Boater Safety / General Update
Tim Laseke ·
Date: July 3, 2020
Happy 4th of July weekend! Summer has finally arrived and our lake is in full swing. Thanks for taking a moment to review this quick update on boater safety and district activities.
Boater Safety:
The lake is as busy as ever and with this holiday weekend traditionally being the busiest, please remind all your guests of basic lake safety and courtesy rules including:
- Boat traffic is to be counter-clockwise around the lake;
- If you park in the middle to swim, please leave enough deep water space for skiers and tubers to pass on the outside;
- If you are cutting a straight line to head home, please be give right-of-way to the boats in the speed lane;
- Consider not having glass bottles on your boat (glass pieces are found daily at the island where people swim);
- If you are 31 years old or younger, you need to have passed the WI DNR Boater Safety Course to operate any powered boat including waverunners and jet skis;
- Limit alcohol intake on the lake especially for boat operators;
- If enjoying the fireworks from the lake, please remain aware of other boats and people in the water and always use your navigation lights after sunset;
- Let’s all be courteous and safe out there!
The Handbook of Wisconsin Boating Laws can be found here
Culvert:
We have been working with the cities of Muskego and Norway to blow-out (jet) the culvert as it had been partially blocked with sticks, algae mats, and other debris. Proper culvert maintenance is essential to avoid flooding after big rain events.
Weed Control (invasive macrophytes):
This is always of foremost interest to members. We are in the final phase of our Sonar project which is the largest weed abatement project attempted on Denoon.
We have done a good job in controlling the Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM) which had completely ringed the lake and was getting chopped by boat props which is how it can reproduce (fragmentation). Unfortunately, the 2nd target species, Curly Leaf Pondweed (CLP) took full advantage of the extra space and nutrients and grew into the same locations as the EWM. Last month, we conducted the final ‘booster’ application of Sonar (fluridone). It has done its job and the CLP is in recession. As a final obligation, per our project plan, we are obligated to conduct a full plant assay by the end of this season.
Our next concern should be algae. As we suppress plant growth, nutrients that plants aren’t taking up become available to algae. We have been lucky with limited runoff from large rain events and with moderate temperatures. If we get heavy rains or a heat wave, we may experience another algae bloom which can include toxic blue-green algae. We’ll send out a specific notice if blue-green algae is discovered. The green filamentous algae that can be seen on top of the surface, often clinging to other plants, is non-toxic.
Water Quality Programs:
A few volunteers are monitoring our lake, tributaries and launches. Please reach out if you can help.
- Clean Boats Clean Waters (CBCW) - This is a program where, after being certified in a ½ day class, volunteers spend time at the public launches talking to visitors about invasive species and assisting with removing organic debris from boats and trailers as they come in and out of the lake. The district applied for, and was awarded a grant of up to $8,000 to help staff and operate this program. However, monitoring was suspended in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the grant requires at least 200 monitoring hours at each of the covered launches, we decided not to start the grant activities this year but we plan to pursue this again next year. We have received $2,000 in advance grant money that we’ll need to return. Meanwhile, we can still pursue volunteer monitoring so please consider donating some time.
- Citizen Lake Monitoring Network (CLMN) - This is a program where volunteers measure lake clarity, temperature at various depths, and Chlorophyll A (algae). This program was suspended but is now coming online and we'll be taking measurements every 8 days. We take readings on days when the DNR Lansat 8 satellite passes over our lake. By combining satellite data with real data, the DNR can most accurately assess our water clarity, plant growth, and TSI index.
- Water Action Volunteers (WAV) - This is a program that monitors tributaries for flow rate, oxygen level, clarity, and macroinvertebrate (bug) species, in order to determine the health of our watershed relative to the amount of pollutants being dumped into the lake.
Annual Meeting:
Please remember that our annual meeting is scheduled for 6pm on Monday 8/31/20. You’ll be receiving a formal agenda and budget via regular mail a couple weeks prior to the meeting. We’re monitoring the pandemic and will make a decision of whether to hold the meeting at Muskego City Hall or via Zoom teleconference (or both).
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Thanks & regards,