Lake dredging could top last year's

CELINA - This year's dredging efforts in Grand Lake could top 2014's results, Tom Grabow, Ohio Department of Natural Resources waterway/construction operations manager, told Lake Improvement Association members.

"Not wanting to jinx us but I think we're having a really good year," Grabow said at Saturday's meeting. "We can dredge up to the week before Thanksgiving, so we've got a lot of time left."

The dredges have been running well, he said, and have removed 184,384 cubic yards of material so far this year.

Last year, dredges removed a total of 232,000 cubic yards and in 2013, they removed 302,000 cubic yards.

Brutus has completed dredging Windy Point Bay and its channel and is headed toward the state park campground bay and nearby channels, Grabow said.

The HoeDag has also been running well, he added. It has completed the channel at Harmon's Landing and will soon move to the Breezewood area. In mid-September, the HoeDag will go to Riley Bay to finish the season.

The Pump-a-Little, despite hydraulic problems early in the season, has completed Rustic Haven's two channels and is pumping at Southmoor Shores.

The dredges have been running five days a week, Grabow said.

Brian Miller, Ohio Southwest District Park Manager, said the lake is at 91/2 inches above the spillway notch. The ideal water level is nine inches above the notch.  

"So we're a lot better than we were last month when it was 151/2 inches above," Miller said.

Ground has been broken for the new splash pad near the ball field adjacent to the campgrounds, he added. A couple of trees also needed to be removed along East Bank Road but will be replaced.

"We hated to do that but they were impeding the roadway," Miller said. "We will be replacing about 65 trees in the park this fall."

Milt Miller, director of the Lake Restoration Commission, took exception to recent media reports concerning the lake's health.

The state health department last week recommended the public have no contact with Grand Lake's water due to increased levels of microcystin toxin and a probable illness reported last month.

The Ohio Department of Health's elevated public health advisory warns visitors and pets to avoid swimming and wading in the lake.

According to ODH, a woman was riding a personal watercraft on the lake June 6 and later was treated for a rash. The doctor could not determine if the rash had been caused by lake water but told the state health agency it was "probable."

New red advisory signs were posted last week around the lake. However, they are different from the two the Ohio Department of Health and Ohio EPA use and promote on a website. Those are for a recreational public health advisory (posted the past seven years) and a no contact advisory.

Dr. Mary DiOrio, the medical director for ODH, said last week activities such as boating that can be done without contact with the water can continue.

DiOrio said Grand Lake's new "elevated" advisory is similar to the no contact advisory issued for the lake after a massive algal bloom in 2010.

A no contact advisory is issued when toxin levels exceed the recommended threshold and one or more probable cases of human illness or deaths occur due to algal blooms, according to Ohio EPA.

The no contact warning is meant for the general public, unlike a recreational advisory that addresses individuals who are elderly, very young or have compromised immune systems, Ohio EPA states.

Miller and other community leaders are in constant contact with state officials. They don't want to downplay the warning but don't want to create a panic, either, he added.

"I know some press said there were eight human illnesses and three dogs that died," he said. "I've never been told that. I am trying to get with the state to get some clarification into exactly what are the correct numbers and who is putting those numbers out."

Miller said neither he, nor any member of the LRC or LIA, would endanger human or animal health.

"We're passionate about the lake and getting it back to a healthy condition," Miller said. "But we'd never let it get in the way of harming any human or animal."

Microcystin is a liver toxin produced by blue-green algae that can harm humans and animals. It can lead to skin rashes, and, if swallowed, can cause nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

A microcystin toxin reading of 6 parts per billion or higher triggers a recreational water advisory. The World Health Organization's guideline for banning recreational contact is 20 ppb.

Late last month readings were 67.3 ppb at the state campground beach, 50.7 ppb at West Beach, 57.8 ppb at East Beach and 65.4 ppb at Windy Point Beach.

People can see microcystin and E. coli levels at www.ohioalgaeinfo.com and www.beachguard.com, Miller said.