Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES—Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) is working with East West Gateway Council of Governments to provide a workshop on the Upper Meramec River Watershed to share water management practices with communities in the region.

Community leaders, representatives and general public are welcome to attend the event from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the St. James Community Center, 1340 Nelson Hart Drive, St. James.

The effort is part of the Our Missouri Waters Initiative, led by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Tammy Snodgrass, assistant executive director at MRPC believes the workshop brings stakeholders together to learn from each other.

“MRPC participated in a similar project on the Big River in 2013, and it proved to be a good opportunity for all the stakeholders to come together, share ideas and find common ground on ways to conserve water resources,” Snodgrass said.

This workshop is an opportunity for representatives from local leaders and landowners to learn abut the state of the Upper Meramec Watershed, discuss local concerns and share ideas about how to address those issues.

“There is a nice mix of state and federal representatives who are providing background information,” Snodgrass said. “Other presentations from local community leaders, organizations and landowners will cover what is already going on in the Meramec watershed. They will be sharing best practices that can be duplicated.”

The workshop will include an overview of the Our Missouri Waters Initiative; economic benefits of the river, uses and protection of water resources; overview on a mining impacts feasibility study; wastewater and storm water management practices for local communities; best management practices for landowners; best practices for road maintenance and innovative strategies to fund low-water crossing improvements.

Speakers will include Tracy Haag, MDNR; Bob Broz or Dan Downing, University Extension; Matt Crosby, USCE; Rob Pulliam, MDC; John Butz and Anne McClary, city of Rolla; Robert Foshee, Davisville; Eric Kopinski, MoDOT; and Darrell Skiles, Dent County presiding commissioner.

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 25, directed by the MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

East-West Gateway Council of Governments is MRPC’s counterpart in the St. Louis Region, which includes Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis counties, the city of St. Louis and three counties in Illinois.

For more information on the Our Missouri Waters Initiative, please visit www.dnr.mo.gov.

To keep up with the latest MRPC news and events, visit the MRPC website at www.meramecregion.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/meramecregion.