Lake of the Ozarks State Park 2009 Beach Sampling
The Division of State Parks, a division of DNR, operates public beaches at 15 state parks throughout Missouri, including two beaches at Lake of the Ozarks State Park. In 2003, the Department of Natural Resources began monitoring water quality at state park swimming beaches for fecal coliform. In 2004, the department switched to E.coli as the indicator after obtaining new technology.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control states: “Escherichia coli (abbreviated as E. coli) are a large and diverse group of bacteria. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless, others can cause illness. Some kinds of E. coli can cause diarrhea, while others cause urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia and other illnesses. Still other kinds of E. coli are used as markers for water contamination—so you might hear about E. coli being found in drinking water, which indicate the water is contaminated.”
Data gathered at state park beaches was analyzed two ways. First, results were compared to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's single-sample recommendation of 235 E. coli colonies per 100 milliliters of water for public swimming beaches. A 30-day geometric mean was also analyzed and that value compared to the standard of 126 colonies per 100 milliliters of water, the Missouri Water Quality Standard for whole-body contact during the months of April through October. Both values are used to determine whether a beach should be closed..
Public Beach #1
2009 beach #1 sampling data CSV
Public Beach #2