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OCTOBER 20, 2007: Partnership Releases Phosphate Readings for Door County Waters

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SPECIAL ALERT—August 30, 2007
Contact your state senator to support SB 197, to ban phosphates in lawn fertilizers! See Peter Sigmann's letter to Sen. Miller below:

August 28, 2007: Letter from Peter Sigmann re: SB197
Please contact your Wisconsin State Senator and ask them to support this bill!

Dear Senator Miller,

SB 197 addresses a serious threat to the quality of life and the value of real estate in Wisconsin. It is important that this bill become the law of the State.

I am writing as the coordinator of the "Partnership for Phosphate Reduction" in Door County. Nine property owner's and civic associations have joined to document the magnitude of the phosphate loading of lakes and streams and to educate the public in measures to eliminate unnecessary discharge of phosphate.

We find that consumers can be made to understand that the addition of phosphate to lawn fertilizer is unnecessary, but the decision to purchase a particular package of fertilizer may be based on habit, availability or display. SB 197 would remove these distractions at the point of service and would help to reduce the non-point sources of phosphate. Since similar legislation is in effect in other jurisdictions we can expect that reformulated product is available from popular brands.

There are good reasons for our interest in this matter:

• Door County has the longest shoreline of any county in the lower 48 states.
• Our shores are made repulsive and unhealthy every summer by increasingly large deposits of Cladophora - filamentous green algae which decompose on the beaches and rocks.
• The masses of algae promote the growth of disease-causing bacteria.
• Consequently tourism and real estate values are threatened.
• Among the required nutrients for algae phosphorus is the single growth-limiting nutrient. 

We have monitored phosphate in Green Bay waters of Door County since the year 2000 and have found progressively increasing phosphate concentrations.  Frequently we see Phosphate-Phosphorus levels > 1.67 mg/l=ppm or 1670 ppb. This compares to average levels in Green Bay in the 1990's of 157 ppb. In 2000 the EPA defined 0.01 ppm or 10 ppb as critical concentration for surface waters.

Interventions at multiple levels are necessary. SB 197 is an important component in the overall strategy.

Our experience in Door County can be extrapolated to all areas of the state. In some lakes the excess phosphate causes the growth of toxic red or blue algae, an acute public health threat.

More information on our initiative can be found at www.dcphosphatefree.org. We can be contacted at info@dcphosphatefree.org.

I thank you for your interest and hope that this note will be made available to the committee.

Peter Sigmann
3732 Rocky Shore Dr.
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235-9427
920-824-5193

By Ralph Valatka, Shady Nook Creative Services

 Under the leadership of Door Property Owners (DPO), nine area organizations have joined forces to improve the quality of Door County's waters.

 Calling themselves The Partnership for Phosphate Reduction, they have set as their first goal the reduction of phosphates entering county surface waters from two sources: automatic dishwasher detergents and fertilizers.

Founders of The Partnership for Phosphate Reduction include: Bay Shore Property Owners Association, Door County Environmental Council, Door Property Owners, Friends of Toft Point, Glidden Drive Association, League of Women Voters, Little Sturgeon Area Property Owners Association, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin and the Whitefish Bay Association.

At the helm of the organization is Peter Sigmann of Door Property Owners. Joining Sigmann from DPO are Rich Dirks, Pat Miller and Bob Stracka, along with a small army of volunteers from the other founding organizations.

The group plans to monitor phosphate levels in Door County waters and wage a campaign of public awareness and retail activism to encourage Door residents toward using some phosphate-free products.

"We're not trying to ban phosphates," said Sigmann, "We are promoting phosphate reduction. We only want to eliminate two major sources of this pollution: phosphates in dishwasher detergent and fertilizers. If we can do this, we hope it will make a major impact on reducing the amount of 'green stuff' that's floating abundantly in our waters because phosphate feeds it· it fuels aquatic plants like cladophora."

The group has already started measuring phosphates in Green Bay and Lake Michigan waters in order to set base-line measurements that will be used to determine the effectiveness of their campaign. They are also coordinating efforts with current studies measuring e-coli at Door County beaches.

The Partnership for Phosphate Reduction welcomes additional organizations and individuals to take part in their effort.

For further information contact: Peter Sigmann at (920) 824-5193 or at
EMAIL:  Info@DCPhospateFree.org

 
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