LOCAL

Algal blooms threaten Bloomington's drinking water. Can you do something about it?

Carol Kugler
Herald-Times
A turkey vulture takes flight June 9, 2021, from a sign at the Cutright State Recreation Area at Lake Monroe.

What can individuals and property owners do to protect the Lake Monroe watershed? 

The League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County and Friends of Lake Monroe want residents of Bloomington and Monroe and Brown counties to learn how they can help keep their drinking water safe.

Over the past two years, the Friends group has developed a watershed management plan for Lake Monroe, which provides drinking water to more than 130,000 people. The management plan identifies the top threats to the lake, including algal blooms fed by sediment, pollution and fertilizer runoff. 

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More than 20 different groups worked with the Friends to compile data, collect and analyze water samples and information about the habitats surrounding Lake Monroe, the state's largest manmade lake. That information was the basis for the watershed management plan.

While the plan will serve as the guiding document for how to tackle threats to the lake's water quality, it will only be effective if people who live around Lake Monroe take action. The League and Friends groups will host three public meetings for people to learn more about the plan and how they can help.

Maggie Sullivan is watershed coordinator for Lake Monroe with support of Friends of Lake Monroe, a nonprofit group focused on protecting and enhancing the lake and its watershed.

Maggie Sullivan, watershed coordinator for Friends of Lake Monroe, helped with the first forums conducted when the management plan was beginning. She knows the public meetings provided a way to educate area residents and find volunteers to put the plan into action.

There will be three forums — an in-person meeting in Bloomington, an in-person meeting in Brown County and a virtual meeting — to continue the community discussion.  

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The plan identifies ways to address threats to Lake Monroe over the next 20 years. 

The three public forums are the first of the actions to implement the watershed plan. A social media campaign about how to protect the water quality in Lake Monroe also will begin soon. 

The plan can be viewed the 10-page summary online or view the entire, 203-page plan at friendsoflakemonroe.org/watershed-plan/. The plan also is available at public libraries in Monroe, Brown and Jackson counties.

Kriste Lindberg, left, and Cathy Meyer collect samples of water from Lake Monroe as part of one of the projects conducted through Friends of Lake Monroe.

Attending the public forums

The three public meetings are the first part of the action plan. All three meetings will cover the same information and provide a time for input from participants. They will be:

  • 6:45-8:30 p.m. May 24 at St. Thomas Lutheran Church, 3800 E. Third St., Bloomington
  • 6:45-8:30 p.m. June 9 at the Brown County Public Library, 205 Locust Lane, Nashville
  • 6:45-8:30 p.m. June 15 via Zoom.

Advanced registration for the in-person forums is encouraged but not required. To register, go to friendsoflakemonroe.org/events.

Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com, 812-331-4359 or @ckugler on Twitter.