Summer is almost upon us and the GLSD is gearing up for another busy summer. Our staff has been working on spring maintenance of our Conservancy properties, Aqweed harvesters, wastewater system, fish rearing facility, and projects on the County K and Sunnyside marshes. Around the District, residents may have noticed that the lake level is up this spring. We had a mild winter, in which temps dipped below zero only 9 times since January. While most of the lake had ice cover for much of the win...

DNR WPDES PERMIT COMPLIANCEAs mentioned in previous newsletters, the GLSD is required to meet new, stringent wastewater discharge requirements set forth by the State of WI. The District is working closely with the WIDNR on several different methods to use our treated wastewater as irrigation waters on nearby fields. The District is committed to this option as it is both the most environmentally friendly, but also the most cost effective. Costs associated with the planning, site evaluations, des...

The summer of 2022 was beautiful on Big Green Lake. The minimal snow cover in our area last winter caused limited spring runoff to the lake. Additionally, we saw a very gradual warming of the lake itself along with limited spring and early summer rainfall. These factors helped to create better water quality in 2022 than we’ve seen in many years on Big Green Lake. These observations are reinforced by 2022 USGS water sampling results that showed in-lake phosphorus levels dropped to around 15.5...

On April 11th, Dr. Dale Robertson of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), presented the USGS’s annual “State of Big Green Lake” to the GLSD Board of Commissioners and the Lake Management Planning (LMP) Team. The purpose of the meeting was for Dr. Robertson to provide an overview of the recent water quality in Green Lake, nutrient loading (specifically phosphorus) into the lake from the watershed, as well as provide an overview of his conclusions from the Lake Study recently completed by the USGS,...

As mentioned briefly in our spring newsletter, the GLSD currently has a wonderful cost share program rain gardens in addition to shoreline restoration. A newer conservation practice, rain gardens are becoming popular nationwide as many landowners look to limit stormwater runoff from their properties. WHAT IS A RAIN GARDEN?Rain gardens are sunken gardens planted with wildflowers and other native plants that collect and soak up rainwater, mainly from the roof of a house, garage, or driveway. T...

WPDES PERMIT COMPLIANCE As mentioned in previous newsletters, the GLSD is required to meet new, stringent wastewater discharge requirements set forth by the State of WI. This mandated reduction in phosphorus discharge will require the District to completely overhaul its wastewater treatment process. We have been working closely with our District Engineer, Cedar Corporation, on this critical planning. The GLSD has been focused on achieving compliance through the storage and utilization of our...

The best management practice of ‘no-till’ is just what is sounds like. A no-till field management system avoids disturbing soil with tools like chisel plows, field cultivators, disks, and plows. Plowing breaks up the soil surface or flips the top layer of soil which breaks up soil stability and incorporates nearly all crop residue deeper into the soil profile. No-till management of crop fields allows the previous year’s crop to help hold and cover bare soil. This helps retain soil on fields use...