Yikes, Too Many Chemicals in our Lakes

It is August and August is the best month of the summer. The air is dry, nights are cool, and daylight still dominates. Sunsets are magnificent.

It is disheartening to hear the discussion of all the nitrates that are being deposited in our Minnesota lakes including Lake Superior. Nitrates poison the lake, and cause thick algae to grow choking out good plants and light for the fish and other aquatic animals. Nitrates in the lakes are caused by fertilizers on our lawns and fertilizers in the production of crops. What we put on our lawns and fields ends up in our lakes and streams. Is this why some call August the “Dog Days of summer” because we have spent the summer poisoning our lakes?

Those of us who live in the land of lakes forget how lucky we are to have our beautiful lakes, and we all need to work for good lake quality whether it is being careful not to spread invasives or being aware of the chemicals we use. With climate change Texas and the Southwest USA are dealing with severe water shortage(see articles below). Let’s take care of our wonderful water resource!

The below ideas for protecting our lakes is from the Superiorforum.org , Sigurd Olson Institute, Northland college, and the EPA, and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative:

Be conservative with your water use.
Recycle as much as you can with the 4 Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle and repair. And….NEVER burn trash.
Curb Yard Pollution. Put your lawn on a chemical-free diet!!
Stop aquatic invasives by cleaning plants and animals off your boat.
Plant native plants, and reduce turf grass.
Plant native trees According to Audubon, oak trees are the best for attracting insects and birds.
Install a rain barrel
Create an energy-efficient home.
Bring hazardous waste to waste collection sites.
Love our lakes!

I would add several more:

Rain gardens are excellent for capturing harmful water runoff.
Keep leaves and trash out of streets and storm drains-Adopt a storm drain!
Never use cleaning products or hand sanitizer with triclosan.
Reduce all plastic use–If you must use plastic bags and bottles, be sure you recycle them.
We love playing in our lakes