Brazil returns to Lake Saint Louis to sell new water testing process
County Council Chairman Joe Brazil, who does double duty as the Dist. 2 representative of Lake Saint Louis on the County Council, returned to town on June 15 to try to re-sell his proposal that a water testing program be adopted and funded in a three-way split. And he got what he came for.
Despite the issue having been rebuffed last October during the fall bi-annual joint Lake Saint Louis Board of Aldermen and Lake Saint Louis Community Association (LSL-CA) session, Brazil returned with Gerry Boehm, who operates Brookside Environmental, the low bidder responding to the county’s request for water quality testing services.
Brazil apologized for a miscommunication, he said he’d ushered through County Council approval for an intergovernmental agreement to create the three-way structure to kick-off a county-wide water quality testing program that would begin in Lake Saint Louis.
The two lakes around which Lake Saint Louis is arranged, are a hot point for water contamination from Peruque Creek and the logical point to launch a comprehensive water quality testing program, Brazil said. Once a baseline of information is established and the problems identified, the various governmental bodies can work together to correct water quality issues.
His ultimate goal is to take the program country-wide but said it would be wiser to start small with a pilot program. To accomplish that Brazil devised a scheme in 2008 that would include a three-way cooperative to fund an initial testing program at the rate of $5,000 each.
The arguments on June 15 against Brazil’s proposal were the same as last October:
Water testing is already being performed and evaluated by University of Missouri-Columbia laboratories.
Missouri Conservation Department Specialist Perry Eckhardt advises that future funding be dedicated to mitigation efforts.
The additional cost wasn’t allocated in the current budget.
“We already know what the problems are,” said Alderman John Pellerito.
Alderman Charlotte Norton explained the exhaustive work with which she’s been involved since 1993 through the Peruque Watershed Alliance, which participated in a $500,000 water quality research survey funded through the efforts of U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, producing a detailed report.
Brazil maintained that wouldn’t be as valid as the testing that would be performed by Brookside Environmental of St. Peters.
“If we’re (St. Charles County) not in the program, the county isn’t really obligated,” Brazil said, urging the board to approve the $5,000 allocation.
“I’d rather see us use the $5,000 for mitigation education upstream,” Norton said.
Pellerito, who launched and sits on the city’s Environmental Committee, joined Norton in pointing out it is already known agricultural concerns and the Wentzville city golf course have been identified as being the primary contributors to water contaminates accumulating in the city’s two lakes.
The two aldermen also asked if the project scope could be broadened to expand the current water testing program rather than scraping it all together to start anew.
While that question went unanswered, Brazil pointed out that if the city and the LSL-CA didn’t sign on to the county’s program Lake Saint Louis couldn’t be assured of future support from the courthouse.
That argument tipped the balance. That, coupled with nine months and a municipal election later, the matter was re-voted and approved this time by a vote of four in favor to two against.
