Preliminary Liter Pick Up Saturday, March 29th

Stream Team #2945 Members gathered today to do preliminary liter pick-up and site preparation for next weeks clean-up of an illegal Dump on Spring River. Twelve members helped, including two new members who joined today.

Using the large Missouri Stream Team liter bags, we filled the dumpster, including sofas, mattresses, and washing machine drums (1.13 tons of trash collected). We separated out tires and recyclable metal. The liter bags work great, except in the thorny undergrowth. The liter filled bags were pulled up the steep embankment using a 100' 3/8" rope with 3/8" spring-link carabiner (rated 260 lbs).


We retrieved 64 tires from the riverbank using a 100' rope and carabiner. There are still a couple of (tractor size) tires that require the winch truck to remove next week. We are utilizing the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Non-Profit Group Scrap Tire Cleanup Disposal Cost Reimbursement program.

Flooding March 18-19-20, 2008

Spring River at La Russell went from 3.12' at 12:00 midnight on Monday, March 17 to 13.50' at midnight on Tuesday, March 18, 2008. That is an average water gauge rise of 5.16" per hour. The River crested (Highway U in Jasper County) at 2:30am on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 13.68'. The graph shows the dramatic rise. [Click on the USGS graph to enlarge. Notice that USGS measured the gage height on March 20]

The Springfield News Leader called it Just as High as '93 Floods. Thursday, March 20, 2008. The sudden and ceaseless rain that began Monday left at least five people dead and drove hundreds of others out of their homes. Parts of southern Missouri received as much as 12 inches of rain, state officials said, and subsequent flooding sparked dozens of rescues, breached levees and closed hundreds of roads and a railroad line. With damage assessments barely under way, comparisons already were being made to the record floods that struck Missouri in 1993. "As far as severity, the levels we're seeing are just as high as the '93 floods," said Ryan Nicholls, director of the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management. [Click on photographs for close-up damage assessment. Notice that metal corrugated culvert was unearthed, and is now bent. The parking lot gravel was washed away, leaving exposed base rock]

Missouri State Emergency Management Situation Reports, Winter Flooding Event (by county).

April 5th Clean-up of Illegal Dump on Spring River

La Russell Stream Team #2945 has set, Saturday, April 5, 2008 (8:30am until 2:30pm)as the date for the clean-up of the illegal dump on Spring River. The dump is located along Spring River on Lawrence County Farm Road 2087(north side of river), just east of the Jasper County-Lawrence County line, Latitude-37° 9'13.13"N, Longitude-94° 3'20.41"W, at a site in the SE quarter of Section 12, T 28N R29W, Lawrence County, MO. The debris is spread along a 250 yard long tract, located approximately 750 yards upstream from the La Russell Access Point #6812 on Spring River.

Due to scheduling conflicts, some volunteers will also be working on Saturday, March 29, 2008 (8:00am until 12:00 noon), doing preliminary liter pick-up and site preparation. Volunteers are welcome both dates. The site is on a steep embankment along Spring River. Long shirts, long pants and work boots are recommended. Large equipment will be on site (April 5 only) to remove heavy items.

Directions: From Carthage, go east on US Highway 96, approximately 13.5 miles (east from Kellogg Lake) to Highway U. The Jasper County-Lawrence County Line Road is also called Highway U. From the intersection of US Highway 96 and Highway U, go south 2.5 miles on Highway U. Turn left (east) onto Lawrence County Avenue and Farm Road 2087 where Highway U begins to curve to the right (or west). The dump site is 0.2 miles after turning. [Click on map to enlarge Google Earth screen]

Site Improvements

We are so appreciative of the attention that the La Russell Access Point gets from Missouri Department of Conservation (MDOC). This week dirt was brought in to fill in the tire ruts from last year, as well as new gravel was spread over the drive and parking area. We hope to get some needed improvements done to the actual Spring River Access Point, i.e. regrading of the slope down to the river. The Stream Team also asked MDOC to consider putting a picnic table on site for visitors to enjoy the natural beauty of Spring River.

Both photographs are looking north from the entrance ramp toward the river. [click on photographs for close-up view].