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Why hasn’t Ohio Gov. visited Grand Lake?

July 25, 2010 by admin.

Steve Baker, Northern Bureau Chief

Posted: 9:43 pm EDT July 22, 2010Updated: 5:46 am EDT July 23, 2010

CELINA, Ohio — A request to Governor Ted Strickland’s office from The Daily Standard in Celina requested the reason why the governor has not visited Grand Lake St. Marys to personally view the algae situation.While not receiving a direct answer, the governor’s spokesperson wrote: “The governor deeply understands what this lake means to the community. He is daily updated on the status of the lake by his staff and cabinet officials with expertise on these matters who have visited and are daily involved with the issues surrounding Grand Lake St. Marys.”

“Gov. Strickland has directed …

Posted in Water Quality | No Comments »

Celina pushes for boat race on polluted lake

July 25, 2010 by admin.

Last updated: July 22, 2010 12:33 p.m.

Celina pushes for boat race on polluted lake

Associated Press

ST. MARYS, Ohio – Celina is going ahead with plans to hold a boat race on a polluted lake, despite warnings from state environmental leaders.

The Celina Governor’s Cup Regatta is scheduled for Aug. 28 and 29.

Celina water superintendent Mike Sudman said the city’s tests on nearby Grand Lake St. Marys show smaller levels of a liver toxin than those reported by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The government says people should not touch the water, eat any fish they catch or take boats out on the water.

The western Ohio lake has an outbreak of toxic algae.

David Culver, a professor at Ohio State University who has worked as a consultant for the state, said even though it’s impossible to predict toxin levels a month from now, scheduling a race is a bad idea.

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(AUDIO): Lake Could Be Significantly Improved in 3-4 Years

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….

Posted in Water Quality, Lake Restoration | No Comments »

Are Fish From St. Marys Hatchery Safe to Eat?

July 21, 2010 by admin.

State-Owned Hatchery Uses Grand Lake St. Marys Water

Grand Lake St. Mary’s Fish (Added: July 20, 2010)

A popular Ohio lake is so filled with algae and toxins that it has turned emerald green. Are the toxins hurting the fish and those who eat them? (more) Grand Lake St. Mary’s Fish (Added: July 20, 2010)

A popular Ohio lake is so filled with algae and toxins that it has turned emerald green. Are the toxins hurting the fish and those who eat them? (more)CELINA, Ohio –

Fishermen at Grand Lake St. Marys have been warned against eating fish caught in the lake because of toxic algae blooms. But, St. Marys State Fish Hatchery on the east side of the lake takes water from the lake to raise hatchlings.

One of the water intakes from the lake into the state fish hatchery has algae blooms growing around it.

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LIA Minutes 7-3-2010

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!

Posted in Water Quality, GLSM Watershed, Lake Restoration | No Comments »