“We were surprised, since they normally don’t do that on a piecemeal basis,” he said.

Expanded testing has revealed high bacterial levels that are throughout the region, he agreed.

“We were unpleasantly surprised at how widespread it was,” Ford said.

Once streams are classified as impaired, the state is required to do a study on pollutants in the stream, to determine the level allowable without exceeding state standards.

“We’re given 11 years to do it, but we try to do it sooner,” Ford said. “In instances where there is a bacteria problem, we want to develop a watershed committee that can figure out how to address the problem.”

Some watershed groups are already at work in the area and others are being formed. Anne Peery, a state environmental specialist who helps get the organizations started, noted groups working the Upper Shoal Creek Watershed and the Elk River Watershed.

The groups determine what’s causing the pollution, the best practices to fix the problem, and ways to get local residents and entities involved in the solution.

“It’s all voluntary, and the solution has to be a local one, by a locally led group,” she said.

Christian and Miller said they hope distributing information on local testing results will push protection and corrective programs, citing concerns about runoff from sources such as septic tanks and agriculture, including a growing number of poultry houses in the region.

Lower Shoal Creek

The state earlier this year awarded a $300,000 grant to the Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council to fund the Lower Shoal Creek Watershed Restoration Project, aimed at restoring and protecting that waterway. The steering committee is headed by Bob Nichols, of Webb City, long-active on the Jasper and Newton County Environmental Task Force.