Water Quality Declining


The results are in from the lake samples taken last summer. There is both good news and bad news, according to Roy Hansen. Read more for details, plus a photo of one type of pollution that's out of our control, but does affect the lake.

Hansen says, "The good news is that chlorophyll, phosphorous and dissolved oxygen levels are remaining constant. The bad news is that water clarity is continuing on a slow but sure degradation. We all must take responsibility to do everything we can to try to reverse the trend. If we want our children and grandchildren to enjoy the great lake we have now, we need to take action to make sure Johnson Lake remains a high quality lake. Please do what you can to reduce unfiltered runoff into the lake. If everyone on the lake increased the amount of buffer area by 5 feet there would be almost 600 more feet of lakeshore to filter runoff. And that could make a difference!" Let's all work together to ensure that Johnson Lake remains a great place to live and enjoy."




One of the things we can't control is pine pollen. When the wind and waves are right, it collects near the shoreline, as in this photo from the northwest side of the lake. Better that, than a large scale algae bloom, caused by lawn fertilizer and minerals from driveways running into the lake. Doing simple things, such as allowing natural vegetation to return to the shoreline, can do a lot to keep pollutants contained in runoff from entering the lake.

Photo by Jon Okerstrom

Posted: Thu - June 22, 2006 at 10:43 PM      

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