Inventory and Assessment for the Lamine River Watershed The
Lamine River Basin is located in West Central Missouri in
Benton, Johnson, Morgan, Moniteau, Saline and Cooper counties.
The Lamine River originates at the confluence of Richland and
Flat Creeks in northern Morgan County, and flows 50 miles
northward through Cooper County to its confluence with the
Blackwater River. The Lamine River above its confluence with
Blackwater River is a sixth order stream with an area of 1080
square miles. The Lamine River Basin is a rural watershed. The
largest community in the watershed is Sedalia with a population
of about 20,000. The area was settled by European immigrants
shortly after the return of the Lewis and Clark expedition in
1804. Early descriptions of the basin indicate forests occurred
along the stream valleys and steeper slopes leading to prairies
on uplands. As the land was changed to agricultural use,
sediment became a major pollutant affecting the river's
ecosystem. Approximately one half of the watershed