Teacher says he warned about E. Coli 5 years ago

True, much of the response stemmed from the fact that the information was withheld until July by state officials, some of whom may have believed that the revelation would hurt business at the lake during the first holiday of the summer.

After disciplinary action involving the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and other workers, Gov. Jay Nixon in September announced plans to target businesses and other entities contributing to pollution in the central Missouri lake.

Area residents who were splashing around in streams and rivers in Jasper County about the same time probably were not aware that local waters had levels of E. coli bacteria just as high as those that, according to the state, should have closed the beaches at Lake of the Ozarks.

In fact, all but two of the 21 sites sampled by the Jasper County Health Department on May 28, three days after Memorial Day, had E. coli levels that exceeded those that state standards deem as suitable for swimming.

Three sites on Center Creek - at High Street in Sarcoxie, at Cedar Road and County Road 180, and on County Road 110 - had bacteria levels more than 10 times the state standard for swimming. Sites on Spring River in and near Carthage were nearly that high. In fact, sampling at 18 different times during the summer showed levels above state standards about half the time at the 21 testing sites.

Elevated E. coli levels often are found after heavy rains due to runoff, and heavy rains were cited as a factor in the test results locally and at Lake of the Ozarks. High levels of the bacteria indicate the presence of microorganisms that increase the risk for illness. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever; minor swimming illnesses include ear, eye, nose and throat infections.

The state's response at Lake of the Ozarks was an announcement that there would be a new zero-tolerance policy for polluting the lake, along with a comprehensive study of water quality, testing for E. coli, pesticide and petroleum pollution, and an evaluation of about 400 operations near the lake that have wastewater permits. Since then, at least two housing associations have been referred to Missouri's attorney general for enforcement action targeting improper operation of wastewater treatment systems.

Concerns about elevated E. coli levels in local waterways were raised more than five years ago when a stream team at Carthage High School began sampling for the bacteria. High levels were detected immediately, but the testing drew no reaction from local officials or the state, said Wayne Christian, a CHS science teacher who sponsored the student team.

"We tried to get their attention, but I don't think anyone really gave a damn," he said. "We went to great lengths to establish our testing program, but I never got the impression anyone was interested in the results. They would have preferred that we just picked up trash."

Christian's group also discussed test results with members of the Jasper County Commission, and called for warnings to be posted at swimming sites when bacteria levels were high. No signs were ever posted.

"I thought we were doing that, and I think we ought to follow up," said John Bartosh, presiding county commissioner.

Posting of waterways still is under discussion, but some reservations have been raised that the program might be too costly, or that changes in water conditions might make it too difficult to keep up if there were a number of posting sites, said Steve McKarus, an environmental health services supervisor for the Jasper County Health Department.

The department in 2007 started doing its own stream sampling, and it posts test results on its Web site each week, he added.

Agencies that have information about high bacteria levels in water used for recreation need to be sharing it somehow, said Ken Midkiff, chairman of the Missouri Clean Water Campaign for the Sierra Club. If there is a good outcome from the Lake of the Ozarks debacle, he said, it will be "that people will do a better job of telling the public when waters are unhealthy."

"What's needed are physical signs at public access points saying people should avoid contact with the water," he said. "A lot of people don't have the Internet."

Testing by the Carthage High School stream team and later by the county Health Department has led to the designation of parts of local streams, including Spring River, as "impaired." Since then, work has started on a watershed management plan that looks at water quality problems and how pollution can be reduced. The plan could open the way for state and federal funds for those projects.

Midkiff said the number of streams impaired by bacteria has gone up dramatically and probably will continue to do so as population growth leads to more runoff.

The Spring River plan started with a meeting to get residents' comments on the waterway. A volunteer committee is working with members of the Health Department on the plan. The draft will be submitted to the DNR. McKarus said DNR officials are helping with its development.

He said the plan will recommend practices aimed at reducing pollution in the waterway, including addressing problems with septic systems near the river and building ponds to get cattle out of waterways. Federal funds are available for both programs, he said.

"After we finish the draft, we'll be showing it to the public," McKarus said. "We started small, with this part through Carthage and on either side. Once we address that, the plan is to keep moving up and down the stream and take care of the whole watershed."

McKarus said there was no expectation that E. coli levels in Jasper County would evoke from the state a response similar to that at Lake of the Ozarks.

"That's a different area and a different situation," he said. "We hope we don't have to do some of the things they've done up there. We want to work with homeowners and landowners to address the problem."

Renee Bungart, a DNR spokeswoman, said the agency is reviewing Spring River testing results as part of the work on the watershed management plan.

"We just now have all the combined results; we weren't getting real-time data," she said. "We are giving them guidance and assistance on a management plan that's needed for grant funding."