Lake Margaret
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) put Lake Margaret on the impaired lake list and said it would put the lake on its 2014 lake schedule list. The top three concerns identified for the lake are water quality, aquatic vegetation, and land use and zoning. The MPCA has been periodically monitoring Lake Margaret since 1995.
In 2005, MPCA testing found significantly higher than normal levels of phosphorus, which promotes algae growth. The source of the phosphorus is probably upstream from the lake. Two creeks empty into Margaret, and Margaret empties into Gull Lake.
Lake Margaret has another problem, curly pondweed. Homeowners have contributed to a Lake Margaret fund to treat the invasion and find ways to protect the lake. Lake Margaret is just 222 acres and is 26 feet deep at the deepest, with most of the lake 10 to 15 feet deep. Volunteers are taking secchi disc readings and checking on Home Brook in an attempt to learn where the problems are coming from.
December 1, 2006 6:58 AM | Category: Cleanup