The weeds in Lake Simcoe!

How often recently have you started to head out into Cook's Bay to find your keel hitting a wall of weeds! They're starting to surface in some areas threatening boating on the lake alltogether. Most of the problem seems to do with too much Phosphorous in the water (primarily discharged by agriculture, septic and industry). The good news, there is work being done -

Quick Facts:
The Lake Simcoe watershed has:
22 municipalities
Over 380,000 residents
Estimated population of over 500,000 by 2021
12,000 cottages on the shoreline
Almost 2,000 farms
24 Conservation Areas and 3 Provincial Parks
2 Moraines The Oak Ridges and Oro Moraines
58 species of fish
65 species at risk

PHOSPHORUS POLLUTION IS OUR PROBLEM
Phosphorus loading is the main pollution issue affecting Lake Simcoe. Phosphorus is found in detergents or fertilizers, and effectively fertilizes the Lake. It artificially increases weed and algae growth in Lake Simcoe. As the weeds grow and then decompose, they choke off the lakes oxygen, which makes it difficult for cold water fish to breathe. The decline of the cold water fishery is the Lakes canary in the coal mine.
Total Phosphorus load circa 1800: 30 tonnes Total Phosphorus load by the end of the 1990s: over 100 tonnes Dissolved oxygen levels circa 1800: 8mg/L Dissolved oxygen levels by the end of the 1990s: 3mg/L Source: State of Lake Simcoe Watershed 2003, Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy, page 4.10

links to recent reports:

Lake Simcoe Protection Act
Lake Simcoe Protection Act

The Naked Truth: Citizens' Action Plan to Save Lake Simcoe
http://www.lakeladies.ca/html/TNTCAP.pdf

Report of the Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy Steering Committee
Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy


Phosphorus levels have been recognized as a long-term problem in Lake Simcoe, with about 67 tonnes per year being discharged from a variety of sources, primarily municipal and agricultural. Phosphorus leads to excessive plant growth and decay in the lake, reducing oxygen which fish need to survive. It enters the lake from sewage plants, storm sewers, septic systems, urban and agricultural runoff, and is deposited into the lake in rain and snow, as well as winds that carry dust.
First Step in Lake Simcoe Protection
Discussion Paper and New Pollution Cap Unveiled
Toronto Campaign Lake Simcoe welcomed yesterdays release of Protecting Lake Simcoe: Creating Ontarios Strategy for Action. The announcement included the introduction of a Scientific Advisory Committee and a new cap on phosphorus discharges into the Lake from sewage treatment plants at 7.3 tonnes per year. Simcoe County is the Wild West of Ontario urban sprawl and the new Lake Simcoe Protection Act must bring it under control if Lake Simcoe is to survive, said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director, Environmental Defence. The province has correctly identified land use changes, meaning urban sprawl, as a primary cause of water quality decline. Now the government needs to do something about it. We look forward to the recognition that maintaining the natural cover of woodlands and wetlands in the watershed is one of the main defences against pollutants entering Lake Simcoe and is also the key to conserving the watersheds diversity of animal and plant life, including the 30 species at risk found there, said Caroline Schultz, Executive Director of Ontario Nature. Lake Simcoe is in crisis because it doesn't have a law to protect it as the Niagara Escarpment, the Oak Ridges Moraine and Greenbelt do. If we wish to stop the leveling of the forests that grace Lake Simcoe's shoreline, to stop the mindless destruction of wetlands, to stop the degradation of the lake itself, we too need an Act, said Robert Eisenberg, Founding Chair of the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition. "It took more than 30 years for human activity to reduce this great lake to its current ailing state. An ecological disaster can't be cured overnight, but this is another great step forward, particularly because it envisions residents of the watershed and government working hand in hand," said Annabel Slaight, Co-founder of the Ladies of the Lake. Environment Minister John Gerretsen expressed hope that the Act could receive second reading as early as June, 2008. Campaign Simcoe believes this timeline only makes sense. The citizen movement to create the Act was started in response to deteriorating lake quality and the incredible land rush created by developers leaping over the Greenbelt into Simcoe County. Campaign Lake Simcoe will release its response to the Paper in the next few weeks. This response will be based on the Critical Elements of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act a citizens agenda for protecting and restoring Lake Simcoe that has now been endorsed by 38 groups from around the lake. It says an effective Lake Simcoe Protection Act must: Restore water quality and quantityto levels compatible with cold water fish reproduction and control of algae and weeds; 2. Create a natural heritage and agricultural system to protect green space and restrict new development to existing and approved settlement areas; 3. Consult with First Nations to identify and protect First Nations heritage sites; Enshrine a governance structure as recommended by the Lake Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy (LSEMS) Working Group and, in large part, by the LSEMS Steering Committee; 5. Ensure that large-scale resort developments such as Big Bay Point are consistent with the Lake Simcoe Protection Act; 6. Create recreational access that helps people treasure the lake and does not harm it; 7. Increase commitment to the restoration and rehabilitation of the Lake.