Lifeguards from the North Jersey area converged on Lake Mohawk last Monday night for the Annual Sussex County Lifeguard Competition. Teams from Lake Mohawk, Culver Lake, White Meadow Lake and Green Pond competed to test their speed, lifesaving and rescue skills.

White Meadow Lake was the host for this year’s competition but because of their lake incurringthe dreaded blue/green algae, the competition was postponed a week. When their lake wasstill under the algae watch and warning, the competition was quickly changed to Lake Mohawk.

Twenty eight Lifeguards competed in five different events, the 400 yard Open Water Swim,Run/Swim/Paddle/Kayak Relay, Rescue Tube Relay, Ring Buoy Relay and a Submerged VictimTeam Scenario. Each event had the Lifeguards demonstrate their prowess and skills andespecially their teamwork.

The large crowd of supporters and spectators cheered on the guards, especially during the closefinishes in some of the events.

Culver Lake Lifeguards took the overall competition finally wresting it from defending champs, Lake Mohawk who took second overall. Green Pond took third by only one point behind Lake Mohawk. White Meadow Lake took fourth. Green Pond took an early lead with Tara Wiarda coming in first and Indyia Weinmann taking third in the 400 Open Water Swim. Maddie Crowell from Culver Lake came in second with Lake Mohawk’s two girls coming up in 4 th and 5 th . John Postma, Culver Lake, took first in the Men’s division with Green Pond’s Jack Elsevier in a close 2 nd .

The Run/Swim/Paddle/Kayak event was again exciting this year with all teams leading in at least one leg of the relay. Heidi Van den Heuval, Culver Lake, was the single female in the first runleg. It looked like each team lead at one part of the race. Finally, Catherine Gaines from Lake Mohawk pulled it out at the finish again this year in the kayak to take the event.

Culver Lake, Lake Mohawk and Green Pond were close on the Rescue Tube Relay with Culver taking first, Lake Mohawk second and Green Pond third.

The score changed again with Green Pond taking first in the Ring Buoy Relay, LMCC second and Culver third.

The final event of the night was the Submerged Victim Scenario. This event really tested the guards’ teamwork. While one guard entered the water and recovered a submerged manikin and then towed it to shore, the awaiting team was ready with backboard, bag valve masks and AED to perform 10 minutes of high performance team CPR. All teams were very close in their performance. Culver Lake placed first with 19 out of 20 points, LMCC second with 18, Green Pond with 16 and White Meadow Lake with 15.

Cait Waxler, Chris Young and Rich Carlson from the American Red Cross were the judges for this year’s competition.

The 2023 Lifeguard Competition will be held on MONDAY, AUGUST 7TH, at the White Meadow Lake Club in Rockaway, NJ.  Attached is the flyer. 

This is a new venue and promises to be another great event for all of our Lifeguards to not only show off their skills, have some spirited competition and experience some camaraderie. 

For more information, please contact https://sites.google.com/view/wmllg?usp=sharing 

Governor Phil D. Murphy has officially recognized

July 2023 as Lakes Appreciation month!

July is Lakes Appreciation Month!

You work and play on them. You drink from them. But do you really appreciate them? Growing population, development, and invasive species stress your local lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. All life needs water; let’s not take it for granted!

Help make Lakes Appreciation Month great this year!
Visit the NALMS website for more info.
 https://www.nalms.org/lakes-appreciation-month/

As we enjoy our beautiful lakes and communities, we all have a responsibility to be aware of our environmental impact on the watershed and lakes that we love. As members of lake communities that seek to educate children, teens, and adults as to what each person can do towards improving the health of our waterways, the NJ COLA Education Committee is offering resources that can be used to engage and provide stimulating educational experiences using the EnviroScape Non-Point Source Model. Sessions can also be tailored for focused age groups.

• At the EnviroScape Station, participants will learn about non-point source pollution, or “people” pollution and how each one contributes to lake, stream, and ocean pollution.
• The interactive presentation will show how we can help stop pollution using an activity that will show how everyday pollutants get into our waterways and lakes.
• During the demo, questions include:
• • What is a watershed?
  • What types of non-point source pollution do you see in your community?
  • What do you think happens when it rains?
  • How can we reduce or control our contribution to the pollution?

Here is a 3-minute snapshot of what the EnviroScape Model looks like – for more info or to schedule a presentation (about 30 minutes + Q & A), contact us!

https://youtu.be/W6KLXsl-J9k

Restoring funding to Section 314 of the Clean Lakes Program in the Clean Water Act 

• NALMS_314_Letter to Legislators Template Final.docx
  

  
  

  Introduction

  The Clean Lakes Program was created in 1972 and was established under Section 314 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, later known as the Clean Water Act. Clean Lakes Program grants provided funds under Section 314 to help assess the water quality of lakes in a state or tribe, conduct diagnostic feasibility studies to identify the causes of pollution in the lake, implement projects to solve the problems and post restoration assessments. Between 1976 and 1995 the Clean Lakes Program awarded approximately $145 million in grants. The program has not received any funding since 1995.¹

  The Issue

  Lake water quality is declining across the nation despite existing efforts and funding. The number of healthy unpolluted lakes has been declining. The most recent National Lakes Assessment (NLA) found across the country that 45% of lakes are in poor condition with elevated phosphorus concentrations, and 46% were in poor condition with high nitrogen concentrations.² Nutrient pollution, high levels of algae growth, and diminished water clarity are increasing and were observed in 24% of the nation’s lakes.² The algal toxins known as microcystins, which can be harmful to humans and pets, were detected in 21% of lakes. ² Based on biological indicators, 24% of continental U.S. lakes were in poor condition for lake life.

  When the 314 Clean Lakes program funding was discontinued in 1995, Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, which provides funds for implementing projects that address nonpoint source water pollution was left to provide some funding for lake restoration. Recent queries of the 319-tracking system indicate that a small percentage of 319 funds are used for lake restoration activities. Limited Section 319 funding is available for lake diagnostic studies, protection of high quality lakes, and in-lake measures that can address harmful algal blooms that can be toxic to humans and pets.

  Economic Impacts

  Restoring funding to Section 314 of the Clean Lakes Program in the Clean Water Act is an investment in clean and healthy lakes that will lead to a great return in recreational and tourism dollars. According to an EPA report on the economic benefits of the Clean Lakes Program, the grant program spent approximately $9.5 million and achieved an estimated $90 million in return on investment.³ The benefits from the Clean Lakes Program range across various categories, including recreation, aesthetics, flood control, economic development, fish and wildlife conservation, agriculture, property value, public health, and water supply. Financial returns are expected to be even higher today, as harmful algal blooms have increasingly disrupted local businesses and recreation.⁴ Lakes provide natural ecosystem services such as water filtration, storage, nutrient cycling, recreation, and food. Many of these services are costly to engineer and replace; thus, it is economically beneficial to allocate funds toward the front-end protection of lakes by preventing their impairments.⁵ Clean lakes for homes, businesses, and camps help to increase property values and raise revenues by attracting more individuals to an area. Local communities are increasingly aware of the potential negative repercussions of declining water quality on property values. One study found that lakes with excess phosphorus experienced a 0.4%-3.3% decrease in lakefront housing prices.⁶ Researchers found that properties surrounding lakes with high levels of algal toxins experienced a 2-17% decline in property value.⁷

  Policy Recommendations

• ●      NALMS recommends that Congress reauthorize funding for the Section 314 Clean Lakes Program and increase the annual appropriations, while maintaining funding for Section 319.
• ●      NALMS recommends an ‘Enhanced’ Clean Lakes Program that will prioritize high quality lakes for protective management, as well as lakes in communities with environmental justice concerns.

Visit our website: https://www.nalms.org/

Read our Position statement for an enhanced Clean Lakes Program: https://www.nalms.org/nalms-position-papers/enhanced-314-clean-lakes-program-position-statement/

References

1. https://archive.epa.gov/water/archive/web/html/cllkspgm.html

2. Environmental Protection Agency. (2022, July). National Lakes Assessment 2017 Key Findings EPA. https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/national-lakes-assessment-2017-key-finding

3. A. C. Hall , S. A. Peterson , J. Taggart , G. M. DeGraeve & B. W. Vigon (1987) THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S CLEAN LAKES PROGRAM: 1975–1985, Lake and Reservoir Management, 3:1, 117-128, DOI: 10.1080/07438148709354767

4. “Economic Benefits of Clean Lakes Program” USEPA. https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/910101VQ.PDF?Dockey=910101VQ.PDF

5. “Economic Benefits of Protecting Healthy Watersheds” (2012). EPA. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/201510/documents/economic_benefits_factsheet3.pdf

6. Moore, M. R., Doubek, J. P., Xu, H., & Cardinale, B. J. (2020). Hedonic Price Estimates of Lake Water Quality: Valued Attribute, Instrumental Variables, and Ecological-Economic Benefits. Ecological Economics, 176, 106692.

7. Wolf, D., & Klaiber, H. A. (2016). (rep.). Bloom and Bust: Toxic Algae’s Impact on Nearby Property Values (pp. 1–33).

NJCOLA Spring Meeting Agenda–March 25, 2023

Thomas Conway Cupsaw Lake and COLA Trustee.
Geese Management and how to develop a realistic community plan to manage geese population.

Richard D. Carlson, of the New Jersey Aquatic Safety Coalition will discuss the NJ Public Recreation Bathing Code and regulations related to the hiring of lifeguards.

Sgt Pete Petelicki from the NJ State Police Marine Bureau will discuss waterfront safety including private floats and inflatables anchored off lakefronts.

COLA Matters - Group Feedback / Board Actions (All) (11:30 – 11:45 AM)

Other Legal Matters (Eileen)

Website Update (Tom/Sebastian)

2023 Dues / Status – Kathy

Click here to view the full agenda,

The meeting will be held at the Lake Mohawk Country Club, starting at 9AM.  Please click here for directions.

November 12, 2022 Meeting Info

Chris Hanlon, the owner of Lake Management Sciences, will be discussing:

• Binding Phosphorus-P In your Lake or Pond
• Nutrient Inactivation
• Aeration/Circulation general review

Tony Suprum of Lake Parsippany and Chris Hanlon will be discussing:

• Fish Stocking
• Fish Surveys

Click here to view the full agenda,

There will also be a vote for the 2023 Board Members.  Click here to view candidate bio's.

The meeting will be held at the Lake Mohawk Country Club, starting at 9AM.  Please click here for directions.

September 17, 2022 Agenda

The agenda for our meeting on September 17, 2022 has been posted to our site.  Chris L. Mikolajczyk will be there to give and update from NALMS on funding for in-lake management programs.  We will also have two other speakers to discuss the fundamentals of foundations.  

We will break up in the second half of the meeting to have round tables dedicated to a number of issues facing lake associations.

An overview of the round tables can be found by clicking here.

New Jersey Lifeguard Legislation

New Jersey has made permanent a change to lifeguard hours from 40 per week to 50 per week.  You can read more about some other areas this legislation changed by clicking here.