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Agricultural News


Flooding along Illinois River damaged conservation efforts

Fri, 27 May 2011 10:02:38 CDT

Flooding along Illinois River damaged conservation efforts Recent flooding all along the Illinois River system in Eastern Oklahoma has resulted in significant damage to the conservation work done to protect the water quality of the river and to facilities essential to recreational activities that take place in and around the water according to Joe Parker, President of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD). According to Parker, early estimates by the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission show that the cost of the damage may reach as high as $1.5 million.


"Fast moving water causes a lot of damage to whatever stands in its way," Parker said. "The Illinois River is no exception to this. The challenge that we have is that with this river, so much as been done on the land surrounding the river to improve the quality of its water that when the floods come, these improvements are subject to significant damage. That, coupled with the damage to the recreational facilities operated by the Scenic Rivers Commission and damage to the stream banks themselves can add up to a hefty clean-up bill once the water subsides."


According to the National Weather Service, on April 26 of this year the Illinois River at Watts, Oklahoma crested at 28.6 feet. This level broke the previous water level record of 26 feet set in 1960. At Tahlequah, the river crested April 27 at 25.8 feet, 2.14 feet below the record set in 1950. This high stream flow scoured stream banks, washed out fences protecting riparian areas, damaged stream side bathroom facilities and wrecked camp sites up and down the river. According to Ed Fite, Director of the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission, while the sum total of the damage is yet to be determined, with the Memorial Day Holiday fast approaching one thing is clear-visitors to the river will see a the results of what Mother Nature is capable of.


"The river will be open for business and people will be able to float the river without problems," Fite said. "Many of our camp grounds, however, will be out of commission as well as some of the bathroom facilities and we need to get these back in working order if we are going to be able to return to the level of service folks have come to expect when they come to the river. We also need to get started at the work of repairing the water quality improvements our partners at the Conservation Commission have undertaken with landowners to reduce the nonpoint source pollution on the river to make sure we don't go back words on all the good work we have been able to accomplish over the last few years."


Fite said that it may be that additional resources will be required from the state of Oklahoma in the future if the river is to be brought back to 100%, a sentiment echoed by OACD's Parker.


"We plan on visiting with members of the Legislature and the Executive Branch of state government once the full extent of the damage is known," Parker said. "This last session, both the Scenic Rivers Commission and the Conservation Commission received cuts as part of the budget process, which limits their ability to respond to something like this. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is cutting its funding of the Clean Water Act Section 319 program, the primary source of funding for the nonpoint source pollution control work we have undertaken in this watershed. With these reductions of funds, it is going to be difficult to repair all the damage on the river. Hopefully our state leaders will realize this and together we can come up with a plan to make sure this river continues to be the great asset it currently is for the state of Oklahoma."   


   

 

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