River in Oklahoma, United States
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.
Description
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]
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]
Dams
[
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]
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]
Water quality
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]
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]
References
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