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Partly cloudy. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable..

Partly cloudy. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.

 Riparians on Ponemah Lake, Squaw Lake, Tupper Lake and part of the Shiawassee River were successful in their efforts to form one special assessment district for water treatment. 

 On Tuesday, Aug. 9, the Fenton Township Board of Trustees approved two resolutions to create the new special assessment district for the bodies of water. 

 Progressive AE will provide weed treatment services. The total estimated cost of the project is $555,000 over a five-year period. Assessments depend on how many lakefront parcels riparians own. The majority of affected residents will by $216 in the first year and $194 in the four following years. For the full list of assessments, go to fentontownship.org. 

 “Waterfront homes will pay $216.66 for the first year’s assessment and $194.18 per year in the subsequent four years. Commercial properties will be assessed based on the number of boat slips or dock spaces and non-waterfront properties will be assessed a percentage based on their level of lake access,” said Thomas Broecker, operations manager and deputy clerk.

 On July 19, the board adopted a resolution to initiate proceedings to establish this new special assessment district. Treasurer John Tucker did not participate in the discussion and abstained from voting because he lives within the special assessment district. 

 The most recently approved lake improvement special assessments for Lake Ponemah and Squaw Lake ended with the 2021 assessment, which is funding the 2022 treatment programs, according to meeting minutes. Property owners submitted a request to create a combined special assessment district for Lake Ponemah, Squaw Lake, Tupper Lake and a portion of the Shiawassee River, and to approve a new five-year special assessment from 2023 to 2027. 

 Mark Shantz, trustee of the Ponemah, Squaw and Tupper (PST) Lake Association sent a letter to the board explaining that they wish to create one special assessment district for all three lakes and parts of Shiawassee River. 

 “There will be the same per parcel tax assessment price for all lake residents who have property on Lake Ponemah, Squaw Lake, Tupper Lake and the river. One watershed, all of it treated under one special assessment district,” he wrote.

 The special assessment district includes all parcels of land with frontage on or legal access to Lake Ponemah, all parcels of land with frontage on Squaw Lake, all parcels of land with frontage on Tupper Lake, and all parcels of land with frontage on the Shiawassee River between Tupper Lake and Ripley Road. There are approximately 600 properties in the district. 

 During the Aug. 9 meeting, Shantz said these bodies of water as one watershed and this renewal will help fund treatments for nuisance weeds. 

 “We think by treating it as one watershed, it’ll get everyone the best of all worlds,” he said. “It’s going to be one price for everyone.” 

One resident said that riparians on Tupper Lake have been asking for years for lake treatment and that they’ve wanted to be added to this. 

 Another resident asked if the treatments will take care of algae bloom and said he’s not impressed with the current service. “When the boat leaves the dock sometimes, it feels like I’m an icebreaker going through the algae making a cutting path,” he said, adding that he understands there are a lot of factors at play, but that the algae bloom is “embarrassing” when he has company over. 

 A representative, Rick Butine, from progressive AE, said algae is a common area in channels because the water doesn’t circulate as much. He mentioned a few short solutions when algae persists and added that regulations state that they can only treat for algae every two weeks, and they don’t want to continue to “dump copper into the lake over and over again.”

 One strategy they implement is using a different product with a phosphorus-reducing agent to slow algae growth. 

 One resident asked why the district on the Shiawassee River couldn’t be expanded north to North Road. Supervisor Vince Lorraine said this is due to cost. The resident also asked if they treat invasive emergent vegetation. The Progressive AE representative said they typically don’t treat them if they’re not causing navigational issues in the body of water, which seemed to be the primary interest of riparians. 

 “The Ponemah, Squaw, and Tupper Lakes aquatic plant control program will focus on the control of exotic, invasive species with the select use of herbicides. Plant species of primary concern include Eurasian milfoil, curly-leaf pondweed and starry stonewort. The amount of herbicide use in any given year will depend on the type and distribution of aquatic plants and Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) permit conditions,” according to the Progressive AE proposal. 

 The yearly cost for 2023 is estimated at $118,500 and the yearly costs for 2024-2027 are $108,500. 

 “Plant control activities are proposed to be coordinated under the direction of Fenton Township’s environmental consultant. The consultant would be responsible for preparing contract documents for the plant control program, conducting GPS-guided surveys of the lakes to determine the scope of work to be performed by the plant control contractor, and conducting follow-up surveys to evaluate treatment effectiveness,” according to the proposal. 

 Work includes lake depth mapping and conducting a hydro-acoustic survey of the lake bottom to create a detailed and geographically referenced depth contour map for Tupper Lake. They will collect water samples to measure temperature, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, pH, alkalinity, and chloride within Ponemah, Squaw, and Tupper Lakes in 2023. They will also measure water clarity and surface water chlorophyll-a levels.

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