Local and state clean-water advocates gathered for a Vicksburg Rotary Club meeting in March to honor the service club’s commitment to water quality and highlight work of local residents to protect South County’s lakes.
Rotarian Lee Philport assembled a “boatload” of advocates, including Dave Maturen, president of Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, and Melissa De Simone, the association’s executive director.
Association board member John Wilks provided an overview of the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program (CLMP) and its work on Indian Lake. Board member Mike Gallagher shared Gull Lake’s monitoring program. Members of the Barton Lake monitoring team and residents of Sunset Lake were also in the audience.
The biggest challenges to a lake’s water quality are usually attributed to farm run-off, outflow from septic tanks and poor lawn fertilization practices around the lake. All add nutrients to the water which can lead to a “natural” eutrophication of the lake. Polluted inputs from rivers and creeks also can introduce challenges.
Indian Lake and Barton Lake residents have volunteered many hours over many years as members of CLMP to monitor these local lakes. The use of trained volunteers throughout the state broadens the collection of data that would otherwise be difficult or too expensive to gather.
The Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) is a network of such volunteer water quality monitoring programs. It assists the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in collecting and sharing water quality data for use in water resources management and protection programs. Kalamazoo County has five lakes actively being monitored: Barton, Gull, Indian , Paw Paw and Woods. Barton Lake has been providing water quality reports since 1976 and Indian Lake started in 1981.
Indian Lake and Barton Lake residents have volunteered many hours over many years as members of CLMP to monitor these local lakes. The use of trained volunteers throughout the state broadens the collection of data that would otherwise be difficult or too expensive to gather.
Those interested in state and local programs can visit MiCorps.net to review the data collected on lakes across the state and could consider joining the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association. Membership includes a subscription to The Michigan Riparian Magazine, devoted exclusively to covering issues relevant to the protection, preservation, and improvement of Michigan’s inland waters.