The Wallooner | Winter 2021
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PROTECTING WALLOON LAKE HERITAGE One Plant at a Time By Jennifer DeMoss, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council Communications Director
P
icture this: You’re out for a cruise on the turquoise waters of Walloon Lake. The sun is bright overhead, and your family is relaxing as you glide over glassy water. There’s not a single cloud above you, only a brilliant azure sky and a feeling of peace and ease as you enjoy your beautiful Walloon Lake heritage. As you near your favorite swimming spot, you realize that the water cradling your boat isn’t blue; instead, you’re floating on what looks to be a patch of milky green pea soup. The smell hits you: a mixture of grass clippings and garbage. You race to hold your dog back from jumping into the murky water once you realize what you’re seeing. It’s a harmful algal bloom (HAB), toxic to people and animals, caused by excess nutrients in stormwater runoff entering Walloon Lake.
CAUTIONARY TALES OF SOUTHERN MICHIGAN LAKES
This is a hypothetical scenario. Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, Walloon Lake Association and Conservancy, and residents are working hard to ensure the lake stays healthy, and no HABs have been sighted thus far. Since algal blooms rely on excess nutrients for growth, we keep a close eye on those numbers while monitoring the water. However, Walloon Lake isn’t immune to the problems that plague lakes in the southern part of our state. Ford and Belleville Lakes are two impounded lakes in southeast Michigan that regularly experience harmful algal blooms. As Watershed Council Monitoring Programs Coordinator Caroline Keson ex-
plained, dammed lakes, such as Walloon Lake, can be more prone to HABs. The point of this comparison isn’t to badmouth southern lakes. It’s to point out that water quality issues, like those typically associated with southern Michigan’s lakes, can happen anywhere, particularly where there is an abundance of heavy development, paved surfaces, and stormwater washing pollutants into lakes. What about seawalls or other methods of hardening shorelines? A hardened shoreline can cause a lot of problems in the long run. It can erode neighboring shorelines and cause the lake bottom to deepen along the seawall due to lakebed scouring. Seawalls eliminate critical shoreline habitat, and phosphorus churned up from the bottom of the lake can fuel unwanted algal growth. Erosion caused by seawalls can lead to a situation like Union Lake downstate in West Bloomfield. When neighbors lose their shorelines because of others’ seawalls, a chain reaction can occur. A 2002 survey showed that 93% of Union Lake’s shoreline was armored, replacing walkable beaches with steel. Hardening shorelines can cause erosion where none previously existed, and seawall owners are civilly liable for damage caused to neighboring properties. There are better ways to protect one’s home and investment.
BEAUTIFUL, ECONOMICAL SOLUTIONS
Once entrenched, some of the problems that lake residents face are difficult to amend. Prevention is the best strategy for protecting your investments in Walloon Lake. We’ve said it before: One of the easiest methods for preserving water quality is native
plants. Let’s face it, the American lawn is a time and money-suck. The lawn aesthetic imported from European aristocrats hundreds of years ago has no place on a Northern Michigan shoreline. Walloon Lake—and your property— would be better protected by greenbelts of native plants that filter out stormwater pollutants and prevent shoreline erosion with their deep root structures. Stop fighting your number one defense against erosion and pollution, and start putting it to work for you. Native plants prevent shoreline erosion in multiple ways. First, plants that live in the water and in periodically inundated parts of the shoreline dampen wave action that would otherwise wash sediments away. Second, deep native plant roots hold the shoreline in place. Plants are a much more sensible and cost-effective way of preserving valuable property than a seawall. After all, if shoreline plants weren’t good at their jobs, they’d be out of a home in no time. Using native plants, which are well adapted to this area’s climate and soil conditions, means less money spent on fertilizers to prop up turf grass that can’t cut it in the lakeshore environment. Using fewer fertilizers that can flow into waterways with stormwater and feed algae is a win for lakes. A key to preventing HABs outbreaks is to prevent excess nutrients from entering the lake, and greenbelts are effective in doing so. What if you want to support plant growth without resorting to chemical fertilizers? Compost is a great way to promote plant health without feeding algae. It prevents soil erosion and retains water, and it’s useful on lawns and gardens. You don’t have to turn your entire lawn into a colorful garden of blooming natives (though if you did, we’d certainly love it). Simply stop mowing in front of your shoreline while allowing for some waterfront access. Or, get artful and start a native wildflower installation. If anyone asks you why you’re suddenly not into Kentucky bluegrass, tell them you’re protecting the lake. Fortunately, Walloon Lake is in good hands. Many residents want to preserve water quality while saving time and money, and we’re here to help. Contact the Watershed Council at 231-347-1181 or info@watershedcouncil. org, or visit www.watershedcouncil.org for more information. The Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership at www. mishorelinepartnership.org is another great resource on shorelines and native plants. Thanks for protecting your priceless heritage!
