Lake James Property Owners Association, Inc.

Aquatic Plants Maintenance

2008 Aquatic Nuisance Update
Important Information - Please Read

We, LJPOA, have signed a new three year contract with Aquatic Nuisance Plant Control/Northern Division to control aquatic nuisances on Lake James. The decision to stay with the same company was made after receiving four bids and comparing the projected costs from each company with the acreage treated in the 2007 season. Aquatic Nuisance was the low cost bid based on those comparisons.

A new treatment for Milfoil is now available. It is called Renovate OFT and has been very successful in killing Milfoil in other lakes. We are working with our contractor to study lake flow data in Lake James and Shadow Lake to see if it will work in both lakes. If the flow data supports use of Renovate OTF, we plan on using this starting in May instead of late summer.

The plan on treating Milfoil earlier in the growing season, which should kill the nuisance before it grows and spreads. The only drawback to Renovate OTF is the ban on watering from the lake will be increased from the usual one week to 120 days. After the application is completed, the contractor will monitor the water and if the numbers are positive, the ban on watering could be reduced to 30 days. Based on data from other treated lakes last year, this is very possible.

We are asking that the posting for the application be done 1 week prior to the actual application. This should give each home owner a chance to turn off their pumps from the lake. Also, we will post an all clear if the ban on watering is reduced to the 30 day mark.

It is important that the home owner treat this seriously. Renovate OTF will kill any broadleaf plants in your yard, including shrubs and flowers. By applying Renovate OTF in May, we are hoping that there will be sufficient rain to keep our lawn green. Otherwise, I would recommend that the home owners use garden hoses and sprinklers until the “all clear” is posted.

We ask for your patience with our plan for 2008. A successful early treatment will reduce the spread of Milfoil and ultimately reduce the most expensive part of our aquatic nuisance control cost.

Thanks in advance!

Read the DNR Lake Treatment Notice (1.1 MB)

In the past, I have used a lake rake to start the lake clean up. The lake rake does a decent job removing some of the leaves, but the leave break up and much of the residue stays on the bottom. Last year I purchasing a swimming pool leaf skimmer (at WalMart or any pool store). The pool skimmer when attached to a long handle allows you to drag the skimmer across the bottom of the beach area and removes the majority of the leaves. It also eliminates most of the smaller broken leaves. It is much faster and far more effective than a lake rake.

Two years ago, I started researching the internet on muck and how to get rid of it. Muck is nothing more that the residue from decomposing materials that did not finish the process of decomposition. This is generally caused by the lake not having adequate oxygen levels to complete the process. The first way suggested to eliminate muck was to install a “bubbling diffuser”. This is a piece of equipment that requires putting a diffuser under the water, running air lines to it and then having an air pump installed on shore. This is rather expensive ($1,000 to $2,000) to install, plus you have the cost of electricity.

Then I found a company out from Minnesota that sells a product called AquaClear. This product contains millions of micro organisms in each pellet that actively feed on the decomposing materials on the bottom of the lake. I did as much research on the product to determine if it was safe. Because there are no chemicals, it does not have a negative impact on people, fish or the water. I decided to take a chance and bought a 5 pound container to try on my beachfront. I can say that after one season, I noticed a distinct improvement on the amount of muck. I was able to walk out farther than the previous season before getting into the muck. Last year, I convinced my neighbors to buy some AquaClear and we all added it. I am hoping that with the upcoming season we add it again and start seeing a better lake bottom. While it’s not a miracle worker that immediately frees the lake from muck, it provided measurable positive results in my bay.

Anyone interested in looking into AquaClear, the web site is: www.killLakeWeeds.com

Revised Thursday April 17, 2008 3:27 PM