 About E. Coli: swimming hazards, testing and prevention.What is E. Coli?
Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a type of bacteria (single cell organism) that is used by the State of Michigan as a water quality indicator. When E. coli is found in surface waters, it means that there has been fecal contamination. While E. coli itself may be harmful to human health, other disease causing organisms might also be present. Watch this short video to learn more about E. Coli.  Foam is a naturally-occurring phenomena on any lake. The Department of Environmental Quality often receives complaints claiming that “someone discharged laundry detergents into the lake” or that there are suds on the river or stream. This phenomenon is often the result of natural processes, not environmental pollution. Foam can be formed when the physical characteristics of the water are altered by the presence of organic materials in the water.
The foam that appears along lakeshores is most often the result of the natural die-off of aquatic plants. Plants are made up of organic material, including oils (i.e., corn oil and vegetable oil). When the plants die and decompose, the oils contained in the plant cells are released and float to the surface. Once the oils reach the lake surface, wind and wave action pushes them to the shore. The concentration of the oil changes the physical nature of the water, making foam formation easier. The turbulence and wave action at the beach introduces air into the organically enriched water, which forms the bubbles. Foam commonly occurs in waters with high organic content such as productive lakes, bog lakes, and in streams that originate from bog lakes, wetlands, or woody areas. Oftentimes, streams that originate from woody areas will have a brown tint in the water. The brown tint is often caused by the presence of tannin, which is a substance that gives wood its brown color. The tannin is released during the decomposition of wood along with other materials that cause foaming when they are introduced in water. It is quite common to find foam in dark-colored streams, especially during late fall and winter, when plant materials are decomposing in the water. Some foam in water can indicate pollution. When deciding if the foam is natural or caused by pollution, consider the following:
If you find pollution and believe it is human-induced, please report it to the State of Michigan’s Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS) hotline at 1-800-292-4706. For more information please contact any Water Bureau district office or call the State of Michigan’s Environmental Assistance Center at 1-800-662-9278. Based on feedback from residents regarding the non-native weed growth in the lake, your LFPOA Board of Directors supported the need of a 5 year lake-wide weed treatment program beginning in 2015. We made this decision after gathering all the facts and talking to many other lake associations in Michigan who have similar lake management plans. We feel that this program will help in keeping our lake healthy, promote better native weed growth for improved fish reproduction, and help in sustaining long term property values.
A special assessment district (SAD) was established for the purpose of initiating a lake improvement project consisting of eradication and/or control of aquatic weeds and plants in Lake Fenton. This SAD is used only for paying for Lake Fenton’s lake management plan. Since all the owners of property on the lake benefit from this lake management program, the costs is assessed on a pro rata basis against each parcel of property within the SAD for all parcels of property within Fenton Township and the City of Fenton. |