Greetings from the Lake of the Ozarks. I'm Caroline Toole and I'll be LOWA's Clean Water America AmeriCorps volunteer for the 2009-2010 season. (Volunteer seems to be a bit of a misnomer since we are getting paid at least something.)
But anyway, here I am at my desk in the first ever official LOWA office, in Laurie, MO, the west-end of the Lake of the Ozarks (LOZ). LOWA is the Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance (http://www.soslowa.org/) and we are poised on the brink to really take off after 3 years of successful projects. On little to no funding and by using and abusing volunteers, LOWA has managed to write a few small grants that funded some highly successful Pump-Out Programs which met their goal of serving to educate local watershed landowners on the necessity of pumping out their septic tanks on a regular basis and then offering a discount with a reputable local septic pump-out company. LOWA tried to hit all 4 counties surrounding the Lake of the Ozarks in spite of funding shortfalls. LOWA also created a Designated Captain’s Program, that was later blended with LOZ's Water Safety Council. and helps out MDNR on an E. coli cove testing project (different from the testing for the public beaches). LOWA has produced 3 different brochures and holds regular, informative meetings for the public. Right now, LOWA is working hard (and the reason for my spot at the desk) on writing their WMP - Watershed Management Plan (focused on 2 of the 12-digit HUC’s surrounding the Osage Beach area of LOZ). This first month with LOWA has been quite the learning curve as I get exposed to so many aspects of running a watershed group. We have been consulting with several state and federal agencies, including MDNR, to write our first WPM and the task is monstrous. LOWA will get this finished and submitted in time to then turn around and write grants to fund our upcoming projects. In spite of public perception around the Midwest, the Lake of the Ozarks is actually in pretty good shape and is really quite clean, for a lake. LOWA’s mission is to keep the Lake of the Ozarks healthy, be proactive in problems facing the Lake, and be ready for anything the future might throw our way. I'm looking forward to a great year and hope to hope to bring rain gardens and rain barrels to the Lake of the Ozarks.
But anyway, here I am at my desk in the first ever official LOWA office, in Laurie, MO, the west-end of the Lake of the Ozarks (LOZ). LOWA is the Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance (http://www.soslowa.org/) and we are poised on the brink to really take off after 3 years of successful projects. On little to no funding and by using and abusing volunteers, LOWA has managed to write a few small grants that funded some highly successful Pump-Out Programs which met their goal of serving to educate local watershed landowners on the necessity of pumping out their septic tanks on a regular basis and then offering a discount with a reputable local septic pump-out company. LOWA tried to hit all 4 counties surrounding the Lake of the Ozarks in spite of funding shortfalls. LOWA also created a Designated Captain’s Program, that was later blended with LOZ's Water Safety Council. and helps out MDNR on an E. coli cove testing project (different from the testing for the public beaches). LOWA has produced 3 different brochures and holds regular, informative meetings for the public. Right now, LOWA is working hard (and the reason for my spot at the desk) on writing their WMP - Watershed Management Plan (focused on 2 of the 12-digit HUC’s surrounding the Osage Beach area of LOZ). This first month with LOWA has been quite the learning curve as I get exposed to so many aspects of running a watershed group. We have been consulting with several state and federal agencies, including MDNR, to write our first WPM and the task is monstrous. LOWA will get this finished and submitted in time to then turn around and write grants to fund our upcoming projects. In spite of public perception around the Midwest, the Lake of the Ozarks is actually in pretty good shape and is really quite clean, for a lake. LOWA’s mission is to keep the Lake of the Ozarks healthy, be proactive in problems facing the Lake, and be ready for anything the future might throw our way. I'm looking forward to a great year and hope to hope to bring rain gardens and rain barrels to the Lake of the Ozarks.
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