Weeds in lake a sign of health

Improvement chairman notes it is something we're not used to

Vegetative growth in Storm Lake is raising concern for some lake-goers as they find it more difficult to navigate.

The patches of the new aquatic plants are most likely popping up because of the clearer lake water, which are an outgrowth of a 15-year-plus dredging project.

Lake Improvement Commission Chairman Gary Lalone says that with clearer water — the clearest its been in decades — plants can more easily access the sun’s rays for photosynthesis, which hasn’t been something Storm Lakers have seen much of in their lives. Even while the lake was being dredged, the water column was considered so turbid that vegetative growth was impossible.

“They’ve noticed [the growth] because the water is so clear. Which we have never had that kind of clear water,” Lalone says. “We’ve never had anything growing before.”

A few Storm Lake citizens are worried that the growth, which has been reported on the north side of the lake from Frank Starr Park to King’s Pointe, will turn into an over-vegetation problem like Lake View’s Black Hawk Lake endured a few years ago. Lake View and the DNR implemented an aquatic vegetation management plan in which they harvested the overgrowth and also treated it with herbicides as needed to control the amount of vegetation in the lake.

DNR officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.

DNR explained the importance of aquatic vegetation in the 2014 Black Hawk Lake management plan, but also acknowledged that too much growth can be detrimental to both recreational and environmental use of the lake.  Having a controlled, balanced lake environment provides an ideal healthy and stable ecosystem that can be enjoyed by all. Vegetation is important for spawning fish such as perch and crappie.

Storm Lake has not reached a vegetative clog point. Having boated on the lake many times himself, Lalone doesn’t find the newfound lake-water flora much of a problem, and he is confident the new part of the lake environment is a sign of a healthier ecosystem.

“I think it’s a plus. I think it’s just something that we need to get used to,” Lalone says. “It’s [part of] the environment actually.”

*Originally published in The Storm Lake Times.