March 16, 2010

Reps from four states meet to plan future of The Ozarks' water

by Marie Saavedra, KY3 News

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Story Published: Sep 17, 2009 at 6:15 PM CDT

Story Updated: Sep 17, 2009 at 6:24 PM CDT

SPRINGFIELD -- A room full of water experts from Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri met in Springfield on Thursday to talk about the water we use every day. The concern is the rural communities using well water could find themselves coming up dry in the next few decades. Sure, that's a long way out but experts say planning for alternative water sources puts the Ozarks ahead.

Here are some of the ideas presented at the conference. Plan A uses water from the Corps of Engineers Lakes, including Grand Lake in Oklahoma, and Stockton, Table Rock and Bull Shoals lakes in Missouri, and sends that supply to more rural counties.

Plan B could include creating more reservoirs in southwest Missouri. One map on display includes some of the possible locations, including damming the Sac River in Dade and Greene counties, and the James River through Stone and Christian county. You shouldn't start worrying about your landlocked home becoming lakefront property, however. Leaders say the ideas are in the early stages. New lakes would require many public hearings, meetings and approvals of several levels of government.

For more information on the possible dam locations and some of the other ideas for water resources, look for the Tri-State Water Coalition report in the link to the left.

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