For those of you who don't already know about this...
The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks has been actively developing the Valley Watermill Dam site for a few years now and have renamed it the Watershed Center at Valley Watermill. This area just happens to be where I grew up, so I know it well. Think northwest corner of the I-44 and Hwy 65 intersection. The site has Sanders spring, a few caves, a reservoir, a spring at the bottom of the reservoir, the South Dry Sac River, a flashy tributary that feeds the reservoir, Grandview tributary, and a swallow hole; just to name a few features.
Last time I knew they planned on putting a building on the property and having a trail that includes signage that explains the various features displayed. I receive the Table Rock Lake Water Quality Inc newsletter and apparently they are adding an onsite demonstration and training area for onsite wastewater treatment systems to the property. This area will be used for training and maintenance demonstrations for all of the new systems available in this area that are an alternative to the septic tanks employed in the area. The newsletter goes on to explain the entire site indicating that the building will be a green building and include a laboratory.
BMP's (best management practice's) will be demonstrated and water recycling and energy efficiency demos will be included. This is an important "part" of the Little Sac Watershed which has a new TMDL that I spoke of in an earlier email and at the Jan. meeting. The South Dry Sac and Little Sac confluence is also located at one of 2 old landfills that the City is turning into a Greenway's trail near the Zoo, plus Lost Hill is in the same area, so everything is connected.
I smell a field trip!!!!! These areas display some fantastic karst topology features and they have some serious teaching potential. Lost Hill is a literally a freak of nature where the river was cutting through the area around the northern "side" of the "hill" and something happened to reroute the entire river to flow around the southern "side" of the "hill". Could've been uplift, could've been fault action, who knows for sure? No one. Neato huh?
Anyway, we will take a trip out there sometime and I'll share some funny stories of my youth. Funny how my stories usually involve some cow, hum, does this mean to many cows in the rivers or to much Heather activity on private property? I'll let you be the judge!
Hee, hee. H2 out |
