Shorelines

A healthy lake starts with a healthy shoreline. Did you know that the state of your shoreline can directly affect the quality of the water that you swim and play in on your own waterfront as well as elsewhere on the lake?

 

Natural shorelines:

 

• Help filter pollutants (which helps us have clean, good quality water)

• Protect against erosion from waves and boat wakes

• Provide an important habitat for land-based and aquatic wildlife

• Help keep geese off your property

 

A Healthy Shoreline is less work so you’ll have more deck and dock time!

 

Maintaining good water quality is a community initiative and requires support from all cottagers and their guests.  Below is a list of Dos & Don’ts that will assist cottagers in their efforts to preserve their lake water.

 

Do

• Maintain a natural shoreline. Here's a great native plant guideline  c/o Bancroft Stewardship Council. Naturally vegetated land with native grasses, shrubs and tree roots anchor the soil and prevent the shoreline from being washed away. These plants act like sponges, removing impurities found in rainwater runoff such as soil, pet wastes, salt, pesticides, fertilizers, oil and grease, fuels, leaves, litter and septic output.

• Create pathways and walkways using a “softscape” such as wood, absorbent pea gravel or woodchips and a meandering or terraced path to delay the inevitable runoff.

 

Don’t

• Use any chemical based fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides on your property.

• Use grass in place of natural plants.  Manicured lawns, with their shallow roots, encourage erosion and allow as much as 55% of the unfiltered runoff to reach our lake.

• Disturb the lake bottom. The area from the water’s edge to where the sunlight no longer penetrates to the lake bottom acts as a home or food corridor to 90% of all the fish and aquatic wildlife species on the lake. By leaving logs, rocks and plant material in the water, good algae, spawning fish, ducks, loons, turtles and crayfish can live, hide and feed upon the billions of microorganisms that this “debris” provides.

 

Is My Shoreline Healthy?

Love your Lake: Self-Assessment https://loveyourlake.ca/self-assessment/

 

What Can I Do?

Love your Lake: 5 ways to a Healthy Shoreline https://loveyourlake.ca/5-ways-healthy-shoreline

 

Love Your Lake 

The executive summary from the 2014 Love Your Lake program found that residents receive the greatest personal enjoyment of the lake from the natural environment. 

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