Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:
Nutrients in Our Waters, Our Next Water Quality Challenge
Presentation by John Dunn, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
We have had remarkable success in waste water treatment and reduction of pollution in our Nation's waterways. We are now finding that our lakes, streams, and rivers still show impacts from excess nitrogen and phosphorus. This pollution is more subtle than the stories of the old days, before the Clean Water Act, but dealing with these non-point sources is the next step in restoring our waterways to pristine condition. In the Big Muddy presentation EPA Environmental Engineer John Dunn talked about the impacts of nutrients: Where do they come from? How do they get into streams? What are the environmental impacts here and downstream? What are we doing about it?
We hope to have a good discussion with lots of opportunity for questions.
Meet Your Presenter
John Dunn
, Environmental Engineer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
John Dunn is an Environmental Engineer that has been working in the Water Division at EPA Region 7 for over 25 years.
Related Presentations
Resources & Links
- Presentation Flier (pdf)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Website
- Homepage for Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force
- Graphs showing nutrient flux in Missouri River at Hermann, MO and at Omaha, NE (USGS)
- EPA's portal for data and policy on nutrient pollution
- "Federal judge orders EPA to determine 'necessity' of regulating nutrients entering Mississippi River" - Sept. 23, 2013 article, New Orleans Times-Picayune
- "Nutrient Regulations Likely Coming Soon" - Oct. 10, 2013, Ag Professional
- AUDIO and article - "Scientists detect high levels of nitrogen in Midwest waterways" - Harvest Public Media, August 26, 2013
- "Dead zone pollutant grows despite decades of work. But who’s the culprit?" - July 9, 2012, Environmental Health News.
- USGS study released Oct. 30, 2013 - "Nitrate Levels Continue to Increase in Mississippi River Basin"
- USGS study released 2007 - "Nutrient and Suspended-Sediment Trends in the Missouri River Basin, 1993–2003"
The Big Muddy Speakers Series in Kansas City
is hosted by these wonderful partners!
- Little Blue River Watershed Coalition
- Friends of Lakeside Nature Center
- Missouri River Relief
- Healthy Rivers Partnership
- Friends of Big Muddy
- Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
- Kansas City Digital Video
Thanks to all of our venue hosts for making this possible!
Click here for a list of upcoming presentations»
The Big Muddy Speaker Series is also held monthly in Rocheport and St. Charles.
Recordings of Presentations
Kansas City Digital Video has been recording Big Muddy Speaker Series presentations. These are available on their website at this link. Some contain synchronized powerpoint presentations. We will be posting these to the archived presentation pages on bigmuddyspeakers.org.
Thanks Micheal Morgan and crew for putting this important archive online!
The Big Muddy Speaker Series is partially funded by the Columbia Ecological Services Field Office (USFWS) and the Mo. Dept. of Conservation.
Upcoming Presentations
Leave No Trace Training on the Barge
October 14, 2026St. Louis, MO
Join us for a special Big Muddy Speaker Series on the Living Lands & Waters Barge where Perry Whitaker will lead us in a Leave No Trace Training.
See Event
Missouri River Relief: 25 Years on the Big Muddy
November 10, 2026Columbia, MO
Join us for a journey through time celebrating 25 years of Missouri River Relief's work on the Big Muddy.
See Event
Plastic Pollution, Gulf Hypoxia, and Water Quality
November 11, 2026St Charles, MO
Jennifer Wendt from MidAmerica Clean Future guides us through understanding regional water quality challenges.
See Event