Microbiological and hydrological data were used to rank tributary stream contributions of bacteria to the Little Blue River in Independence, Missouri. Concentrations, loadings and yields of E. coli and microbial source tracking (MST) markers, were characterized during base flow and storm events in five subbasins within Independence, as well as sources entering and leaving the city through the river. The E. coli water quality threshold was exceeded in 29% of base-flow and 89% of storm-event samples. The total contribution of E. coli and MST markers from tributaries within Independence to the Little Blue River, regardless of streamflow, did not significantly increase the median concentrations leaving the city. Daily loads and yields of E. coli and MST markers were used to rank the subbasins according to their contribution of each constituent to the river. The ranking methodology used in this study may prove useful in prioritizing remediation in the different subbasins.

Macroinvertebrates were collected as part of two separate urban water-quality studies from adjacent basins, the Blue River Basin (Kansas City, Missouri), the Little Blue River and Rock Creek Basins (Independence, Missouri), and their tributaries. Consistent collection and processing procedures 2 Assessment of Macroinvertebrate Communities in Adjacent Urban Stream Basins, Kansas City, Missouri, 2007 through 2011 selected modeled multimetric indices are effective for comparing urban basins and for evaluation of water quality in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Description of Study Area Data from 18 macroinvertebrate sampling sites were selected and analyzed from urban basins in the Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan area and adjacent counties (fig. 1, table 1). Seven sites were located in the Blue River Basin, including five sites on the main-stem Blue River and one site each on Indian Creek and Brush Creek, tributaries to the Blue River. Eight sites were located in the Little Blue River Basin, including three sites on the main-stem Little Blue River and five sites located on tributaries to the Little Blue River (Adair Creek, East Fork Little Blue River, Crackerneck Creek, Spring Branch Creek, and Burr Oak Creek). Rock Creek, located almost entirely within Independence city boundaries between the Blue River and Little Blue River Basins, was included in analyses with the Little Blue River sites. Two rural sites that are relatively free from development, located outside the Kansas City metropolitan area in adjacent Ray and Cass Counties, were selected for comparison (fig. 1). descriptors include environmental perturbation, environmental disturbance, urbanization, urban gradient, and other similar terminology used with small distinctions or interchangeably in previous studies cited and in the literature for macroinvertebrate studies in urban streams. Urban intensity as used in this study should be interpreted broadly with the terminology used in the references cited.

Link 22. Habitat scores, dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductance, water temperature, macroinvertebrate metrics used in the stream condition index, and aquatic-life support status for samples collected March 2007

No abstract

The Sugar Creek Watershed is located north of Huntsville in northcentral Missouri. Water quality in Sugar Creek has been affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) generated by underground mining and coal refuse disposal before the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and has been listed on Missouri's 303d list as an impaired stream. To support the state of Missouri's development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) assessment and remediation efforts, the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), Mid-Continent Region in cooperation with the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), Missouri Water Science Center -Kansas City Office has completed a technical evaluation and economic and logistical feasibility study for the AMD affected waterway. Utilizing a water-quality assessment completed in 2005 by the USGS, the OSM study proposes the construction of passive treatment facilities for three major AMD sources identified by the USGS in the watershed. Site-specific remediation costs are determined for each site using OSM's Technical Innovation and Professional Services software AMDTreat. The proposed treatment systems utilize state-of-the-art passive treatment technology, including anaerobic bioreactors and vertical flow wetlands. Treatment of the discharges from two of the AMD sources add alkaline effluent from public waste-water treatment facilities for neutralizing acidity, dilution of the AMD, and addition of nutrients into the proposed wetland treatment systems. This study will be used to develop costs and a plan for the remediation of the Sugar Creek discharges and can serve as a guide in TMDL assessments in Missouri and other coal mining areas.Additional Key Words: passive treatment, aerobic wetland anaerobic bioreactor, and vertical flow pond.