Quality of Shoreline

The Lake of the Ozarks is known as a boaters lake for many reasons, but the one taken for granted most often is the quality of shoreline. With few exceptions The Lake offers a consistent and uniform grade to shore, allowing boaters to confidently navigate nearly every square foot of lake. But how did the lake become this way?

The Perfect Shoreline

New Roundabout for W and Business 54

This is great news for the area.  MODOT will be constructing a new roundabout for the intersection of Hwy W and Business 54 starting tonight.  This intersection has been a source of many accidents, thankfully none fatal, over the past five years and is very confusing.  The roundabout will slow things down for everyone, but should dramatically reduce, if not eliminate accidents.  Construction is supposed to be completed by Tuesday.

Update:  Now that the new "turnstile" has been in use for a few weeks I think MODoT needs to expand the roundabout even larger.  The problem is that the circle is so small that it is difficult to establish right of way easily.  Most roundabouts are large enough that yielding to traffic already in the circle is obvious and intuitive. When small like this it reverts back to something more like a stop sign intersection.

Is Your Dock Electrically Safe?

Updated: ESD and Your Dock

Nothing fires up action in local government quite like having to take responsibility for a lack of adherence to safety standards that results in a death.  After 3 deaths in 2012 due to faulty electrical wiring, both Osage Beach, Village of Four Seasons, and Lake Ozark have made changes in local ordinances regarding dock wiring.  All docks must now conform to National Electrical Code standards and be inspected before Ameren will grant a new dock permit or when property ownership changes.  Both the Osage Beach and Lake Ozark Fire Department Districts provide the inspection for a fee.

Electricity and water are always a tricky combination, and water soaked skin makes for a near perfect conductor, but proper design and installation of a dock's electrical system can mitigate the risk to acceptable levels.  I encourage all property owners to have their dock wiring inspected and certified regardless of whether or not it is required and, if found deficient, have a certified electrician do the work. It is not enough to know basic wiring and common sense to wire up your dock anymore.

For instance, many docks have, and are now required to have, a shoreline over current protection (fuse, or circuit breaker) or disconnect device located on-shore to disconnect main power to the dock, but what is not commonly known is that this device must be within six feet of the ramp AND a minimum of 42" above the ramp walkway, or no lower than 665' elevation.  Currently, it is very common to see dock disconnect junction boxes set only a few inches above the ground, although most are within 6' of the ramp.  A thorough understanding of electrical bonding is also needed as all metal parts of a dock must now be connected to ground.  There are commercial systems available designed to monitor for leakage current in the water, but these are NOT required, and unnecessary if the wiring is to code.  The many requirements of the NEC are beyond most weekend-wire-nuts like me to know and implement properly, but there is no law in saying you have to have a licensed electrician do the work.  Just don't complain when you have to pay to have it re-inspected several times to bring it to compliance or even start from scratch.  Wiring is expensive and getting it wrong can be very costly.

Ameren does not provide inspections but they do provide some insight into what you can expect.
Dock Expanded Electrical Requirements (PDF) (2019 Note: This is an archival version from the date of this post. An updated version is available here).

As property owners we have a responsibility to our families, and our neighbors, to keep the lake as safe as possible for everyone.

Low Water. A Kayak's POV

You can easily see the summer waterline on the left

Have toy, will retrieve.  Where's the water?

A Lot of Dead Fish

There's always a few dead fish floating around the lake in winter but this year there seems to be a bumper crop.  This is due primarily to the cold and not disease or pollution according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.  I've noticed a few extra shad locked in the ice myself and only hoping the crappie have faired well over the season.

Cold exacerbates fish kills

2017 Update - The above post was in 2014 when the fish kill was due to an exceptionally cold winter. The March 2017 kill off, which affected catfish, walleye, and crappie has been attributed to a likely combination of bacteria, spawning and increased lake temperatures but is still under investigation. An additional kill of in May targeted paddlefish and is primarily attributed to the excessive water flow from Truman Dam during the flooding.  Paddlefish were basically beaten to death flowing through the dam turbines.

Lake Expo Article

Not Saving the "Captain Larry Don"

The story is getting out that the “Captain Larry Don” partially sank this week, presumably a victim of the harsh winter, and although her condition is stable her fate is far from decided.  The rumor is that she will be scrapped rather than repaired and reconditioned as part of Beaver’s at the Dam.  Since foundering, there has been some local support from business owners such as Johnny Alles, and the Lake News Sun Leader, attempting to rally grass roots interest and, more importantly, money to repair her.  The effort isn't so much to save a specific boat as much as a piece of the Lake of the Ozarks history, but there seems to be little support for the idea at this time, and it is probably for the best.

The vessel was always something of a work in progress, hobbled together from pieces since its beginnings and modified throughout its life.  So exactly which “Captain Larry Don” are we trying to save here?

Her design was always function over form, an excursion boat designed to maximize viewing of the Lake by as many paying customers as possible.  With a current capacity for 240 souls, at only 65 feet iconic or not, she was purpose built to make money, not to be a landmark.  Although I agree the “Captain Larry Don” is a part of the Lake’s history, I believe saving her is a waste of resources.

What is it that we think this vessel represents exactly? An editorial comment made by the Lake Sun Leader staff in support of saving the "Captain Larry Don" touches on the answer, and the identity problem happening in the region.

“Too much of the lake’s heritage has slowly been dismantled over the years as history has given way to commerce and gigantic condo projects in the name of progress. The Casino Pier, the Larry Don and the Commander are truly icons and represent a simpler time when families came to the lake and The Strip to be families.”

Everyone is nostalgic, and no one more than me when it comes to the Lake, but you are not going to recapture anything by repairing that overgrown barge.  The Lake of the Ozarks, like any tourist area, must evolve to stay competitive with other attraction based destinations. Real estate has been the driving force of commerce in recent decades not tourism. We need to be honest with ourselves about this reality.  The real problem isn't the condominiums, or the presence of franchised corporate businesses, it is our lack of vision for the future and the solidarity of local leadership that is failing us.  The “Captain Larry Don” had her day, and made money for her owner who had the vision to create her.  Let us have new ideas, and new vision to focus our resources on rather than resurrecting meaningless icons.

Osage River Levels Fluctuate Wildly

Update:  This post has generated a lot of interest.  A more in depth analysis of the event is here.

The cold temperatures are creating energy demands and Ameren UE is making hay while the sun shines generating power at Bagnell Dam.  While deepening the annual draw down on the lake, river levels below the dam have peaked and crested over ten feet at least five times since midnight February 4th, 2014.  I've kayaked this river from Bagnell Dam, ten feet is a dramatic difference on riverside property in some areas.  Changes this deep, this rapidly are difficult to imagine.

Ameren Data

Discharge rates provided by the US Geological Service confirms power generation.