John Ford

"When you are swimming, you are probably never going to swallow enough water" to have health problems caused by fertilizer or chemical pollutants, said John Ford, an environmental specialist with DNR's Water Pollution Program.
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"There is a big plus to getting people back on the Mississippi River," Ford said.

Coming up with ways to remedy water pollution is the objective of Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act, said John Ford, head of the DNR's water protection program.
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Ford, with the DNR, said: "The EPA added a number of waters to the 2006 list because of a very strict interpretation of the federal Clean Water Act. Our interpretation was a little looser. We have a basic disagreement over the issue of dissolved oxygen."

Ford said some streams in Missouri have low levels of dissolved oxygen in the summer. He said the DNR is of the opinion that what is being observed is a natural process unrelated to human impact. The DNR, he said, does not believe it should commit staff time to something that is not a problem.

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Coming up with ways to remedy water pollution is the objective of sections of the federal Clean Water Act, said John Ford, head of the Department of Natural Resources' water protection program.

The act requires that each state submit every two years a list of water bodies that are impaired. If a water body is placed on the list, the Department of Natural Resources must try to correct the problem, if it can. The EPA is the final arbiter on which waters are placed on the list.

"The EPA added a number of waters to the 2006 list because of a very strict interpretation of the federal Clean Water Act. Our interpretation was a little looser," Ford said. He said the basic disagreement was over the issue of "dissolved oxygen."

Ford said some streams in Missouri have low levels of dissolved oxygen in the summer. He said the Department of Natural Resources believes that what is being observed is a natural process unrelated to human impact. The department, he said, does not believe it should commit staff time to something that is not a problem.

Another disagreement with the EPA is over mercury, which is found in most water bodies in the state because of global cycling of the toxic substance in the atmosphere.

"All waters of the state are affected to some degree," Ford said. "We, through our tests, were aware of a few waters. We did not list them because people would think that other streams were OK when, in fact, they were not. We now have more data and are able to list 90 streams for the 2008 list of impaired waters."

Another dispute is over bacteria and what constitutes an acceptable level. Ford said the EPA rejected the Department of Natural Resources' standard as too lenient.
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But with the 2008 list under development, Ford said the department is getting closer to resolving its differences with the EPA.

Ford said specific causes of water pollution can be addressed if the source is easily identified. But with farmland, it's more difficult to pinpoint all the contributing sources.

"That's why we have watershed groups forming down there in southwest Missouri to help local residents determine ways to reduce pollutants from entering a water body," he said.

"When you are swimming, you are probably never going to swallow enough water" to have health problems caused by fertilizer or chemical pollutants, said John Ford, an environmental specialist with DNR's Water Pollution Program.
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The counts are based on readings taken between April 1 and Oct. 31, the defined recreation season, Ford said.
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"There is a big plus to getting people back on the Mississippi River," Ford said.

A publicly owned lake is not immediately classified as a 'water of the state,' said John Ford, environmental specialist with DNR.