Save the Date for the Annual Meeting:

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1 Spring, Portage, Michigan Save the Date for the Annual Meeting: The annual meeting of the Austin Lake Riparians will be held on Thursday, June 9, 2016, at 7:00-8:30 PM at the Portage Library in the Austin Lake Meeting Room. Come meet your neighbors and learn more about your lake. Agenda: Call to order Pledge of allegiance Introduction of board members Introduction of guests President s report Treasurer s report Social Committee report Newsletter & Website report Lake Health Portage Environmental Board Purple Loosestrife Control update Sherriff s Department Boating Safety and Q & A Election of Officers Remembering Seth Giem II by Gary Hahn Sadly, long-time Austin Lake resident Seth Giem II passed away on September 11, Born in Chicago, IL in 1934 and raised in Memphis, TN, Seth spent the summers of his youth vacationing on family property at the southeast corner of the Lake (now a Michigan Centennial Farm). After attending Memphis State University in the late 1950 s, Seth moved to the Lake for good. A model train enthusiast from early childhood, Seth turned his train hobby into the Train Barn Hobby Shop & Museum which was located in the large red barn still visible from the Lake near the dam. Seth operated the Train Barn for nearly 40 years and the door was always open to lake residents for viewing the nearly one-half mile of model rail tracks, which was a treat for kids of all ages. Seth was married to wife Peggy for 49 years, was a veteran of the U.S. Army (from 1956 until honorably discharged in 1962) and was a local business man. Seth also served on the Austin Lake Riparian s Board of Directors from 2008 to Always ready with a great story to tell or a witty remark, Seth will be missed. 1

2 What Does the Term Riparian Mean? Riparian Pertaining to anything connected with or adjacent to the banks of a stream or other body of water; a riparian owner is one who owns the banks; a riparian right is the right to control and use water by virtue of the ownership of the bank or banks. The above definition taken from Definitions of Surveying and Associated Terms as prepared by a Joint Committee of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and the American Society of Civil Engineers in Austin Lake Events for 2016 By Dani Kinder June 4, 2016 (tentative date): Progressive Dinner June 9, 2016: Annual Meeting 7:00PM It will be held in the Austin Lake meeting room of Portage Library. All lake property owners are invited. July 9, 2016 (tentative date): Annual Boat Tie-up; 2:00 PM August 6, 2016 (tentative date): Boat Parade If anyone is interested in helping with events or has any questions please call or Dani Koewers danil700@aol.com We still have Austin Lake Burgees for sale, they will be at all social events or can be ordered from Dani. Visit our website for up-to-date information. Did You Know... that when you rent a pontoon trailer from Double-L Bate and Marine a portion of the rental is contributed to the Austin Lake Riparians? From the Austin Lake Riparians Board Austin Lake Riparians, Inc. is a non-profit association of property owners on Austin Lake in Portage, Michigan and every property owner is a voting member. Austin Lake Riparians Association Dues The ALR Board would like to thank those residents (acknowledged on our website) for supporting the Austin Lake Riparians Association through payment of the $25 per household voluntary annual dues. The collected funds may be used for additional lake safety patrols, Association Insurance premiums, lake improvement projects outside the scope of the Governmental Lake Board (GLB), and to help to pay for mailers, postage and newsletters. Households paying the voluntary dues will receive an annual dated sticker as recognition of payment. Please send your dues to the address below and be sure to include your address so we may communicate with you in a timely manner when needed. Thank you. Dave Savoy, Treasurer 3520 East Shore Drive Portage, MI Contact Information for Lake Residence The Board is collecting Austin Lake Residents contact information. The purpose is to provide quick notification of problems on the lake and notification of lake events. This contact information will not be shared with other organizations or corporations. Please go to our website at to enter your information. Take Care Around Aerators The Board asks boaters to be careful when anchoring their boat in the south bay. Anchors, dragging on the bottom, can upset and damage the aerators. If you see a problem with an aerator please report it to John Tucci at jtucci@lakesavers.com or text him at

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6 Portage Environmental Board Fights Spread of Garlic Mustard Submitted by Gary Hahn Bill Beck of the Portage Environmental Board recently gave a talk at Portage Rotary in which he described the harm to the environment caused by Garlic Mustard (alliaria petiolata) and some of the tactics the City is undertaking to eradicate it. Garlic Mustard was imported to America in the 1860 s for medicinal purposes and for use as a spice. It is an invasive specie that crowds out native plants and surprisingly is now sold as a landscaping plant. As you can see in the picture it is an innocuous looking somewhat pretty plant but it has a dark side. Its roots exude a toxin that kills nearby plant life and eventually the fungi within soil that is needed for plants to grow. Eventually the toxins even kill the Garlic Mustard plant itself. What is left is an area within which nothing will grow. Below are some tips and tactics Bill suggests for getting rid of this invasive plant: Spring is the best time to pull (pulls easily from damp ground) Most often found in shade but can also be found in sunny areas BAG for TRASH pulled plants NEVER leave on site or place in yard waste plants can survive for months and produce seeds even after being pulled Best to target specific areas to remove all plants before they go to seed in late summer NEVER pull plants after seed capsules turn brown exacerbates spread of seeds For more information on how to eradicate Garlic Mustard contact the City of Portage Environmental Board at: or visit the following websites: Please Don t Put Leaves in the Lake! The decomposition of the leaves is what eats up dissolved oxygen and degrades water quality. It makes for a very rotten, squishy, unpleasant lake bottom. 6

7 Summary of Austin Lake South Basin Project to Date: By: Restorative Lake Sciences Over the past three years ( ), Restorative Lake Sciences has scientifically evaluated the efficacy of a laminar flow aeration (inversion oxygenation system) that was placed into the 200-acre South Basin of Austin Lake to biodegrade the toxic ammonia-laden sediments in hopes of reducing organic muck. Overall, the scientific results are promising and include the following general conclusions supported by data within this report and that has been shown in previous reports: 1) In 2015, there was an average gain in sediment in the diffuser areas of approximately 16.9 inches and an average gain in sediment in the control area of 15.5 inches. (Note: the aeration system although implemented from July of 2012 to November of 2015, can only operate per MDEQ permit from April 1- November 30 of each calendar year.) This surprising result may have been attributed to the intense storm events and rainfall that may have transported sediments into the Basin and re-distributed them throughout the basin. Careful monitoring in 2016 is recommended to see if addition of microbes can compensate by increasing losses of new sediment by the end of the 2016 season. To date, there has been a total mean gain of approximately 0.93 inches of muck in diffuser sampling sites and a mean gain of 3.94 inches of muck in control sampling sites. This is unfortunate due to unforeseen climatic conditions and runoff and hopefully these weather conditions will not be present in 2016 to allow for another set of sediment-decreasing data as in previous years. 2) The Eurasian Watermilfoil once present in many of the sampling sites at the beginning of the evaluation period was absent throughout the entire South Basin in This result could have cost-saving to the South Basin riparians and to those of the entire lake in future years if the system is continued as the cost of aquatic herbicides to treat milfoil is very costly and may need to be continuously repeated each year, especially if milfoil had been allowed to propagate and spread. 3) The water column nutrients were elevated in 2015 compared to previous years and this could also be due to the intense rainfall/runoff and nutrient contributions to the South Basin. These results were also noted on many other aerated and non-aerated lakes during the 2015 season. Restorative Lake Sciences recommends that the residents around the South Basin of Austin Lake decide on the future of the aeration system but certainly consider the benefits described herein and as summarized above. This basin was severely compromised in 2015 due to historic climatic events or other processes such as possible sediment deposition. It is unclear as to whether geologic activity may have also played a role in this significant change. The aeration system apparently cannot process excessive loads of organic sediment in a short period of time if the incoming loads are excessive and possibly burying the microbes that were added to the Basin in

8 3101 Woodhams Ave Portage, Michigan Postmaster: Please Forward Attention Renters: Please pass this newsletter on to the property owner. Thank You! 8