2009 Spring Report on Door County Waters

Partnership for Phosphate Reduction
2009 Spring Report
by Peter Sigmann

To download a copy of this article in MS Word, CLICK HERE
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The excess of phosphate in our waters continues to be a problem. Consequently the cladophora scourge continues to affect our beaches. It has not gotten worse and may have improved in some locations in 2008.

There is good news:

Phosphate free lawn fertilizer is widely available and soon will be the only option for those that want to fertilize their lawn.
Phosphate free dishwasher detergents are now widely available
Phosphate fertilizer has become expensive and farmers find it unnecessary
Our testing around the Sturgeon Bay sewage treatment plant showed substantially less phosphate than in 2007

And there is reason for concern :

The 2008 beach phosphate levels were higher than in 2007
The 2008 increase in beach phosphate occurred earlier than in 2007
When checking the major creeks we found high phosphate intermittendly
The "spreading" of huge volumes of untreated farm sewage aka "liquid manure" occurs with increasing frequency, especially in Southern Door. This is potentially safe for water quality, but safety is not guaranteed. For this reason we have begun testing selected streams for phosphate with an EPA approved methodology.

What remains to be done by property owners and friends of clean beaches?

Continue to advocate avoidance of any phosphate product that would wind up in the sewer or holding tank or that would run off on the surface.
Support limited testing. This will again be done by the graduate students in the DC beach testing team. In addition we need volunteers to test important areas in the vicinity of sewage treatment plants.
Support systematic testing of key streams likely to be affected by farm sewage. In order for this to work everyone is urged to report the heavy spreading of farm sewage to fields. When you see and smell a fleet of tanker trucks on a field send a note with date and location to info@dcphosphatefree.org. It is to be hoped that awareness of our "citizen monitoring" will lead to optimal care in the application of manure.

Looking forward to an improving beach experience!

Peter Sigmann, Coordinator.

Partnership for Phosphate Reduction
PO Box 429 | Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
Phone: (920) 746-4450
Email: Info@DCPhosphateFree.org

We are a voluntary coalition

To contact someone about this website email: website@dcphosphatefree.org