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Latest shock renews fear of Spring Lake
Jun 22, 2009 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
JEFFERSON COUNTY -- Signs warning, "Spring Lake closed until further notice," have been posted around the Summerset subdivision in southern Jefferson County for the second time in three years.
Another person says she was shocked by an electrical current in the lake that no one seems able to explain.
But this time, nobody died.
Three years ago, four teens jumped off a dock into Spring Lake just south of De Soto. Shortly after hitting the water, the teens became immobilized by an electric current. Nic Harbison, then 16, drowned. Morgan Milfeld and Tim Fitzpatrick, both then 15, had to be resuscitated. The fourth was pulled to safety.
A jury in March found AmerenUE liable and said the utility company had to pay $2.3 million to the teens' families. The settlement and verdict brought a sense of vindication to Tracy and Ginger Jones, who owned the dock from which the teens had jumped. Some residents had believed faulty wiring on their property was to blame; Ameren's attorneys also pointed the finger at them during the trial.
The couple spent most of the last three years away from their lake house and just moved back over Memorial Day weekend.
That's when the mysterious electrical current struck again. This time, it happened directly across the lake, at Jim Theel's dock.
Shawna Theel, 25, was dangling her feet in the water off her family's dock beside her daughter, Ariana, 5. The little girl begged her to hold her closer to the water so she could feed the catfish some dog food.
But Theel, still leery of the lake, said no.
"I can't imagine what would have happened if I would have let her go near that water," she said.
Minutes later, Theel grabbed a metal ladder to pull herself up. One foot was still in the water, she said, and it felt like something had "bit her foot off."
She said she was thrown back on the dock.
"I thought I was going to look at my foot and not see any toes," she said.
But they were still there, cramping and tingling. She grabbed her daughter and ran back to the house.
Within an hour, her father brought his voltage meter to the dock and got a reading of 7 volts from the water.
He said he has taken his meter to the lake every day since Nic Harbison died. Some of his neighbors invite him to take readings from their docks, too. Readings vary, but often the meter registers 4 to 5 volts.
Until he sees a reading of less than 1 volt, Theel said he won't believe the lake is safe.
He called Ameren UE to report his daughter's shock last month. Crews promptly responded.
Spokesman Tim Fox said Ameren was still investigating the cause of Shawna Theel's jolt. "We don't have the final results yet," he said.
Meanwhile, the utility has been working to replace and reroute underground cables in the subdivision to improve service. On May 19, Fox said, Ameren de-energized a cable that ran below the lake. That cable was identified at trial as a possible source of stray voltage.
Jim Theel and Jones believe the underwater cable is only part of the problem.
At trial, attorneys debated the results of a study that showed other underground cables that run around the lake and supply power to homes had corroded. Expert witnesses offered mixed opinions on whether the voltage escaping from those cables could cause a jolt powerful enough to immobilize a swimmer.
The National Electrical Safety Code does not specify a safe level for stray voltage, but some studies have suggested anything above 2 volts can cause a problem to a swimmer, said Donald Johnson, a Wyoming-based licensed professional engineer who testified as an expert witness on behalf of the Jones family at trial.
The Theel and Jones families said they hope the Ameren crews working in the subdivision now are going to replace all of the corroded cables.
Fox said he is unsure whether all the cables are being replaced.
Theel said residents just want to find the problem and get it fixed.
"People are worried about their property values, and they don't want to hear that we can't swim in the lake," he said. "They don't want to hear the truth because sometimes it hurts."
On Wednesday last week, Theel put his voltage meter in the water off his dock. It was about 1 p.m. The temperature was near 90 degrees. The ground was saturated from a few days of heavy rain. Air conditioners around the lake were buzzing.
Theel got his highest reading to date: 9.1 volts.
Two days later, he returned to register a reading of 10.5 volts.
To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go
to http://www.stltoday.com. Copyright (c) 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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