The Ross-Stark-Twin Lakes Association Summary of the  Lake Management Plan

 Our Mission:

 The Association was organized to encourage the wise use of our lakes and surrounding area in order to maintain its natural environment and delicate ecological balance. It will work to keep these lakes and surrounding areas in good condition for recreation and healthful family living.

 Lakes Management Plan (LMP) Background:

 In August, 2006, the Ross-Stark-Twin Lakes Association commenced work on a comprehensive Lakes Management Plan. A spot survey was conducted and motivated the board to develop a more complete survey.

               A survey was mailed to 240 landowners around the three lakes and 105 surveys were received.

               With this information, the plan development began and in July 2008, a draft plan was          

              submitted for validation to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)

 LMP Goals:

•  Examine all known information about the conditions of each lake to understand their history.
• Develop a lake management plan, which improves the long-term water quality of each lake and recommends how to measure water quality.
• Determine future lake association objectives based on the LMP.

 Information was gathered by both scientific surveys and opinion surveys within the area of the three lakes. This included a survey of landowners around the three lakes in 2007. The key findings from the survey are as follows:

• 51 of 105 surveys were from Stark Lake or 49%, then Ross 34% and Twin 17 %.
• 94 of 105 surveys were from Tier 1 property or 90% were on one of the three lakes. 
• People mainly visit our area weekly (37%), then Monthly (26%), and Daily (19%)
• Most have year Round homes 45%
• Seasonal dwellings, 38% of those responding have a conversion rate of 13% to a year round dwelling.  They plan to convert the seasonal dwelling by the year 2009.
• Septic tanks on average were installed in 1995 and pumped every 2-3 years by 37% of the respondents.   
• 12 % have holding tanks on their property and 9 % of our properties have trailers
• Deep wells provide 72% of the water for our properties, with only 5% having shallow wells.

Top 10 reported problems:

1. Overall water Quality
2. Weed Growth
3. Junk accumulation
4. Water Level Fluctuations
5. ATV road damage
6. Lake users being inconsiderate
7. ATV Noise
8. Inadequate fire protection
9. Lake Pollution due to run off
10. Neighbors creating noise

 Key Measures of Water Quality

• Total Phosphorus: Total Phosphorus is the measure of the total concentration of phosphorus present in a water sample. Too much phosphorus is a concern because it can stimulate the growth of algae.
• Chlorophyll-a is a measure of the portion of the pigment still active; that is, the portion still actively respiring and photosynthesizing at the time of sampling. The photosynthesis process is normal for a leaf on a tree, but if the same process occurs within our lake waters the chemistry of’ the water changes.
• Secchi Depth-how clear the water is for light to get into it. Our bog stained lakes will influence the Secchi reading but mainly the amount of chlorophyll-a makes it harder for light to penetrate.

Summary of Measurements:

Note: A complete summary of the findings can be found at www.rmbel.info

Overall Findings:

• Our lakes meet the standards based on 2007 testing, with Ross being close to the high end of the standards.
• Bog Stains limit Transparency on Ross and Twin
• We need to continue to minimize owners or watershed-wide actions that could affect Total Phosphorus of all three lakes.

Key Recommendations and action plans:

Eight common options cited as Best Management Practices lakeshore owners could use to reduce phosphorus levels and keep our lakes clean:

• Encourage no fertilizer usage in areas where run off can get to the lake, and use phosphorus-free fertilizer on lawns. 
• Maintain your septic system.
• Manage pet waste to prevent it from getting into the lake.
• Reduce the amount of grass clippings and leaves that flow into the lake by not mowing next to the lake
• Don’t disturb or remove aquatic plants within the lake.
• Reduce runoff by using permeable products for driveways and walkways rather than pavement.
• Slow runoff to the lake with landscaping measures on your property such as buffer strips and rain gardens, and encouraging natural vegetation to stabilize the shoreline.
• Continue to improve the neighborhood around the lakes by fostering a community, which respects and understands our lakes environment. 

We need your feedback to our recommendations - do you support a lake testing plan? The lake association would like to continue with annual water testing program.  The cost of testing is $200 per year, per lake (or $400 for Twin Lake, which has two basins).  The benefits of continued water testing are:

• Determine whether our efforts to control phosphorus and chlorophyll levels in our lakes are working.
• Compare current water chemistry readings with past reading to determine trends.
• Determine whether the lake management plan needs to be modified.