Sub-Committee Reports:
Membership
Health & Safety
Environment:
Annual State of the Lake Report - author Emily Tyner
1. As mentioned previously, Tim LaDue and family take Water Quality samples of Lake Clear every year, several times each summer, and deliver these to the Adirondack Lake Assessment Program at the Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) at Paul Smith College.
The results are published and available on the AWI website. Lake Clear has high transparency, better than 92% of the lakes sampled.
The Water Quality is excellent except for Sodium and Chloride, likely from winter road maintenance activities by the NYS DOT: "Road Salt.". The amount of Chloride in the lake is greater than 88% of the lakes sampled. This has a negative impact on the fish and the entire ecosystem. Simon Thill's report focuses on this issue. Thank you, Simon!
2. Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have been documented on the Lake in the last few years, and possibly before then. These HABs have been limited to small areas and for a limited time, but this is a concern for us as these are very toxic. Climate Change and Road Salt are factors, but what can we do immediately?
a. Avoid or minimize any use of Fertilizers and follow NYS law if you must use them: Use fertilizer with Zero Phosphorus.
b. Maintain your septic system: Pump every 3 to 5 years at minimum and inspect at that time. Have an engineer evaluate the system and replace as needed.
c. Avoid unnecessary runoff directly into the lake. Maintain a vegetated buffer along the lake shore.
d. Report HABs on the DEC website
3. What else to do?
a. Clean, Drain and Dry your boat and all other equipment.
b. Reach out to your neighbors, visitors and guests with these messages.
c. Support the Lake Clear Association in our efforts to reduce road salt.
d. Contact me if you have any questions: My contact information is on the website: lakeclearassociation.com or phone me at 518-891-4227. Thank you!