Water Quality & Weed Control

Chemical treatments

Water quality maintenance and weed control on White Lake are financed by a Special Assessment District, and are supervised by the State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

2010 Treatment Strategy

Since the 2008 treatment with Sonar will have somewhat lessened residual effect this year, we can expect that Eurasian Milfoil and Curly-Leafed Pondweed will have greater growth, and will require more treatment with contact herbicides than last year.

Surveys last year found that Starry Stonewort, a third non-native nuisance plant, was becoming more prevalent in the lake, and could reach nuisance levels this year. This plant is actually a type of algae, which forms dense mats when it anchors itself to bottom of the lake. It blocks out the growth of both good and bad plants, and can have an adverse affect on the fish population. It becomes a further nuisance when it grows to heights of six-seven feet. We expect to aggressively treat this plant in early-May, in manner similar to how we have treated other algae over the years.

2010 General treatment information
Detailed product information

Treatment History

In 2008, we had two lake-wide treatments with Sonar (Fluridone), which targeted two non-native and nuisance plants: Eurasian Milfoil and Curly-Leafed Pondweed. There was also late-season spot treatment targeted at the few remaining patches of Eurasian Milfoil.

In 2009, we needed less treatment to control weed growth, because of the residual effects of the 2008 treatment. Starry Stonewort became the major treatment concern later in the season.

Testing

The State of Michigan mandates an annual Lake Management Program Report, filed by a certified professional, for several years following the application of Fluridone. Click here to view a copy of the 2009 report. This testing gives us a yardstick to measure progress, and provides the state with information for an effective database.

Visit the Fishing page for information about Fishing Advisories and consumption of fish from White Lake.

Lawn Care

To help in controlling aquatic weed growth, ideally we would not fertilize our lawns, since run-off of fertilizer contributes to weed growth in the lake. Since many of us, however, do use fertilizer on our lawns, there are a few things we can do to lessen the effects of fertilizer on aquatic weed growth. Any of the following can serve as a barrier to help reduce fertilizer run-off into the lake:

• landscape ties
• stones and rocks
• plants and bushes
• A 5 - 10 foot buffer strip between the lawn and the lake, where fertilizer use is avoided

We can also use fertilizer that has 0% or very low phosphorus, which is now widely available. (Phosphorus is the middle number of the 3 numbers listed on the bag of fertilizer. The first number represents Nitrogen, the second is Phosphorous, the third is Potassium or Potash.) It is most likely that your soil is already rich in phosphorus. The MSU Extension Service recommends fertilizers that are low in both phosphorus and potassium, such as 23-0-6, 30-4-4 or 26-4-4, in this area

Fertilizer Numbers - What Do They Mean?

Lawncare Do's and Dont's

Christmas Trees

On some northern Michigan inland lakes that are deep and do not have any bottom weed structure, there is a practice of putting Christmas trees out on the ice to mark fishing holes. When the ice melts in the springtime, the trees sink to the bottom (hopefully) and provide structure for the fish. This is NOT a good practice on White Lake! Our lake is shallow, and sunlight provides ample weed structure. Please dispose of your tree using your routine refuse pickup.