October 2017 Newsletter: Future Plans For Dealing With Some Lake Management Issues

The BLIA Water Quality Committee wants to THANK everyone who paid their dues in 2017 which helps to support our efforts to reduce phosphorous in the lake.

The phosphorous data from 2017 indicates that the lake still has a higher than 40ug/L phosphorous levels. Some of the money that BLIA collects in dues will be used to develop an In-Lake phosphorous reduction treatment. Unlike copper sulfate this treatment will be long lasting and significant. Presently BLIA is working to position itself to apply for grants to assist in this phosphorous reduction. Most grants require a 50-50 match. Therefore BLIA’s goal is to save money for the matching funds that these grants require. In-Lake phosphorous reduction is only successful once the watershed generated phosphorous load is minimized. The sewer project is aiming to do this. So after the sewer is on line, BLIA hopes to have the savings to treat the lake to reduce the phosphorous coming from the lake bottom debris. Help us reach this goal by supporting BLIA.

Your dues are hard at work to make Ballston Lake clearer, cleaner and algae free. BLIA recommends that property owners not put leaves in the lake during their annual fall clean-up. This is because leaves have nutrients similar to fertilizer. They contain high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. When leaves are naturally blown into the lake from trees on a shoreline, the lake can handle the influx. But, when lake residents dump or blow lots of leaves into the lake it can upset the natural ecological balance.