Repairing Hinkson benefits everyone
By KEN MIDKIFF
Published Friday, January 16, 2009
(http://www.columbiatribune.com/2009/Jan/20090116Comm002.asp)

Hinkson Creek is polluted. After much study, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources added it to the Impaired Water Body list, in that it does not meet its "designated and beneficial" uses. Recently, the impaired range was extended from 11 to 14 miles.

Over the past 10 years, there have been a number of fish kills resulting from spills and releases into Hinkson Creek, everything from floor stripper to raw sewage.

In spite of all these insults, Hinkson Creek is not in horrible shape. Rather, certain sections meet Water Quality Standards. In other areas, the creek comes close to attaining the uses designated by the Clean Water Commission and DNR. Even more to the point, it is not all those spills and toxic releases that cause Hinkson Creek to be listed as "impaired."

Rather, the cause of impairment is given as "unknown." DNR sent a bevy of water-quality experts, and all sorts of tests were conducted. Their conclusion: Hinkson Creek doesn’t support its designated uses, but damned if we know why.

Some findings hinted at the causes of impairment: runoff containing pesticides and lawn chemicals; impervious surfaces that led to flash flooding followed by an abrupt decline to barely a trickle; turbidity caused by, among other things, a heavy sediment load and even road salt. But it was deemed that none of these alone was sufficient to cause the dearth of aquatic organisms.

Now comes the Columbia Bulldozer Academy, headed by the verbose, never-at-a-lack-of-words Don Stamper, putting down the efforts of those who are interested in cleaning up the creek, according to an article in the Wednesday Tribune ("Hinkson cleanup committee meets") by Jodie Jackson Jr. Assuming Jackson (a good reporter) quoted him correctly, Stamper said he did not agree that Hinkson Creek is "horribly polluted" and that the solution - which he found shocking - was to throw money at the problem.

As noted, Hinkson Creek is close in many areas to achieving attainment as noted in the Phase I report. It is not "horribly polluted," and no one is asserting that, except apparently some straw man hobgoblin in Stamper’s fertile mind.

As to throwing money at the problem, a lot of public money has already been spent on amenities along Hinkson Creek. The MKT Trail parallels the Hinkson for many miles, down to the confluence with Perche Creek. Twin Lakes, the wetlands, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Hinkson Woods and the Grindstone Nature Area depend upon good water quality in Hinkson Creek. Hinkson Creek flows through the University of Missouri’s recreational fields, past the covered tennis building and past and through various experimental agricultural areas.

It is to everyone’s benefit that Hinkson Creek has good water quality and meets all of its beneficial and designated uses. Yet Stamper, presumably speaking for those who would add more problems to the creek, said his concern is about "economic development." Someone needs to suggest that many economic development activities depend upon clean, pure water.

There was a saying in the ’60s that "if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem." Hinkson Creek’s poor water quality is everyone’s problem, and it is hoped the community will adopt solutions that all can support. It does little or no good to deny Hinkson Creek is impaired. It does even less good to assert only one type of economic development represents all types.