# New tactic for Grand Lake St. Mary's water quality?



## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

In a 1/2 million dollar pilot, technology innovated by Battelle in Columbus is planned though a company called Streamside Systems. I'll admit I didn't read the entire thing, but in general mobile Airy-Gator platforms are used in the lake itself, while sediment collectors are placed in creeks that carry problems from the watershed (lots of farms south of lake). The Airy-Gators aim to oxygenate sediment(muck) in the bottom, plus create current, giving nature a chance to naturally regenerate the bottom. The trial is a first phase and data to be collected and analyzed by Wright State will tell them if it's worth scaling the project up to as many as 15 portable Airy-Gators.

Link is below if your interested. Click on "View Presentation" in the first paragraph but it's a big pdf file. Page 60 is where the actual project is described. http://streamsideprojects.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/grand-lake-st-marys-oh/ 

I didn't find a date but rumors suggest April start for installation. I assume the state is funding it, but don't know......regardless of the outcome it's great to see new effort. Mother Nature hasn't been able to cope with the chronic issues at the lake and she obviously needs a helping hand.


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## JoshGibson (Feb 18, 2006)

I hope this works I got very ill from that lake last mem day weekend....


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

Didn't your momma tell you? Don't drink the water! Go with the beer next time.


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## JoshGibson (Feb 18, 2006)

zaraspook said:


> Didn't your momma tell you? Don't drink the water! Go with the beer next time.


quite hilarious but I dont drink a drop of anything...yuk...like makin a kid drink cough syrup!


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## RedCanoe59 (Apr 9, 2009)

they should drain the lake then buy a bunch of shovels and stone. The bus inmates down from allen correctional to work on the chain gang to dig the lake out and create buffer zones and such around areas that get river drainage to deal with the sediment. after thatis complete then build a spillway that doesn't flood every other year and start over. if you think that is pure hierachy then try this solution....collect zebra musclefrom lake erie and intentionally transplant them. sure they will stick to every in the lake and act like little razor blades cutting fishing line, but they will filter feed the hell out of the alge that is causing most of the problem.


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

So, how many creeks are they going to ruin to try to fix the lake?


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

crittergitter said:


> So, how many creeks are they going to ruin to try to fix the lake?


The sediment collectors look like metal trays, sit on the bottom of the creek, fill with "stuff" that is then pumped out. The creeks are more like ditches, low flow rate, that run less than a mile or two from the south. Creeks cut thru land that is mostly corn fields and fertilized with hog crap. Collector placement looks very close to where creeks join lake. Not an expert but I'd bet the creeks would benefit from removal of nasty stuff.


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

RedCanoe59 said:


> they should drain the lake then buy a bunch of shovels and stone. The bus inmates down from allen correctional to work on the chain gang to dig the lake out and create buffer zones and such around areas that get river drainage to deal with the sediment. after thatis complete then build a spillway that doesn't flood every other year and start over. if you think that is pure hierachy then try this solution....collect zebra musclefrom lake erie and intentionally transplant them. sure they will stick to every in the lake and act like little razor blades cutting fishing line, but they will filter feed the hell out of the alge that is causing most of the problem.


I love your first solution! Actually, State could be on to something. A major problem at this lake is lack of flow, nothing to stir the bottom, to help bottom silt to oxygenate and decompose naturally. No rivers here, just a few creeks most of which are so narrow you can jump to other side.
In the long run, anything that increases flow and introduces oxygen in the lake is probably a good thing. Hard to believe 15 Airy-gators can create enough flow and oxygen for a water-body this size. Again the effort has potential, lots of upside. Only downside might be boaters crashing into these floating platforms/Airy-gators, but placement will be in "no wake" zones.


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## RedCanoe59 (Apr 9, 2009)

seriously how big are theese pumps the lake is 35,000 acres what are 15 aiy-gators going to do to help flow???? i grew up fishing Grand Lake and Laromie and would like to see both lakes get cleaned up, but the lake as been a toliet since my dad was young....I get hot under the collar anytime somebody brings up grand lake st marys and water quality, because the blame always goes back to the farmers. i've had it out with more then one person that is not from the area on this point. The grand lake st. marys region is the best area in the state to raise a family, because of community values of hard work and family are strongly rooted in agricultural community. out of towners blame the farmers and want to put restrictions in place that will envaribly hurt the small farmers and put them out of business. but the quality of life in the area far out weights your right crittergitter to drive from columbus, or for that matter anyone from dayton, lima or ft. wayne to come up one or two weekends a summer. Currently i live in the heart of what i believe is the best fishing in the state. I have Musky, Steelhead, Inland walleye, great Crappie, Saugeye, Northen Pike with in a 1 hr drive, however in the area i can think of only 4 communites i want my little boy to grow up in louisville, tallmadge, North Canton or Mogadore. by contrast in the Grand lake Region there are no areas i wouldn't want him to grow up in fort recovery(my hometown), coldwater, st. henry, new bremen, minster, fort lariomie, anna, wapakoneta, spencerville, maria stein, celina, st. marys. I fear that to many jerks with influance living in the big city will get legislation to pass to put the small farmer out of buisness, and ruin the foundation the larger community is made of. i took a cheap shot at crittergetter why? he proves my point with his comment about the creeks. except for one larger river the only thing your going to find in them is carp and bullfrogs. nothing you can do except putting in a dam will hurt these creeks, yet he's sitting in columbus worring about it. ZARA SPOOK i love your enthusiasm for grand lake i hope for your sake these air/gators help out, or a solution is found, if you find yourself heading up to North Eastern OHIO bring a fishing rod and send me a PM i'll show you a good time.


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## fishintechnician (Jul 20, 2007)

RedCanoe59 said:


> they should drain the lake then buy a bunch of shovels and stone. The bus inmates down from allen correctional to work on the chain gang to dig the lake out and create buffer zones and such around areas that get river drainage to deal with the sediment. after thatis complete then build a spillway that doesn't flood every other year and start over. if you think that is pure hierachy then try this solution....collect zebra musclefrom lake erie and intentionally transplant them. sure they will stick to every in the lake and act like little razor blades cutting fishing line, but they will filter feed the hell out of the alge that is causing most of the problem.



Where I work has a sister company called algaeventure, we are currently working on growing algae to be used for fuel, pharmaceuticals (sp), and feed. We have developed a large scale prototype that actually removes algae from the water using a system of belts and surface tension. It has been very successful so far and we have received a couple of grants from the airforce and other government agencies for this. We are on our third revision of the machine and there are future plans to build a large scale model on a boat/boats to help filter algae and other contaminants out of the water at grand lake. I do not know when this will happen but we have had outside quoted to have boats built. I you would like to see our harvester in action you can find it here, http://www.algaevs.com/ I know the lake is very large and this would be an ongoing project but it will never be solved if something is not tried.


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

RedCanoe59 said:


> seriously how big are theese pumps the lake is 35,000 acres what are 15 aiy-gators going to do to help flow???? i grew up fishing Grand Lake and Laromie and would like to see both lakes get cleaned up, but the lake as been a toliet since my dad was young....


I fished the lake since I was 12 (47 years ago), parents had a place there for 20+ years, and my dad lived on south side of lake for 18 years. I bought a place 2 years ago. Very much agree the quality of life in Celina/St. Mary's ranks at the top. Sure would be nice to get the lake to the same level. 

I'm with you, hard to believe 15 airy-gators can do much on a lake so large, but I'm all for the effort and appreciate the $ investment. Someone deserves applause. 

Didn't mean to step on toes of the farmers.....fertilizers are part of the problem but certainly not the whole thing. Whatever the cure, it's long term like 10-20 years, but I'm sure it will happen. Microbiology may be best hope. Scientists have engineered a bacteria to consume nitrogen and phosphors, the same ingredients the algae thrives on, to compete with and starve the algae. Solutions are not far away.

Thanks for your offer to share NE Ohio fishing.....maybe in 20 years someone will brag about the great fishery they have at Grand Lake! By the way, 2009 crappie fishing was very good here.


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

fishintechnician said:


> Where I work has a sister company called algaeventure, we are currently working on growing algae to be used for fuel, pharmaceuticals (sp), and feed...... .


This is really cool! It's a long video....only part way thru it but viewing it a bit at a time. Are you saying Algaeventure actually has a grant of some sort to build a harvesting unit/boat or floating platform specifically to try on Grand Lake? 
You're right......it's a big lake and you wonder how much impact this can have, but removal of some algae is better than removal of none. You gotta love a society where one man's problem is financial opportunity for another.


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## fishintechnician (Jul 20, 2007)

we do not have the grant yet but we are working on it now. We are trying to build the boat for this and are only in the planning stages now. Eventually our plan is to have many boats doing this job and if it works hopefully improve other water ways also. The technology that we have developed is truely one of a kind and has actually turned algae into a viable fuel source. And hopefully in the process I will get to float around in a big boat on a big big lake!!LOL


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

fishintechnician said:


> we do not have the grant yet but we are working on it now. We are trying to build the boat for this and are only in the planning stages now. Eventually our plan is to have many boats doing this job and if it works hopefully improve other water ways also. The technology that we have developed is truely one of a kind and has actually turned algae into a viable fuel source. And hopefully in the process I will get to float around in a big boat on a big big lake!!LOL


If/when the company actually gets the grant, please post. Maybe Grand Lake becomes a project to help the company refine equipment and processes for harvesting, and at the same time Grand Lake becomes the biofuel capital of Ohio. That's definitely a win-win situation I'd love to see.


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## fishintechnician (Jul 20, 2007)

not sure what strain of algea is in there I dought that it would be used for fuel more likely feed or something like thatbut it could be used for fuel if the lipid (fat/oil) content is high enough. It would be cool and try and sve the lake even if the algae is not good for anything


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## tightline67 (Sep 24, 2009)

Great to hear there are some plans cookin to improve GLSM, my grandparents owned a home near the lake. My brothers and i spent every summer there growing up, and i still love the Celina/St Marys area. There is a good write up about the water quality in this months issue of COUNTRY ANGLIN / OUTDOOR GUIDE, i think you can read it on their website, if not you can pick up a free copy at your local bait shop etc. The article explains the problem in detail, but does not offer any solutions other than the usual manure mgmt, buffer zone, bla,bla stuff, so bring on the airy-gaters, and filter boats LOL.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Manure mgmt. and buffer zones are not bla-bla topics. These suggestions and CRP programs end up saving money, water resources for thousands of people, and usually take very little effort from farmers to implement. Heck, a little intelligent planning saves farmers money in the long run. Sometimes the way grandpappy did it just wasn't the best afterall.


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## conley1414 (Feb 12, 2010)

I fished up there a few times last spring and caught some really nice black crappies, no numbers but some solid fish. The water was real green looking, definitly didn't look to great.


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## troutslayer23 (Apr 19, 2008)

Im not very familiar with the area, but my family has an beef farm and these new regulations are going to affect us. Some things i agree with, and some things i dont, but I dont make the laws. I have an extensive background in turf care and golf course maintenance and let me assure you there is more toxic nps pollutants to worry about coming from that industry than your average local farm operation. Putting everything from fertilizers, pesticides, herbacides, fungicides, emergants, pre-emergants, growth regulators, ect. down on your lawn or the golfcourse every month is a colossal difference compared to application 1-2 a year on a farm, but nobody ever mentions those industries in the argument??? Could money and politics be at work here???


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## troutslayer23 (Apr 19, 2008)

Im not very familiar with the area, but my family has an beef farm and these new regulations are going to affect us. Some things i agree with, and some things i dont, but I dont make the laws. I have an extensive background in turf care and golf course maintenance and let me assure you there is more toxic nps pollutants to worry about coming from that industry than your average local farm operation. Putting everything from fertilizers, pesticides, herbacides, fungicides, emergants, pre-emergants, growth regulators, ect. down on your lawn or the golfcourse every month is a colossal difference compared to application 1-2 a year on a farm, but nobody ever mentions those industries in the argument??? Could money and politics be at work here???


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## tightline67 (Sep 24, 2009)

Mushijobah said:


> Manure mgmt. and buffer zones are not bla-bla topics. These suggestions and CRP programs end up saving money, water resources for thousands of people, and usually take very little effort from farmers to implement. Heck, a little intelligent planning saves farmers money in the long run. Sometimes the way grandpappy did it just wasn't the best afterall.


All i am saying is we have been doing that kind of stuff for decades, its obviously not working, time to try something else. And the liberal-eco-bedwetters are going to blow out tax money some way, or another, might as well be on something mechanical,we can look at it, and see where our money went.


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