Spavinaw Creek | |
---|---|
Etymology | Corruption of French cepee vineux |
Location | |
Country | United States |
States | Arkansas, Oklahoma |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• coordinates | 34°46′56″N96°37′30″W / 34.78222°N 96.62500°W |
• elevation | 300 m (980 ft) |
Mouth | Neosho River at Lake Hudson (N36.37676° W95.11885°) |
Discharge | |
• location | Eucha |
• average | 307 cu ft/s (8.7 m3/s) [1] |
Basin features | |
River system | Grand River (Oklahoma) |
GNIS ID 1098344 [2] |
Spavinaw Creek is a stream that begins in Arkansas and flows west into Oklahoma. The mouth is at located at Lake Hudson. The creek drains 400 square miles of the Ozark Mountain foothills and farm land. Two lakes, Lake Spavinaw and Lake Eucha, were impounded to create water supplies for the city of Tulsa approximately 55 miles away.
The actual source begins as a drainage basin and a mostly dry to intermittent brook in northwest Arkansas, flowing west into Oklahoma, [3] picking up intermittent drainage, run-off, and tributaries such as Brush Creek, Dry Creek, Columbia Hollow Creek, Rattlesnake Creek, Cloud Creek, Cherokee Creek, Hog Eye Creek, Spring Branch, and Wolf Creek, that is the Decatur waste discharge point, and others. The creek drains 400 square miles of Ozark Mountain foothills and is a tributary of Grand River. [4]
The first dam was built in 1923 creating Lake Spavinaw as part of the Spavinaw Water Project. Much of the town of Spavinaw had to be relocated to higher ground. The purpose of the lake was to supply water to the city of Tulsa. [5] The creek was dammed a second time in 1952, creating Lake Eucha as an expanded storage for the Spavinaw system. [6]
The land usage was shown in a 2002 study to be predominantly livestock and poultry with a small percentage of row crops. There were 54,172 head of cattle and calves, 128,066,609 Broilers & chickens, and the number of Hogs & pigs was not determined in Delaware County, OK. There were 40,251 head cattle and calves, 37,154,935 Broilers & chickens, and 285,661 in Benton County, AR. The result of water quality testing showed a high concentration of phosphorus resulting in algae growth. A major tributary to Lake Eucha, Beaty Creek, was found (2004 study) to be impaired by pathogens, specifically Enterococcus. There can be many causes of contamination such as faulty septic systems, wildlife and livestock grazing fecal bacteria, unstable stream banks, municipal and industrial storm water and waste water discharge, commercial fertilizer, pet waste, soil erosion, and "confined/concentrated animal feeding operations" (CAFOs) such as the many poultry farms. The Decatur, Arkansas waste water treatment plant also includes waste from a poultry processing plant. Large poultry operations are considered point sources whereas smaller operations are not but cumulatively contribute to the phosphorus loading in the watershed. The city of Tulsa brought court proceedings that resulted in a ruling for a reduction in discharge of phosphorus from the city of Decatur and poultry producers in the watershed to improve water quality as well as reduce treatment costs. Both Lake Spavinaw and Lake Eucha have been designated as “sensitive public and private water supply” (SWS) and “nutrient limited watershed” (NLW). Any increase in discharge must receive prior approval. 72 poultry producers in Oklahoma and 22 in Arkansas are cooperating in the best management practices (BMP) to reduce nutrients in the watershed. [7] [8]
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,487. Its county seat is Jay. The county was named for the Delaware Indians, who had established a village in the area prior to the Cherokees being assigned to relocate to Indian Territory in the 1830s. Delaware County was created in 1907. Prior to becoming Delaware County, a large portion of the area was known as the Delaware District of the Cherokee Nation. Today, Delaware County continues to be recognized by the Cherokee Nation as the Delaware District.
Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city shares a border on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line with the city of West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma, which is within the Cherokee Nation territory. The town was founded in 1882 and was characterized by the purported healing powers of the spring water feeding Sager Creek and trading with nearby Native American tribes. John Brown University (JBU) was founded in 1919 as a private, interdenominational, Christian liberal arts college in the city. Today, Siloam Springs is known for its efforts to preserve and revitalize the city's historic downtown and as a promoter of the arts via Sager Creek Arts Center and the JBU art gallery. The community is located on the western edge of the growing Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area and has had a population increase of 47% to 15,039 between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.
The Ozarks is a physiographic region in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, United States.
The Illinois River is a 145-mile-long (233 km) tributary of the Arkansas River in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The Osage Indians named it Ne-eng-wah-kon-dah, which translates as "Medicine Stone River." The state of Oklahoma has designated its portion as a Scenic River. The Illinois River is a significant location in the 1961 Wilson Rawls novel, Where the Red Fern Grows.
Grand Lake o' the Cherokees is situated in Northeast Oklahoma in the foothills of the Ozark Mountain Range. It is often simply called Grand Lake. It is administered by the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA).
Zanoni is an unincorporated community located in Ozark County, Missouri, United States on Route 181, approximately ten miles northeast of Gainesville. A watermill and a post office are all that remain of the community. The community was founded in 1898 and was named for the novel Zanoni by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. The mill was built in 1905 as an overshot wheel mill by "Doc" Morrison and restored by his grandson.
The Spring River is a 129-mile-long (208 km) waterway located in southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma.
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Black Bear Creek is a 116-mile-long (187 km) creek in northern Oklahoma. Black Bear Creek drains an area of 538 square miles (1,390 km2) in Garfield County, Noble County and Pawnee County, Oklahoma. It takes on a red color from the red clay of this area. The creek gets its name from the black bear. Though the area is outside of the range of the black bear, sightings have been rumored.
Sager Creek is a 13.4-mile-long (21.6 km) creek which runs through downtown Siloam Springs, Arkansas, in the United States. It is a tributary of Flint Creek, which flows to the Illinois River, which in turn flows to the Arkansas River and thus is part of the Mississippi River watershed. Sager Creek is named after the man largely thought to be the founder of Siloam Springs, Simon Sager.
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Nutrient pollution, a form of water pollution, refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients. It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, usually nitrogen or phosphorus, stimulate algal growth. Sources of nutrient pollution include surface runoff from farm fields and pastures, discharges from septic tanks and feedlots, and emissions from combustion. Raw sewage is a large contributor to cultural eutrophication since sewage is high in nutrients. Releasing raw sewage into a large water body is referred to as sewage dumping, and still occurs all over the world. Excess reactive nitrogen compounds in the environment are associated with many large-scale environmental concerns. These include eutrophication of surface waters, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, acid rain, nitrogen saturation in forests, and climate change.
William Rea Holway, commonly known as W. R. Holway, was an American civil engineer who became prominent in Oklahoma. He is best known for his work on major water supply projects for the city of Tulsa, and on the Pensacola Dam at Grand Lake o' the Cherokees.
The Spavinaw Water Project was established to provide fresh water for Tulsa, Oklahoma from a site on Spavinaw Creek near the town of Spavinaw in Mayes County, Oklahoma. Planning and financing began in 1919, The project scope included site selection, designing and constructing a dam to impound the creek, a 55-mile long pipeline to carry water to a reservoir near Tulsa, where it would be treated and pumped to a network of customers. Groundbreaking occurred in October, 1922. The dam and pipeline were both completed in 1924, and the new Tulsa water treating plant was completed in 1929. At that time, this was the longest gravity-flow water pipeline operational in the United States.
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Beaty Creek is a stream in Benton County, Arkansas and Delaware County, Oklahoma. It is a tributary of Spavinaw Creek.
Oak Hill-Piney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Oklahoma, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census.