A Homeowner's Guide for Lake Protection

Here are some simple things that an average citizen can do to help protect the water quality in our lakes:

• Never dump anything down a storm drain.  Most storm drains empty directly into lakes with little or no treatment - the water flowing into these drains does NOT go to the sewage treatment plant.  Used motor oil, antifreeze, RV wastes, garbage, lawn clippings and other pollution do not belong in storm drains.
• Volunteer to help our office glue these educational plaques to storm drains that are visible from sidewalks (these plaques were provided to us by the state Department of Transportation):

• Maintain your vehicle so that it does not leak oil or other fluids onto parking lots and roadways, where it can be washed into storm drains.  Stormwater is considered the biggest threat to the health of urban lakes nationwide.

• Maintain a healthy beach on your lakefront property.  White sandy beaches are not healthy beaches from the lake's perspective and they also are generally not permissible.  The Department of Environmental Protection requires that you clear no more that 50 percent of your shoreline, or 50 feet, whichever is less.  The remainder should be left in native vegetation that can absorb nutrients and other contaminants before they reach the lake.  Shoreline vegetation also buffers wave action to help prevent shoreline erosion.

• Pump out your septic tanks every 3 to 5 years, especially if you live on a lakefront.  This is how long it takes for a typical tank to fill with sludge.  Once filled, the tank operates inefficiently, releasing nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus and other contaminants to groundwater that flows into the lake.

• Be careful with lawn fertilizers and pesticides around the lake.  Fertilizers add nutrients to the lake which promotes the growth of algae and overgrowth of plants that can lead to a decline in water clarity and/or water quality.  Fertilize sparingly and never right before a rain.  Many small fertilizer applications are better than a single large application in a season.  The Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Program, administered by the county extension office, can teach you how to have an environmentally friendly yard and by following the guidelines of the program you can have a certified Florida Yard.

• Wash your vehicle on the lawn instead of on a paved driveway.  Nutrients contained in detergents can pollute lakes if allowed to run into storm drains - using these same nutrients to promote the growth of grass on your lawn is much more environmentally friendly.

• Keep your driveway free of chemicals and lawn clippings that could be washed into storm drains - wipe up spills promptly.

• Clean up after your pets - don't allow the nutrients and bacteria in pet wastes to enter the lakes.

• Boat responsibly - maintain your boat to prevent leaks, avoid spills when filling the gas tank and never throw trash into the water.

• Use porous surfaces and swales near lakes.  Porous surfaces, unlike pavement, allow water to filter through the soil before entering the lake.  Swales at the bottom of a hill can prevent water from large storms from entering a lake directly by holding the water back until it can filter through the soil.

• Conserve water by keeping lawn irrigation to a minimum and NEVER water while it's raining and do not allow your sprinklers to spray onto sidewalks or the street.

• Become a Lakewatch volunteer - there are always lakes in need of a volunteer to spend about 1 hour a month taking samples that will be analyzed by the Lakewatch program in Gainesville.  This information allows our office to follow trends in water quality in adopted lakes and problems are much more easily detected when there is a lot of data available.

• Report suspicious activities - let us know if you see someone engaged in activities that pollute a lake.