I went to this. Found it informative. The main theme was geared to phosphorus levels in the lake and trying to control them. The keys to reducing them are minimizing ground surface water runoff into the lake, utilization of non phosphorus fertilizers and minimizing erosion by leaving the land nearest the water undisturibed. Other contributors to phosphorus levels are the geese and ducks which love to hang around on lush lawns and poop = phosphorus. They focused on several basins that feed the lake like up in moultonboro and the merrymeeting river which have high concentrations of phosphorus that impact the lake. One thing I thought was interesting is that lake has 5 year water intake span meaning water that comes into the lake today takes 5 years to exit the lake so the effects of what we do now take that long to see. The goal is to keep phosphorus levels below 8 parts per billion. Looking at the various graphs they showed the lake on average is just below that with some areas above it. Interesting also was that broads are very close to 8. The cyannobacteria love phosphorus and love hot water. I never thought much about it but looking at towns on the lake, like wolfeboro, most of the catch basins and drains that catch rainwater runoff deposit right into the lake so phosphorus levels rise when it rains. So much to remember here. My takeaways here are that this is a small group of folks taking on a massive project for the good. I think the state does a poor job aiding the goal. They could easily increase the number of trees required to be left on waterfront property which would reduce erosion and they could require stores in towns with waterfront land to offer no phosphorus fertilizers. I do give LWA a good thumbs up for holding seminars to educate landscaping company's on the harmful effects of fertilizers and removal of vegetation in buffer zones. We all do need to be mindful of phosphorus because as it increases so does the bad algae, cyannobacteria, and when that's out of control its a health hazard and there is a direct relation to that and decreased property values.
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