UPDATE 9/7/11 River Gages on the Chopping Block!

[DeBo]

ADEQ is discontinuing its funding for river gages due to a shortage of funds. These funds were provided to USGS who installs and maintains these gages. A number of important gages were lost last year in eastern Arkansas. Those are now gone. Right now we are being told that USGS does not have the funds and the state agencies do not have funds. Arkansas Natural Resources Commission may be the only one with any resources at all. Please look at the list below and let me know which of these you want to save the most. I will post a mailing address next week that we can write to about this. If anyone out there has any ideas where funding for these gages can be found please let us know.

Here is the most recent list of gages at risk.

Station Name ADEQ Portion Lost
07047942 L'Anguille River near Colt $12,377
07048600 White River near Fayetteville $843
07048800 Richland Creek near Goshen $1,403
07048890 Brush Creek near Mayfield $14,300
07049000 War Eagle Creek near Hindsville $901
07050500 Kings River near Berryville $752
07055646 Buffalo River near Boxley $1,235
07055875 Richland Creek near Witts Springs $1,235
07056000 Buffalo River near St. Joe $752
07060500 White River at Calico Rock $752
07064000 Black River near Corning $1,903
07069200 Mammoth Spring at Mammoth Springs $1,235
07077380 Cache River at Egypt $563
07195430 Illinois River south of Siloam Springs $1,235
07195855 Flint Creek near W. Siloam Springs $1,235
07196900 Baron Fork at Dutch Mills $1,235
07249400 James Fork near Hackett $1,235
07250085 Lee Ck Reservoir near Van Buren $1,235
07250550 Arkansas River at L&D 13 $752
07252000 Mulberry River near Mulberry $443
07257006 Big Piney at Highway 164 at Dover $1,235
07258500 Petit Jean River at Booneville $10,380
07260000 Dutch Creek at Waltreak $4,906
07260500 Petit Jean River at Danville $122
07261500 Fourche LaFave River near Gravelly $10,365
07264000 Bayou Meto near Lonoke $563
07361500 Antoine River near Antoine $563
07362100 Smackover Creek near Smackover $563
07363400 Hurricane Creek below Sheridan
07364150 Bayou Bartholomew near McGehee $481
07364185 Bayou Bartholomew near Portland $381
07369680 Bayou Macon at Eudora $1,235
Total: $76,415

Here is some information about the importance of gages:
In the United States, there is an important resource which aids in preventing loss of life, saves one billion dollars a year in property losses, and allows bridges to be properly designed and drinking water allocated. Yet, it is a resource that the general public knows very little about. This resource is the USGS stream-gaging network.
This network provides the hydrologic information needed to aid in defining, using, and managing our country's invaluable surface water resources. The stream-gaging network provides a continuous source of well-archived, well-documented, and unbiased water data that are used in countless ways by governmental and private industries alike. The water data are put to work for everyone, every single day. Below are just some of the ways water data from the USGS stream-gaging network benefits all of us...

Flood Forecasting--This type of forecasting is a joint effort of several federal, state, and local agencies. Flood forecasting allows for timely warnings that save lives and decrease property damage. The National Weather Service (NWS), which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is the federal agency charged by law with the responsibility for issuing river forecasts and flood warnings. A reliable flood forecast, and its subsequent warning, depend on having a reliable and current source of depth and flow data, as well as precipitation data. Flood forecasts are based upon river models that provide estimates of how a river will respond to rainfall. River discharge and stage data provided by gaging stations are essential components of river models and flood forecasts. Although the NWS uses many sources of data to develop flood forecasts, the USGS stream-gaging network is the principal source of data on river depth and flow. Flood forecasts are prepared by 13 NWS river-forecast centers around the country.
Stream Gaging and Flood Forecasting, A partnership of the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Weather Service
Flood Management Benefits of the USGS Stream Gaging Program (4 MB - free Adobe reader required to view this 2006 report prepared by the National Hydrologic Warning Council)


Water Supply Allocation--Streamflow data assist water managers in making daily operational decisions for dealing with water requirements for municipal, industrial, and agricultural purposes, as well as demands for hydroelectric power generation and space for flood control in reservoirs. As of 1994, data from about 2,900 stations operated by the USGS were used by agencies, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, to operate more than 2,000 flood control, navigation, and water-supply reservoirs.

Highway Bridges--Many highway bridges are designed to withstand a 50- or 100-year flood (a flood of such magnitude that it could only be expected to happen on the average once every 50 or 100 years). Stream data from the USGS stream-gaging network assist in design decisions by providing the data needed to develop a design flood. A design flood that is too small could lead to a bridge design that causes water to back-up and inundate the road. Too large a design flood can lead to a design that is wasteful and requires a higher roadway than needed.

Wastewater Treatment Plants--Availability of long-term streamflows is important for wastewater treatment facilities. These facilities need to have estimates of streamflows available to allow for the proper dilution of treated wastewater releases. For example, if estimated low flows are understated, then there wouldn't be enough water available to properly dilute the wastewater. As a result, there would be a need for additional costly wastewater treatment to meet water-quality standards. USGS has archived its streamflow data since the gaging program began and it is a reliable source for such information

Recreation--Stream gages don't just provide information useful to technical personnel and projects. Information about how high or low the water in a stream is or how fast the water is flowing is an important factor in recreation activities. Such information benefits countless outdoor enthusiasts, from canoeists and whitewater rafters, to fisherman and swimmers alike. Much of this information is now readily available on the World Wide Web for the general public to easily access.

Water Quality Monitoring—Many gages not only record water levels and flow, they measure important water quality criteria such as salts, nutrients and turbidity. These are extremely important for monitoring the biological health of a stream.

[tomOzarkVideo]

:shock: Terrible!!!

[Clif]

Why such a variance in the amount? $122 to $14K

Govt spending had to be cut. and some of it will hurt most if not all of us. But in the big pic... seems 75K is only a drop of a billion$$?

[Victor Caballeros]

I was wondering if we could be taught and trained to maintain these gauges ourselves. I know that I could do War Eagle, Kings River and maybe Buffalo at Boxley. I would gladly do this for free on my free time. Also if we get enough interest maybe we can have two or three people taking care of 1 gauge the whole year. Actions are louder than words and maybe we can get out there and save these gauges instead of seeing them go away.

Just an Idea that I would gladly do.

[tomOzarkVideo]

I was wondering if we could be taught and trained to maintain these gauges ourselves. I know that I could do War Eagle, Kings River and maybe Buffalo at Boxley. I would gladly do this for free on my free time. Also if we get enough interest maybe we can have two or three people taking care of 1 gauge the whole year. Actions are louder than words and maybe we can get out there and save these gauges instead of seeing them go away.

Just an Idea that I would gladly do.

Very interesting idea.

[Fish]

To me the ones we cannot afford to lose are:
07055646 Buffalo River near Boxley $1,235
07055875 Richland Creek near Witts Springs $1,235
07252000 Mulberry River near Mulberry $443
07257006 Big Piney at Highway 164 at Dover $1,235

These two are great for Sugar Cr., but cost as much as all four of the ones above?!
07258500 Petit Jean River at Booneville $10,380
07260000 Dutch Creek at Waltreak $4,906

And this one's great for Lee Cr. and Fall Cr., if we can save it:
07196900 Baron Fork at Dutch Mills $1,235

ACC has (had?) a gauge fund for rainy days like this (sorry about the pun). How much do we have there to spend and are those dollar amounts next to the gauges annual maintenance cost? If we were to put up some cash to save the gauges, how long would they be safe for, and would we have some assurance that the gov't will pick them back up when the revenue returns? In other words, do we need a short-term or long-term solution to funding?

- Fish

[DeBo]

Thanks for the quick feedback Fish. I agree with your list and might add a couple for or flatwater streams in the east. I don't know the answer to your question right now. I know that USGS is looking for longterm funding.

Lance was in charge of the gage fund. He has told me that it does not have a lot of money in it. We probably could raise some money and we have some money in the conservation fund but not for their long term needs. I'm all for it if it could buy them more time to get additional funding. I will be talking to a couple of state agencies on Monday and will call USGS again.

Arkansas Geological Survey has also dropped gage funding.

I like the idea of people adopting a gage and learning how to maintain it but I don't know if they would go for that. I can ask.

With our current fiscal situation, I'm afraid this is going to get worse. It may take a lot of people making the point that gages are more important than some other program.

[canoe]

I agree with Fish as to which gauges are the most critical to save. dale

[Shark Attack]

30 years ago we didn't feel the need to rely on the government to let us know when we could go floating. We picked up a phone and called someone nearby, usually an outfitter who we would pay for a shuttle, ice and a Coke.

[Fish]

30 years ago we didn't feel the need to rely on the government to let us know when we could go floating. We picked up a phone and called someone nearby, usually an outfitter who we would pay for a shuttle, ice and a Coke.

30 years ago I was in third grade...

But 20 years ago, we didn't rely on the government for gauges either... and we drove to a lot of dry creekbeds.

Good times,
Fish

[Shark Attack]

Shark Attack wrote:
30 years ago we didn't feel the need to rely on the government to let us know when we could go floating. We picked up a phone and called someone nearby, usually an outfitter who we would pay for a shuttle, ice and a Coke.


30 years ago I was in third grade...

But 20 years ago, we didn't rely on the government for gauges either... and we drove to a lot of dry creekbeds.

Good times,
Fish

That was part of the fun, making friends with locals in the hills to find out who had a phone and would drive down to the creek and call you back (collect, of course!). Or driving up to the old bridges over the Cadron and looking for the rocks that were placed at good levels.

And there have been phones at Turner Bend and at least one at Ponca as long as I can remember.

[Fish]

That was part of the fun, making friends with locals in the hills to find out who had a phone and would drive down to the creek and call you back (collect, of course!). Or driving up to the old bridges over the Cadron and looking for the rocks that were placed at good levels.

And there has been phones at Turner Bend and at least one at Ponca as long as I can remember.

Yeah, but it was more fun when gas was $0.87 per gallon. :)

I had a lot of fun too driving around the hills in those days, before smart phones, before Internet, before Weather Channel. So much fun in fact that I kept chasing creeks for which there aint no gauge. It's all good! I like having the technology, but if the government would actually stop borrowing money that my daughter will have to pay back someday, I'd happily drive to a few more dry creeks. I ain't holding my breath on that one tho. :-/

- Fish

[canoe]

if there is a way to monitor the putin @ Richland, I will volunteer to do whatever it takes (except fo driving up there every nite). if we could rig a video cam aimed at the bridge or something that would work as well, we could possibly run some sort of internet hookup. I would most likely have to talk to John Vanderpool and probably run some sort of Sat. feed, unless the more savvy members can think of an alternative idea. dale

[JTarver]

I too, agree with Fishs take on the gauges to initially save. I also agree with Victors' comment about possible training to do the gauges ourselves. I was actually going to suggest the same thing before I saw his post. Is that feasible? I know 75k is alot of money, but I also know that much is easily wasted by the state each year in just a couple of departments. Spending wouldn't have to be cut if there weren't such frivolous spending to begin with.
But that's not the issue is it. So back to Victors' statement, is that something we could do possibly?

Joe

[CAPTAIN ALEVE]

The gage fund had $1623.27 in it according to the February Board meeting minutes, the same meeting that had a NET cost to the ACC of $1,005. That was just for one Board meeting. Maybe we should revert back to meeting in free places and having members bring their own supplies so we could fund a gage or two.

In those same minutes the Conservation fund balance was reported as $15,773.06. Should we conserve some gages? That fund is replenished annually and using it partially might provide long term funding for at least one gage. That, plus reducing Board meeting expenses, could cover two gages easily.

Raising Club dues with the increase earmarked for the gage fund could provide say, at $5 per paying membership, about $2000 per year. We could also add a spot on the renewal form for a donation above the annual dues that would be designated to be for gages.

The Central Chapter is flush with cash and has no plans for it. Perhaps someone could propose at the next meeting that Central contribute annually to maintain one gage.

All that is dependent on whether or not such a cash flow would keep the gage active. Can we get a Board consensus on this issue to Debo before Monday? What would that take, a motion and 11 votes out of the 20 Board members via email or posting here?

Captain Aleve, alias Mike Coogan