The Missouri Department of Natural Resources isn’t satisfied with Columbia’s plan to discharge stormwater into the city’s creeks and streams, and it has given the city a new deadline of Nov. 15 to submit a more detailed plan.
In late September, the department sent a request to the city for a revised stormwater plan, as it deemed the original plan “too broad.”
A stormwater plan determines how the city will prevent contamination of local waterways. The plan is renewed every five years and is sent to DNR for approval.
Erin Keys, the city’s director of utilities, said Columbia is going to look into specifying its ordinances.
Sarah Wright, a permit supervisor for the natural resources department, said the department has received about 30 complaints over several years about homeless camps polluting the waters and causing Escherichia coli, also known as E. coli.
The department has the ability to withhold state funds if the city doesn’t come up with a specific plan to protect waterways.
“We really need to see specific ordinances that will ensure the streams are protected from both the solid and domestic waste that are coming from these encampments,” Wright said.
Keys said the city is working to protect its waters.
“Regarding encampments and solid waste that could impact our creeks and streams, we have been taking action,” Keys said.
Keys said sediment debris from parking lots, roofs, pet waste, failing septic systems and failing sewers can cause E. coli contamination as well.
The city recently received a request for public proposals to get a vendor that would assist with the cleanup of public property, Keys said.
