National Fish Habitat Partnership

H2Ozarks (formerly Table Rock Lake Water Quality Inc.) partnered with the Missouri Department of Conservation through the National Fish Habitat Partnership to improve water quality and fish habitat in the Table Rock Lake watershed. Our role in this project was to continue our popular septic tank pump-out and education program. We provided participants with expert consultations and a $50 rebate for completing a septic pump-out.

Over the project’s lifetime, the program reached more than 2,000 residents, in part thanks to the collaboration of the James River Basin Partnership. Additional funding from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources helped replace over 70 failing septic systems.

Collectively, these efforts were estimated to prevent 550 pounds of nitrogen and 120 pounds of phosphorus from entering the lake and its tributaries each year—nutrients that could have otherwise fueled the growth of up to 12,000 pounds of blue-green algae annually, potentially harming fish by creating low-oxygen conditions in isolated coves.

This work also laid the foundation for long-term impact. The success of the program helped us secure further funding for additional septic system replacements and supported the creation of a revolving loan fund for on-site wastewater treatment systems in the Upper White River watershed, which we also administer.

https://fishhabitat.org/waters-to-watch/detail/table-rock-lake-missouri-2012