Welcome and thanks for visiting the Save Our Streams campaign site! Please join in the effort to restore and protect Missouri's streams -- your streams -- for ourselves and generations to come.

Missouri is a "water" state, being home to over 180,000 miles of streams, as well as many lakes and reservoirs. We would like to say that all of these waters are clean, safe for recreation, and healthy enough to support a full range of aquatic life. But we can't--not by a long shot.

In fact, Missouri streams are in serious trouble, and they need your help.

More than 85% of Missouri's streams lack basic protections for recreation and aquatic life -- protections required by the federal Clean Water Act but never put in place in Missouri. As a result, most of the thousands of legal wastewater discharges to our streams do not remove dangerous bacteria or keep hazardous toxics to levels safe for fish and other life.

And then there are the other sources of damage to our streams:

• agricultural runoff that dumps huge amounts of soil into streams as well as nitrogen and phosphorus that create algae blooms and suck critical oxygen from the water
• stormwater that erodes streams and fills them with oil, grease, bacteria, road salt, and other chemicals from streets, parking lots, and lawns
• development construction that covers, channels, and allows sediment to wash into streams
• gravel mining that alters stream channels and destroys ecosystem integrity
• 4-wheel drive vehicles and ATVs that damage stream beds and banks
• and, unfortunately, much, much more...

What can I do to help?

• Report problems
  • Contact the Coalition about damage you see to your stream. We'll help you find the agencies and resources that can address the problem.
    • Email moenviron@moenviron.org
    • Call 314-727-0600
  • Upload photos of the damage to the Coalition Flickr webpage.
    • Go to the Flickr page, join the Coalition group, and upload your photos to the group pool.
  • For fish kills or other pollution emergencies, contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources hotline at 573-634-2436, then call us (314-727-0600) so we can check on the outcome.

• Form or join a Stream Team
  • Clean up or monitor water quality on your stream. The Missouri Stream Team program, which includes almost 4,000 Stream Teams and over 60,000 volunteers, will provide training and equipment free of charge.
    • Stream Team website
    • 800-781-1989 (message phone)

• Join a stream advocacy or local watershed protection group
  • Act with others who share your concerns and make things happen for your stream or watershed!
    • Find local groups on the Coalition advocacy groups list
    • Join the Coalition!

• Protect your stream for recreation
  • If you or others have used your stream at any time since 1975 for recreation, the stream, by law, must be kept safe for recreation. That means that any wastewater discharges into it will have to be disinfected to kill harmful bacteria.
    • Complete and send to the Department of Natural Resources this one-page form documenting your (or others') recreational use of your stream.

• Become a discharge permit watchdog
  • Every facility that discharges wastewater into Missouri waters must have a permit that sets limits on the type and amount of pollutants in the effluent. You have a 30-day period to submit comments to the state before new and renewed permits go into effect. Become a permit watchdog and help make sure these permits are as protective as they need to be.
    • Learn how to review permits and write effective comments.
    • Contact Dan Sherburne at dsherburne@moenviron.org or 314-727-0600.

• Learn more about water issues in Missouri
  • The Coalition has been active in a variety of water-related issues in the state, from working to improve water quality standards and extend protections to all streams to fighting unwise floodplain and wetland development.
    • Learn more on the Coalition Water Quality webpage.