By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

A new water resources group has formed to coordinate the activities of watershed groups in the Four-State Area.

The organizers of the Multi-Basin Regional Water Council gathered recently for a summit at the Bentonville (Ark.) Public Library to talk about water issues in the region. After a three-hour conference, the representatives of the 25 or so water groups attending decided to form the council.

Among the groups attending the conference were the Elk River Watershed Improvement Association in McDonald County, the Tri-State Water Resource Coalition, the Grand Lake (Okla.) Watershed Foundation and the Beaver (Ark.) Water District.

Bill Millagers, a Rogers, Ark., resident who organized the conference, said the makeup of the council reflects the fact that both surface water and groundwater flow across state lines.

“All of these groups are interlocked,” he said. “Because of that, this council could make a difference in discussions of policy, infrastructure investment and the protection of watersheds.”

Among the presenters was Bob Nichols, a Webb City resident and president of the Tri-State Water Resource Coalition. He talked about the depletion of the Ozark Aquifer. The coalition wants to construct a reservoir to supply drinking water.

Nichols, who gave the council an overview on the coalition and the Environmental Task Force of Jasper and Newton Counties, said: “It was really an informational-type thing. But it was a productive meeting. I was asked to serve on an interim committee to plan the first meeting.”

Another presenter was Drew Holt, with the Elk River Watershed Improvement Association. He talked about how Elk River drains part of Benton County, Ark., and McDonald County before flowing into Grand Lake in Oklahoma.

Millagers said: “It was an amazing meeting. Grass-roots groups in four states were represented. They decided unanimously to create and join the Multi-Basin Regional Water Council.”

The groups were surveyed about their top concerns. The top issues, they said, are storm-water runoff, public apathy, lack of enforcement of existing regulations and uncontrolled development.

Millagers said a committee of the Missouri-Arkansas Partnership spent the past eight months identifying and surveying the diverse organizations working on water concerns throughout the Four-State Area. The organizations are involved in water, wastewater and watershed-management issues.