LLPOA Lake Management Committee Update: April 2024

LLPOA LAKE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE UPDATE

April 9, 2024

inform & educate residents; develop sustainable lake management solutions

Lake Management contracts status
- McCloud invasive weed spraying contract has been signed and McCloud has been advised
- The Lake Monster Weed Harvesting contract is on the agenda for the April 15 LLPOA Board meeting
Biodredge Plan – The committee will recommend to the LLPOA Board that we expand the biodredge plan for this year to include Half Moon Bay and an area along the earthen dam. We have seen positive results in silt reduction the last 2 years in Firth Channel, North Bay and the South Beach swim area near the diving board. We want to expand the application area to other problem areas noted above. We will again offer the opportunity for residents to purchase biodredge material for application near their shoreline. Last year we reduced the cost to LLPOA through a volume discount by including resident purchases. We also more than doubled the amount of biodredge material being applied to our lake.
Goose update –
- Our geese nest identification plan was canceled by the weather.
- The geese deterrent lights were repositioned and 8 defective lights were replaced at no
- cost to us as they were under warranty.
- Three of the floating islands will also be repositioned as they also moved over the winter
- The geese fences at both beaches at the boat entrances to the lake will be modified to increase their usability and durability.
- It was again discussed that the best way to deter geese from our lake is for lakefront homeowners to have buffer strips and/or fencing at their shoreline. A simple garden fence from a local home improvement store, hardware store or even Amazon has proven to be very effective in deterring geese from lakefront property.
Fertilizer discussion
- ALL homeowners are encouraged to reduce or eliminate fertilizing their lawns as these nutrients wash into our lake from ALL lawns not just lakefront homeowner lawns. Please do NOT use Roundup for killing weed/grass as it is not eco friendly to our lake. Roger suggested a 30% vinegar solution (available at Ace and local big box home improvement stores) is a much better alternative without the adverse effects on our lake. If you have a landscape service please inform them of these items.
Homeowners purchase of small aerators/circulators – A number of homeowners have expressed interest in purchasing their own small aerators to try and improve the water quality by their piers and lakefronts. We ask that any homeowner purchasing a device reach out to the Lake Management Committee so that we can track the locations of these devices. We will also make available purchase information we collect to share with homeowners interested in purchasing their own device (there will be a separate email on this). We also want to remind homeowners to be mindful of where they deploy these devices so as not to affect other residents’ use of the lake. LLPOA owns the lake and reserves the right to have homeowners remove devices that are viewed as detrimental to the use of the lake.
Summer Kickoff (May 18 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM) – Last year’s Summer Kickoff Event was a big success. After discussion it was recommended that we continue the main activities (boat rides, kayak lessons, kids fishing lessons, food) and add a kids activity and a table with lake information. A sign up sheet was passed around and we are still looking for a few volunteers to give pontoon boat rides, kayak lessons, lending us kayaks for the afternoon (including life jackets and paddles) and help with the kids fishing lessons. Holly Kim, our Lake County Treasurer, has reached out to us to sponsor our fishing derbies this year. Anyone interested in helping out, please respond to Tom at tomcasey@lochlomondlake.com
Adopt a Garden – Mickey Emde is coordinating an Adopt a Garden program for the 7 garden areas we have at North and South Beach. No gardening experience necessary, our Garden Club will train you. Anyone interested can attend a meeting on May 4th (time TBD) at South Beach or reach out to Mickey at mickeyemde@lochlomondlake.com
Adopt a Beach – The Adopt a Beach program was successful last year and is being expanded from the spring and fall to include the summer months as there is no plan to have lifeguards this year. There is a signup on the LLPOA website at the following link: https://lochlomondlake.com/our-lake/adopt-a-beach/
Summer water testing – A question was raised about how the summer water testing and swim flag updates would be handled without the lifeguards. This question will be passed on to the LLPOA Board.