Pleasant Lake’s Special Assessment District up for renewal

In 2013, Freedom Township’s board voted in favor of establishing a Special Assessment District (SAD) to fund a lake management program for Pleasant Lake. This lake management project controls invasive and nuisance aquatic weeds, specifically Eurasian Milfoil and Starry Stonewort, through chemical treatment to the lake followed by additional spot applications as necessary. The SAD includes lakefront property and property with lake access and is managed by Washtenaw County’s Office of the Water Resources Commissioner’s Public Works team, who contracts with an outside company, Aquest, selected through a bidding process to conduct the evaluations and apply treatments. The SAD was authorized for five years and is up for renewal. 

The Washtenaw County Board of Public Works is holding a special meeting on Wednesday, April 10 at 7 pm in Freedom Township Hall, located at 11508 Pleasant Lake Road to hear objections to the proposed 5-year renewal of the Lake Improvement Project for Pleasant Lake.

Beth Heuser, president of the Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association (PLPOA) explained, “This has long been a ‘weedy’ lake, but the arrival of new aquatic invasive species changed the lake conditions. In the early 2000s we banded together and established the first-funded Pleasant Lake Special Assessment District (SAD) to fund the applications of weevils to suppress expanding danger of Eurasian Milfoil that was growing rapidly in our lake and impacting boating and recreation. Soon after, lake and township residents became concerned about nearby mining operations which could threaten Pleasant Lake, our wetlands and drinking water supply which comes from wells.

“In 2011 a group of lake residents came to a summer PLPOA meeting and asked the board to do something about the expanding weeds. After a long evaluation we determined a special assessment working with Washtenaw County was the best path as they had experience managing many lakes and the SAD made sure all lake residents who would reap the benefit participated.”

How successful has the lake management been over the last five years? G. Douglas Pullman, Ph.D. is the owner of Aquest, the company that assesses the lake’s condition, executes the annual lake treatment, and measures the results of the treatment. Pullman stated, “I have had the honor to assess Pleasant Lake using the Lakescan process for 6 years–in my professional opinion we have made good progress toward making the lake more stable and have also been making it more useful for boating, swimming, fishing and recreation. The nuisance weed index has decreased while we focus on our core goal of monitoring and preventing the spread of additional aquatic invasive species.”

According to the Board of Public Works, the total estimated cost for the upcoming five-year project is $224,558.75. Parcels included in the SAD will be assessed the different annual amounts based on the type of property. Commercial properties will be assessed $425, non-waterfront residential properties with lake access will be assessed $125 and waterfront residential properties will be assessed $325. 

Pullman stressed the importance of the lake management continuing, “I work on 30 MI lakes each year and every lake faces different issues and challenges. Pleasant lake is a beautiful lake when compared to others and despite the gains in reducing nuisance conditions, it is critical for everyone to be reminded that each year brings very different conditions due to weather, rain levels, runoff etc. It is critical that we tailor the program each year, to the conditions that we face.”

Heuser is optimistic the lake management will be able to continue, “We are excited that the lake residents and Freedom Township Board have supported a renewal of a new five-year special assessment district to allow us to continue to act to protect Pleasant Lake and the surrounding environment.”

Pleasant Lake’s is one of five of Washtenaw’s current lake management projects. The other four are Chain of Lakes in northern Washtenaw and southern Livingston Counties (made up of 14 lakes and connectors), Joslin Lake in Lyndon Township, North Lake in Dexter and Lyndon townships, and Whitmore Lake in Northfield Township in Washtenaw, and Green Oak Township in Livingston County.

 For further information, please contact Washtenaw County Division of Public Works, 734-222-6860 or publicworks@ewashtenaw.org. 

Eursaian milfoil, an aquatic invasive species, in Pleasant Lake. Photo courtesy of Lon Nordeen.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.