Speaking up for Missouri...."The Great Rivers State"

This Week's Water News: Wyoming tightens wastewater rules after tech center contamination, Missouri DNR awards record loan to Missouri American Water Company, a huge double catfish catch in St. Charles, more than 400 native plants established at Jefferson City's river market, a surge in water temperatures kills fish on the Potomac, invasive ticks raising concerns, a massive mayfly hatch in Minnesota, river spanning litter boom pulls trash in Connecticut, an E.coli risk in Christian county rivers, and how one Kansas town is looking to recycle wastewater to secure the city's water future

Listen to this July 3rd radio spot about Plastic Free July, with Stream Teams United Advocacy Outreach Coordinator, Emily Young. The interview begins at minute 2:30. Check it out and encourage businesses to take a plastic reducing step this July!

This Week's "Critter of the Week"!

Remember to Grow Native! in your yard or property

Wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)

Hydrangea is likely a very familiar decorative shrub to many, with its large clusters of showy flowers in the summer. It is quite common to see it growing, cultivated, in people’s yards and gardens. If you explore Missouri’s forests and bluffs, you may notice another shrub that looks uncannily like the hydrangeas that can be seen growing in yards! Missouri does, in fact, have a native hydrangea, often called wild hydrangea or smooth hydrangea.

Looking at the hydrangea above, you may think that its bloom isn’t very impressive. It seems to have a grand total of four flowers! However, this is all according to the hydrangea’s plan. The flowers that we can see in the photograph are not flowers at all! They are actually modified leaves called “bracts.” These bracts act as sterile “flowers,” produced to attract pollinators to the actual reproductive organs of the plant. The real flowers are all the little greenish-white pods visible next to the bracts. Flowers cost a lot of energy to make, so this hydrangea has produced the large, showy bracts to attract attention to the true flowers instead of growing a whole colorful bouquet.

Sources:

https://grownative.org/native_plants/wild-hydrangea/?__cf_chl_f_tk=gPycAVJJSGEFLkimkPN.BDm9SqHMvSO5rEsPNGoYVwg-1783366008-1.0.1.1-rpDX6985otKkdMHtCDuLUrFf.0l_hbafrqsQtMBEFPA

Check out these July events!

Missouri Stream Team members, Join us on July 25th for the 30th Watershed Celebration at Meramec State Park!

Lifejackets save lives! Wear a lifejacket on the rivers and lakes!

• July 11 - Native Garden Volunteer Event at Lakeside Nature Center, 8 AM to 10 AM
• July 11 - Centennial Greenway Trash Pick Up @Delmar and McKnight in University City, 9 AM to 11 AM
• July 11 - Litter Cleanup at Bear Creek Trail, 9-11 AM
• July 11 - Love Your Park Clean Up Day at Fairground Park, 9-11 AM
• July 11 - Soccer Watch Party Event Recycling, Kansas City
• July 11 - Bee Survey at Mallard Lake, 9 AM - 12 PM
• July 11 - Green Living Festival, 9 AM - 4 PM, Missouri Botanical Gardens, St. Louis
• July 14 - No Trash Tuesday Challenge, St. Joseph
• July 14 - Water Quality Groups Meeting, 11:30 AM - 1 PM, email contact@h2ozarks.org for more information
• July 15 - Grow Native! Webinar: Greetings from the Prairie Garden Trust, a Grow Native! Garden of Excellence, 4 PM - 5 PM
• July 17-19 - Ozark Fly Fishers 15th Annual Stream Team Outing at Montauk State Park
• July 18 - Gateway Arch Riverfront Cleanup, 8 AM - 10 AM
• July 18 - 18th Annual Log Yard Lower Current River Cleanup Sponsored by Ozark Heritage Project, 8 AM - 1 PM
• July 21 - No Trash Tuesday Challenge, St. Joseph
• July 22 - Family Ecology Canoe Day Trip, 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM, Big Piney River
• July 25 - Mallard Lake Pollinator Garden Maintenance, Creve Coeur Lakehouse
• July 25 - Friends of Kaw Point Monthly Cleanup, Kaw Point Park
• July 25 - Grow Native! Bellefontaine Cemetery & Arboretum Reconstructed Meadow Walking Tour with James Faupel, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
• Saturday, July 25th - Annual Watershed Celebration at Meramec State Park and Stream Team appreciation lunch and awards ceremony.
• JULY - Don't forget to renew your Great Rivers State/Stream Team license plate! Don't have a plate? July is a great time to order a new set of plates and support the work of Stream Teams United.
• July 28 - No Trash Tuesday Challenge, St. Joseph
• August 1 - Deadline to register for Paddle MO 2026 Missouri River 2-day, 3-day, or 5 day educational river adventure (Boonville to New Haven, MO)

Advocacy Updates and Opportunities 

July 15, 2026 - Comment period closes on Denali-Wentworth Storage Tank Draft Missouri State Operating Permit (extended from previous July 1 deadline). Denali Water Solutions LLC applied for authorization to either discharge to waters of the state, or to operate a no-discharge wastewater treatment facility.

July 22, 2026 - Comment period closes on the MO DNR draft Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2027 Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Intended Use Plan (IUP) and Project Priority List. The Clean Water SRF provides low-interest loans to municipalities, counties, and public sewer districts for wastewater infrastructure projects. This IUP documents how the department intends to spend Clean Water SRF funding during FFY 2027.

• The department will hold a public hearing to discuss and take comments on the draft plan on July 15, 2026, beginning at 10 a.m. at Lewis and Clark State Office Building or via WebEx.

August 3, 2026 - Comment period closes on the MO DNR draft Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2027 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Intended Use Plan (IUP) and Set-Aside Programs. The Drinking Water SRF provides low-interest loans to political subdivisions (counties, incorporated cities and towns, and regional water or sewer districts), not-for-profit wholesale and regional water providers, and investor-owned water utility corporations. This IUP documents how the department intends to spend Drinking Water SRF funding during FFY 2027.

• The department will hold a public meeting to discuss and take comments on this draft plan on July 27, 2026, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Lewis and Clark State Office Building or via WebEx.

August 14, 2026 - Comment period closes on MO DNR Draft 2028 Listing Methodology Document (LMD). The 2028 LMD outlines the procedures the department will follow to assess surface water quality and develop the 2028 Missouri 303(d) List of Impaired Waters. The department will hold two public meetings related to the 2029 LMD during the public comment period:

• Friday, July 24, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon

Now through September 2027 - The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is collecting data for the 18th Clean Watershed Needs Survey (CWNS). The CWNS is led by U.S. EPA to document economic impact of the nation’s wastewater, stormwater, and nonpoint source infrastructure needs for the next 20 years. The department encourages communities, sewer and water districts, counties, and nonprofits with Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) eligible needs to begin developing and gathering documentation in support of the upcoming CWNS.

• July 14 at 10:00 AM - Safe Drinking Water Commission Meeting
• July 15 at 10:00 AM - Missouri Clean Water Commission Meeting (In addition to other agenda items, the commission will hear a recommendation on the Rocky Mount Sewer District Phase 4 Sewer Extension variance request and the Proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Clean Water State Revolving Fund intended use plan and project priority list.)
• July 24 at 10:00 AM - Draft 2028 Listing Methodology Document Public Meeting
• July 27 at 10:30AM - Proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plan and Project Priority List Public Meeting
• July 28 at 10:00 AM - Hazardous Waste Forum and Solid Waste Forum
• August 5 at 1:00 PM - Solid Waste Advisory Board Meeting
• August 12 at 10:00 AM - Water Protection Forum
• August 14 at 10:00 AM - Well Installation Board Meeting
• August 19 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM - Soil and Water Districts Commission Meeting, Sedalia, MO (in person only)
• August 29 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Pesticide Collection Event, Albany, MO

See the Missouri DNR Water Pollution Control Sites of Interest website

The state parks, soil and water 1/10 of a cent sales tax will be up for renewal at the August 4th ballot!

Help spread the word to Vote Yes on 1 on August 4th

Follow and Share the Preserve MO with Yes on 1 Facebook page.

Paddle MO Registration deadline is August 1st!

Special registration for U.S. military active duty, reserve members, veterans, and military family members.

Limited spots remain! Register soon to secure your spot!

Paddle MO is not a race! It is a supported opportunity to try paddling on the Missouri River with a experienced support team as your ground and water crew.

Just 10 spots remain for this year's Paddle MO journey:

Weekend, 3-Day, and 5-day spots available.

See the 2026 Route here.

Support Stream Teams United as you drive. Don't have a Stream Team license plate? Anytime of the year is the perfect time to order one! Show your love for Missouri's streams as you drive, and support our stream advocacy efforts in Missouri!

Follow us on