Illinois River

[Victor Caballeros]

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A professor estimates that about 30,000 fewer people floated in the Illinois River watershed in 2007 compared to two years earlier.

With Tuesday's testimony from Oklahoma State University professor Lowell Caneday the state of Oklahoma hoped to suggest that decades of chicken manure pollution has made one of the state's top recreational areas less attractive to the public.

Caneday, who has studied the watershed for decades, peppered his testimony with personal experiences, testifying that he once saw a ``clump'' of chicken litter with straw and feathers floating down the Illinois River.

On one rainy day in 2007, Caneday claims he saw a farm field spread with so much chicken manure, it appeared to ``move'' across the road in the storm.

Oklahoma is suing the Arkansas poultry industry, claiming 11 companies are responsible for the mess. The companies deny the allegations.

I have floated this many of times and never saw Chicken Stuff floating by?
I do know to stay out of the Illinois when it does rain hard cause it is a little Nasty! Maybe alot. Just thought this was interesting

[paddledog]

Caneday, who has studied the watershed for decades, peppered his testimony with personal experiences, testifying that he once saw a ``clump'' of chicken litter with straw and feathers floating down the Illinois River.

Maybe it was eagle litter.........Hmmmmm

For those of you who want to delve further into water quality at Da Ford (Illinois River) because of the law suit
currently underway, the USGS has upgraded the sampling of water quality on the river. Although overwhelming
in volume, the data can be extracted from this website: http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/ar/nwis/ ... =inventory" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have been paddling Da Ford for almost 15 years. No matter how bad it may seem now, it was a lot worse
in years gone by. 10 years ago after a summer rainstorm, you could smell the river from a long way off.

[Victor Caballeros]

10 years ago after a summer rainstorm, you could smell the river from a long way off.

We use to go down there and swim when I was in high school and it felt like swimming in a septic tank and smelt bad too. That was 15 years pass.

[Fish]

Ah, I remember the good old days of 2+ feet of brown "suds" in the eddies after a storm... Fisher's Ford: the cesspool where I learned to paddle.

Good to hear things are looking cleaner.

- Fish