Over the next sixth months, a Camdenton-based engineer will gather information from more than 550 property owners in Camden County as part of the Lake of the Ozarks Council of Governments' (LOCLG) grant-funded sewer line extension feasibility study in the Camelot Estates Sewer District.
At a public meeting Tuesday, LOCLG Executive Director Linda Conner and Dick Tuttle, vice president of Cochran Engineering, discussed the purpose of the feasibility study, which is to understand the current capacity of the Camelot Estates sewer treatment plant and identify future potential of the plant. Conner also said the study will determine the number of customers the plant can serve without extending its capacity.
The Camden County Commission received a $113,800 grant through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to cover the study's expense, which amounts to 100 percent of the cost at no cost to customers, homeowners or taxpayers.
"The current customer base (for the sewer treatment plant) already has 550 residential uses," she said. "However, we are looking at if it could add 545 residential and 24 condo units."
Connor said of those units identified, 378 are lakefront properties, which is the primary focus.
"The ones we are looking at mostly are not connected to a centralized (sewer) system," she said. "Some have their own septic system and others are connected to a small package sewer plant, serving a cluster of homes."
For the study, Conner said Cochran Engineering will gather information by contacting each of the individual homeowners to find out what sewer system they currently use and see what could be converted to a possible centralized system.
"The goal is to maximize the use of that plant, potentially lower the rate for all users in the district and determine how much it is to connect additional homes and expand the district," Conner said. "We are simply tasked to do the study and gather the information; we are not making any decisions on if and how a centralized sewer system expansion will be done for these properties in the future."
Conner said they plan to have most of the data collected for the study by April, with hearings for public feedback before and after a draft report is submitted in October.
Once the study is complete, the information will be turned over to the sewer district board that will then use that information to determine whether or not to move forward with an expansion of the system.
"At that time, if they want to move forward with expanding the sewer district, it will be placed on the ballot," Conner said. "There may be a lot of second homeowners in this area, however, if they would want to vote in this issue they could possibly register to vote by making their lake home a permanent residence."
Conner said about 20 people attended the meeting Nov. 11 in Camdenton and the No. 1 question asked was how much the possible expansion, and a monthly rate to absorb initial expansion expenses, would cost them.
"Once we get the study done, we will know how much the proposed cost for the sewer district expansion would be and what their monthly rate would be," Conner said. "I think it is important for the citizens to try to understand the reasons why LOCLG is doing the study. If someone has a failing sewer or septic system and can't replace it, what alternative would they have? That is what this study will help determine."
Steve Lee, who is a homeowner near Anthony Hollow Cove near the proposed sewer treatment plant district expansion area, is not opposed to having a centralized sewer system. However, he said he is not compelled to support it either, depending on the expense to property owners.
"I feel they (study organizers at the meeting, LOCLG and Cochran Engineering) inadequately explained what the monthly payment and overall cost would be for this proposed expansion."
Lee added that putting a proposed centralized sewer system expansion for the Camelot Estates Sewer District on the ballot could be a double-edge sword.
"It could be a problem with not registered voters and second homeowners in that area. They are opening for public opinion and people do have lots of questions. ... I hope they contact the second homeowners in the area and let them know what is going on."