Agricultural News
Voluntary Conservation Efforts Produce Water Quality Success Stories Across the State
Mon, 07 May 2012 19:58:17 CDT
Voluntary conservation efforts by Oklahoma landowners in partnership with state and federal conservation programs are paying off. In a news conference Monday, Oklahoma conservation officials announce 11 streams will be added to the EPA's Non-Point Source Success Stories.
Shanon Phillips, director of the Water Quality Division of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission commended landowners working with state and federal officials with the success.
"The Conservation Commission monitors about 500 streams across the state and every year we analyze the data to determine whether or not there have been changes in what the water quality tells us. This year we found that there were 11 streams that had been previously listed on the 303D Impaired List that now were clean enough to come off."
She said conservationists were able to analyze the data and determine that the improvement in water quality was due to participation in voluntary conservation programs the NRCS and the state conservation districts put into place.
Phillips cited the example of Pennington Creek as one of the streams that was at one time endangered and has now been given a clean bill of health.
"Pennington Creek is a jewel of southeastern Oklahoma. It's in the Arbuckle-Simpson Aquifer area. It's a crystal clear stream that, if you looked at it, you could never imagine it had any water quality problems. However, it did have high concentrations of a type of fecal bacteria which can cause people to get sick if they accidentally swallow the water.
"Over time, the USDA and state conservation districts put practices in place that would reduce that bacteria in the water. And we saw that between 2002 and 2010 those concentrations decreased by more than half. That came to a level it was no longer considered impaired and, again, it's maintaining that low level when we looked at it again in 2012. So, through those voluntary practices we've made that creek completely safe for swimming and fishing and also for the aquatic life that lives there and relies on it."
(You can hear Ron Hays' full interview with Shanon Phillips by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.)
The 11 streams put on the list today join 16 other success stories already there. The 11 streams are located all across the state and suffered from several different problems including turbidity, low oxygen content, high fecal bacteria contamination and visible oil and grease contamination.
Oklahoma's conservation partnership, including the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, local conservations districts and the OCC, worked with farmers, ranchers and other landowners to address streams with water quality challenges through voluntary, locally-led implementation of best management practices.
Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, Jim Reese, said, "It is those monitoring and testing efforts that give proof to the efforts that landowners are making through these voluntary programs."
Clay Pope, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts said Oklahoma's results are among the best nationwide.
"Our efforts in the area of water quality are truly bearing fruit," Pope said. "If you look at the success we have had in Oklahoma and compare it to the results shown by other states, Oklahoma clearly has one of the best if not the best non-point source pollution reduction program in the country. In 2010, Oklahoma led the nation in the reduction of phosphorous from our water and we were number three in reducing the nitrogen level in our water. This past year we were number one in reported reductions from both phosphorus and nitrogen. This is a real testament to what we can accomplish when the state and federal governments give us the resources necessary to allow this kind of cooperative work to take place on the ground and we are hopeful that we will continue to see the level of support necessary from our policy makers to keep showing this level of success."
The streams added to the success list include: Pennington Creek, Johnston County; Stinking Creek, Caddo County; Tepee Creek, Kiowa County; Salt Creek, Lincoln and Creek Counties; Camp Creek, Lincoln and Creek Counties; Lagoon Creek, Pawnee and Creek Counties; Turkey Creek, Woods County; Doga Creek, Osage County; Beaver Creek, Kay and Osage Counties; Duck Pond Creek, Beaver County; and Clear Creek, Beaver County.
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