Improving the Health
of Lake Macatawa

It took 150 years for Lake Macatawa to reach this state, and it will take at least half that time to get the Lake back into an appreciably healthier state. This simply means we have to start NOW to begin the reversal. We have to go forward from our current state in the interests of everyone with a stake in the health of the Lake – which is everyone living in the Watershed, and many people who live outside the Watershed’s boundaries.

We have to slow down the speed of water flowing along all the tributaries and into Lake Macatawa, and we have to extend the time it takes for water to get to the Lake. We also have to reduce the amount of water entering the lake through storm water sewers. We have to reduce the amount of soil being eroded into all the waterways. And we have to significantly reduce the amount of nitrates and phosphates applied to fields and lawns - and eliminate all unnecessary application of these chemicals.

We need to make natural and artificial waterways meander more. We need to return some now-dry land to wetlands; we now only have 10 percent of volume of wetlands that existed in the Watershed when Reverend Van Raalte’s party of Dutch settlers arrived. We need to alter the shapes and protection of all waterways to reduce the chances of bank erosion even during floods. And we need to work on developing and then educating everyone in the watershed on best land management practices.

All these activities will require significant amounts of money and government cooperation. More significantly, they will require significant amounts of volunteer time. In a nutshell, we need your involvement in whatever capacity and on whatever activity you wish.