By David Fleet
Editor
Lake residents of Brandon and Groveland townships are needed for a long term study.
This year the Oakland County Board of Commissioners and Health Division will partner with the Michigan Clean Water Corps to provide Oakland County residents with free training and equipment to monitor lake water quality during the summer through the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program or CLIMP.
From 10-11 a.m., Feb. 24, a free informational session will be at the Commissioners Auditorium, 1200 N. Telegraph Road., Bldg. , Pontiac. From 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. May 5 a required training session for CLIMP will be held at the same location.
“The idea here is to examine long term data,” said Dr.Paul Steen, Aquatic Ecologist, with the Huron River Watershead Council. “Our volunteers are out there every summer in more than 250 lakes statewide.”
Steen said changes to lakes happen slowly so the volunteers collect data over a long period of time.

“You can’t remember what the water was like 10 or 20 years ago,” he said. “So by recording the information many times those changes can be examined and are more accurate.”
The CLIMP has been monitoring Michigan inland lakes for more than 40 years. From mid-May through mid-September, volunteers will take weekly samples and conduct a survey of aquatic invasive plants. Volunteers must have access to a boat. The tests are for water clarity and phosphorus—an essential element for plant life, but when there is too much of it in water, it can speed up a reduction in dissolved oxygen in lakes and rivers.
Soil erosion is a major contributor of phosphorus to streams, he added.
“The state of Michigan just does not have the resources to do the tests, so residents living on lakes are needed,” he said. “It comes down to the education of residents to contend with the problems. The proper use of fertilizers and aging septic systems along many suburban lakes are common issues.”
Register at psteen@hrwc.org. The training is free. Call Dr. Steen 734-769-5123.