By Paul J Sniadecki, MLSA Board Director
During 2018,the Oakland County Board of Commissioners launched and funded their “Healthy Lakes” Intiative. The Commissioners recognized the critical importance of monitoring and protecting local lakes. The Board and the Oakland County Health Division then partnered with the Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) to provide Oakland County residents with free training and equipment to monitor water quality in local lakes during the summer of 2018. That was done via the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program (CLMP), which has been an integral component of Michigan’s inland lake monitoring. Michigan has had citizen lake monitoring programs in several forms for over 40 years
MLSA has recently been advised that it appears Oakland County will continue their initiative during the summer of 2019, and will provide up to $120 for each lake, with a maximim of up to 80 lakes participating.
The vision and commitment to lake stewardship by Oakland County is truly a model for other municipalities in Michigan. If Oakland County can find the funding for essential stewardship, then other counties and/or townships can do the same for their lakes.