Story ran on Sunday, November 25 2001

Ben Londeree has watched during the last decade as the creek in his back yard has expanded foot by frustrating foot, toppling the trees that once stood tall and straight along the stream’s banks. "The creek is 8 feet wider than it used to be," said the retired university professor, standing in the middle of County House Branch near Twin Lakes Recreation Area in southwest Columbia.

Ed Pfueller photo

Ben Londeree walks along the eroded banks of his property bordering County House Branch. He has documented severe erosion in the area as a result of increased storm water runoff from neighboring developments.

But his efforts against the ever-increasing volume and velocity of rushing storm water from upstream areas have proved feeble. None of the black willows survived, and, since 1993, erosion has claimed about 40 of Londeree’s trees.

"If it doesn’t get worse, I can live with it. But I think it’s going to get worse," he said.

The culprit, Londeree said, is the increase in impervious surfaces - such as buildings, parking lots and driveways - throughout Columbia.

Without proper mitigation, residential and commercial development strips the land of soil and vegetation that absorb rainwater. When earth and plants are replaced by concrete surfaces, storm water, if not detained, will pick up urban pollutants, carry mud and gush downstream, turning clear brooks into drainage channels.

Ed Pfueller photo

Londeree stands near the shallow waters of the County House Branch. After storms, the creek flows high, causing extensive erosion.

That poses a challenge to city and Boone County government officials, who are in the process of drafting a storm-water ordinance to control creek erosion that complies with federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

Longtime Columbia residents such as Burton Schauf easily recall the days when Stadium Boulevard was a dangerous two-lane road and when West Boulevard separated city and country.

"The mall used to be pasture," Schauf, a veterinarian who has lived in western Columbia in the Harmony Creek Watershed since 1983, said of the 740,000-square-foot Columbia Mall.

Back then, the building on 2504 W. Worley St., where Schauf examines dogs and cats, was not there. Nor were all the restaurants, shops and banks along Stadium Boulevard.

"Sheer impervious surface is the biggest problem in our watershed," Schauf said. "There’s a constant erosion battle. Quiet creeks now are becoming drainage ditches when you push that much water that quickly."

Like Londeree at County House Branch, Schauf has seen his share of fallen trees in Harmony Creek. He attributes the problem to bad engineering practices and the ignorance of some upstream residents, who turn a blind eye to runoff as long as the water gets off their yards.

Burton Schauf photo

Water meanders around the landfill east of Buttonwood Road. The water eventually feeds into Hinkson Creek.

Along Nifong Boulevard, Peachtree Plaza has stripped the land of vegetation, thus "shooting" storm water into the streams, said Dean Andersen, a volunteer for the Mill Creek Watershed Partnership.

Gazing at Limerick West subdivision atop a hill across from his property, Londeree said storm water has found its way down the slope since the homes were built in the mid-1990s, "racing into" County House Branch and hammering against stream banks.

When the Georgetown subdivision flooded last spring, residents pointed their fingers at the upstream development in the neighboring Quail Creek residential development.

Each development adds more impervious surface, sending more water into creeks, widening streams to accommodate the extra runoff, said Frank Gordon, a soil conservation expert with Natural Resources Conservation Service in Columbia.

"You’re always going to have some negative impact" when "you have sedimentation hit those streams," Gordon said. "As your impervious area increases, the stream will adjust itself to become stable until the next development starts. You have a little bit of runoff, then you have a little bit more, and then you have a little bit more before the complete degradation of the stream."

Dean Andersen photo

Storm water overflows the banks of Harmony Creek near Strawn Road.

"There’s a lot of room for improvement," said Gordon, who has contracted with Boone County to inspect erosion control on new subdivision plats. A lack of regulations in the county and shortage of personnel in the city to enforce its land preservation ordinance have resulted in dirt running into nearby creeks, he said.

Since 1997, the city has taken 42 violations of the Land Preservation Act to the city prosecutor’s office. In many cases, the builders failed to properly maintain silt fences, allowed dirt to be washed onto another property or did not provide a non-erosive surface after disturbing the land.

City engineer Mike Symmonds said the city of Columbia could pride itself in being one of the first communities in the country to introduce land preservation regulations.

Annie Pope, executive director of the Homebuilders Association of Columbia, contends that most developers and builders are sensitive to watersheds and comply with the city’s Land Preservation Act.

"A few don’t practice diligently," Pope said. "A lot of builders do. There is always the least conscious in any field."

But land disturbance and impervious area are by no means the only contributors to degrading Columbia’s water quality. Littering and irresponsible chemical use are just as detrimental to stream health as erosion. Cigarette butts have accumulated by hundreds along the curbs at the intersection of Highway 63 and Broadway, and Andersen said the butts are likely to end up in nearby streams.

Trash bins placed near creeks also impose an immediate threat to the health of local streams, Andersen said.

"Do we want to live in Columbia like this?" Andersen said, pointing to pictures of littered cigarette butts and trash bins overflowing with garbage.

Herbicides and pesticides commonly used for lawn maintenance, once in the stream, foster algae bloom that competes for oxygen with fish in the water. To some plant and animal life in the stream, such chemicals can even be deadly, Andersen said.

"Yes, we’re worried about litter. We’re worried about pollutants," Schauf said. "We’re not concerned - we’re scared."