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Despite water warnings, Grand Lake St. Marys drawing crowds

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By Lawrence Budd, Staff Writer Updated 1:44 PM Sunday, May 24, 2009

Despite water-quality warnings, Grand Lake St. Marys was teeming with holiday revelers on Saturday, May 23, assistant park manager Brian Miller said.

“We’ve got people all over Grand Lake St. Marys. People are enjoying every aspect of the state park today in big numbers,” Miller said.

This week, state regulators warned that levels of a poisonous algae toxin in the lake were high enough to warrant warnings about swimming, jet skiing, water skiing — anything that might result in ingesting the water — because of health hazards.

Boating, fishing and sunbathing — activities unlikely to cause people to swallow the water — should still be safe, according to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

On Saturday, Miller said visitors were doing all the things they normally do on the 13,500-acre lake, despite warnings posted throughout the park.

Advisories are posted at boat launch ramps, bulletin boards and buoys at swim beaches, Miller said, but visitors are left to decide how to use the lake.

“We posted an advisory. That’s their decision to make,” Miller said.

Laboratory analysis of water test samples show that increased levels of the toxin microcystin produced by bluegreen algae are present, but no toxin was found in treated drinking water for the city of Celina, the OEPA said.

The algae problem, which has plagued the lake for years, is a result of runoff from farm field nutrients, according to experts.

The most recent analysis of five water samples collected May 20 ranged from 48 to 82 micrograms per liter, indicating a moderate health risk for lake recreation. The World Health Organization standard for low-risk recreational contact is fewer than 20 micrograms per liter.

The OEPA said people and pets are advised to minimize contact with and avoid ingestion of the lake water.

In addition to posting advisories, Miller said park officials worked with officials from the Grand Lake Wabash Watershed Alliance to educate farmers, homeowners, builders and developers about practices designed to minimize water-quality problems in the lake.

Ten years ago, the watersheds for the Wabash River and Grand Lake St. Marys were combined.

However, coordinator Laura Walker said protection efforts were relatively recent and it will likely take many years of work to improve the water quality.

“We’ve just started implementation of the plan,” Walker said.

In addition to education, the group is working to replace failing septic systems with sewer systems and encouraging farmers and homeowners to carefully apply chemicals and manure to minimize run-off.

Other problems with water quality are the result of development of wetlands that once filtered the water draining into the lake and river, Walker said.

“There’s a lot of things that got us to where we are today,” she said.

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