Are Lawn Chemicals Harming the Lake ?

The chemicals that we put on our lawns may contribute to the pol-lutants that enter the lake, but they may not be the primary cause of the excess phosphorous found in Buckeye Lake.

The depth of the water clarity in our lake has diminished from 48″ in the 1920s to just under 7″ to-day. This lack of clarity is not un-usual for the shallow canal lakes found in Ohio, however, other areas in Ohio have developed pro-grams that have demonstrated a measured improvement in the quality of their lakes.

As residents, we can do our part in improving the condition of the lake. Use of low or no-phosphorous fertilizers on our lawns will help. Sweeping excess fertilizer off of hard surfaces [driveways and sidewalks], where they can be absorbed by the soil and not washed directly into the lake. Staying clear of the shore-line will also reduce the amount of fertilizers thrown directly into the lake by lawn spreaders.

Many of our neighboring farmers are already using low till or no till methods in their fields and some have even established buffer zones around the streams that run through their properties.

Dredging the sediment from the bottom of the lake and removing it from the area will also make a difference in the overall quality of our lake and also give us much needed depth for all of our boating activities.

As has been said many times, the lake is ours to take care of. No one else has as much at stake as we, the residents around the lake. If we leave it to others, we may not like the eventual outcome.

(Source:  Buckeye Lake Area Civic Association)