Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Jennifer Maleitzke, 651-757-2549 St. Paul, Minn. -- Now that spring has come to Minnesota, are you looking forward to spending time on your favorite lake this summer? Can't wait to put your boat or canoe into the water for the first time? Steve Merten has been waiting to get back on the water all winter long -- and he has an important reason to do so. As a volunteer in the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) Citizen Lake Monitoring Program (CLMP), Merten monitors Half Moon Lake in Hennepin County, taking notes of the water's physical condition and recreational suitability. He is one of nearly 1,300 volunteers who participate in the CLMP. Merten understands the importance of his volunteerism. "As a high school science teacher, I have been teaching students about the hidden life of a lake - the `below the surface' world that is so closely connected to everything that happens above the lake," he said. "Looking at a lake's turbidity gives some great clues to its health and the effects the surrounding world has had on that body of water." Merten, an avid fisherman and canoeist, likes the program because it lets the users of the lake become owners of more than just the recreation it offers. "Watching my little lake go from crystal clear in spring to fairly cloudy makes me want to know the cause, and to be able to judge if the change is a natural cycle tied to the seasons, or if it is warning of problems upstream," Merten said. Monitoring is a simple and relatively quick process. Volunteers visit a designated spot on one or more lakes weekly, where they measure the clarity of the water with a Secchi disk. A Secchi disk is a white, 8-inch, metal disk that is lowered into the water until it can no longer be seen. The depth, measured by markings on the rope, is a useful indicator of the lake's relative water quality. Other volunteers like Merten are needed to monitor water quality in Minnesota's 12,200 lakes during the summer months. Monitoring data gathered by volunteers provides valuable information about the current health of Minnesota's waters. Johanna Schussler, CLMP program coordinator, said that the MPCA is always looking for volunteers and that there are many lakes throughout the state that don't currently have a CLMP volunteer. While volunteers are needed statewide, the MPCA will also be looking for more lake volunteers in specific watersheds to supplement the data that the agency and other local partners will be collecting. Those watersheds include: Big Fork River, Bois de Sioux River, Buffalo River, Cedar River, Chippewa River, Crow Wing River, Grand Marais Creek, Mississippi River (St. Cloud and Winona), Minnesota River (Granite Falls), Shell Rock River, St. Croix River (Stillwater) and the St. Louis River. A list of specific lakes that need volunteers is available at www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/wq-s1-52.pdf. The MPCA provides volunteers with everything needed to be a monitor (although lake volunteers need access to a boat or canoe). More information about the volunteer monitoring programs is available on the MPCA's Web site at www.pca.state.mn.us/cmp or by calling 1-800-657-3864.