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Introduction
The Initiative for a Metropolitan Community (IMC) is a community-based effort of the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council (EWGCC) designed to carefully identify those areas where local governments can act with common purpose and fact-based analysis in order to develop planning strategies which address the on-going issues of growth and development. An important and critical area of concern for all local governments was the proper management of natural resources. A key element which emerged from all the IMC focus groups was water resources. In particular, local governments and officials were concerned about storm water, water quality and drinking water issues with respect to their communities. The IMC committees expressed a universal desire that the sustainable use of water resources be integrated into the overall planning process. In this regard, all water resource polices and programs must recognize and address the dramatic current trends in exurban population growth and movement. The IMC process emphasized the need for all local governments to properly manage the growth impacts of land use and open space changes on the water resources of the St. Louis region. Economic and land use policies which encourage growth must be balanced carefully in relation the available water resource base. To this end, the IMC process adopted as a guiding principle sustainable water quality which seeks to achieve an ecological balance between the social demands placed on regional water resources versus the capability of the water resources biological and ecological systems.
Issues
The following are major water quality issues which were identified during the IMC planning process.
- The proliferation of individual home treatment systems (IHTS) or septic tanks in the exurban portion of the region and their impact on
groundwater supplies.
- Storm water runoff can threaten the quality and viability of both surface and groundwater resources.
There is a lack of regulatory and financial resources to solve these problems on a regional basis. There are major problems surrounding the on-going maintenance of storm water management facilities.
- The St. Louis metropolitan area has a wide variety of flood plain uses and protection, ranging from 500 year federal levees to 10 year
agricultural levees. Flood plain management within these areas is a disparate set of rules and regulations resulting in sporadic and random development patterns and continuing development pressure.
- Large areas of the metropolitan area rely on ground water sources, such as deep wells, for their water supply.
Consequently, these communities may not have adequate drinking water supplies, and may, also, experience substandard drinking water quality.
- In residential developments outside existing sewer service areas, developers may install package treatment plants or wastewater
lagoons. When the development is complete, the operation and maintenance of these facilities and the associated costs then becomes the responsibility of the residents.
Regional Water Resources Council
To address these concerns and to build upon the results of the April 2001 Earth Day Water Symposium, EWGCC is organizing a Regional Water Resources
Council (RWRC) for the Missouri portion of the EWGCC region. It will serve as an advisory committee to the EWGCC Board of Directors. The membership of the RWRC will be composed of
representatives from industry, water and sewer districts, communities, government agencies, universities, environmental groups, and the general public and from all parts of the region. The RWRC will give
critical analysis and advice on major St. Louis water resources issues. The overall mission of the RWRC is to provide a forum for the sharing of ideas and discussion of major water quality issues facing the
region’s communities and for developing a cooperation and collaboration of ideas and actions for addressing these problems. EWGCC has obtained a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to implement
the RWRC.
Blueprint Paper: Rising Flood Stages on the Lower Missouri River
by Robert E. Criss
Washington University
(pdf file - 142k)
Water Resources Advisory Committee
REPORT ON FY2003 ACTIVITIES
October, 2003
(pdf file)
Tasks
Listed below are major activities tasks to be accomplished during the first year of the RWRC project.
- Create a regional decision-making process which will enhance and protect the region’s water resources
- Provide a public forum for members of the regulated sector, educators, environmentalists and the affected public
- Establish a regional water quality database, which will prioritize watersheds and subwatersheds by existing water quality problems, and
GIS mapping system
Events
2003:
2002:
- Summer Activities
- Mississippi River Inspection between St. Louis, MO, and the Melvin Price Locks and Dam, on board the Motor Vessel Mississippi.
- Spring Activities:
- Water Symposium -- Connecting Our Communities: Watershed Planning, April 22, 2002
2001:
- Water Resources Symposium - April 27, 2001
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