Summary of CLA Board Meeting 10/16/24
For years, we’ve noticed a troubling decline in the quality of Crockery Lake. Algae blooms have become more frequent, and while we’ve tried to manage them with chemical treatments, it’s clear these solutions are not only ineffective but may also be causing additional problems. The CLA Board, along with residents, has raised serious concerns: What impact do these chemicals have on our fish? How are they affecting swimmers? What risks do they pose to pets that drink from the lake? And ultimately, what implications do they hold for our drinking water? We needed to identify the root causes and explore effective solutions.
To address these issues, the Board has dedicated the past 4-5 years to researching non-chemical restoration methods. Our findings revealed that the complexity of the situation is more involved than what we, the residents, could manage. Although we experimented with some solutions at our own waterfronts, the costs and the need for cooperative action across the lake were significant barriers.
This is when we connected with Dr. Jennifer Jermalowicz-Jones, the owner and chief limnologist of Restorative Lake Sciences. After careful consideration, the CLA Board decided to contract her services to assess our lake and recommend a remediation plan that takes cost into consideration.
At the same time, Board members reached out to various local agencies, including the Ottawa County Conservation District, Ottawa County Drain Commission, Ottawa County Parks Department, and the Board of Commissioners and Finance Committee, and Chester Township (who granted us $5000 toward the testing this year). Dr. Jones participated in these discussions and provided specific plans for consideration. We presented the proposed costs and timelines, along with the possible need for a new Special Assessment from riparian residents to fund the remediation, which includes Dr. Jones's planning, securing EGLE permits, implementation, continued testing and project oversight.
We have sought funding with the tremendous support of our township and county representatives and the discussions have been positive and very promising that they will support the project for the first several years which allows us additional time to secure funding if needed in the future to ensure our lake and watershed are here and healthy for future generations.
The vote for this by the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners will probably be at their November 12 meeting.
This is amazing news for Crockery Lake. We are very thankful for Dr. Jones’ work and continuing to advocating for Crockery Lake. We are very thankful that Ottawa County values the resource that is Crockery Lake and the surrounding watershed. We encourage our riparians to continue the practice of Best Management Practices such as septic tank care.