Make Waves!

Cannon River Watershed Partnership letter

2009-08-05T14:09:55Z

Dear Jefferson-German Lakes Association Board Members,

My name is Aaron Wills and I work for the Cannon River Watershed Partnership (CRWP). I am writing to you in regards to sewage treatment on Jefferson German Lakes. One of my roles at CRWP is to assist homeowners, small communities, subdivisions, etc. with finding solutions to treating their sewage, which includes not only the technical aspect of sewage treatment but also the financing and legal parts of the solution. Currently, I’m working with a couple small communities around Owatonna (Hope, Bixby, Meriden) as well as lake residents on Roberds Lake near Faribault and Lake Byllesby near Cannon Falls.

At a recent public meeting that my co-workers from CRWP attended about the upcoming TMDL, they received numerous questions about what is being done about sewage treatment around the lake. Based on the interest at the meeting, over the past few weeks I’ve been researching what work was done in the past on this issue. From what I can tell, after the survey conducted by Le Sueur County came back showing many property owners opposed the sewer pipe around the lakes, organized work on upgrading sewage treatment around the lakes fizzled. I’m writing to you to see first of all if there is work being done on this and if I can be of any assistance. If there’s not, do you know of people who want to upgrade their systems or put in some type of system to serve a group of properties that I could contact or assist in some way. I’d be very interested to come out and meet with any of you, or a group of you from the Board of the Lake Association to talk about ideas or just to learn more about your perspectives on the issue and what solutions you see.

CRWP’s goal is clean, healthy lakes that we can all be proud of. If there are other issues besides sewage treatment that we can be of assistance with, please let me know that as well. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Aaron Wills

Aaron Wills

Cannon River Watershed Partnership

8997 Eaves Ave.

Northfield, MN 55057

(507) 786-3914

Check out our website at www.crwp.net

Buster West response to Bob Sutter's letter

2009-07-02T13:34:34Z

In PDF here.

Weed problem

2009-06-24T22:50:36Z

Published on behalf of Bob Sutter. Please reply to him at <jeepster21@mchsi.com>. Thank you.

June 24, 2009

Robert Sutter
24641 Irish Lane
(East Jefferson Lake)
Cleveland, MN 56017

Studies, consultants, fly-overs, lectures from the CRWP, that have all cost the Jefferson-
German Lake Association fund dollars, have not gotten rid of the weed problem in our lakes. The milfoil problem continues to grow, but even that pales in comparison to this year’s (spring ’09) curly-leaf infestation. Which has to be as bad as it’s ever been in the past. Then on 6/21 the curly-leaf finally drops down off East Jefferson and on the next day the accompanying decay of the curly-leaf leaves a blue-green-brown scummy, foul smelling residue along the north shoreline that is the most uninviting mess I have ever seen or smelled. This should not be a consequence of lake living. This can and should be prevented.

I am not an expert on water quality but in my opinion this unsightly mess is the result of the water warming up and the tea-bag like piles of weed decomposing under the water along with the algae blooming. I would hope other residents and users of Big Jeff should be appalled and up in arms, willing to do what it takes immediately to fix this problem

As the Board of Directors of the Jefferson-German Lakes Association please do something soon. This cannot wait for a 2 or 3 year study. Our friends on Lake Washington have chemically treated the weeds for years and they don’t have the weed problem we do. Could the answer be they stand together and have aggressively dealt with these invasive weeds? Yes, Lake Washington recently got a sewer pipe, but a sewer pipe does not eliminate weeds. Chemicals and hard work do that. Your association membership pay dues and let’s put that money to address the number one problem in Big Jeff – weeds (curly-leaf and milfoil). If there is a phosphorous run off polluting the lake and stimulating weed growth, then identify the source(s) and stop it. To me these invasive weed species are like dandy lions, if you don’t do something every year they take over.

We need to do something now. The DNR needs to provide some help and guidance as well. But thinking, “it’s somebody else’s problem” or “wait till next year, maybe it will get better”, won’t help. We have the ability, the means, and it’s certainly a necessity. So please, before it gets worse let’s do everything possible to protect and restore out beautiful and precious resource.

I look forward to a response. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Bob Sutter
Concerned Lake Resident

C.C. Board of Directors

Lake Jefferson Monster!

2008-12-24T17:15:06Z

from newsletter editor, Don Jackson:

Loch Ness has “Nessie”... Does Lake Jefferson have a “Jeffy”?
I’ve heard rumors and stories about some kind of very big “beast” in our lakes. Now I have proof! Last June I was driving home on the north side of West Jefferson on 464th st. and I saw this “monster” about 200 feet offshore. It was 15 to 20 feet long and kept undulating up and down. I took several pictures (see below) then left. Two hours later it was still there, but had moved to the west. Also three or four pelicans that had been feeding in the background were missing. (Jeffie’s lunch?) If you look closely you can see the whiskers on his (her?) chin. A half hour later, it was back underwater. I have no idea what it was or where it went (to the deeper waters of German Lake?). If you know what this might be, please enlighten the rest of us. Something is down there.

Stop carp(ing)

2008-07-17T13:53:10Z

An interesting study on the impact of the carp fish species on lake water quality (from Buster West).

Page One

Page Two

Image source: nematode.unl.edu/carp.htm

Four possibilities from Hilary

2008-05-31T14:19:14Z

Here are 4 possibilities for beginning to improve the situation in our lakes:

Hilary
507-786-3912

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#1 Any lake association that would like to arrange an on-shore meeting to look at the possibilities with Cannon River Watershed Partnership and DNR staff should contact Hilary Ziols at CRWP as soon as possible. hilary@crwp.net, or 507-786-3912. Leave a message, and she’ll return your call!!

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#2

Tuesday, July 1, 6:30 – 8 p.m., in Waterville.
Register with Jeff Boran at Community Ed. boranjef@wem.mn.k12us.com 507-362-4403 or
Hilary Ziols, CRWP, Hilary@crwp.net 507-786-3912

What can I do to improve our lakes? Learn the basics of rain gardens and restoring lakeshore with specialized plantings that really “take.” That is, “take” silt, sediment, fertilizers and heavy metals out of water that runs into the lake. MN DNR Fisheries Specialist, Phil Nasby and Cannon River Watershed Partnership staff will team up to offer an information-packed evening. Appropriate ages 10-adult.

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#3 Here is a TERRIFIC RESOURCE for rain gardens and shoreland planting:
www.bluethumb.org Their Plant Selector is useful for many situations: http://www.bluethumb.org/plants/
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#4 Borrow a copy of the DNR’s “Restore your Shore” CD, install it on the hard drive of your computer, and pass it on to a neighbor!! Call Hilary 507-786-3912 to obtain a copy for your lake neighborhood.

Funding for training

2008-05-28T18:37:55Z

Hello,
You may want to contact Shaina Kesley of the MPCA. Next year they are monitoring Jefferson German for the TMDL, which may be a mass balance study. Alan promotes mass balance studies but the cost of doing a mass balance is outrageous and very time consuming. If it is done through the TMDL process, it will be paid for by the state and they will have a coordinator for the project. To give you an example of lab costs, for the Upper Cannon project, we have five stream sites and the lab costs are a hair under $500 per sampling event. We do baseline sampling and storm event sampling. We spend our $30,000 monitoring funds annually.

I would suggest contacting Shaina. Her number is:
Shaina Keseley, PCSS-Watershed Project Manager Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
18 Wood Lake Drive SE, Rochester, MN 55904
Phone: 507-529-6124, Fax: 507-280-5513 shaina.keseley@state.mn.us

CWP budget: I have $1,000 for education. Extension has $1,100 for "demonstration" but at this point, it can be used for anything. Diane Stouffer is our new extension person. She was looking into ways to spend this money. So we can also coordinate something with her for education. Or we can tell her that we need this money for lake association education. So the possibility is $2,100 for education (printing, speakers, demonstration, mailings...)

We have $8,500 for upland ag. This is to go for feedlots at this time as the plan states but MPCA said we could use it for other items (but not monitoring-he said we exceeded our monitoring budget) as the project is nearing completion. Our shoreland BMP budget is just about used up between two rain gardens and native plantings and the Jefferson Shores project.

Groundtruthing: Randy Bradt, DNR, could give you an idea of what is acceptable for shoreland cover. You could send him photos of different shorelines and he could comment on what the DNR thinks is a decent shore to what the DNR would like to see. I had one site where I thought too many trees were removed and he said it was fine as long as the remaining trees remained healthy. If you went out in a boat and took about six site photos, some of which had a lot of cover, medium cover and lack of cover, Randy's comments would give us something to base it off of. Anyway it is just an idea that would not have a cost associated with it. Randy would probably go out in a boat with you for a tour. You would have to discuss what happens if he finds violations during the tour. I have been told that I cannot go out in a boat with the DNR while they are looking for violations. But if Randy came out for a tour with you, he may keep it just that, a tour. I sure would like to see the county take a more strict stance with shoreland violations as they do with P & Z violations. It is very frustrating for me to "educate" violators when I think that a violation is a serious one and should be handled differently.

Well, those are my ideas. The mass balance is a difficult one to find funding for.

Lauren Klement

Flyover

2008-05-27T15:45:33Z

Hi everyone,

I think we need to stay on top of the flyover. There were a number of interested persons at the meeting. We need to follow up while there is still some excitement.

We have a person who is well placed in the state government who told me that as soon as the Lake Association comes up with a plan, her people will research to find every possible funding source.

So what is the next step? Here are some random thoughts.

At the flyover meeting it was suggested that we do a “balance” on the lake. He said we would need people to monitor every tile and ditch entering the lake during storm events. I think we could get some volunteers to do the monitoring, but I have no idea who would train them and do the analysis of samples.

I think we could also do some things with rain gardens and erosion buffers. We could offer seminars or demonstrations. The Lake Assn could offer some cost share. I think there is other cost share out there.

Should we try to do the flyover results in a series of meetings around the lake?

It would be interesting to “groundtruth” with someone from the flyover. I look at all the trees and other natural cover around West Jeff and find it difficult to think we have a lack of buffer. I would like their opinion from the ground.

I will copy Lauren in on this. She may have some ideas for us.

In any case, I think we need a meeting fairly soon. I know Missy wants to be there. Here is her schedule: June 2nd, 5th-8th, 11th-14th, 18th-25th, 29th-30th are open.

Buster (Warren West )

Oversized houses

2008-03-04T21:17:52Z

For The Greater Jefferson- German Lakes Association:

Submitted by: Andrea Smith

As lakeshore owners, we all take some pride in our little piece of paradise, as we should! However, as residents we need to be considerate of our neighbors and of protecting our lake’s integrity when we think of enhancing our properties.

Many of our lots were first built on in the 1950’s & 1960’s. At that time these were strictly recreational cabins, and many of the lots were quite small. Over the past several years there has been a trend to upsize. When deciding to rebuild or add on, we as lake citizens need to take a good look at our property and assess our needs as well as what is suitable for our property. We need to explore all angles and viewpoints. We need to think of how we are impacting our neighbors, how we are impacting lake views and if we are infringing on the shoreline. The general question we need to ask is “Is my proposed structure appropriate for the size of my lot, and in keeping with the integrity of my neighborhood?” If it is not, we need to rethink the plan and if we can’t make it work, perhaps it is time to seek a larger piece of paradise elsewhere!

We cannot count on the LeSueur County Planning & Zoning commission to protect our lake environment. They pass out variances like handing candy out on halloween! Over the past few years, we have seen what they have allowed and it borders on ridiculous!

Attached is a photo that speaks volumes as to what I am referencing. Please take a look at this photo and do your part to insure that this kind of atrocity is not continued!

There are ways to enhance & upgrade a property that compliment the lot size, and as we plan our next projects we need to be considerate of that. We need to be good neighbors!

Sincerely,
Andrea Smith

The Confluence

2008-01-18T14:20:31Z

The Confluence is a monthly electronic newsletter for members of Minnesota Waters providing up-to-date information and resources to help citizens protect Minnesota’s lakes and rivers. If you’ve received this newsletter and are not yet a member of Minnesota Waters, click here <http://www.minnesotawaters.org/index.php?uberKey=570&page=MemebershipandDonationForm> to learn more about how you can support Minnesota Waters programs and services by becoming a member.

To have material included for announcement or to request removal of your name from this mailing list, please contact mailto:info@minnesotawaters.org

In the January issue:

Minnesota Waters News
Resources for Lake and Stream Stewardship
Conferences, Confabs and Conglomerations
The Bucks Start Here - Funding Resources
Lake News – Local, National, International

It has been interesting seeing input from the Board and the Board would like to hear from you, not only on The Confluence, but on other matters that concern you. For comments to the Board, contact Dick Fowler richard.fowler@comcast.net or Julie Klocker julieklocker@yahoo.com