Rescue me: Water’s message to the community

Friends of Mat-Su would like to thank Wasilla and all of the people who attended the first Wasilla Lake Appreciation Day Aug. 22 at the Wasilla Lake Park and Pavilion. The weather was gorgeous and the turnout was good. There were informational tables representing a variety of agencies involved in watershed education and protection with ongoing, interactive fun demonstrations, a tub of lake water on display with a live hair worm and free hot dogs and ice cream. People that attended shared their views and concerns and love for the lake.

Mayor Verne Rupright of Wasilla provided opening remarks regarding the gems of his community, Wasilla Lake and Lake Lucille, and how important it is to improve water quality and maintain those gems. Matt LaCroix, a biologist with the Environmental Protection Agency Aquatic Resources Unit whose principle responsibilities are associated with the permitting program of the Clean Water Act was the featured speaker. His work also focuses on enhancing state and local capacity to protect aquatic resources. LaCroix explained the importance of protecting and maintaining our healthy water resources because restoring a polluted aquatic environment is very limited and not always possible. Informational cards outlining several simple strategies anyone can do to protect water were available. Strategies included:

• Feed your landscape, not your water. If you need to fertilize, choose low or no phosphorous fertilizers.

• Keep pet waste out of the water. Scoop it up. Clean up after your pets.

• Be septic system savvy. Keep your system working by pumping and maintaining it to prevent leaks into the water.

• Protect fish and wildlife with buffers. Native vegetation or landscaping designed to support a healthy shoreline as pollution filters.

LaCroix pointed out that an effective way to maintain water quality is to regulate land use because development patterns within the watershed have the most influence on water quality. He noted that Cottonwood Creek is an impaired waterbody in spite of the Clean Water Act and Alaska’s water quality standards. Currently, there is a jurisdictional issue with Wasilla Lake because the lake lies within the city of Wasilla and lies within the Mat-Su Borough. This situation makes it challenging to create a comprehensive policy to promote a healthy watershed. For example, if Wasilla crafted legislation that increased setbacks and called for landowners to maintain appropriate vegetative buffers for shoreline health, encouraged minimal use of fertilizer, and stipulated that homeowners regularly clean up after their pets; while the borough had no restrictions other than the 75-foot setback, the lake would see no advantage to the stricter policy created by the city that would pertain to its portion of the lake. Furthermore, residents living on Wasilla Lake would be subject to different regulations, creating inequity and confusion. Therefore, one of our goals will be to work with residential and commercial land owners along the lake, residents, city and borough planners to create a compatible plan for improving water quality and keeping the entire lake healthy. The Wasilla has future plans to annex additional land that would include the entire lake; however it is not on the immediate horizon. In the meantime, Wasilla lake needs attention and we believe everyone wants to help improve water quality; they just need the information on what to do.

During the upcoming year, FoMS will be reaching out to the community of Wasilla Lake so residents and businesses can learn about improving the water quality of Wasilla Lake. For instance, we will conduct community meetings to inform lakeshore landowners about the shoreline revegetation and protection cost share program through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. We are also excited about developing a demonstration shoreline revegetation project on Wasilla Lake with an interpretative sign explaining the benefits of appropriate shoreline landscaping. We will partner with the Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District and local school children in the spring of next year to implement this project.

This Friends of Mat-Su project is made possible through the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Alaska Clean Water Actions Program, which funds projects that restore, protect or conserve water quality, quantity and aquatic habitat on identified priority waters statewide. We would also like to thank 3 Bears, Carrs, Matanuska Creamery and our volunteers for their assistance. We look forward to continuing our watershed education campaign on Wasilla Lake throughout the year, implementing the shoreline rehabilitation project in the spring and celebrating the future of Wasilla Lake.