HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Some waterfront residents are on the frontlines of a losing battle with an algae clogging their lakes, their canals and limiting their access to the water. One lawmaker’s bill would streamline the cleanup process.
“This all actually used to be sandy beach along here,” Hannah Wenzelburger said. “We would launch kayaks and canoes, small fishing boats, jet skis off this little ramp here and every year, the muck just comes out and out.”
Hannah Wenzelburger shows us the shoreline in the video player below:
Wenzelburger remembers what one Harrison Township shore used to be. For years, debris and muck in the form of M. wollei, a non-native form of algae, has been building up on Michigan shorelines including lake St. Clair’s. Residents there recently added a walkway to keep from sinking while getting to the lake in the winter.
“We’ve kinda given up on the summer aspect of it, but at least for ice fishing being able to get out,” Wenzelburger said.
But no one moves to waterfront communities just to say "at least for ice fishing."
“Left unchecked, this stuff could fill up the entire canal?” reporter Randy Wimbley asked.
“The entire canal. And so all the homeowners here that have boat wells and boats, they can’t even get out and go boating on this lake,” state Rep. Alicia St. Germaine said.
We walk the area with Michigan Rep. Alicia St. Germaine in the video player below:
St. Germaine introduced a bill to cut through the red tape of more detailed cleanup efforts. Only hand-operated tools like rakes can be used without a permit from Michigan’s Environment, Great Lakes and Energy department.
“Right now, they cannot just hire a contractor and get rid of this stuff. They have to go through a permit process and that can take months. By then, summer is over with and then next year, it’s going to keep building up,” St. Germaine said. “My bill is really simple: it only applies to free-floating muck, M. wollei or weeds or even trash, and it will allow a homeowner or condominium association to go in and clean it up without having to go through the permit process.”
Hear more from Michigan Rep. Alicia St. Germaine in the video player below:
The muck accumulation has gotten so bad it overran a boat launch, prompting the Department of Natural Resources to build another one. If boats go through the muck stuff, operators risk clogging up and overheating their engines.
EGLE provided a statement saying:
EGLE is committed to keeping Michigan waters safe for residents’ enjoyment as part of its mission to protect public health and the environment. The department is aware of and reviewing Rep. St. Germaine’s bill.
Margaret Schandvel has lived in this waterfront community for nearly 60 years and says help cannot come soon enough.
“If they don’t do anything, it’s just going to grow by the day. Compared to last year, we’ve probably lost about 10, 12 feet of shoreline as a result of the muck building up,” Schandvel said.
