My year with AmeriCorps partnering with LOWA has been extraordinarily busy with a diverse group of clean water activities and events. July was no exception. From spreading the word about LOWA LILs (LIL stands for Low Impact Landscaping and LILs are measures individuals can undertake to reduce the amount of runoff reaching a body of water), to preparing to host the Attorney General’s Symposium on water quality at the Lake and preparing for a dam-to-dam paddle race for marathon kayakers and everyday folk, LOWA is reaching out to people from a variety of perspectives about the need for healthy watersheds.
Across our nation, stormwater runoff is the number one ‘pollutant’ reaching bodies of water. Here at the Lake of the Ozarks, controlling runoff is probably the most important action citizens and municipalities can take for the lake. With funding, LOWA hopes to implement a cost-share program to give property owners incentive to install measures to catch that runoff and, at the same time, help replenish the area’s aquifer and beautify their homes and business! What a win-win situation, and money back, to boot! LOWA LILs are custom fitted to the challenging lake shore properties we find here at the Lake of the Ozarks. In addition, LOWA is partnering with Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists to help out in the LOWA LIL program!
Those challenging lake shore properties will also be the focus of an upcoming Symposium from the MO Attorney General’s office in mid-August. The lands surrounding the Lake of the Ozarks, similar to other lake shores in the Missouri Ozarks, typically have very steep slopes with only a thin veneer of soil. Lake lots are typically small, with not enough room for the setbacks and easements needed for a properly functioning septic tank, not to mention the lack of soil. In addition, many of these lots simply do not have enough space to ensure their drinking water well remains uncontaminated. Many condominiums, subdivisions, and small property owners associations do have their own permitted facilities, but some of these facilities are not being effectively managed; most of these property owners do not want to spend their vacation time at the lake managing their wastewater facility and most do not have the knowledge and skills to manage such a facility effectively. One of the beauties of the DNR/LOZ E. coli Cove Study (yes, the same study that caused such a stir May of 2009 when a very heavy rain produced a spike in the E. coli samples taken that time) is that this study can spot a permitted facility that is not up to par and the facility can then be fixed. That cove study, by the way, was only intended to be a baseline study, not a health risk study; and until this season, a red flag standard of 126 MPN/100 mL was used. This season (2010), the standard for a single grab sample of 235 MPN/100 mL is being used as the standard and only 3 sites have tested high so far; and on retesting, those sites went back down and have stayed low. One of LOWA’s big projects has been to work towards a regionalized, coordinated approach to the treatment of wastewater at the lake. The Attorney General’s Symposium will be a big boost to that goal.
And finally, the 2 Dam Days marathon kayak race and the accompanying Just For Fun Paddlers event will both showcase a Clean Water Festival highlighting the need for a healthy watershed if we want to keep a healthy lake! These events will take place the weekend of September 25 and 26, 2010, after most of the big power boats have left the Lake’s waters. Friday evening, September 24, will see live entertainment and booths at the community center in Warsaw to sign up the contestants and then these marathon paddlers will take off at 7 am from around the 91.5 mile marker at Drake Harbor in Warsaw (home to Truman Dam) to end up Saturday night (by 7 pm!) at Captain Ron’s near the 34.5 mile marker in Sunrise Beach. Captain Ron’s will also host the 2 Dam Days Clean Water Festival with booths, food, and live entertainment on Saturday. Then the racers will take off at 7am Sunday to sprint 34 miles to Bagnell Dam and the finish line at Iguana Watersports. With more festivities showcasing Clean Water, the Bagnell Dam Association of businesses will host the Awards Ceremony and more booths, food, and live entertainment on Sunday.
On Saturday, also, the Just For Fun Clean Water event will take off as canoes and kayaks paddle furiously (or not so furiously; this is, after all, just for fun) from Halfway Inn, around the 48 mile marker, to Captain Ron’s where all will join in the Clean Water Festival in progress! Participants in the Just For Fun event will all be in a drawing for a new kayak (donated by Oz Cycles and Kayaks) and other door prizes. Participants in the 2 Dam Days marathon race will be vying for the largest purse offered marathon kayakers in the country and the only race to make the women’s purse equal to the men’s purse! Cash prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place Saturday and Sunday in all divisions. Top Paddle will receive an extra $1000 and have their name engraved on a plaque to be displayed at Captain Ron’s in perpetuity. 2 Dam Days will showcase the Lake of the Ozarks and its beautiful watershed as a Clean Water Festival! For more information on either of these events, please go to the LOWA website at www.sosLOWA.org and click on 2 Dam Days, go directly to www.2damdays.org, or call LOWA at 573 374 8360.
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