September 9, 2010 by admin.

Thu, 09/09/2010, lakeimprovement.com

Several media entities covered Tuesday’s community meeting with state directors who discussed the strategy for cleaning and maintaining Grand Lake St. Marys. […]

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September 5, 2010 by admin.

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August 31, 2010 by admin.

Mon, 08/30/2010

From WCSM:

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August 26, 2010 by admin.

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August 8, 2010 by admin.

CHOOSE TO SUPPORT GRAND LAKE ST.MARYSCHOOSE YOUR NATURAL GAS SUPPLY OPTION TO HELP SUPPORT THE REVITALIZATION OF GRAND LAKE ST. MARYS AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU!

CHOOSING IS EASY!

1. Visit www.GLSM.switchandsupport.com
2. Click on the “Registration” tab
3. Follow the simple 2-step directions
4. Use Referral Code 50004 to ensure Grand Lake St. Marys gets credit!

DOMINION GAS WILL CONTINUE TO DELIVER NATURAL GAS TO YOUR HOME, READ YOUR METER, HANDLE BILLING, AND PROVIDE BOTH EMERGENCY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Unknown to most customers, all energy suppliers have been using a portion of each consumer’s bill to pay marketing fees to whoever acquires customers for them. When you, as a customer, sign up to switch your supplier, on our web-site; www.GLSM.switchandsupport.com, a portion of that marketing money goes to the Grand Lake St. Marys Restoration Commission. This program will not add any additional fees to your present utility bill.

ARE YOU ASKING ME TO SWITCH FROM DOMINION?
No, even if you switch your natural gas supplier through our program, Dominion will still deliver your gas as well as maintain all customer support and billing services.

DOES SWITCHING COST ME MORE?
No, this program allows residents and businesses to support worthy causes without additional out-of-pocket expense. All rates are competitive with other supplier options.

DO I GET ANYTHING FOR SWITCHING?
In addition to the satisfaction of supporting the Lake Restoration, you are a part of the exclusive Customer Appreciation Revenue Program. Through this program, you receive distributions in the form of cash back and are eligible to win prizes such as trips, vehicles, and more! Currently, for every 500 new customers, a drawing for a $500 check is done. The 500 new customers as well as the pool of existing customers are eligible for this drawing. Once 10,000 new customers are signed up, $10,000 in prizes will be awarded.

WHERE IS THE PROGRAM AVAILABLE?
The Switch and Support program is offered in over 6,000 markets nationwide. It is sponsored locally by the Grand Lake St. Marys Restoration Commission.

IF I SWITCH MY SUPPLER, WHO AM I SUPPORTING?
You will support the ongoing efforts of the Grand Lake St. Marys Restoration Commission to restore and maintain Grand Lake St. Marys.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?
Visit www.GLSM.switchandsupport.com or talk to one of the local committee members.

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July 22, 2010 by admin.

Wed, 07/21/2010

Many believe it could take as many as 20 years or more to restore Grand Lake St. Marys, but in this WCSM interview Ohio State University’s Doctor David Culver suggests that proper action today could yield significant results in as little as three to four years….

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July 20, 2010 by admin.

Submitted by brian on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 2:32pm

minutedate:

Sat, 07/03/2010

The July 3^rd LIA meeting opened with the reciting of the “Pledge”. A brief recognition of Bob Grimm’s life and a moment of silence were held in his honor. Due to Bob’s passing we have a vacant trustee position. Nominations were requested at the meeting. The position will be thru December 2010. If anyone is interested, please see any Board member to request your consideration along with your qualifications. Everyone is still encouraged to go to the web and send letters to our legislators. We also encourage each of you to follow up your letters with phone calls or additional letters requesting action on the lake issues.

The “normal” meeting was not held do to the current condition of the lake. Instead, there were four guests on hand to answer audience questions in regards to issues surrounding the lake. The meeting lasted approximately 2 hours with many questions from the audience.

State Representative Jim Zehringer started the meeting off with a brief overview of where we been and where we are going. He said that it is going to take everyone in Mercer County, EPA, & ODNR to clean the lake up. 

OEPA Director Chris Korleski spoke to the audience about the degradation of the lake and the fact it has been ongoing for 50 – 100 years. Because of the lack of attention to the lake it is going to take some time to get it fixed, but that it will be fixed! The two problems that currently exist with the lake are internal and external nutrient loading.   His best guess is that the bulk of the problem is washing in on the south side of the lake. Internally phosphorus is the cause of the algae bloom and the question is how do we get rid of it. Mr. Korleski suggests that one way is thru spreading alum (aluminum sulfate) on the lake. This chemical will make the algae clump together and fall to the bottom of the lake. This is good for approximately 5-10 years and is a quick fix to a long term problem. It is expensive to purchase and would cost between 5 – 10 million dollars to treat the entire lake. The Ohio EPA has retained an environmental firm called Tetra Tech which will provide a report on July 9^th detailing Alum’s possible success with the lake (report available on LIA website). Dredging the entire lake does not appear to be the answer at this time. Dredging is cost prohibitive with estimates from 10 to 100 million and the material removed would need very large areas for retention. The main external loading problem is the run-off from the agricultural area. Studies show that approximately 85% of the nutrient loading is coming from agriculture. There are current programs available for farmers to voluntarily take steps to help the situation. Mr. Korleski states that it may come down to mandatory control thru legislation. 

ODNR Director Shawn Logan stated that 25% of the states’ 4 million dollar dredging budget for all state parks goes to St. Marys. Dredging the entire lake would take too long, cost too much money and the issue of where to put the dredging material would need solved. Alum will cost between $280 and $750 per acre but could provide a temporary solution to the algal blooms and toxic issues. His concern is that if the external loading is not reduced, the alum may be less effective.

Wright State University Professor Dr. Hiskey stated “the lake reflects its watershed.” The first issue is that there is a nutrient problem due to excessive phosphorus and nitrogen run off. There is also a long retention time for the water in the lake causing low flushing rate. He cannot explain why there is an algal bloom like we are currently experiencing or whether it will come back or not. Even if the external loading stopped, we may have an algal bloom due to the high nutrients within the lake. This means both internal and external loadings must be fixed.

Response to most common questions include, the lake water is safe to drink from Celina’s water treatment plant. Well water is safe to drink. ODNR & OEPA are responsible to help clean up the lake. Oder is not thought to be a health hazard and boats will not cause a toxic release from the water. Contact or ingestion of the water should be avoided. New legislation will likely be needed to clean up the watershed.

AiryGators are still being tested to understand their impact on the nutrient problem. Alum treatment is being considered for use in the lake to tie-up phosphorous and prevent blue-green algae blooms.

The 50/50 winner of $289.50 was Bob Eilerman. 

Next LIA meeting will be August 7, 10:00 AM at the Celina Moose. Please plan to attend!

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July 8, 2010 by admin.

by Laura Donaldson

CELINA, Ohio (Indiana’s NewsCenter) - Pea soup. That’s what residents are calling one area lake.

The Grand Lake Saint Mary’s in Celina, Ohio has been taken over by blue green algae.

…

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