City launches stream clean-up program

The Storm Water Services Division of Springfield Public Works is working with volunteers through the Adopt-A-Stream program.

“I wouldn’t say trash is an overwhelming problem, but there definitely is enough trash that washes into these waterways to justify this sort of a program,” said Carrie Lamb, storm water technician in the Storm Water Services Division.

Volunteer groups commit to clean their sections three times a year.

Lamb said all that is expected for the cleanups is trash removal, but groups are not limited to that.

Teams that volunteer with Adopt-A-Stream have a good example to follow, Lamb said.

Though the city’s Storm Water Division was formed in 2002, the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society has been working on restoration and conservation in the city’s South Creek since 1999.

Kay Johnson, volunteer coordinator for the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society’s South Creek Conservation Project, said the city had decided to clear the area of South Creek, located along Sunset Street between Campbell and National avenues, to stop flooding. That particular spot had been a beloved location for bird watching the past 15 to 20 years for a few GOAS members.

“We felt like we could volunteer our time to help the city with their problems in that area and maybe save part of it for us and clear part of it out for them,” Johnson said.

Through the work of more than 425 volunteers, the place that was once, as Johnson said, “so thick with willow sprouts you could hardly walk through it,” is now home to 87 birds, 210 plants and part of the Greenway Trail.

“It’s absolutely a jewel,” Johnson said.

There are approximately six streams in and around Springfield, each with multiple sections of at least a half-mile. The streams are mostly located in the city limits, Lamb said.

Lamb said although GOAS went above and beyond what is expected from the Adopt-A-Stream program, it serves as a model of what Adopt-A-Stream teams could do.

Lamb said two teams already have signed up for the Adopt-A-Stream program. While the limited number of streams restricts the Adopt-A-Stream program, Lamb said she does not want to quantify the number of groups that could become involved.

Besides the time it would take to clean up the adopted section of the stream, Lamb said group size doesn’t make much of a difference.

“It can be anywhere from three or four people to a group of 20 or so; this is definitely a doable thing by a small group,” she said.

Public Works street crews will pick up the bags of trash for adopted streams inside the city limits. The streams outside the city limits are in parks, and Lamb said she expects to work something out with the Parks Department for disposing of the trash.

Adopt-A-Stream fulfills the public education and involvement component of the city’s Storm Water Management Program while helping to keep the waterways clean, Lamb said.

The city’s federally mandated storm water permit requires it to reduce the discharge of pollutants via the storm water drainage system to area waterways.

In addition to keeping area waterways clean, Adopt-A-Stream also familiarizes people with the streams in the area and the impact that littering or over-fertilizing a lawn can have on streams and, in turn, Table Rock and Stockton lakes.

“Anything that gets the community involved in cleaning streams will have a positive impact on the whole watershed,” said Steve Hefner, team leader for the South Missouri Water Quality Project Office.

Johnson said he is looking forward to the difference the program can make.

“There’s a lot of neat things to see along these streams if people will just slow down, take a walk along there and more or less smell the roses,” he said.