2023 Data Collection Project – DNR Accesses on Higgins Lake
During the 2023 summer season, HLPOA and the Higgins Lake Foundation (HLF) conducted a joint data gathering project at the three DNR boat accesses. The primary purpose of the project was to explore options to reduce the risk of new aquatic invasive species (AIS) entering the lake. Also, we want to minimize the risk of further spreading of the two AIS plants already in the lake; Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) and Starry stonewort (SSW).
2023 Data Collection Project – DNR Accesses on Higgins Lake
How Drugs Enter Higgins Lake
Registered Pharmacist and Higgins Lake Property Owners Association Board Member, Wayne Brooks, explanation of how pharmaceuticals enter the watershed when humans take medication.
Pharmaceutical Chemicals in Higgins Lake Waters Verified September 2022
The Michigan State University’s Laboratory supervised by Professor Li has analyzed six samples of water drawn from nearshore locations distributed around the lake. The sampling took place on September 22, 2022. The samples were taken according to Professor Li’s strict sampling protocols and the chain of custody was maintained from the drawing of the samples until personally received by Professor Li.
The results clearly indicate the presence of pharmaceutical contamination of the lake’s waters. Higgins Lake is fed primarily by springs from groundwater, and the presence of these chemicals in the lake prove the existence of septic field connections to groundwaters in the watershed. To quote Steve King of the Central Michigan District Health Department:
“Since Higgins Lake is predominantly spring fed, the presence of pharmaceuticals in the lake water reinforces the connection that onsite sewage disposal has with groundwater and the lake. I would suspect that drinking water wells with detectable nitrates would have a similar mix of pharmaceuticals from upstream sources should the wells get tested. Just as we did not know if pharmaceuticals would be found in the lake, we don’t know of any impacts to drinking water. This should be the next area to look at to see what residents might potentially be exposed to through consumption of groundwater.”
To see the procedures followed and the resulting data click on the link below.
MSU – Testing for Pharmaceutical Pollution in Higgins Lake
Restorative Lake Sciences, LLC – Higgins Lake 2022
The Restorative Lake Sciences, LLC Report, Higgins Lake Limnological Evaluation & Revised Lake Management 2022, emphasizes the negative impact of septic system leachates on water quality in the near shore waters of the lake. To quote from page 24: “Previous studies (Minnerick, 2001) noted that phosphorus was elevated near shore relative to the open waters which is indicative of septic system leachate entering the groundwater.”
This observation is supported by the findings from the most recent student sampling and analysis program of the near shore waters of the lake. Click this link to review “Higgins Lake Water Analysis, Report #3 Sixth Year”.
Higgins Lake Report 3, July 2023
Click on the link below to read Restorative Lake Sciences, LLC entire 2022 Report, Higgins Lake Limnological Evaluation & Revised Lake Management 2022.
Restorative Lake Sciences,Higgins Lake Limnological Evaluation & Revised Lake Management 2022
Restorative Lake Sciences, LLC Higgins Lake Improvement Plan July 2021-22
The following presentation was delivered at HLPOA’s Annual Meeting July 17, 2021 via Zoom.
Restorative Lake Sciences, LLC Report on Higgins Lake, 2020:
Do you want to learn more about the biology, ecology, and uses of Higgins Lake? If so, please read on!
During the summer of 2019, the Higgins Lake Property Owners’ Association (HLPOA) retained the expertise of Restorative Lake Sciences, LLC (RLS), a scientific firm specializing in lake management and restoration, to study Higgins Lake and make recommendations for any needed improvements. Since the HLPOA wants to assure that Higgins Lake remains pristine now and for future generations, it has agreed to the RLS study recommendations for overall lake health improvement. These recommended improvements include the installation of a lake-wide sewer system and the use of Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH) to remove approximately 21 acres of invasive Eurasian Watermilfoil and 2.5 acres of invasive Starry Stonewort. This will result in a more targeted removal of these invasives and not use any chemical herbicides. The south state park launch lagoon is the largest source of Starry Stonewort and milfoil to the lake and thus boat washing and proper management of the lagoon is paramount. Other improvement recommendations include erosion control, addition of more boat washing stations at other launch sites around the lake, riparian education and workshops, development of an early detection rapid response protocol for new invasives, biannual water quality sampling of the lake’s five deep basins and tributaries, continuation of the successful swimmer’s itch control program and regular aquatic vegetation surveys.
Overall, the health of Higgins Lake is excellent, with low nutrients, high water clarity, low aquatic vegetation, abundance of cold-water fish such as trout, and low amounts of algae. Numerous freshwater sponges were found at the lake bottom and are indicators of great lake water quality. The recent developments of increased nearshore nutrients and algae support the recommendation to utilize a lake wide sewer system to reduce these nutrients that result in algal growth. The goal is to preserve the current oligotrophic state of Higgins Lake so that it remains pristine for future generations.
Click on the link, below, to read the entire RLS Higgins Lake Report, published in 2020:
EGLE – Higgins Lake Water Quality
EGLE (formerly known as DEQ) is creating safer beaches with rapid-testing technology:
The Michigan Department of Health, now a part of the new EGLE state organization, has for many years taken data on e-coli contamination at many of the most frequently used public beaches in the state. It is a big effort and has consumed a considerable amount of available resources for doing a responsible job of this survey. Recently new technology has greatly improved the efficiency and accuracy of this important work. It is now in use throughout the state and promises to improve an already excellent service to the public. Please have a look at their website by clicking on the link provided below (Michigan BeachGuard). Select the county which contains the lake you are planning to visit, and see what data is available for your consideration.
Higgins Lake Water Quality Sampling
Higgins Lake Water Quality Student Sampling Program
The Higgins Lake Property Owners Association (HLPOA) has been partnering with the Raven Laboratory in Roscommon, Michigan and the instructors and students of the Roscommon Area Public High School (RAPHS) to sample and analyze the near shore waters of Higgins Lake. The students are primarily from the Chemistry I and II classes. Their curriculum has been somewhat modified to include the appropriate chemistry of water analysis. The samples are collected and analyzed by the students. The chain of custody of the samples and the data is recorded to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) professional standards. The students are trained and supervised in the field and in the lab by Raven Analytical professional staff. They are generally supervised and organized by the RAPHS Chemistry Teacher, Greg Nevelle. In particular, they are studying the impact of seasonal human population variability on the quality of the near shore environment.
This program has been a great success for the students, and except for the necessary hiatus caused by Covid-19. The program would not have been possible without the generous support of the Higgins Lake Foundation, the Roscommon Rotary Club, John Ogren, a graduate of the Roscommon High School and HLPOA Board member, the HLPOA membership, and the expertise and commitment of the staff at Raven Laboratory.
Life is About Testing the Waters
A couple of comment points concerning this project that are important for everyone involved.
The key to this project is the students. The students were very quick and eager to learn. They would take over responsibility for the testing, helping each other to complete all the tasks.This demonstrates the team building and win/win attitude to critical thinking problem solving.
One of the main goals of this project was not so much “teaching” them chemistry but demonstrating how to incorporate their education into a life experience.
One student, Corbin, commented that he wished they had more “chemistry” classes as he would be taking all of them.
It is a privilege to work with these students and I trust this life experience will continue to motivate and encourage them further in whatever and where ever they go in life.
Another significant key to this project is that none of this could be accomplished without the support of our sponsors. Additionally, this project was not possible without the support of the Roscommon High School superintendent, Ms. Cathy Erickson, and the dedicated educators at the High School..
Like their motto says, “Life is all about testing the waters”.
Sampling and testing will occur during the months of May, June, July, August and September.
Student Water Sampling and Analysis Project, RHS Video Clip 2023
Summary of Current Year’s Results
The first three testing cycles of 2024 are in included in the July 2024 Report. In the last cycle (July testing) the bacteria levels went off scale. This is the first time we have seen bacteria levels this uniformly high in our seven years of testing. The very high levels of generic coliforms should give one some caution.
The generic coliform bacteria plate counts are topped out at the maximum recordable value of 1011 MPN (most probable colony counts). The actual numbers are higher, but unknown. Next cycle procedures will be modified by diluting the samples to raise the limits of detection. Watch for the August 2024 Report.
Higgins Lake Water Analysis Report 2024
Each completed year’s water sampling data is summarized in the final report for each year’s program. The complete data sets and the summarized results was continued in 2023 and are shown below:
Data and Summary of Results – 2018 through 2023
- Higgins Lake Water Analysis Report 2023
- Higgins Lake Water Analysis Report for 2022
- Life is About Testing the Waters 2018-2021
- Higgins Lake is in Trouble
Recommendations by David Jude, Ph.D, Research Scientist, University of Michigan – 2017
David Jude, Limnologist and Fishery Biologist, Thoughts on Higgins Lake Water Quality, June 2017
Near Shore Water/Algae Testing – 2016:
A preliminary study to document the benthic algal community and associated levels of phosphorus (ortho-phosphate) and nitrogen (nitrate-nitrogen and ammonia-N) in the littoral (i.e.: near shore) zone of Higgins Lake was performed in 2016 by Dr’s Rex Lowe and Pat Kociolek, of the Univ. of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS). The link below contains their report. It is a desire of the Environmental Committee to have Dr. Lowe perform future studies to document trends, thereby allowing further analyses and/or potential corrective actions.
- Near Shore Water/Algae Study – 2016, Univ of Michigan
- Are Harmful Algal Blooms Possible in Higgins Lake?
Higgins Lake Watershed Study by Huron Pines – 2007
The original intention of the members of the Higgins Lake Watershed Council in 2002 are captured in this quote from their 2007 update report. To quote:
“In August of 2000 the Higgins Lake Watershed Partnership launched a ten-year initiative to improve the ecological integrity of the watershed. The first priority of the Partnership was to develop a Watershed Management Plan, which was initially completed in 2002. This Management Plan was updated in 2006 to meet the new requirements set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. By utilizing this management tool, efforts to implement water quality protection have been better coordinated and more effective and apply the appropriate skills of the many stakeholders within the Higgins Lake Watershed.
The Management Plan will be reviewed every two years to allow the partners to evaluate their role, address changing conditions, and assess progress in meeting their mission and goals. The Higgins Lake Watershed Partnership acts as a Steering Committee of watershed stakeholders to assess watershed concerns and provide input into the overall watershed planning effort. Steering Committee members include local governmental officials, conservation groups, environmental organizations, property owners, regional planning agencies, health departments, area businesspersons, concerned citizens and other stakeholders.”
This report (click on the link, below) is a thorough updating of the environmental situation on Higgins Lake in 2006 and is particularly relevant to our current concerns, more than a decade later, for the increasing degradation of the water quality of our lake due to the pressures of population increase and the inadequate treatment of human sourced waste by the antiquated septic systems surrounding the lake.
Changes in Near Shore Water Quality from 1995 to 2014 and Associated Linkages to Septic Systems in Higgins Lake Michigan ~ Sherry L. Martin, Anthony D. Kendall, and David Hyndman
(This report is an important work that defines baseline water quality for 2014 in the near shore portions of Higgins Lake. Its emphasis is on the subsurface aquifers that transport nutrients from septic effluents and percolated land surface pollution into the lake. The beneficial effect of the Camp Curnalia Waste Treatment Plant is an important finding. The drastic degradation of the lake’s water quality since Minnerick’s study of 1995 to 2000 is another.)
Bullet Points from Executive Summary and Conclusions:
*A primary product of this report is a new and more in-depth analysis of data collected by the USGS spanning 1995-2000 (select sites were also sampled in 2007), alongside a similar analysis of newly collected data from this study’s 2014 sampling. This analysis highlights trends in water quality parameter, specifically those related to a major transition in wastewater treatment on the lake: The installation of a community wastewater treatment plant in 2009 for Camp Curnalia in the NW corner of the North basin of the lake.
*”Since the late 1990’s, lake water chemistry has changed dramatically for all of the major water chemistry variables, with the partial exception of NO3+NO2 . Average TP (Total Phosphorus) concentrations in the nearshore surface waters has increased such that, on average, this part of Higgins Lake has shifted from oligotrophic conditions in the late 1990’s to mesotrophic in 2014–with the attendant ecological consequences.”
*The Camp Curnalia sewer system installation appears to have dramatically decreased groundwater TP and NO3 + NO2 concentrations and thus the inputs to the lake. In the case of TP, this resulted in lower surface water concentrations, and preserved the oligotrophic status of that section of the near shore. As might be expected, B (Boron) concentrations in groundwater also declined, indicating a decline in septic system inputs to that portion of the lake. In a partial early morning dissolved oxygen and specific conductivity survey, the Camp Curnalia area had the highest DO (Dissolved Oxygen) and lowest specific conductivity, indicating higher water quality.”
Definitions:
Hypolimnion refers to the lower layer of water in a stratified lake, typically cooler than the water above and relatively stagnant.
Oligotrophic condition is indicated by clear water, oxygen present throughout the hypolimnion. Low nutrient levels.
Mesotrophic condition is indicated by moderately clear water, increasing probability of hypolimnetic anoxia during the summer. Moderate nutrient levels.
Higgins Lake Water Quality Study of 1995-99 by the USGS:
A 2001 report by Russel J. Minnerick of the Lansing office of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) looked at the effects of residential building on the water quality of Higgins Lake. His work covered the years of 1995 to 1999. The entire report may be read by clicking on the link below the next paragraph.
There is a wealth of information contained in this report for those readers who are technically oriented. The scientifically obtained water quality data and accompanying analyses contained therein serves as the “Gold Standard” of baseline data to be used for future Higgins Lake water quality studies in the years to come. A key excerpt from his summary is: “Ground water beneath the lake showed higher concentrations of phosphorus, nitrogen, chloride and boron than lake water samples. Escheria coliform (e. coli) bacteria was found in sites where building density exceeded 0.4 buildings per acre, indicating that water from septic systems is leaching into the ground water that flows into the lake.”
Higgins Lake Water Quality Study of 1998:
The link, below, is to a “1998 Water Quality and Bottom Sediment Study” performed by Water Quality Investigators of Dexter, MI. This study serves as a baseline for water and sediment quality and its discussion/conclusions are presented in more of a layman’s style for ease of understanding. A number of geographical errors can be found on the first page. The HLPOA’s Environmental Committee Chair has taken the liberty of inserting an errata sheet immediately following the first page using more accurate information for your reference.