Happy Holidays from the LBPOA Board of Directors!
Hello neighbours,
Welcome to our holiday newsletter. We are grateful to have you as part of our “lake family”. Thank you also for your ongoing support. Included is a summary of the water testing that was done this past summer, the status and action plan for the Roundtable on Lake Health as well as updates from the Near North Enviro-Education Centre (NNEEC), the Village and the Township. We also hope that you were able to view the stylish Lake Bernard clothing that we had for sale earlier this autumn.
All in all, we hope your 2021 was a year with some shared good memories on our Lake Bernard. Wishing all of you good health and happiness from your Board of Directors. We are proud, grateful and happy to be a part of this community.
Sherrie Berdusco
David Emilio
Alan Burt
Wendy Blackwell Crane
Deb Booth
Robert Renaud
Matthew Scott
Andrew Vezina
WATER TESTING UPDATE:
All of the research and science data say our lake water has enough oxygen to support lake trout. We are now sampling water throughout the year at various points and depths throughout the lake, although heavy rains disrupted some sampling. Thanks to volunteer Dale Klodnicki who helped with testing, we are developing a broader picture of Lake Bernard’s varying mineral and oxygen content throughout the year.
Dale graciously completed the annual secchi disc (water transparency) testing this year. Measurements were collected during June, July, August and September for a total of 4 samples. Plans are underway to complete the Total Phosphorus (TP) sampling at the various inflows and the outflow this spring. Plans to complete the sampling this year were thwarted by the lack of available water flow meters and the high levels of precipitation.
The annual Lake Partnership Program (LPP) water sampling was completed in June. Results (Total Phosphorus, Chloride and Calcium) should be available in February 2022. A dissolved oxygen /temperature profile of the deep basin (Station 1) was completed in mid-September. Results indicated that the mean hypolimneic oxygen concentration was slightly above the minimum threshold value of 7 mg/L. That is good news! This is an important indicator of sustainability for the lake trout population. Attempts will be made to complete this on an annual basis.
For more information please contact Alan Burt at lakehealth@lakebernard.ca
ROUNDTABLE UPDATE:
As you may know, the LBPOA created the Roundtable on Lake Health for Lake Bernard in September 2020. This is a collaboration of municipal governments (the Village and Township), local community groups (the Almaguin Chamber of Commerce and our LBPOA), as well as experts from the Near North Enviro-Education Centre.
The recent occurrences of blue-green algae reminded us that we can’t take the health of our lake for granted. We are now not only updating our Lake Bernard Conservation Guide, originally published in 2013, but also developing a longer term lake health process with a more systematic approach including specific goals, measurements and actions.
We are excited to keep you posted on progress over the coming months. And, of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@lakebernard.ca
MNR PRESENTATION:
For the first time, the LBPOA was invited to join the Tri-Council Meeting (Strong, Sundridge, Joly) in an open forum with the Ministry of Natural Resources. Adam Wakefield, District Manager, presented on water levels on Lake Bernard. We hope those of you who attend found it to be interesting and informative. Mr. Wakefield has agreed to present a webinar for the LBPOA in the Spring of 2022. More details to follow.
2021 was a slightly above average year for Lake Bernard water levels.
According to the data collected several times a day by the Canadian government’s monitoring system on Lake Bernard, 2021 was high but not a record setter. 2019, 2017, 2011, and 2009 all saw higher lake levels than the 2021 peak of 8.79m recorded on October 4. This peak came later this year than any of the past 15 years. Lake Bernard typically peaks between March and May, during spring melt. Environment Canada provides real-time and historical data on Lake Bernard water levels online. Sundridge’s data identifier is 02EA020.
SEPTIC SURVEY UPDATE:
Thank you to those members who completed their septic survey. We were pleased with the number of surveys collected. It certainly was a collaborative effort from the Roundtable on Lake Health! Thanks again to the Township for mailing them out to over 400 lake-front property owners, the Village for mailing out to the 15 lake-front property owners with septic systems in town, the NNEEC for collecting all of the surveys and to our own Alan Burt for tabulating them. Results will be presented at the AGM.
Love your septic system and it will love you back by:
- Properly processing your sewage
- Continuing to work efficiently
- Saving costly repairs (since you caught issues early!) and
- Helping keep Lake Bernard healthy for generations to come!
PHRAGMITES UPDATE:
The LBPOA applied and was awarded a $5,000 GRANT from FOCA and the GREEN SHOVELS INITIATIVE!
This money will go towards the Phragmites Working Group – Lake Bernard headed up by the incredible Mariliee Koenderink. If you haven’t had a chance yet to join Marilee for a phrag cut, please consider doing so in the summer. Cuts are usually Tuesdays and Fridays and are posted on the LBPOA Facebook page as well as the NNEEC website. Many hands make light work and we each need to help to get rid of this invasive species on our beautiful lake. This grant money will go towards hiring a truxor for one day (the large machines that cut multiple amounts of phrag) and some other smaller items like sleds and hip waders. Come join us in the fight against phrag!
CLOTHING UPDATE: Thanks for supporting our Lake Bernard Clothing. We hope you have received your orders by now and enjoy them!
NNEEC UPDATE:
This past year, NNEEC created the Almaguin Watershed group and brought together lake associations and watershed groups from around the Almaguin Highlands. We met 3 or 4 times and exchanged information.
VILLAGE OF SUNDRIDGE UPDATE:
Please mark your calendars for the upcoming TOWN HALL meeting on Wednesday, January 26th. Town Hall Meetings happen 4 times a year and allow anyone to ask questions directly to the Sundridge Council. The Town Hall runs for one hour prior to the regular meeting with the Town Hall from 6:00pm-7:00pm and then the Council meeting starting at 7:00pm. Please note that the majority of the properties on LB fall within the Township boundaries although Mayor Hall and the VIllage Council have been very open to answering questions that anyone might have.
The Village of Sundridge is currently working on its Official Plan. This occurs once every ten years.
Please note that the LBPOA is already slated to be a delegate at the January Council meeting. We are trying to encourage the Council to consider adding to their Official Plan some of the recommendations from the updated LB Conservation Guide.
STRONG TOWNSHIP UPDATE:
Since we’re heading into the winter months, it’s a good idea to always be prepared to be self sufficient for 72 hours after an emergency by having a kit ready. The provincial Emergency Management Ontario agency has a helpful guide on how to build your own kit.
And a friendly reminder to register for CodeRED, a mass emergency notification system. Downloading the app (Apple or Google Play Store) will send any emergency alert from CodeRED in the app using location services. https://www.strongtownship.
For more news on the Lake Bernard Property Owners Association,
https://lakebernard.ca/#
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