Contact: Ernie Blazar 202-224-7627 Shana Stribling 224-0309
Saturday, December 8, 2001

KIMBERLING CITY MO – Senator Kit Bond today announced that Table Rock Lake will receive $2 million in federal funding for a decentralized wastewater treatment technology demonstration project. Bond was successful in securing these funds in the fiscal 2002 Veterans, Housing and Urban Development spending bill.

“Reversing pollution in Table Rock Lake is vital to restoring its pristine beauty,” said Bond. “The $2 million in federal funding I am announcing today will go a long way toward protecting the local environment.”

The federal funds for Table Rock Lake will be used for technology demonstrations, planning, development of management standards and education and outreach. The project will provide the framework and technology solutions necessary for area leaders to effectively implement long-term wastewater treatment and management. As a pioneering program that brings together national experts and local leaders, the Table Rock Lake Wastewater Initiative will serve as a nationwide model of providing decentralized wastewater solutions to meet local needs.

Since the completion of Table Rock Dam and Powerhouse in 1958, Table Rock Lake has been a popular tourism draw in southwest Missouri. Once considered one of the cleanest lakes in the United States, Table Rock Lake’s water quality has steadily declined in the past decade. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ water quality studies have shown that the deterioration is primarily due to unregulated wastewater being discharged into the watershed. Without treatment, the environmental and economic interests in the area will continue to be further compromised.

Bond has long been an advocate for a common-sense approach to conserving land and safeguarding the environment for our families and communities. In both fiscal years 1999 and 2000, Bond secured funding for water treatment in southwest Missouri. The money for Table Rock Lake is part of Bond’s continued commitment to the goal of clean water.

“The water quality of Table Rock Lake is just as important as Boston Harbor or San Francisco Bay. Small communities like those around Table Rock Lake pay their share of federal taxes to Washington and deserve to have that money put to work for them just like big cities,” said Bond.