Protect Water, Fish & Plants

Did you know....

• Phosphorus runs into our lake, and comes from lawn fertilizers, road dust, grass clippings, yard debris, pet droppings, eroded soil, motor oil, and septic system effluent.
• Phosphorus is a fertilizer and an over-fertilized Balch Lake means excessive algea.
• Too much algea makes the water cloudy, smells terrible and reduces oxygen, which means less wildlife (fish and loons), more plants, and cloudy water.

How you can help

Property owners, renters, and visitors can all help to protect the waters and wild life of Balch Lake.

• Keep as much shoreline undisturbed as possible; it helps purify the waters running into the lake.
• Seed and mulch bare soil withing 2 weeks of clearing.
• Plant deep-rooted, woody vegetation along the shoreline.
• Use fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides sparingly.
• Use non-phosphate fertilizers and detergents.
• Don't put into your septic system paper towels, cigarettes, drain cleaner, bleach.