MEAD LAKE PROBLEMS WILL BE ADDRESSED
Monday, July 21st, 2008 -- 10:16 AM
Fewer swimmers are taking to the waters of Mead Lake as phosphorous run-off is creating unsavory sights and smells.Encompassing 320 acres with a maximum depth of 16-feet, Mead Lake, south of Thorp, is Clark County's 2nd largest lake. Lake Arbutus is the largest.
But, the lake has become a poster-child for run-off related problems, specifically, blue-green algae blooms.
"Mead Lake is again having very significant algae blooms," explains County Conservationist Matt Zoschke, "Blue-green Algae can make children, dogs, even full-grown adults sick."
The lake is on the "Impaired Waters" list.
While the beach remains open, Zoschke recommends against swimming there.
"Last year, the blooms were so high, I could float a pencil. I could literally suspend something on top of the blooms," Zoschke notes, "Very undesirable aesthetics. Not only is there a bad look to it, there's a bad smell to it."
The main cause is phosphorous fertilizer run-off from farm fields in the Mead Lake Watershed, a system of tributaries that feed the lake.
Zoschke hopes to form a public advisory group next month that will look at possible solutions. They'll likely involve?at first?working with farmers in the watershed.
"In some cases, real simple things. Having a soil test. Making sure the amount of manure you're applying doesn't exceed what your crop needs, or the amount of fertilizer you're buying doesn't exceed crop needs," Zoschke says.
There are more complicated steps: barnyard designs, filter strips and streamside buffers.
"We're approaching 700 manure storages in the county," Zoschke says, noting some turn up every week, and many aren't up to code.
A study determined there must be a 30% reduction in phosphorous and sediment flowing into the lake.
The beach at Mead Lake was closed most of last summer after tests found unsafe levels of algae.
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