Bacteria testing gains momentum w/ link to Carthage Stream Team's blog

By Derek Spellman and Susan Redden

news@joplinglobe.com

Southwest Missouri has seen an expansion in the number of counties testing for bacteria in rivers and streams, and in the posting of advisories when the levels exceed safe standards.

Those tests consistently show that many bodies of water exceed state and/or federal standards for water quality.

But what happens next?

The Newton County Health Department, which is now gathering and analyzing its own samples, has gone about as far as it can go with current resources, said Bob Kulp, director of the Newton County Health Department.

“Right now, our biggest limitation is staffing,” Kulp said.

The Lawrence County Health Department is in a similar situation.

Lisa Brenneman, an environmental professional health specialist for the department, said testing a river to see if it is safe to swim in on a given day is not the same as testing whether a river has a persistent pollution problem. That would require more samples from more sites.

“We don’t have funding for that, frankly,” she added.

In Jasper County, water-testing efforts spearheaded by the Carthage High School Stream Team soon will get a boost from the county health department.

The high school stream team has been testing parts of Spring River for several years and high bacteria levels found by the group contributed to a state decision to declare part of the river “impaired” by the state of Missouri.

Now the county health department is starting its own testing to include other sites on Spring River, and Center Creek and Turkey Creek, according to Tony Moehr, county health director.

About 20 testing sites have been chosen, he said.

The results could bring more state and federal attention to pollution problems, he added.