Lake of the Ozarks group says simple landscaping could help hold down E.coli levels

October 26, 2010|by Jay Scherder, KY3 News | jscherder@ky3.com

SUNRISE BEACH, Mo. -- At the Lake of the Ozarks, when it rains, it pours. When it does pour, it usually contains E. coli bacteria. A fix to the problem could be as simple as some new landscaping.

The Lake of the Ozarks is a place to boat, lie in the sun, and play in the water. Playing in the water isn't always a good idea if it rained the night before.

"One of the key things I think we've learned is, in a hard rain, numbers can get high," said Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance executive director Donna Swall.

Heavy rain brings storm water. That storm water brings E. coli into the lake.

"If you can see water shooting off your bank, over the seawall into the lake, that's a problem," said Swall.

The Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance thinks part of the problem can be solved with some simple landscaping.

"It will be challenging. There are going to be some steep hills, a lot of rocks, and we're going to figure out how to get through that," said Swall.

It's called Low Impact Landscaping and it can stop storm water from going into the lake. The alliance is helping spearhead the effort to get homes down at the lake to jump on board.

"There's almost no maintenance, so you can come down and get out on the boat," said Swall.

A local nursery is helping out, giving big discounts to those willing to help the lake become a little cleaner.

Even with the low impact landscaping, another problem remains on the horizon.

"We have to have a long-term plan and we do need a long-term plan, and we're working on that to get septic tanks off the lake."

The septic tank issue isn't going away. Four counties in the area are attempting to form an alliance. Once that happens, they can possibly move forward to hooking up all homes to a wastewater system and get rid of the septic tanks. Some are more than 50 years old.

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