News for Release: Friday, July 20, 2007
 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
 
Know A Water Efficiency Leader?
 
Contact Information: (Media only) Dale Kemery, (202) 564-4355 / kemery.dale@epa.gov
(All other inquiries) Bob Rose, (202) 564-0322 / rose.bob@epa.gov
 
(Washington, DC – July 20, 2007) EPA is accepting nominations for the 2007 Water Efficiency Leader (WEL) Awards to recognize organizations and individuals that demonstrate leadership and innovation in water efficient- products and practices. Winners will be chosen by a panel of national water experts and based on three criteria: leadership, innovation, and water saved.
 
"Ben Franklin said: ‘We know the wealth of water when the well runs dry’.” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. “EPA's WEL program taps into that wisdom and spreads the word about water efficiency leadership to protect precious resources and cut water waste."
 
The Water Efficiency Leader Awards help foster a nationwide ethic of water efficiency, which is critical to the growing U.S. economy and quality of life. Water and energy are closely linked. An example of this is that running a hot water faucet for five minutes consumes as much energy as using a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours.
 
The importance of water efficiency also is reflected in WaterSense, a voluntary partnership begun by EPA to educate consumers about making smart water choices that save money and maintain high environmental standards without compromising performance. Nominations are being accepted until August 17, 2007. It is anticipated that the winners will be announced in late fall 2007.


For more information and to enter award nominations go to: http://epa.gov/water/wel/2007_application_process.html

Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.

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uly  18, DNR News Release

Jennifer Alexander/OD/MODNR

07/18/2007 02:33 PM

To

modnr-news@mail.mo.gov

cc

Victoria Lovejoy/SWRO/FSD/MODNR@MODNR, Larry Archer/ADMIN/FSD/MODNR@MODNR, Sarah McMichael/WPCP/DEQ/MODNR@MODNR, dlieb@ap.org, kwiese@ap.org

Subject

Missouri Department of Natural Resources News Release 302, Department Finds 61 of 62 Lake of the Ozarks Water Samples Below E. Coli Limits

 

 

 







      Volume 35        302        Victoria Lovejoy
      (For immediate release)        (417) 891-4380



MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES FINDS 61 OF 62
LAKE OF THE OZARKS WATER SAMPLES BELOW E. COLI LIMITS



JEFFERSON CITY, MO, JULY 18, 2007 -- Recent bacteria testing of water in the Lake of the Ozarks found 61 of the 62 samples safe for swimming and other whole body contact recreation, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
        The test samples, the third in a series of six monthly samplings that began in May and will run through October, were taken July 9. Through the first three months of testing 97.2 percent of the water samples taken found E. coli bacteria within acceptable limits.
        "Because of the number of samples we've collected, to have such a small percentage over the standard has been good news considering the amount of development in that area of the lake," said Randy Niemeyer, an environmental specialist with the Department of Natural Resources.
        The only sample found to have E. coli bacteria at levels above the standard set for swimming and other whole body contact recreation was taken at Cove 009, located between Cherokee Road and Kays Point Road. The Cove 009 sample had E. coli bacteria at nearly twice the level considered safe for swimming, but less than half of the levels found when the same area was tested on May 29.
        The two remaining samples that did not meet the standard for E.coli on May 29, both located in the Jennings Branch Cove, were well within those limits on July 9. The first dropped from nearly seven times over the standard to less than 10 percent of the standard. The second site went from 14 percent over the standard to less than 3 percent of the standard.
        The second set of samples, which was taken June 11, found only one sample out of 57 that did not meet the standard. That sample, which was taken at the McCoy Branch Cove, showed E.coli concentrations of just less than twice the standard.
The Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with the Department of Conservation, Ameren UE and the Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance, is testing 28 coves from Bagnell Dam to the Community Bridge over a six-month period this year.  Alliance volunteers trained to do such sampling have nearly doubled the number of sites that can be sampled, Niemeyer said.
"You have people who live on the lake who care about it and who make the effort to do this monitoring," he said.
Fourteen coves are sampled each month.  Ameren is paying $15,000 per year for the five-year study.  When completed, the water testing will include coves from Bagnell Dam to Truman Dam.
Samples will be taken again on Aug. 6, Sept. 4 and Oct. 9. The sampling protocol is arranged so that odd-numbered coves are sampled in odd-numbered months, even-numbered coves in even-numbered months.
E. coli is a bacteria found in the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals. Frequently associated with faulty septic tanks or sewer systems, E. coli can cause gastrointestinal illness.
Water sample test result data are online at www.lmvp.org/LOWA/ecoli.htm.  A link to the data can also be accessed through LOWA's Web site, www.soslowa.org.
For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.


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