Lake Macatawa is the embarrassment of Holland. Lake Macatawa is often referred to as revolting, a popular nickname around town is Lake Macatoilet. Many WO students have a negative perception of Lake Macatawa. Overall, most people would say Lake Macatawa is disgusting. For these people, Lake Macatawa isn’t a daily part of their lives just something they drive past or hear about through family or friends, not for Lake Macatawa resident Jr. Drew Rothstein. Rothstein’s house is located right on Lake Mac. His back window looks right out on Lake Macatawa. Rothstein says that he can see “lots of little stuff floating in the water,” when he goes out and looks at the lake.
Jr. Kyler Comment is a seasonal boater and a marina employee who has worked on the gas dock at Yacht Basin for the past two summers and he hates the quality of the water. “They don’t call it Black Lake for no reason, but the water quality has gotten so much better over the past decades. There are 4 or more other marinas and gas docks on the lake and guaranteed all 4 of them spill several gallons of gas into the water weekly which I’m sure isn’t helping the water quality,”
Comment mentions the lake becoming cleaner which is true and a big factor in that is Project Clarity.
Project Clarity is a project run through the Outdoor Discovery Center Network. Project Clarity’s purpose is to clean up the rivers and watersheds that lead into Lake Macatawa. The project has been around since 2013 but the plans for it have been around since 2011.
They have 5 main focuses, first restoring land by the Macattawa RIver and watersheds close to Lake Macatawa. Restoring means buying up land, or talking to the people who own the land, and helping them protect their land and try to bring back the original river and its riverplain.
They also try to stop the erosion of streambanks.
Third they focus on urban sources and how to protect the Lake from those sources through rain barrels, tree planting, native planting, and rain gardens.
Fourth they try to gather more awareness of their efforts, how the lake has been getting cleaner, and how regular people can help.
Finally, they try to plan for future problems and how to improve upon their strategies for Lake cleanup.
Since Project Clarity has been doing their work and educating people the phosphorus and chlorophyll levels have decreased. The phosphorus levels are what cause the algae blooms in the lake. The levels may still be undesirable but the progress and potential for a clean and safe lake is still possible.
According to Project Clarity employee and former watershed manager for the Macattwawa Area coordinating council Kelly Goward the average amount of phosphorus in the lake is down 60%. It may be difficult to see a difference but a close look at the statistics shows a significant difference from when project clarity started until now.
Goward is the Lake and Water director at the outdoor Discover Center and has worked with Project Clarity “since the beginning,” Goward and Project Clarity help better Lake Macatawa and lower the phosphorus levels so much by talking to landowners who have land on watersheds that lead to Lake Macatawa about being more responsible.
Goward gave some advice on how to get involved with Project Clarity and help fix the problem. “Learn more on our website: https://outdoordiscovery.org/project-clarity/ Sign up to volunteer (see website calendar): spring and fall river cleanups, spring and fall macroinvertebrate monitoring, other scheduled opportunities Follow best practices at home: pick up after your pet, don’t leave grass clippings on paved surfaces, use pesticides and fertilizers sparingly, install a rain barrel, plant native plants Attend an educational program or event, Donate to the ODC Network to support Project Clarity.” Reach out to them at odc_conversation on Instagram or stop by the DeGraaf Nature Center.
