JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – "E. coli" is often a dirty word at the Lake of the Ozarks. High levels of the bacteria tested in Lake waters have frequently resulted in the closure of public beaches, potentially deterring tourists and frustrating local business owners. Congressman-elect Rocky Miller, representing District 124 in the Missouri Legislature, has introduced a bill to change that.
Miller's bill – House Bill 51 – addresses what he said are excessively stringent regulations governing lake E. coli levels. "Missouri has the strictest beach closure laws in the nation," Miller said. "And after this bill, we will be tied with places like California, Iowa, and Illinois."
The problem with current law, Miller said, is it uses a one-time standard in which a single high E. coli reading results in beach closures. "[The one-time standard] is really easy to exceed," Miller said. He pointed to an average of E. coli measurements as a more helpful standard. "What's really important is the geometric mean," he said. "Our geometric mean for the Lake area is very low… in fact, we're lower than lakes in the state that people drink out of!"
Miller has taken the issue to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the department contributed to the text of the bill. He said DNR was particularly cooperative when he revealed the new bill was based on recommendations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). "DNR's been great to work with so far," Miller said. "They realize that what's going on is not a true depiction of the health of the lake or the health of their beaches, and they want to do something that's meaningful and will protect the public but not scare the public."
According to DNR's website: "It is the policy of the Department of Natural Resources to close state park beaches if E. coli levels exceed 235 [colony forming units] cfu/100 mL."
Miller's proposed bill would make specific changes to the way lake E. coli levels are regulated in Missouri:
DNR's current methods of analyzing E. coli levels would be codified. The department uses geometric mean (GM) – a "zoomed-out" month-by-month look at weekly E. coli levels – and it uses individual tests, which the bill refers to as "statistical threshold value" (STV).
Beaches that exceed maximum E. coli standards would not be shut down. Beaches that exceed the GM standard would be posted with signs stating: "Swimming is Not Recommended." Beaches that exceed the STV (one test) standard would require two additional tests. If either retest were to exceed the STV standard, the beach would be posted with signs stating "Swimming is Not Recommended." The signs would remain until tests showed levels had dropped below the standard.
The state would reserve the right to close a beach in the event of a documented health risk, for example: hazardous chemical spills or infectious disease outbreaks.
Miller summarized House Bill 51 by saying it would inform the public of elevated E. coli levels, without closing beaches.
House Bill 51 has been co-sponsored by Diane Franklin (District 123) and David Wood (District 58), both state representatives for the Lake of the Ozarks area.
The complete text of the bill can be found on the Missouri House of Representatives website.
