State of Missouri

156th Committee Meeting
October 17-19, 2006
Eureka Springs, Arkansas 

Drought Assessment Committee

The Missouri Drought Assessment Committee has been active since July 2005. The drought severity continues to worsen in the west central part of the State and is likely to remain extreme through December 2006.

Primary impacts have been to the livestock segment with back to back years of low pasture and hay production.  Many producers had to sell part of their herds and import hay from out of state.

The forecast Palmer Drought Index illustrates extreme drought is likely to continue in west central Missouri, severe drought is likely to continue in southwest Missouri, moderate drought in northern Missouri, and no drought in southeast Missouri. 

See web site, http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wrc/droughtupdate.htm

Missouri River

Missouri/Mississippi Rivers

After seven years of drought, the Missouri River mainstem reservoirs are nearing record low levels.  However, the Carryover Multiple Use Pools that were designed to provide water during drought are still over 40 percent filled.  The Corps shortened the Missouri River navigation season by 44 days, ending on October 17.  The reduction in flow associated with the ending of the navigation season will reduce water levels on the Mississippi River at St. Louis by two to three feet (depending on stage).  The Mississippi River had already been experiencing low water this year, setting numerous daily low records.  Further reductions in flow may cause the Mississippi River to be shut down to navigation.

The Corps revised the Missouri River Master Manual in 2006 to include spring rise criteria.  Missouri has challenged this revision because it failed to comply with NEPA.  The Corps argues that it can adopt anything within the range of plans (over 500 plans) it studied as part of the Master Manual revision in 2004, without doing an EIS, even if it is a major federal action that significantly affects the human environment.  It further argues that it can adopt any new plan that falls within the range of impacts it studied during the 15 years leading up to the 2004 Master Manual Revision.  The case has been fully briefed and a hearing was held on September 21, in the 8th Circuit in Minneapolis.  A decision by Judge Manguson is pending.   

Water Planning

Northwest Missouri Water Supply Study is nearing its first year of study.  So far the most logical sources appear to maintain and develop the Missouri River alluvium from developed sources and should not impact other states.

Tri-State Water Coalition was presented its recommended alternatives in September 2006 by the consulting firm of Black and Veatch.  Black and Veatch was retained by the U.S. Army to scope alternatives to solve the long-term water resource needs to the Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma coalition.  Declining groundwater levels and limited surface water sources are faced with increasing water needs.  The alternatives looked at taking water from the Missouri, Arkansas, and White River Basins.  Alternatives using Grand Lake of the Cherokees and building a new reservoir based upon the Prosperity site appear to be the least costly.   

Wetlands

The 404 Wetland Mitigation Assessment draft report has been sent to the EPA.  We were pleased with the results that indicated most of the required wetland mitigation permitted projects were successful.

Our wetland economic valuation project utilized 3 focus groups.  Each group met twice.  The groups will put together a public survey of contingent evaluation methods to develop a public value component of a two tiered formula, to place a dollar value on wetland acreage.  This type of methodology will be transferable to other land uses.

The Headwater Wetlands Project is developing into a primary GIS project that is using the data sets available to find the most likely restorable wetlands in specific watersheds.  We have done our first field evaluation and are updating the matrix tables to more accurately reflect actual conditions.   

White River Dissolved Oxygen Committee

Thus far during 2006, seasonal low dissolved oxygen concentrations that have occurred in tail waters of White River reservoirs have prompted Norfork Dam hydropower operations to recommend maximum generations as low as 40 Megawatts (50% of capacity).  Restricting maximum generation rates is intended to prevent dissolved oxygen concentrations in water releases from the dams, from receding below that which may be harmful to trout fisheries in those tail waters while hydroelectricity is generated.

Norfork Dam began the planned hydropower pulsing operation on September 15 to benefit brown trout spawning in the tail waters.  SWPA provides minimum daily releases through the hydropower turbines to prevent project leakage over a sustained period of zero generation.  Periods of zero generation can result in a deterioration of the dissolved oxygen concentrations in the river immediately downstream.  When the hydropower turbines are not operating during the low dissolved oxygen season hypolimnetic water in the reservoirs leaks through the dams and into their tail waters.  Pulsing operations are initiated when dissolved oxygen concentrations in the tail water drop below 3 mg/l for 4 hours or more.

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