What can I do?

Leave the natural growth along the lakeshore for a distance of 5 meters minimum.  The plants trap and filter pollutants (fertilizers, pesticides, sediment) from runoff and prevent these materials from getting into the lake.

 

Do not use fertilizers on plants or lawns.  Did you know that the fertilizer added during the summer season to a large flower pot on a dock results in the same amount of nutrients coming into the lake as would come from multiple septic tanks being emptied into the lake?

 

Avoid putting asphalt around the lake!  Natural materials and terrain filter the water and trap foreign materials and sediment so they don’t end up in the lake.  Also the natural terrain slows water runoff and thus reduces erosion around the lake.

 

Limit boat speed to avoid creating waves which erode the lakeshore.  Increased boat speed in shallow areas also results in the suspension of nutrients, which increase the growth of algae and aquatic plants.

 

Use soaps that do not contain phosphate.  Products such as La Parisienne; BioVert; Attitude; Nettoyants Lemieux and Hertel are environmentally friendly, biodegradable and phosphate-free.  In addition, they are made in Quebec!

 

Wash all watercraft to ensure the protection of our lakes.  One source of contamination by exotic species is by transfer of watercraft from one lake to another.

 

Even in winter, be careful to avoid leaving items on the frozen lake.  When the ice melts, dog waste, aluminum cans, paper and plastic, oil or gasoline spills end up polluting the lake water.

 

Don’t feed the ducks for multiple reasons: 1) When the ducks eat in the same area they defecate their risk of becoming sick is elevated. 2) Ducks like bread, but it does not provide the nutrients they need for good health. 3) If humans feed ducklings, they don’t learn to properly feed themselves, which is necessary for them to survive.

 

Be careful that your belongings don’t fall into the water because plastic, toys, aluminum cans, etc. don’t decompose.  The lake isn’t a trash can.