LLPOA Lake Management Committee Update: July 22, 2025

1. 1. Weed harvesting – We took out 37 trailer loads of weeds this week. The most we have ever done in 1 week. We have removed 157 trailer loads this year so far.
2. Water quality – Secchi readings (for water clarity) continue to be good into July. North Bay readings are 12 inches better than the dam or South Bay which is the opposite of what we usually see. We have not seen algal blooms or harmful algal blooms so far this year. In fact, the algae growth has been less than previous years. Several area lakes are experiencing algal blooms, harmful algal blooms and fish kills. Fish kills result from low dissolved oxygen levels in the water. Why are we experiencing better water quality this year despite the weather pattern? I think it is the result of the weed harvesting, biodredge applications and carp removal. These initiatives are putting our lake environment in a better balance.
3. Beach closures for swimming – We have experienced high e.coli test results resulting in red flags (no swimming recommended) at both our beaches. There are two reasons for this. One, after heavy rains fecal matter from all of the nature around us washes into our lake. Not much we can do about that unless you want to remove all the wildlife in our area. Second, geese! We still have a flock of about 30 geese on our lake that are making it a habit of hanging around near our beaches especially along the water line at North Beach. We need more of our lakefront homeowners to install geese deterrents (buffer strips and/or fencing) along their shorelines. We need anyone on the lake or passing by our beaches to chase the geese. We need everyone’s help to ensure the fencing at our beaches stays up. If you see the fencing down at any time, take 5 minutes and put it back up.
4. 2026 Lake Management Budget – The following items were discussed and proposed for next year.
   1. Weed harvesting – more days including consecutive weeks early to get ahead of the growth
   2. Biodredge – increase the applications of biodredge and expand the areas covered including both beach areas.
   3. Install a water circulation device at North Beach and a 2nd water circulation device at South Beach
   4. Increase native plant coverage for the lake bottom through plantings if possible
   5. Fish stocking – We haven’t done a fish stocking since 2022. The proposal is to spread the fish stocking over 2 years instead of all in 1 year with a focus on pike and perch.
   6. Increase water testing for e.coli by the beaches by bringing in our own sample to Lake County when we feel the need. This would be outside of the normal scheduled e.coli testing that Lake County already does.
5. Lake County Lake Lovers meeting feedback – gave a recap of Gerry Munley the meeting from last week. A lot of information was shared. The Lake County Lake Lovers group will be posting the presentations and videos from this meeting on their website soon.

LLPOA Lake Management Committee  –  July 2025