Vagaries Of Nature Derail Lake Water Cleanup

With the installation of a $237,000 Alum Injection System, Little Lake Jackson was supposed to be looking a little better by now.

But the big lake's little sister is still looking a little green around the gills for several reasons.

First, a lightning strike took down the plant some time in June or July, said Erin McCarta, lakes management program assistant on Thursday.

"It blew a couple of lines," she said.

Thanks to a rise in lake levels from recent rains, McCarta managed to get her boat into Lake Jackson at Veterans Beach. However, when she got to the overpass at U.S. 27, where the two lakes meet, she had to walk the boat through.

She continued on to take water samples in Little Lake Jackson for the county. The sample was then sent to the lab.

There has not really been much improvement in Little Lake Jackson's water, she said. It was not likely that she was referring to the new water samples. She was not available for clarification on Friday.

Second, according to City Administrator Scott Noethlich, due to the drought there has hardly been any storm water flowing into the lake for the system to treat.

Noethlich said Friday he didn't think the system has been out the whole time since June or July.

Jim Higgins, the golf course superintendent, indicated there is one PVC pipe left (to repair or replace) and that was going to be fixed this week, Noethlich said.

There has been a phosphorus level problem since 1994, he added.

The main source of the phosphorus is from a storm water canal flowing into the lake that is fed by runoff from the nearby golf courses. The high phosphorus is a byproduct of fertilizer use on the greens.

The alum plant was designed to treat the water flowing into a retention pond with alum, which bonds with the phosphorus before it gets into the lake, creating a material called flocculent, which then drops into the bottom of the pond.

The new system was to remove 95 percent of the phosphorus that flowed into the lake from that point. The flocculent was to be pumped out and disposed of.

The city and county began negotiations with the state in 2003-2004 to clean up the 125-acre lake.

In a story that appeared in Highlands Today on Aug. 16, 2007, Highlands County Lakes Manager Clell Ford said he estimated it would take up to a year for the water quality to improve.

The water that was already in the lake would not be treated, he added.

But Ford's estimate for visible water improvement has been somewhat derailed.

"We haven't had a whole lot of flow go through the system," Noethlich said. "You've got to have flow for treated water to go into Little Lake Jackson."

As it turned out, the city reportedly paid $26,450, the county paid $32,500 and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and South West Florida Water Management District shared in the cost.

As late as March, the city was still working with the county and DEP on issues it had with drying and removal of the flocculent.

It was not clear from available records if that issue had been resolved.