Development in the Current and Eleven Point Watershed - PUB2055

Some of the cleanest waters in the world are located in southern Missouri. The Current and Eleven Point Watershed is comprised of parts of the Current, Eleven Point and Jacks Fork Rivers that run through eight southern counties. The watershed lies in the counties of Dent, Carter, Shannon, Oregon, Howell, Texas, Reynolds and Ripley. The high quality of this watershed helps support the local economies.

Because Missouri citizens are committed to protect and preserve this ecosystem, new releases of wastewater from any source other than publicly owned treatment works are prohibited. A publicly owned treatment works is a wastewater treatment facility owned by the state, a municipality, a political subdivision or a sewer district. The restricted discharge area is comprised of the Current and Eleven Point watersheds from the headwaters to the northernmost county line of Ripley County for the Current River and from the headwaters to Highway 142 for the Eleven Point River. This area is shown on the map at the end of this document.

If connection to a publicly owned treatment work is not feasible, the alternatives include land application systems and on site systems. New releases could degrade the quality of this watershed.

Land Application Systems

Land application systems consist of pretreatment followed by the direct application of the treated wastewater onto land.

Applying treated wastewater onto land is an environmentally sound practice. Treated wastewater contains all of the essential plant nutrients. The application supplements the soil’s supply of these nutrients. Both agricultural and non-agricultural sites benefit from the nutrient and soil conditioning value of land application.

Many municipalities are currently land applying their wastewater. Land application may also be feasible for subdivisions, trailer parks, restaurants and other commercial facilities and industrial facilities. There are various combinations of pretreatment and land application systems that are possible for these types of facilities.

Examples of the pretreatment component of a system include lagoons, mechanical plants, septic tanks and sand filters. Options for the land application component of the system include spray irrigation, drip irrigation and overland flow. The treated wastewater can be applied to pasture land, turf, golf courses, agricultural land and forests.

Items you will want to take into consideration if you are looking at using a land application system for your wastewater:

• You need adequate land available to handle the projected flows from the system and to meet any setback requirements.
• You need adequate wastewater storage capacity for periods when land application is not possible.
• You need a place to take sludge that is removed from the pretreatment system.
• A lagoon would not be allowed as the pretreatment component if the system is located on karst topography.

For guidance when planning a land application system, contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Water Protection Program.

On-site Systems

No discharge onsite systems are available for single family homes. Multifamily, commercial and restaurant facilities with domestic wastewater flows less than 3,000 gallons per day, may also use on-site systems. The Missouri Department of Health regulates these systems.

On-site treatment systems include septic tanks, aeration units, sand filters and single family residential lagoons. These are followed by a soil absorption system, irrigation system or a holding tank.

Permits

Each of the systems described above requires a construction permit and possibly an operating permit from either the Missouri Department of Natural Resources or the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. For more information, please contact the department’s Water Protection Program at 800-361-4827 or Southeast Regional Office at 573-840-9750.