Leelanau County Government Center hosts Water Issues for All of Us

From staff reports

The biological control of the widespread zebra and quagga mussel infestation in inland lakes will be the focus of a four-part seminar, “Water Issues For All of Us” to be held on Thursday, June 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Leelanau County Government Center, 8527 E. Government Center Drive, in Suttons Bay.

Rob Karner, Glen Lake-Crystal River Biologist, will present “A Shoreline Survey: Why and How, and Uses for the Completed Survey”.

Health Phillips, from Marrone Bio-Innovations and director of Inland Lake Applications for Zequanox, will share information on the extensive research and use of this biological control of zebra and quagga mussels in inland lakes. Zequanox has proven to be a powerful tool for controlling these invasive mussels in cooling water-system pipes and now is being effectively used in open water as there are currently no other environmentally compatible treatment options. Zequanox is formulated from a common soil bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Following a box lunch from the Riverfront Deli, Jim Olson, environmental attorney and founder and president of FLOW, will lay out “How to Enact Township Ordinances to Protect Communities From The Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing”.

Concluding the seminar, Sarah Litch will present how to do a “Baseline Study of Your Household and Ground Water Before Hydraulic Fracturing Occurs in Your Watershed” and review a study done in the Glen Lake-Crystal River Watershed.

The seminar is free and open to the public. To register and to reserve a lunch, call Kristin Smith at the Government Center at 231-256-9812. The box lunch costs $10 payable at the seminar, sponsored by Leelanau Clean Water and Region 9 of the Michigan Lake and Stream Associations.