July Newsletter 2022

** Association Presidents, Management Companies, Country Club and Marina, please forward this newsletter to your members. Share link HERE Thank you!

• Thursday June 30 - Fireworks at dusk

• Welcome to the Busiest Weekend of the Year - Stay Safe!

• Birch Harbor Boat Parade - 11:00 July 4th, Decorate your patriotic boat - All welcome to join

• 2022 Dues Notices -165 sent in June - to date 92 paid

• Shallow Water Ski Course - Help Us Protect the Buoys

• Water Level - Evaporation - Let the Rain Dancing Begin!

• Water Quality - What is Water Transparency?

Thank You!

Dues Invoices were sent in June - So Far 55.7% have paid.
- Riparian, HOA Treasurers and Businesses can pay online anytime HERE
- Option to set up Auto-Pay so your dues are paid automatically
- Mail check to PLPOA to address at the bottom of page

Please help us…. if you are NOT pulling a skier, please travel around the Slalom course buoys, not through them!

Michigan All Sport lakes that have slalom courses are sought by home buyers that are interested in this awesome sport.  Our slalom course has long been an important fixture of Pine Lake, dating back to the early 1970’s, it is one of the longest running ski courses in southeast Michigan!  See more details about our historic ski course on our website here.  

We have had a challenging year losing buoys, and we know there are a lot of new boats on the lake, so passing along some info that will hopefully save us some headaches.  Recently an errant boat pulled the main line off the anchor, causing us to get a scuba diver to help repair it. 

Our slalom course is positioned to be protected from the prevailing wind and is also in the shallower parts of the lake.  Surf and wake boats prefer deeper water, which provides better waves and protects the lake bottom.   With the larger boats in the “deep water surf lane”, the smaller slalom ski boats in the shallow water bay, remaining traffic is able to find good water too – it seems to work out well!

Would be appreciated if you do not cut through the course with a boarder or tuber, since this is how we usually lose slalom buoys.   The ends of the course are marked with green “Pre-Gate bouys” these are the beginning of the course that the skier uses to start their first turn. 

If you see slalom skiers in the course in the bay, it is probably before 10 am.  If you can, please try to respect their sport by sending no wakes nearby since they will turn around and come back through the course, hoping for flat water.

If a skier falls, you may wonder why the boat idles back so slow and does not turn back quickly to get the skier.  There are several reasons for this.  If the observer sees a hand go up from the fallen skier, they know he or she is ok, they want to keep the water flat, and keep an eye out for the ski rope snagging a buoy.  It is all part of the etiquette of flat water. 

What is under the surface? An interesting network that keeps everything aligned.  Pine Lake slalom buoys are attached by flexible surgical tubing and zip ties. This provides a sacrificial link that gives way and protects the skier and the boat.   Unfortunately, this also means that jet skis and large boats can dislodge the buoys.  It is not designed to be an obstacle course, and the marine sheriff has been known to pull jet skiers and non-skiers over for damaging or using the course for other than slalom skiing.   If you see a buoy, come off, or floating away, please return it to Pine Lake Marina so we can collect and re-install.

Thank you for keeping an eye out for us, we love Pine Lake slalom and chasing those buoys!

Water Level - Evaporation - Let The Rain Dancing Begin!

We were recently asked about the lake level and hoist positioning. Here is some info that may help explain the mystery of our water levels.

There is no water inlet that feeds our lake. We are a “basin lake” and rely on runoff (snow/rain) to keep the level. We can let water out through a “weir”, but as a general rule we don’t during boating season.

The weir is situated in the wetlands area and drains into Orchard Lake when the water level is above the 5” thick collar, that sits on top of the weir.

The target, ideal lake level is 931.5 above sea level. It is currently at 931.3. By comparison It was a bit over 931.6 a few weeks ago. We have dropped several inches in the last 3 weeks due to EVAPORATION. This is quite a bit of evaporation.  This can be contributed to the strong winds, sun, some low humidity days, and high temperatures during that period of time which increases evaporation.

We start to get a few concerns in the spring regarding water level/ seawall issues when the water gets around 931.8 feet above sea level.  We have NOT had the collar off the weir this year because we want to keep as much water as possible to be positioned for predicted summer evaporation.

• Water level has been known to fluctuate, but in the last several years high/low variance has been within a foot, which is not bad for a basin lake without an inlet.
  

• Water usually starts high in the spring, then it drops it throughout summer
  

• By August/September there can be some low water level due to evaporation.
  

• Mother Nature threw us a loop in spring of 2021 when we started the season with very low water levels due to a mild winter (snow wise). We were all worried about the low water that would impact hoists and fall boat removals. We asked for Rain dances! Fortunately, Mother Nature blessed us and we managed to gain water from some very heavy rains mid season. It was an anomaly that worked in our favor.

In summary, level will vary significantly as we try to manage nature.  From a hoist standpoint we know it can be frustrating in some very dry years when we have to add docks or to push them out farther in the water as the levels drop.  We can always use a bit more water, but are not in too bad of shape as we approach July. 

THANK AND FREQUENT OUR GENEROUS GOLD SPONSORS

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6 Smart Ways to Keep Geese off Your Dock

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Water Quality - What is Water Transparency?

Each year we receive a report from our Limnologist, Dr. Jude, on water quality.  Since not everyone is a limnologist, here is an overview of how he checks for water clarity/ transparency.     

What is Water Transparency and how is it Measured? Transparency, sometimes referred to as water clarity, is a measurement of how far light can travel in water. It is measured by lowering the Secchi Disk until it is no longer visible and measuring in feet its distance from the surface. See picture above.

What affects transparency? Transparency is directly affected by the level of algae and sediment in the water. Algae, microscopic plant life, can be a part of a healthy lake. But with high nutrient levels their growth can block sunlight thus restricting plant growth and altering the lake balance. 

Suspended sediments in lake water can come from many sources’ such as runoff from storms, boats, wake boats in shallow water, high winds, even carp that stir up the lake sediment. Check the water clarify late Sunday afternoon, note it is cloudier (less transparent) than a weekday early morning.

Why is it important? Transparency is a basic indicator for the health of the lake as an aquatic ecosystem. Pine Lake has secchi disk measurements taken. When transparency is measured consistently week to week and year to year, these measurements are a useful indicator of water quality changes and patterns. 

The information contained in this article comes from the CLMP Transparency Secchi Fact Sheet.

Feedback Please: Hope this article provides insight into the importance of water transparency.  Give us some feedback so we know how to improve.

In Case of Emergency - Contacts

The Oakland County Marine Sheriff will be on the lake this summer and he/she may not see an incident that you see, even though they are on the lake. If you witness an incident such as excessive noise, traveling too close, traveling the wrong way, etc.

EMERGENCY IN PROGRESS Call - 911 Get video, pics, note location

NON - EMERGENCY Call - 248 858 59000 (O.C. Sheriff dispatch) provide detailed facts, video, photos, ask for a jump boat or to be connected to the Marine Sheriff Unit.

• video or photo the MC#, boat, people, location, etc

• If No sheriff is on the lake, sometimes they can put a “jump boat” in the water and/or make a visit to the owners home, provided they have proof. You can email your video, pics and details directly to our sheriff.
  Sheriff Burwell - burwellb@oakgov.com

Safe Boating Is Everyone’s Business - References

Refresh yourself - Pine Lake Rules & Etiquette
We want everyone SAFE! Please share above link/ our lake rules, with new boaters. 

• Always travel counterclockwise direction on the lake

• Safety Check List for Your Boat

• Safe Boating classes and boating certificate

• Shallow Water Ski Course

• Deep Water Wake Boat Path - (see next article)

• Travel direction on the lake - (see next article)

  Looking forward to a safe and fun summer with good lake stewardship as we protect our lake.

THANK AND FREQUENT OUR SILVER SPONSORS

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Our Mission - Ensure safety, informed stewardship and promote good water quality on our most valuable resource.

CONTACT US

PLPOA Website