By:  Eric Reutebuch, Lake Watch President
Appeared in Lake Magazine, January 2021 Edition

Lake Watch monitors could be the first line of defense

On Lake Martin, we like to think that we are ahead of the curve. We have the only Treasured Lake in Alabama, and our water is being tested regularly and watched over by Lake Watch of Lake Martin. But we cannot become complacent. This is what we don’t want to happen:

In an August 2015 article from the Burlington Free Press, Glenn Russell reported toxic conditions on the Vermont area’s Lake Champlain.

“Phosphorus runoff from farms, roads and urban areas has fueled toxic algae blooms in the lake, forcing the closure of some beaches and decreasing some lakeside property values. The EPA has mandated that Vermont clean up the lake ... We’re spending millions in this bureaucratic shell game to tout an 8 percent reduction (in pollutants), where we need an 80 percent reduction in some locations,” Russell wrote.

But, you say, we have a clean lake. Why should we be concerned? Why is Lake Watch concerned? In two previous articles this year in Lake magazine (Chickens in the Watershed, January 2020 edition and What to Watch – Lake Watch monitors a potential threat to the lake in the October 2020 edition), readers learned about the poultry houses expanding in our watershed.

Chicken litter, spread as fertilizer and flushed from the landscape by rainfall, flows into creeks that then flow into Lake Martin. Water monitors are already finding significant bacterial contamination in four of those streams above the lake. Lake Watch bacteriological monitoring done after submission of Lake Watch’s October Lake magazine article revealed the highest bacteria we’ve seen to date: 9,100 E. coli per 100 milliliters of water (about half a cup). That’s 30 times higher than ADEM’s allowable standard. This high level of E. coli was measured in Crooked Creek following a rainfall/runoff event with about 3 inches of precipitation. This means that a lot of fecal matter was flushed into the stream that empties into the Tallapoosa River, which empties into our lake. 

So, it appears that we already could have a pollution issue involving fecal/E. coli contamination, at least in the upper end of the lake following rain events. This does not seem to be the time to weaken regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs, which in our case, are poultry farms), especially as more and bigger chicken houses continue to pop up above the lake.

This situation vividly highlights a major shortcoming of the lake’s Treasured Alabama Lake designation. TAL is a valuable tool in protecting the lake from the inflow of pollutants around the lake, but it only covers the lake itself; the protected water flow starts below Irwin Shoals, where Jaybird Creek enters the Tallapoosa River. It offers no added protections against pollutants flowing down the river from the streams draining the watershed above this point. This shortfall must be addressed so that we don’t turn into another Lake Champlain.

Lake Watch wants to partner with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management in an effort to mitigate these pollutants. At a meeting held on Dec. 11, the Alabama Environmental Management Commission, which is the oversight commission for ADEM, adopted proposed changes in the regulation of CAFOs by ADEM.

The changes will establish a statewide regulatory system, which has yet to be clearly defined, in lieu of the federal NPDES regulatory system, which is currently in use. The statewide system reduces CAFO registration requirements from once a year to once every five years and reduces required farm inspections from annually to once every five years.

At Lake Watch, we think that, on its face, the new regulatory system appears to ease up on surveillance and other regulations of the poultry farms, which could lead to increased pollution of our lake. Numerous letters were written by members of Lake Watch, Lake Martin Homeowners and Boat Owners, Lake Martin Resource Association, The City of Alexander City and dozens of community members residing on the lake and/or that recreate on the lake to oppose these changes. I applaud all who let their voices be heard for the sake of the lake.

Lake Watch was well-represented at the meeting by Matt Campbell, chairperson of the Lake Watch Legal Committee. Campbell vocalized our concerns about expanding poultry farms and called for public/citizen participation in the decision-making and stewardship of Lake Martin’s watershed. He was joined by representatives from Lake Martin HOBO and LMRA who echoed similar concerns. 

Following the AEMC passage of the amendment on Dec. 11, ADEM Director Lance LeFleur wrote me a letter addressing some of the comments/concerns pertaining to the changes in regulatory oversight of poultry farms, i.e., the creation of State regulatory oversight. In his letter, which I have shared with his knowledge and permission, LeFleur made the following remarks:

“… we believe these changes will support enhanced protection of water quality in the Lake Martin watershed and other watersheds across Alabama.”

“The single biggest benefit of these regulatory changes will be to support an enhanced field presence by ADEM inspectors and allow ADEM inspectors to conduct more field inspections in lieu of being in the office and reviewing inspection reports produced by independent Qualified Credentialed Professionals (QCPs).”

“QCPs are hired by the CAFO owner … In addition, QCP inspections are announced ahead of time … In contrast, ADEM inspections are unannouncedly allowing ADEM inspectors to have a better awareness of operational deficiencies prior to them being corrected … Thus, ADEM can more effectively …  focus on complaint investigations, and (to) focus inspection efforts on specific geographical areas such as those that have been classified/designated as Treasured Alabama Lake, Outstanding Alabama Water, Outstanding National Resource Water, or Public Water Supply.”

“The State permit keeps in place all of the water quality protections afforded by the NPDES permit and the State permit is fully enforceable by ADEM.”

“… several comments submitted (that) referenced water quality data collected by Lake Watch of Lake Martin members that appeared to show elevated levels of bacteria (E. coli) in the waterways in the Lake Martin area.”

“ADEM has historically utilized data collected by citizen monitoring groups to assist in targeting its more extensive water quality monitoring efforts and will continue with that effort, to include an extensive review of the water quality data submitted as part of the public comment period for rulemaking effort.”

The ADEM response gives me comfort in knowing that 1) ADEM heard the concerns from many members of the Lake Martin community; 2) ADEM does value and use our Lake Watch water testing data; 3) ADEM has identified special waters, particularly TAL, i.e. Lake Martin, as candidates for increased attention and inspections of CAFOs in their watersheds; and 4) all existing CAFO regulations will be preserved in the new State regulatory system.

I believe it is up to the Lake Martin community to be the eyes and ears of our lake and its watershed, in coordination with ADEM. We must continue and strengthen our monitoring efforts in the watershed above the lake.

If you value our beautiful lake and want it to remain the cleanest lake in the state, I urge you to join in our efforts to monitor our watershed and work on the expansion of the TAL protections to include the whole watershed. These actions are essential in maintaining our excellent water quality. Come aboard: Join Lake Watch in protecting our Treasure. Visit lakewatch.org for more information.

~ Eric Reutebuch is president of Lake Watch Lake Martin.