For years, you could tell whether a person was an Arkansan or an Oklahoman by the way he answered a question: How's the water quality in the Illinois River looking?
An Arkansan might have smiled proudly and said, "Things are looking pretty good."
What’s the point?
We applaud improvements that have reduced pollution in the Illinois River and the continuing work to make its future even better.
An Oklahoman was more likely to give a look of concern and say, "Things could be better."
Both were right.
The Illinois River is designated a scenic river in Oklahoma, but its birthplace is in Arkansas, near Hogeye and about 15 miles southwest of Fayetteville. Its waters flow for nearly 150 miles before pouring into the Arkansas River near Gore, Okla., and traveling southeast, all the way through Arkansas to the Mississippi River.
For 30 years, the Illinois River has also been the symbol of, first, a fight between the two states over water quality standards and pollution and, in more recent years, of the progress that can be made with a concerted effort involving people in both states.
In Arkansas, in those early days, Oklahoma's aggressive stance was perceived by some as an attack on the poultry industry, a critical component of Northwest Arkansas' success, and on the region's population growth and development. The fight, in the courts, was Oklahoma's plea to make sure it had a strong voice whenever the impact of behaviors in a neighboring state flowed downstream to the Sooner State.
Phosphorus is the primary culprit in the diminished health of the Illinois River. At the right levels, it and other nutrients play a crucial role in a waterway's vibrant ecosystem, but too much can promote development of life-choking algae that blocks sunlight and steals oxygen from the water.
The spreading of poultry litter on Northwest Arkansas farms has, for years, been a major contributor to the presence of phosphorus in local rivers, creeks and streams. The pollutants also came from sewage treatment plants ill equipped to adequately remove them through the treatment process. Northwest Arkansas' residential and business growth threatened to exacerbate the latter problem and the growth of the poultry industry the former.
The good news these days, it seems, is there's hope and evidence in both Oklahoma and Arkansas that things are getting better.
Brian Haggard, director of the Arkansas Water Resources Center at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, says phosphorus levels are far lower than they used to be. In 1989, the Illinois River showed an average of 0.423 milligram of phosphorus per liter in Watts, Okla. In the same spot in 2016, that measured 0.065 milligrams. Samples taken this fall from other parts of the river show levels ranging from 0.05 milligram of phosphorus per liter to 0.09, according to Haggard.
That is progress, especially at a time when Northwest Arkansas' population and industry growth has expanded, not shrunk. Farmers are shipping more poultry litter, useful as fertilizer, out of the region as a commodity. Area sewer plants have installed equipment to better treat wastewater. Government regulation has clamped down in some areas. Voluntary programs have educated people about wrong choices and how to make better ones.
Things are looking pretty good. And things could be better.
Oklahoma officials continue to press for reductions. Arkansas officials continue to work toward improvements. Goals appear similar. The question is really how fast improvements should come.
Count us among those who find hope in the scenario, because we've seen it when the two states were mixed up in conflict. It's far better, and produces far better results, when the two states can find cooperative ways to make a difference.
And it's worth remembering here on the Arkansas side of the border that this isn't just about the Illinois River. It's about what industries, development practices and farming methods are doing to our entire ecosystem in Northwest Arkansas and anywhere else our waters flow.
The Illinois River is an important natural resource in Arkansas and in Oklahoma, but the effort to reduce pollution will have an impact on a much broader scale.
The improvements we see here at the start of a new year are worth celebrating, right before everyone gets back to work to make sure future years bring even more progress.
Commentary on 01/07/2018