News Release 566

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES FINDS
NO DAMAGE IN LAKE OZARK WASTEWATER RELEASE

Volume 35-566

Contact: Larry Archer

(For immediate release)

573-751-3807

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 4, 2007 -- A 20,000 gallon wastewater release into the Osage River at Lake Ozark Monday evening should have no long-term environmental impact, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Staff from the department's Lake Ozark Satellite Office today inspected the site where crews from the Lake Ozark Public Works Department were forced to pump an estimated 20,000 gallons of wastewater into the river to expose and repair a leaking wastewater pipe.

The release occurred while Bagnell Dam was in a period of heavy electrical generation, increasing the flow of water into the Osage River, diluting the wastewater and diminishing the environmental impact.

The city contacted the department's 24-hour spill line on Monday to report a leak in a pipe that carries wastewater from a pump station to the city's wastewater treatment plant and discuss the need to pump water from the site of the leak to the river. Once the leak was exposed, the pipe was repaired within an hour.

The department's 24-hour spill line receives more than 1,600 incident reports annually. The department's Environmental Emergency Response unit is called to the scene of more than 300 emergencies each year, including fires, traffic accidents, leaking storage tanks and other incidents that could have a negative environmental impact.

To report an environmental emergency, including fuel spills, please contact the spill line at
573-634-2436. For more information contact the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at
800-361-4827 or 573-751-3443, or visit the department's Web page at www.dnr.mo.gov.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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