Blue Angel Lake Report
Hello again Blue Angel Lake friends and neighbors! It’s been some time since the last report due, in part, to media and communication changes which have taken place. Now that the new community website is live, we wanted to use that platform to provide the latest on the lake.
We certainly appear to be out of the dry climate cycle which may have been a result of the strong El Nino weather pattern which persisted over the past couple of years. The lake levels have been consistently higher than average since last fall. So, our lake pump has had some well-deserved R&R in 2017! Outside of maintenance fees to the Lake Doctor, no additional funds have been spent from the committee budget. That’s always good news! Hopefully, this will continue until we enter the dry season in Oct and Nov. See the spreadsheet attached for detailed information and measurements.
Detailed current weather data for Blue Angel Lake available at
http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KFLPENSA61
Will the rain continue to keep the lake level high through 2017? It’s extremely difficult to predict in this area due to the pop-up nature of our summer storms as well as the gamble with tropical systems. However, there are a few broad weather patterns which remain consistent over the years. Without boring you too deeply with meteorological forecast models, my guess is we will see moderate rainfall through August and September. Though, fewer will likely be heavy rainfall events. October and November are very likely to be quite dry as they traditionally are.
Considering the above, I’m predicting no more than 2 pumping sessions may be required for the remainder of the year. To estimate costs, consider a session to last 4 days (average from last year). If the cost to run the pump is $24/per day, then we may want to allocate $192 for pumping this year.
LAKE HEALTH -
Overall, I’m happy to report the lake remains in optimal health and remains suitable for swimming! That said, the Lake Doctor did observe a few minor concerns. Regular treatment of invasive aquatic weeds have been reported. Small algae patches, bladderwort, spike rush, and floating shield lilies have been listed over the months. The main contributing factor is the increased inflow (rain run-off) bringing higher than average nutrient loads.
While we can’t completely prevent excess nutrients from entering the pond, we can limit it by following a few suggestions on the application of lawn fertilizers. The chemicals in fertilizer (primarily nitrogen) act like red bull for aquatic plant life. So, it’s important we limit the amount that enters the water.
Follow the instructions on any fertilizer packaging, of course. However, being mindful of weather forecasts before application will significantly reduce runoff risks. Periods of 3 or more days with little to no chance of significant rainfall are preferred. Consider watering your lawn within 24 hours of application so the chemicals become more soluble. The goal is to allow time for the fertilizer to seep into the ground before periods of heavy rains. Avoiding application to known water run-off areas and within 25’ to 50’ of the shoreline will dramatically reduce risks as well.
A potentially serious concern about the increased use of boats on the lake was identified in the Lake Doctors July report. The biologist warned about the hazards of accidentally contaminating the lake with invasive plant-life. The shield lilies were reported as being highly uncommon here and potentially difficult to manage. They generally spread by adhering to boats used in contaminated bodies of water. It’s recommended to thoroughly clean any boat, used elsewhere, before reintroducing it to our lake. The same is true for rafts and even tubes.
AQUATIC LIFE – The marine life, and ecosystem in general, continue to remain healthy. Earlier in the spring, I took a GoPro camera, a long selfie stick, and a kayak (thanks Randy) to survey a large swath of the pond. I was interested in the quality of deeper breeding sites and found 4 different sites suitable for protecting young fish. These included a couple of discarded Christmas tree structures still intact, the rock beds lining the run-off culverts, along with a larger pile of natural debris from trees branches in the deeper portions of the pond. Shallow grass beds and sections of brush overreach exist providing prime breeding areas for the minnow population as well.
The sunfish (bream) and bass population appear steady and a healthy supply of minnows are evident. So, no concerns to raise in this arena! Of course, the turtle population is still a little excessive but no negative impacts have been reported. I’ve personally noticed more snakes than I have in years past. However, with the exception of one cottonmouth, the majority have been non-venomous rat snakes.
Please also remember to avoid feeding with bread and other table foods. Instead, consider pond pellets. Barnes Feed store has large bags for under $20. However, be careful not to overfeed as the lake’s ecosystem should be self-sustainable and we want to avoid the aquatic life becoming fully dependent.
That wraps up your mid-2017 report! If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback you’d like to provide, we’d love to hear from you. Articles you’d like to contribute to the newsletter are certainly welcome as well! Please send your comments to cecarlson1@gmail.com for review. Thanks for your time and hope to see you around the lake soon!
