GOVERNMENTS CONCEREND OVER STORMWATER, EROSION CONTROL

Robert Stroder has been seining minnows from Hubble Creek near the Jackson City Park for a quarter of a century. He's witnessed a change over the years: minnows are fewer, and the creek is muddier.

"It's not like it used to be," Stroder said.

The reason for the change can be attributed, at least in part, to economic growth in Cape Girardeau County, explained soil and water conservation experts.

A quick drive through Cape Girardeau or Jackson reveals plenty of construction, houses and businesses are being built, streets and parking lots are being paved.

While development is good for the county's economy, it's bad for soil and water quality.

Cape Girardeau County Commissioners, Jackson Mayor Paul Sander and Cape Girardeau City Manager Michael Miller met Monday to discuss what can be done.

"An area growing as fast as this area is going to have troubles," Sander said.

The three governments will sponsor a workshop later this summer to gather suggestions for drafting ordinances concerning erosion control and stormwater runoff. Builders, developers and others who might be affected by new regulations will be invited to give suggestions.

Jackson has an erosion control ordinance, but no stormwater control. "We've struggled with what would be fair," Sander said. "We need to do something."

Cape Girardeau has ordinances for both erosion and stormwater, but Miller said revisions could be useful. Enforcing regulations has been a problem.

In addition, Cape Girardeau requires each construction project to include its own stormwater runoff project.

David Owen, a district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, said an alternative would be detention or retention credits or group retention or detention projects.

Mark Nussbaum, engineer with Natural Resources Conservation Services, said larger projects are more effective both in terms of holding back water and cost.

Cape Girardeau County has no controls.

"We are looking for some kind of policy with some uniformity with Cape and Jackson," said Gerald Jones, presiding county commissioner.

The Department of Natural Resources and the federal Clean Water Act impose rules and regulations on projects of five acres or more. Enforcement is spotty.

Years ago, education about soil conservation and water runoff was directed primarily at farmers. Today, developers and construction companies move a lot more dirt than farmers.

Brad Pobst, fisheries specialist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, explained that many construction sites fail to come close to the legal limits of silt flowing into creeks and streams.

The standard for sediment running off a construction site is one to three tons per acre. Pobst has monitored local sites with soil washing away at a rate of 300 tons per acre.

"In the end, it costs all of us," Pobst said.

That same subdivision developer who allowed topsoil to wash away during early construction stages will have to buy and haul topsoil to finish lawns at the end of the project.

Erosion and runoff impact flooding, Pobst explained. If creeks and streams are filled with silt and sediment, the channels won't hold as much water. In addition, storm water runs off a paved surface much faster than it runs off an area filled with vegetation.

And, of primary concern to Pobst is the impact on aquatic resources. Fish won't thrive in streams and creeks muddied with sediment and filled with stormwater.

Stroder, a lifelong fisherman, agrees. While he didn't have any trouble filling his bait bucket with minnows Monday morning, Stroder knows things are changing along Hubble Creek and throughout the county.