in the Bradleyville area

Bull Shoals Field Station Sub-Grant—Missouri State University
Quality Assurance Project Plan—Baseline Water Quality Monitoring 2005-2006

We will expand an existing partnership with the Bull Shoals Field Station of Southwest Missouri State University (SMSU) to implement a testing protocol to meet or exceed the Environmental Protection Agency monitoring standards. The field station has conducted water quality monitoring in the area for years and they have both institutional and personnel experience in this particular are of the watershed.

Missouri State University Environmental Data Reports
Year One: September 2003 – July 2004
Year Two: August 2004 - July 2005
Year Three: August 2006

2.2.2. Recruit a multi-disciplinary Scientific Review Committee

PURPOSE: To ensure that data analysis and presentation of quantitative data is done in a manner that is scientifically defensible while generally understandable by the general public.

2.2.2.1 Provide the data and data analysis to a broad audience
2.2.2.2 Work with the faculty at SMSU or other Universities and graduate students to utilize the data as the basis for a submission to at least one peer reviewed published study.
2.2.2.3 Utilize the data analysis developed in all appropriate public presentations made by Foundation staff.
2.2.2.4 Develop a Website based approach for the display of data and analysis showing basin impacts.

This website and all content was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency Targeted Watershed Grant program.

Task 3 –Create a unified GIS based database of all available watershed data

For GIS maps produced under the Targeted Watershed Grant, please click here.

2.3.1 Establish a partnership involving the University of Arkansas, Southwest Missouri State University and the Upper White River Basin Foundation to create an inventory of existing GIS data layers

2.3.1.1. Establish a subgrant with each institution to cover their costs of research

GIS Sub-Grants

2.3.1.2. Recruit additional assistance from county, state and federal agencies collecting data in the 22 county area
2.3.1.3. Develop an EPA approvable QAPP

Quality Assurance Project Plan—Geospatial Database Development

2.3.1.5. Identify one or more repositories for the data

Please see the links to AWC and OEWRI above for full size GIS maps.
Smaller versions of the maps can be found here.


Upper White River Basin
P O Box 6218, Branson, MO 65615
Phone: 417-334-7644
Contact:


Last Updated: August 23, 2007
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