The Newsletter of Lake Watch of Lake Martin No. 55, January 2020
by Eric Reutebuch
2019 Achievements:
- 24 sites monitored for water chemistry and bacteria in the Lake Martin Watershed
- 216 data records submitted to the AWW water quality database
- Educated hundreds of children and adults about lake and watershed stewardship
- Installed educational kiosk at Wind Creek State Park in partnership with the park
- Supported the Tallapoosa County Water Festival with funding and people-power
Lake Watch Officers:
Eric Reutebuch, President
Judy Palfrey, Vice President
Dianna Porter, Secretary
Janne Debes, Treasurer
LW Board of Directors:
Matt Campbell
George Zorn
Myrna Lehman
Laurie Barrett
Tom Collier
Jesse Cunningham
Dick Bronson
Zelma dePasquale
Joanne Walker
Lake Watch Annual Meeting February 23, 2020
The Lake Watch Annual Meeting will be Sunday, February 23, 2020, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm at the StillWaters Residential Association Centre inside StillWaters Resort (1816 StillWaters Drive, Dadeville, AL; map and directions below). The meeting will be followed by a social from 3:30-4:00 pm, with hors d'oeuvres, dessert and beverages, BYOB if you desire. We ask that you pre-register online so that we have a head count to prepare adequate seating and refreshments.
Register for the meeting at www.lakewatch.org . Click the Events menu on the left side of the homepage, then under Upcoming events click Lake Watch of Lake Martin Annual Meeting, then the Register button, and follow instructions – be sure to add the proper number of ‘guests’ if you are bringing a spouse or friend(s) with you. Or, if you prefer, send an e-mail to us at info@lakewatch.org to let us know that you plan to attend, and we’ll register you. Once you’ve registered, please check in at the door at the meeting for an agenda, to update your Lake Watch contact info if needed, and for newbees – to become a Lake Watch member.
We are pleased to have Lance LeFleur, Director, Alabama Department of Environmental Management, to inform us on the emergence of poultry production in the Middle Tallapoosa Basin just above the lake and its environmental consequences relative to the water quality of our lake.
Lake Watch president, Eric Reutebuch, will give an overview of results from Lake Watch volunteer water quality monitoring throughout the lake, including an update on our monitoring of streams with significant poultry production that flow into the lake. The meeting will be followed by social at 3:30-4:00 pm. Go to the Lake Watch website to register for the meeting (www.lakewatch.org).
Directions to StillWaters Residential Association Building: From Dadeville take Hwy 49 south, turn into StillWaters onto Moonbrook Drive, take Moonbrook Drive to StillWaters Drive, turn right on StillWaters Drive, the StillWaters Residential Association Building will be on your left.
Lake Watch Leadership and Budget
Changes in our leadership in 2019 included Judy Palfrey taking over as vice-president and Tom Collier joining our board of directors; and the loss of board of director Kathryn Braund and the addition of Laurie Barrett to replace her – THANK YOU Kathryn for your many years of service on the board and as president, and THANK YOU Judy, Tom and Laurie for stepping up! And a big THANKS to all of our officers and board members, and to Kathryn for posting updates on our website!
Lake Watch budget: end-of-year balance as of 12/31/2018 = $6,298; 2019 expenditures = $4,185; 2019 donations and dues = $2,920, end-of-year balance as of 12/31/2019 = $5,033. A big THANK YOU to all who’ve sent their annual dues in, especially to those who have donated at the Silver ($50; six donors), Gold ($100; one donor); and Platinum ($250; two donors). As you probably know, most of the Lake Watch budget is spent on the purchase of water testing supplies. Membership funds are also used to cover costs to spread the word of watershed stewardship, water conservation, to advocate for clean water, and to encourage others to join in our efforts. The website, newsletter, and teaching supplies are all part of these costs. One significant one-time expense in 2019 of $1,052 was the construction of an environmental education kiosk in Wind Creek State Park. The park graciously provided the labor and Lake Watch provided materials and posters, see Chickens in the Watershed (pages 7-8; courtesy of Lake Magazine) for more details on this successful partnership.
Water Monitoring
Judy Palfrey served as Lake Watch water monitoring coordinator for several years, ensuring that Lake Watch monitors have adequate supplies to do their water testing. Janne Debes took over for Judy in 2019. THANK YOU Judy for your many years of service as water monitoring coordinator, and THANK YOU Janne for stepping up to replace her! And a big THANKS to all of our dedicated water monitors!!
Lake Watch gained seven new AWW-certified water monitors in 2019, Ken and Tonya Holland, Marge Johnson, Connie Wheatley, Cherie Stephenson, John Owen and Shani Smith. Lake Watch volunteer monitors have increased monitoring throughout the lake and tributaries to 216 water tests (161 water chemistry records and 55 bacteria records; compared to 200 total records last year) at 24 sites (up from 20 sites last year); from Crooked Creek (near Lineville) down to Martin Dam. Three of these sites are on streams above the lake draining areas containing significant poultry production, a recent development in the Lake Martin Watershed that we are very concerned about.
2018 Sites:
2019 Sites:
I am happy to report that our volunteer water monitors’ data showed good water quality throughout the lake, and in streams that flow into the lake. No violations of ADEM water quality standards were reported. We plan to continue monitoring key streams above the lake for bacteria, specifically E. coli, particularly after significant rainfall/runoff events to check for potential impacts from poultry operations near these streams.
Note that some areas of the lake still go unmonitored, particularly the tributary streams flowing into the lake, as folks move away and long-time volunteers retire their test kits, so we are always in need of new water monitors. If you think it’s a necessity to have an insurance policy for your home and your car, think the same way about your lake – insure it through your involvement and investment in lake stewardship by becoming a Lake Watch supporter, and consider becoming a water monitor. Visit the Alabama Water Watch website at www.alabamawaterwatch.org for information on water testing and registration for free workshops held throughout the year, or email Eric at reuteem@auburn.edu.
Lake Watch Environmental Education Efforts
By Dianna Porter
Earth Day Celebration at Keebler Park, Dadeville: we had an estimated crowd of about 500 visit Keebler Park to celebrate Earth Day. Judy Palfrey and Mandi Milford set up the Enviroscape right in the middle of a large example of a watershed. The kids could see firsthand how pollution could travel downhill and into streams, and how pollution in the streams affect macroinvertebrates, fish, waterfowl and people. This year Keebler Park will be celebrating its 3rd Annual Earth Day Celebration on April the 25th 2020. More information to come on the Celebration.
Tallapoosa County Water Festival at Wind Creek State Park: Judy and I taught the kids about the Water Cycle – precipitation, infiltration, transportation, evaporation and condensation. We assisted the students in making a water cycle bracelet. Making the bracelets reinforced what they had just learned about the Water Cycle.
Judy trained several new water monitors and recertified several existing monitors in 2019 – thanks Judy!
Judy and I attended the ACES Alabama Watershed Stewards Workshop and the updated AWW Exploring Our Living Streams Workshop in August. We both completed the 4-H Independent Volunteer curriculum and we are actively implementing an approved Alabama Water Watch program at Dadeville High School.
Along with Matt Campbell, Judy and I presented a program to Kiwanis concerning the poultry industry in our watershed. We used the Enviroscape and numerous publications to talk about the effect a spill from a processing plant or poultry barn could have on Lake Martin and surrounding rivers and streams.
2019 AWW Monitor of the Year (again!)
The AWW Mullen Award for Monitor of the Year recognizes the volunteer monitor who submitted the most water data records in the past year. AWW awarded the 2019 Mullen Award winner to our very own Janne Debes, who submitted a total of 136 records. You may recall that Janne won the award last year! WOW, that’s a lot of water testing!
Janne was first certified as an AWW water monitor in December 2016. She spends time in both Auburn and Lake Martin and is a member and monitor in both Lake Watch and Save Our Saugahatchee. Oh, along with all of her water testing, Janne also serves as Lake Watch treasurer AND water monitor testing coordinator AND in her spare time, does work on the Lake Watch website!!
Lake Watch Kiosk in Wind Creek State Park
Lake Watch and Wind Creek State Park partnered to create an educational kiosk highlighting:
- Alabama’s WORLD CLASS aquatic biodiversity – we’ve got more species of freshwater fish, crayfish, turtles, snails and mussels than any other state!!,
- Watershed stewardship needed to protect our aquatic treasure, and,
- How folks can get involved with Lake Watch’s ongoing environmental efforts.
The kiosk was the brainchild of Mary Ann Bronson and the Bronson family provided major funding for the project, supplemented by a donation from Lake Watch. Wind Creek State Park did the hard work of constructing the kiosk, shown below. It is located at the base of the park’s lookout tower. It will inform, educate and inspire thousands of visitors who come to enjoy our Treasured Lake.
Rivers of Alabama Course
Several Lake Watchers participated in a six-week Rivers of Alabama Course organized and sponsored by Lake Martin HOBO. 
The course was taught by Dr. Bill Deutsch, founder and long-time director of Alabama Water Watch. The course was conducted in Dadeville October through November. The more-than 40 participants learned about the aquatic life, natural and cultural history, and geology of all the major river basins in the state, which is wonderfully presented in Dr. Deutsch’s book Alabama Rivers – A Celebration and Challenge (see http://alabamariversbook.org for more on the book).
Trash Cleanup
The annual Renew Our Rivers (ROR) cleanup on Lake Martin has removed more than 100 tons of trash from Lake Martin. LMRA president, John Thompson has been coordinating the lake clean up, in coordination with Alabama Power and several other partners since 2006, along with over 2000 volunteers. Ken and Tanya Holland, with Tanya’s sister Tammie McVickers and Tanya’s mother, Shirley Cook (see picture; source: Lake Magazine) were featured in the July 2019 edition of Lake Magazine for going way above and beyond the call of duty in their effort to clean up the lake. They spend several weekends before the official cleanup collecting and bagging trash in sloughs for easy pickup during the ROR cleanup. Ken and Tanya became some of our newest Lake Watch water monitors this past fall – welcome aboard and many thanks to the Hollands, et al.!
Closing Thoughts
YOU are what makes Lake Watch of Lake Martin work! We urge each of our Lake Watch members to spread the word on Lake Watch, to support our programs and to participate. Renew your membership! Help sign up new members to our team! Consider an additional donation to Lake Watch! Not everyone can get out and monitor water or teach in a classroom, but each member is essential to our success. Together, we can and will make a difference in the protection of our lake, in water conservation and clean water advocacy, and in the world we leave for our children. If every Lake Watch member encourages one or two friends to join in our efforts, it will go a long way toward ensuring the continuation of the good work we've accomplished over the past 28 years. Go visit your neighbor and sign him or her up. Or send your neighbor to our website, www.lakewatch.org to sign up. Better yet, bring them to our annual meeting on February 23rd where they can hear about our work first-hand!
Dues Reminder
Take the plunge, if you haven’t already! 
- Protect Lake Martin by supporting Lake Watch!
- And ask a neighbor to do the same!
For the many faithful Lake Watch members who already sent in their dues for 2019, thank you! And for those who haven’t yet, don't forget to send your check to:
P. O. Box 72, Alexander City, AL 35010
to keep your membership current. Membership levels are listed below:
Regular dues (annual): Student $10 Individual $15 Family $25
Lake Martin Steward: Silver $50 Gold $100 Platinum $250
We also welcome donations. Don't forget–a donation in someone's honor/memory is a lovely gift/tribute.
