Lake Watershed Information and Environmental Updates
Watershed Updates:
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Update on Lake Levels - Board member John Brancheau has done a follow-up investigation regarding the legal setting of Silver Lake. The level of Silver Lake was established on 12/20/1968 by Judge Mansour in Genesee County Circuit Court. The lake level is 870.042 feet above sea level. The weir control for this is at the outlet of Silver Lake under Silver Lake Road that flows north into Lake Ponemah. It is a fixed weir and is maintained by the Genesee County Drain Office. There has only been one call in regards to this when some rocks were dumped into the drain and the Drain Office had to remove them. |
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2011 Canada Goose Round Up - The 2011 Goose Round Up has been cancelled for this year. This year 15 nests were removed as a prerequisite that needs to be done before the request to round up geese can be submitted. The request to the township to have a goose round up was rejected for 2011. |
Environmental Landscaping Facts
- A lawn will take up some of the effects of runoff but not as much as a natural buffer strip with trees, shrubs, cattails and other wetland plants that are natural to the lake.
- It is most desirable to have a natural buffer strip of at least 10 feet wide to take up and much water runoff as possible before it enters the lake.
- Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers used in landscaping leach through soil to pollute the water below ground and can resurface in the spring.
- Do not use fertilizers with phosphorus within 100 feet of a lake. The amount of phosphorous that runs into a lake in any given year may be small, but just a little bit of the nutrient is all that is needed to send aquatic ecosystems into overdrive. This type of pollution is not reversible unless there are substantial changes in soil management.