By Steve Burgoon
Have you ever noticed some old guys out there on the lake in a row boat or kayak paddling around and looking lost? That would be members of TLIA Lake Committee Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP). Our team started monitoring in 2013 and has collected data on our lake quality on a biweekly basis each May through October. Volunteers take lake depth readings (deepest we have found is around 7’…. But we don’t measure the shallow areas) and Secchi depth (water clarity), water temperature (our choice), and once per month we collect water samples and send them off to Springfield for analysis.
For some lakes in Lake County, data collected by volunteer lake monitors are the only consistent water quality data available from year to year. The information the VLMP volunteers collect is crucial to help determine water quality assessments and baseline water quality indicators for lakes in Illinois. Andy Hay, having stepped off the TLIA Board, and finding HUGE amounts of time on his hands, now manages the VLMP program. Contact Andy if you want to help.
Please see the attached summary from Illinois EPA on our lake. This two page summary gives you a top line understanding of the state of our lake. As a “Eutrophic” lake we love the support for the fish population but don’t like the excessive aquatic plants that make it difficult to swim, boat, and fish like catching your bait, hook, or line in the plants). At an average depth of maybe 4.5 feet (consider all the shorelines 15’ out that aren’t even 3’ deep) and silt (nutrients) that is up to 3 to 4’ deep, you get a better idea of the challenge to maintain a balance.
We are currently LOOKING for Middle School or High School help. The Lake Committee could REALLY use the services of one or two young adults 12 to 18 years old that want to help us with projects and maintain our records and data. This would be a perfect fit for a young adult with a scientific interest. If you have such a child, the Lake Committee, as well as the community, would be grateful, if you would let us know know. Certainly the time he/she spends would be counted for the ever-loving “volunteer hours” at BHS or other community programs. Call Steve Burgoon if interested. Yours in the Lakes!!!