Where'd the foam go?

Greetings from the Lake of the Ozarks! Caroline Toole, here, working with LOWA (Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance) and AmeriCorps (MO Clean Water AmeriCorps Program, hosted by MO River Communities Network (MRCN)), in service to our community!

Spring is here and so is AmerenUE’s Shoreline Cleanup. LOWA has adopted about 7 ½ miles of shoreline, weaving in and out of the coves around mile marker 7, down at the end of Lake Road 5-35. Volunteers from Sunrise Condominiums and LOWA spent a Saturday afternoon hauling large, heavy pieces of waterlogged foam, as well as all kinds of other trash and debris, off of LOZ’s shoreline. AmerenUE sponsors this event twice a year and provides coordination of volunteers, helpers, boats, dumpsters, and trash removal. Bryan Vance, AmerenUE’s Shoreline Manager for Lake of the Ozarks, commented that the encapsulated foam law has really made a large difference in the amount of foam the Shoreline Cleanup is bringing in, with only about half the amount of trash being collected this year compared to last year. LOWA’s group of 4 boats and 22 volunteers collected about 2 tons, or 25 cubic yards, of trash this year. As of the writing of this blog, the Spring 2010 Shoreline Cleanup is still in progress, so a total for the entire spring campaign is not yet in.

Great news is that the Watershed Management Plan for the Lake of the Ozarks, written by LOWA, has been approved by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency. The plan consists of background information about the region and Lake of the Ozarks, and then focuses down to more specific information and discussion about two subwatersheds within the LOZ watershed, Buck Creek HUC #102901090406 and Lick Branch HUC #102901090407. These two smaller watersheds comprise almost the first 19 miles of the Lake of the Ozarks, excluding the Gravois Arm, and are some of the most densely populated and used part of the lake. In the Watershed Management Plan (WMP), LOWA examines nutrient, bacteria, and sediment loading, their sources, and some Strategies to deal with the loading. LOWA has always taken a proactive approach to maintaining and improving the health and beauty of the Lake. LOWA’s Mission Statement is: Citizens will preserve, protect and improve the Lake of the Ozarks, its watershed and natural resources while maintaining our economic, social and environmental health.
The Strategies of the WMP include a large education and outreach component. The Education Outreach and Information element of the plan is very important for the success of the rest of the Strategies because habits, behaviors, and attitudes will be examined as citizens learn about the care of their watershed. One set of Strategies in the WMP addresses reducing the velocity and volume of stormwater runoff both with developers as well as property and home owners. A cost share incentive program for shoreline businesses and residences called LOWA LILs (Low Impact Landscaping) reimburses property owners for part of the cost of installing watershed friendly practices to reduce runoff. Such practices include rain barrels, rain gardens, terracing, and riparian buffers planted with beautiful, deep-rooted, low maintenance native plants. In fact, one of the key speakers at LOWA’s upcoming Public Meeting on April 19 at 6:30 in the Escollo Room of The Lodge of 4 Seasons at the Lake of the Ozarks is DeDe Vest from the NRCS in Springfield and associated with the Show Me Yards and Neighborhoods program to speak about Low Impact Landscaping and LOWA LILs. Come one, Come all!