Lake of the Ozark Services
The 1930s era building of Bagnell Dam and AmerenUE’s Osage hydroelectric plant created a highly regarded recreational area—the Lake of the Ozarks. Under terms of its federal operating license for the dam and the plant, AmerenUE provides a range of services for the lake. In 1999, the American Fisheries Society, the largest fisheries organization in the world, honored AmerenUE with a Citizens Award for its efforts to improve dissolved oxygen levels in the water at Bagnell Dam—thus protecting the fish population downstream.
Lake Services
As the owner and operator of Bagnell Dam and the Osage Power Plant, AmerenUE works closely with federal, state and local agencies and organizations to protect the environment, promote water safety and enhance the quality of life at the Lake of the Ozarks. In addition, the company serves 39,000 electric customers and 3,300 natural gas customers in the lake area. AmerenUE also: regulates docks, seawalls, decks and other structures to ensure that they do not become an environmental hazard, an obstacle to navigation or a threat to the safe operation of the dam and power plant. For more information, please see our Lake of the Ozarks Permit Requirements. sponsors Adopt-the-Shoreline, a program that enables interested individuals, businesses and organizations to "adopt" portions of the shoreline for litter control. Adopt-the-Shoreline conducts the annual Shoreline Beautification Cleanup each spring, and many member groups also conduct a second cleanup in the fall.; maintains a Lake and Shoreline Protection Hotline (573.365.9203) that residents and tourists can call to report pollution problems, derelict docks or other concerns affecting the lake; conducts a program to spray key areas of the lake’s shoreline for mosquito control; provides funding to the Missouri Department of Conservation to help operate a fish hatchery and fish stocking program, as well as funding to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to improve recreational facilities and environmental resources at Lake of the Ozarks state parks.
Visitor Facilities at Bagnell Dam
In 1998, AmerenUE dedicated a new scenic overlook on a hill overlooking Bagnell Dam. This vantage point, located on Upper Power Plant Road, provides a spectacular view of the lake, s historic photographs showing how the Osage River valley looked from that same location before the dam was built. The entrance to Upper Power Plant Road is about one mile north of Bagnell Dam in Business Route 54. Working with the Missouri Department of Conservation, AmerenUE has also developed a fish and bird observation area along a walkway leading to the Osage Plant’s main office on the downstream side of Bagnell Dam.
Willmore Lodge
	The National Hydropower Association (NHA) awarded AmerenUE its prestigious 2000 Hydro Achievement Award for developing the Willmore Lodge Museum and scenic overlook at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks. The museum, which features exhibits on the past, present and future of the lake, completed its first full year of operation in 1999—attracting more than 25,000 visitors from 18 nations.
Perched on a wooded hillside about one-half mile north of Bagnell Dam on Business Route 54, historic Willmore Lodge houses one of the best “free” attractions at the Lake of the Ozarks—an interactive museum on the lake and its history developed by AmerenUE.  The structure was built in 1930 as an administration building and lodge to house dignitaries visiting the construction site of Bagnell Dam and the Osage Power Plant.  AmerenUE reacquired the property in 1996, and today leases it to the Lake of the Ozarks Area Chamber of Commerce for a nominal fee, for use as a visitors center and chamber offices.  In 2000, the National Hydropower Association (NHA) honored AmerenUE with its prestigious Hydro Achievement Award for developing the Willmore Lodge Museum, along with the scenic overlook above Bagnell Dam. Willmore Lodge is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends. For more information, contact the Chamber at 800.451.4117 or 573.964.1008.