Watershed district presses for a clean lake

Known and unknown pollution sources threaten lake economy

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA - Lake Wallenpaupack is relatively clean now. It might not always be so with the current rate of growth.

“We are becoming like urban communities,” said Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District (LWWMD) District Administrator Karen Mandeville at a presentation to the Wayne County Commissioners on January 31.

The watershed area is 219 square miles and includes 14 townships in four counties: Wayne, Pike, Monroe and Lackawanna. These counties are among the fastest growing in the state, she said.

“We are going to see more and more destructive elements get into the water unless all of us are watchful,” she said. “We are seeing a proliferation of green algae that can create toxins that cause problems that affect people. A lot of nutrients are getting in the lake and it’s important to keep this under control.”

The LWWMD board enlists a wide number of local officials from participating counties and townships as well as representation by concerned citizens. Through a cadre of volunteers, monitoring and testing of the lake is conducted from March to October.

The district has no staff but depends on a combination of federal and state grants to pay for testing and the correction of problems. PPL Electric Utilities provides a lot of the funding for testing, she said. The district also has a number of volunteers who gather data for the tests.

“We work very closely with the county conservation districts and with the municipalities to get them to pass ordinances that protect water quality and run-off,” she said. “Storms and nature move soil that can cause undesirable plant growth in the lake.”

Some of the forces that can adversely affect water quality are point-source pollution, a treatment plant that empties its effluent into feeder streams and non-source pollution, pollution sources that are scattered like farm run-off, faulty septic systems on thousands of properties and uncontrolled run-off from parking lots, roads and driveways.

One of the big enemies of a lake is phosphorus that is contained in a lot of laundry detergents. “There aren’t many local stores that sell detergents that do not contain phosphorus,” Mandeville said.

Another villain in causing nutrients in the lake is the thousands of septic systems that surround the lake that may not be working efficiently, she said.

“This lake is an enormous boon to our local communities,” she said. “It’s up to us to keep it clean.”