Sara Heger, U of MN’s Onsite Sewage Treatment Program set the stage at a recent MN COLA meeting to talk about the connection between septic systems and water quality. She discussed Minnesota’s rules, as well as how a properly operated septic system functions, and what and how things can go wrong. She is the go-to person for all things septic!
Sara’s presentation can be seen HERE.
VRBOs and similar rental situations are raising some concerns among lake residents and one county has set rules and processes for managing rental properties to the benefit of all shoreland owners and users. Chris LeClair, Director of Otter Tail County’s Land and Resource department explained the new rules and led an excellent discussion of Otter Tail County’s Vacation Home Rental Ordinance. The presentation can be seen HERE.
We have three important topics on the docket:
Register anytime before the meeting. The Zoom link for the meeting itself will be provided following registration. You will also receive an email from Zoom with the meeting link and more details.
Our meeting will start with Chris LeClair, the Director of Otter Tail County’s Land and Resource department. Otter Tail County is a leader in establishing an ordinance regarding vacation home rentals. The county’s ordinance went into effect on July 1 of this year.
Vacation home rentals can impact public health, safety, quality of life, as well as water and environmental quality. Many of your lakes, towns and counties are wrestling with vacation home rentals and their impacts, so looking into Otter Tail County’s new ordinance will make us all smarter.
Our meeting is being held during the EPA’s SepticSmart Week 2024 (purely coincidence), and since many our lake and river properties use septic systems or holding tanks, we thought that would be a great tie in to our collective interest in water quality. And it also ties into our meeting’s first speaker, as septic system are one of the vacation home rental concerns.
We are very fortunate to have Sara Heger, from the U of MN’s Onsite Sewage Treatment Program setting the stage at our MN COLA meeting to talk about the connection of septic system and water quality. Sara is also leading the webinar on “Being Septic Smart” at 7 pm CT on the same day as our meeting. She is the go-to person for all things septic! You’ll hear Sara at our meeting and you’ll probably want to register for that webinar
Last, but certainly not least, Jeff Forester of MN Lakes and Rivers Advocates will brief us on November’s statewide elections, where you may want to get involved, what the elections that might mean for the 2025 Legislative session, and what MLR is thinking about their Legislative priorities for 2025.
What do Kathryn Hoffman (left), Dr. John Rogers (right), Jeff Forester (top), and Hilarie Sorenson (bottom) all have in common?
They are all speaking about water at the MN COLA Annual Meeting on June 18 from 9 am – 11 am CT. The meeting is guaranteed to be interesting and informative, and we hope you will attend.
Register here for the Zoom meeting.
Meeting topics and speakers:
As always, everyone welcome to attend, so feel free to forward this meeting information.
MN COLA strongly believes in the need for keeping and reclaiming natural shorelines. This is especially important with the trend of turning part-time cabins into full-time homes. We have many resources on our website to make that case, but it is up to us, as shore owners to understand the impacts of making changes at the shoreline and to retain and/or reclaim the elements that favorably affect water quality.
With the permission of Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, we are pleased to provide a link to a terrific article that highlights the important connection between forests and lakes for strong water quality, shoreline stabilization, resistance to AIS, and a strong fishery.
The science supports keeping the forest and lakes connected!
Kirsti Marohn of MPR News, reported on new research that indicates reduced water clarity of lakes in mid-summer, linked to increased rainfall caused by climate change, is affecting the survival of common loons in northern Wisconsin. This is relevant research for Minnesota as well.
Here is the link to the new research.
We talk a lot about reclaiming natural shorelines, but you may not have a perspective on the permissions that you will need before you do the work.
This “Regulation Guide” (pictured above) was developed by Blue Thumb and it provides that perspective on approvals you need based on what you plan to do. Blue Thumb’s shoreline stabilization webpage has tabs with Planning, Design, Installation, and Maintenance considerations.
Blue Thumb is an educational program of Metro Blooms, a Minneapolis-based non-profit.
The open water boating season is here and many of your organizations are involved with AIS inspections, inspectors, and early detection activities. Here are a couple of things you may not know about which may help.
The Lake Tahoe watercraft decontamination manual is well-organized with 91 pages of photos and great content, including nearly 30 pages of manufacturer-specific decontamination considerations.
The MAISRC AIS identification guide contains tips for identifying a number of aquatic invasive species (AIS) that are considered high-risk to Minnesota waters, as well as some common native lookalike species. You can download it for free, buy the book, or become an AIS Detector and get the book — plus tons of hands-on training!
The free Check-In, Check-Out program was designed by our friends at CD3 to educate boaters on hand cleaning different types of watercraft and trailers. Simply place the Check-In, Check-Out QR code at a visible location at your boat launch.
Private wells produce 20% of Minnesota’s drinking water and serve a majority of waterfront property owners in the state. If you have a private well, you should know that the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recommends you test for nitrates and coliform bacteria every year, especially if babies or young children are drinking your well water.
They have a webpage on private well testing that provides more details.
Regarding Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) – Even though MDH recently reported that 22 Minnesota water systems have PFAS levels above the new federal limits, they do not recommend that every private well is tested for PFAS. If you use a private well for drinking water that is included in an existing environmental investigation near a known source of contamination, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will notify you if your well might be affected. If you still want to test your private well for PFAS and are not a part of an MPCA environmental investigation, see the Testing your private well for PFAS section.
Algal blooms occur when tiny, naturally occurring plants grow rapidly in an area of water and are visible without a microscope. Not all algal blooms are toxic, but some are. Algal blooms capable of producing toxins dangerous to humans or animals are considered Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).
MN’s Pollution Control Agency has simple advice for algae blooms: “When in doubt, STAY OUT!”
Here is some great information:
