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News

March 9th, 2009 Roger Norbeck, Bella Vista, Arkansas, joined the Foundation as a member of the Board of Directors March 2, 2010 The City Council of Grove, OK approved a Memorandum of Understanding partnering with the Foundation to prepare a Watershed Improvement Plan for the Grove community.
January 14th, 2010: Founation meets with Oklahoma Congressman Dan Boren about strategic issues facing the Grand Lake Watershed and the need for a four-state collective effort to reduce risks to water quality.
December 13, 2009: Kansas Water Office has received $863,000 from EPA Region 7, Kansas City, for the purpose of completing a stream erosion project on about a 8.3 mile reach on the Neosho River. Kansas is contributing $300,000 for this $1.3 million project.
November 10th, 2009: The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Kansas Water Office announced at the Executive Conference ...read more

Welcome on behalf of the Foundation Board of Directors

Here you will discover considerable water quality educational material. You can learn more about your 10,298 square mile Grand Lake watershed and its water quality conditions. You will come to understand the Foundation’s concern ...read more

Read our Foundations Strategic Plan to Improve Water Quality

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OUR WATERSHED

ABOUT THE GRAND LAKE WATERSHED

  • Your Grand Lake Watershed (10,298 square miles) is about 25% larger than the Lake Champlain
    watershed which is located in portions of New York, Vermont, and Canada.
  • The Grand Lake Watershed has a significant economic impact in the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
  • Grand Lake Watershed is about 1/6 the size of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed which is located in portions of six states : Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, Delaware, plus Washington D. C.
  • The three U. S. Corps of Engineer lakes (Marion, Council Grove, and John Redmond) located in the Kansas portion of the Grand Lake watershed have a total of about 900,000 recreational visits annually. The U. S. Corps of Engineers estimates this generates about $17.7 million yearly in economic spending.
  • The Neosho River is a major source of surface water supply for the state of Kansas
  • The Grand Lake Watershed is home to the scenic Elk River which is located in portions of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Canoeing, rafting, fishing, camping and other outdoor activities are economically significant to the Elk River area.
  • The Grand Lake Watershed is home to the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Generating Station near Burlington, Kansas.
  • The Tar Creek EPA Superfund site is located in the Grand Lake Watershed in northeast Oklahoma. It’s part of the Tri-State Mining District which is in northeast Oklahoma, southeast Kansas, and southwest Missouri. Mining waters are a pollution source to the watershed.
  • More than 500,000 people are residents in the Grand Lake Watershed. Most population density is in the southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas, and northeast Oklahoma portion of the watershed.
  • Due to excessive sediment movement and silting, the John Redmond Reservoir has lost about 39% of its original capacity to store water.
  • Grand Lake is one of the premiere lakes in the Midwest and has 1,300 shoreline miles.
  • The Grand Lake Watershed is experiencing water pollution risks caused by elevated levels of nutrients primarily phosphorous. Each of the four major watershed lakes, (Marion, Council Grove, John Redmond and Grand) are at risk from elevated levels of nutrients.
  • Marion Reservoir in the upper northwest section of the Grand Lake Watershed has experienced toxic green-algae blooms which are potentially harmful to the health of humans and pets.
  • The Spring River has canoeing, kayaking and rafting as well as Spring Creek and Center Creek. The Robert E. Tabot Conservation Area is about 4,300 acres that has a goal of riparian protection of the Spring River
  • The Grand Lake Watershed is within the boundaries of two seperate U.S. Environment Protection Agency Regions. The largest portion of the watershed–states of Kansas and Missouri–is within EPA Region 7 headquartered in Kansas City. The smallest portion of the watershed–Arkansas and Oklahoma–is within EPA Region 6 headquartered in Dallas, Texas.