Tri-State Water Coalition to discuss water challenges facing Southwest Missouri
BRANSON MO NEWS:
The Tri-State Water Resource Coalition will launch a campaign to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the “somewhat invisible and yet ever-present” resource, said Gail Melgren, the organization’s executive director.That campaign is one of a number of water-related topics that will be discussed during the group’s annual meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. Thursday at Missouri State University’s Darr Agriculture Center, 2401 S. Kansas Expressway, in Springfield.Melgren said communicating with residents in Southwest Missouri about the area’s long-term outlook for water supply is critical in order to address challenges and problems.
“We need to make sure that although we have enough water today and tomorrow, we need to make sure we’ll have enough water on a really hot summer day in a drought, that we’ll have enough to meet that demand 20 to 30 years from now,” she said. “And to do that, we have to start planning today.”She noted that it could take years to organize and “build out projects” that will ensure an adequate, affordable and long-term water supply in the future.At last year’s event, Melgren and a number of other experts outlined demand on some of Southwest Missouri’s water sources such as Shoal Creek, which provides most of Joplin’s water, and and the Ozark Aquifer. Both could be significantly strained by droughts or population growth, she said.
Today’s conference also will include a presentation of a Coalition survey of public attitudes toward water, which Melgren said spanned the 16-county region the Tri-State Water Coalition covers in Southwest Missouri.New sources of water could be needed as early as 2030, Coalition members said during the conference last year, especially if the region’s population grows as projected by a 2010 Department of Natural Resources study. That study found that the population of the Jasper and Newton County metropolitan area could …
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