A lake-wide dock safety program that would require regular inspections of all private boat docks equipped with electric would be a positive move for Lake of the Ozarks.
That’s the conclusion of several officials contacted last month after Angela Anderson filed a wrongful death suit against Ameren. Her two children were electrocuted last year while swimming near a dock. In the suit, Anderson claims that the power company failed to notify dock owners of the need to install ground fault interrupters which prevent shocks. A hearing on Ameren’s motion to dismiss the suit is set for Sept. 12.
In the meantime, the officials agreed that although Ameren spokespeople and they themselves have discussed dock safety at numerous town hall meetings; stories about electrocutions and the importance of regular electrical inspections have run in newspapers and on radio and TV; and information is posted on Ameren’s website at www.amerenmissouri.com/lake, they know that some still choose not to comply – or don’t realize that they should. The men agreed on something else too – that even though there are several lakes in Missouri that allow docks with electricity, if state legislators pushed for a law requiring regular inspections, it probably wouldn’t have much support and wouldn’t make it out of committee. That’s why they all stated that a Lake-wide push to make the Lake’s 24,000-plus docks safer needed to be a grassroots effort.
Donna Swall, executive director of the Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance (LOWA) said although she would have to first run the idea by her board of directors and they would have to thoroughly research the idea before committing, she said she felt a dock safety program certainly fell within their bailiwick.
“I don’t think there’s a person at the Lake that isn’t concerned about electrical safety – especially with the tragedies that occurred last year. And I agree – it should be a grassroots movement, rather than something that comes through lawmakers. I think the public cares about the safety of our Lake and by educating them and creating set standards that could be implemented Lake-wide, I believe we could get the community on board with it,” she said.
During its investigation, the Missouri State Water Patrol found that in the July 4, 2012 deaths of Ashland siblings Alexandra, 13, and Brayden Anderson, 8, the dock did not have a GFCI. The Water Patrol cited faulty wiring in an incident three days later when Jennifer Lankford, 26, of Hazelwood, was electrocuted after touching another private dock in Dry Branch Cove. Earlier in the year, thanks to quick-thinking witnesses, three other swimmers survived electric shock on a dock without a GFCI and in a similar situation in June 2012 two children and one adult were shocked as they swam near a dock near the 5 mile mark of the Osage.
Jim Doyle, fire marshal with the Lake Ozark Fire Protection District, said the incidents are proof positive that something has to be done and done quickly because the docks put on the Lake before 2006, when electrical safety standards were added, were doing nothing but further deteriorating.
“Nobody in their right mind would hook up an extension cord, plug in their hairdryer and then go sit in the bathtub with it,” he said. “However, you’d be surprised at the number of people who think it’s ok to run an extension cord to their dock, draping it through tree branches along the way, to power up their radios, refrigerators, blenders and what-have-you. You would also think that people would want to protect themselves and their families from obvious danger but instead of calling a qualified electrician, many people who have no electrical background at all decide to save a few bucks and jury-rig their docks. Unfortunately, there’s currently not much that can be done about it.”
He said the worst part was that one homeowner could do everything right by hiring a certified electrician to wire the dock and then regularly inspecting it to make sure weather and wave action hadn’t caused problems. However, that owner’s children or grandchildren could still be electrocuted by the next door neighbor’s dock if that neighbor improperly wired his or her dock or allowed an extension cord or appliance to fall into the water. Robert Davis, chief building inspector for the Village of Four Seasons, said a lake-wide measure could also bring uniformity to the process.
“We all go through the same training and follow the basic guidelines but each jurisdiction can choose to enforce different portions in different ways, which makes it more difficult for everyone – especially the electricians – who are called to get the docks up to code. The guidelines need to be the same throughout the Lake,” he said. Further complicating matters, Doyle said codes aren’t in place Lake-wide. The Lake Ozark, Rocky Mount, Osage Beach, Mid-County, Northwest, Sunrise Beach fire protection districts; the city of Camdenton; and the Village of Four Seasons require a permit and inspection when installing or modifying a dock and any time work is being performed on the electrical system of a dock. In July, the Osage Beach district adopted an ordinance that also requires inspections on docks transferred due to the sale of real estate. However, some areas aren’t served by tax-supported fire districts and others that are, don’t have code enforcement.
Gravois Mills Fire Protection District is one such district.
“We formed a fire prevention bureau with a long-range plan to adopt codes to both protect the safety of our firefighters and our homeowners – and dock inspections would fall into those categories. What’s kept us from doing that is nothing more than economics. We don’t have the funds that would be needed to hire and train an inspector because our department is strictly tax supported and when the economy tanked, our opportunities to expand our services went down with it,” Gravois Mills Fire Chief Ed Hancock explained, adding that even if they did adopt codes, they would have no authority to randomly inspect docks. “We need the four counties surrounding the Lake to get together and adopt ordinances that would set some standards of what will and won’t be allowed, and they need to adopt a schedule – maybe require inspections every five years. If the counties didn’t have the manpower, they could contract with the fire departments to conduct the inspections.” However, Camden County Presiding Commission Kris Franken said he wasn’t sure that legislation coming at residents from the county level would be any better received than legislation coming from the state level. “Theoretically, it’s a great idea. If we could get all four counties to adopt an ordinance and sign an agreement that could be implemented Lake wide, I think it would be good for everyone – and I’m certainly willing to have that conversation. However, I really think this move needs to be driven by public pressure,” he said. Ed Nicholson, fire marshal for the Osage Fire Protection District, said he’s felt all along that the program needed to be a community effort.
“I don’t know how many people remember this, but that’s how the dock foam issue started. People were upset with the mess that the old white, orange and blue foam was making and worked with Ameren to come up with a solution. It’s been highly successful and well received by the community because everyone could see the benefit. I think a dock safety program could be just as successful,” he said.
Bryan Vance, field coordinator for Ameren Shoreline Management, said discussions began in the mid 1990’s and the Adopt-the-Shoreline Advisory Board made the recommendations to ban non-encapsulated flotation in 2001.
The Lake of the Ozarks Business Journal provided this news story to LakeExpo.com for republication. For a hard copy, pick up The Lake of the Ozarks Business Journal at newsstands across the Lake area. The Lake of the Ozarks Business Journal is a respected monthly news magazine providing accurate, relevant news and information to area readers.
