Added on July 13, 2026 Sara Swanson

Pleasant Lake’s history and celebration of 65 Years of Lake Protection Efforts

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Pleasant Lake from the air. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

submitted by Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association

Freedom Township in southwestern Washtenaw County has a hidden gem originally named Lake Pleasant. Maps of Michigan in the 1870s and later made a name change to Pleasant Lake. This kettle lake, the product of retreating glacier action, is about two miles long, a half mile wide, and encompasses 202 acres. The deepest parts of the lake are 35 feet and mean depth is 10.4 feet. The water sources for the lake are springs, streams and also wetlands. Pleasant Lake and the wetlands also feed the aquifers people rely on for well drinking water. Water exits Pleasant Lake at the west end through a county drain which runs into Mill Creek and the Huron River.

Native American Indians lived around Lake Pleasant as evidenced by artifacts. Land sales in Freedom Township in the Michigan Territory began in 1831. By 1834 most of the land in the region and near the lake had been sold to settlers. Pleasant Lake was surrounded by Pleasant Lake Road running from Ann Arbor west along the north shore, Schneider Road north and south on the east near the wetlands, Reno Road on the west, and Hieber Road on the south.

Many farms surrounded Pleasant Lake and gave the area its rural character. Families who have lived around Pleasant Lake for generations recall it as a healthy environment. Area residents fished the lake for food and used it for sport. Winter lake ice was harvested and stored to supply ice boxes. Pleasant Lake was a local destination for swimming, boating or fishing in the summer and ice fishing and skating in the winter. It was also home for a wide variety of birds, including flocks of geese, swans, herons, and eagles.

Over the next 190+ years, an expanding number of cottages, homes, five subdivisions, commercial stores, a restaurant, a gas pumping station, a gravel mine and an elementary school were added around the lake. A natural gas pumping station was built near the west end of Pleasant Lake in the 1940s and the plant used lake water for cooling thus that area of the lake never froze. Consumers Energy no longer uses lake water for cooling since the recent gas plant modernization project.

Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association forms

Pleasant Lake has long been known as a weedy lake due to runoff, lawn fertilizer, leaky septic systems and farming. The arrival of invasive species such as Eurasian Milfoil and other invasive plants, spread via goose droppings and visiting boats added to the issues. In July 1961, a group of local residents including Steve Barnet, Floyd Anthony, Albert Gardner, Bill Winkler, Paul Bohler, Eugene Mann, Frank Carson, Junior Sode, Elmer Kobee, and Don Weir met and formed the Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association (PLPOA). At the first meeting on July 27, 1961, John Flook, the Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner, spoke to the group about how to establish a set lake level and answer questions. Residents spoke about sewage leaking into the lake, had opinions about lake levels, boat operations and noise, private property violations, complaints about hot water, dangers from the gas plant, and flooding around the lake. (Similar concerns we hear today!)

At the August 17, 1961 meeting, the PLPOA charter was established for open meetings, minutes, and a membership association dedicated to preserving lake quality, enhancing recreational activities, and maintaining property values. Legislative actions later created procedures for Michigan lakes to set lake levels and Pleasant Lake participated. PLPOA distributed a newsletter, collected dues to support operations, had an annual potluck meeting, and hosted an annual July 4th boat parade.

In 1974, PLPOA started participating in the Michigan Lake Self Help program where local volunteers performed Secchi Disk water clarity readings, collected Chlorophyll samples, and had them analyzed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Mary Sue and Joe Moore, moved to north shore of Pleasant Lake in the early 1970s and served on the PLPOA Board and volunteered for many years. Mary Sue commented: “In the early 1970s there was not a lot of interest among the residents for taking care of the lake. My husband and I, and Catherine Roberts, another lake resident, performed some of the first measurements on Pleasant Lake.” Regular volunteer lake testing continues to this day.

First PLPOA 1961 committee list. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Pleasant Lake Water Quality Study

“I have owned a home on the lake for 46 years,” Karen Flahie stated, “Back in the early ‘80s my late husband could barely get up on his waterskies because there were so many weeds bogging down the motor and when he finally got out of the water, he was covered head to toes with lake weeds!” In 1983, the PLPOA commissioned and funded a major study to document the conditions of this lake. Dr. Wally Fusilier of Dexter created a detailed study of the conditions of Pleasant Lake. His study and ongoing research confirmed the presence of invasive Eurasian Milfoil, 50 acres of dense weed beds, increasing levels of organic material, high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in the sediment, and sporadic algae blooms.

By the 1990s, increasing vegetation and environmental concerns prompted PLPOA to focus on ways to address potential threats to Pleasant Lake. Several natural gas and oil pipelines were added underground near the lake which could cause environmental problems and/or a danger to residents.

Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

First Pleasant Lake Special Assessment District, 2002

Milfoil was ‘taking over’ and if left untreated threatened to significantly disrupt lake ecology by displacing native plants. Various methods of eliminating the Milfoil were investigated including herbicides, weed harvesting, and adding Milfoil weevils in the lake that would eat the milfoil plants. Each method had benefits and drawbacks. Lake residents were surveyed and the Milfoil weevil solution was chosen in 2001.

“We moved to Pleasant Lake in 1995 and immediately joined PLPOA”, Frank Lobbestael commented, “I served as President from 1997 to 2005 following Gene DeRossett’s retirement. During my tenure, my primary goal was to address the ever-increasing Eurasian milfoil population. The issue had escalated to the point that large portions of the lake had become unusable and lake residents were anxious for a solution. After weighing our options, we went forward with the stocking of milfoil weevils via a special assessment in 2002. Results were mixed. There was some improvement, but it was not significant”.

Gordon Meloche, who lived on the south side of the lake for 26 years, joined the board in the 1990s, and served as treasurer for nearly a decade added, “It is a pleasure to work with a great team like Frank and Maria Lobbestael, Bob Eichinger, David Davis who was the VP, Beth Heuser, Catherine Roberts, plus Bob Miller, who was not on the board. All these residents worked so hard to protect the lake, document history, perform annual lake measurements, and develop a sense of community and cooperation around the lake”.

Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Citizens Respecting Our Waters

The proposed development of a 140-foot-deep gravel mine near the lake also created a potential threat to lake water and well levels. Karen Flahie explained, “In 2005, I became involved in helping with the creation of Citizens Respecting Our Waters (CROW) to fight the potential dangers to lake waters and residents’ wells from the gravel pit at the east end of our lake.” CROW and other organizations rallied support and encouraged the addition of special wells to monitor water levels and do comprehensive water testing. These studies continue to this day at all the gravel pits in this township.

Beth Heuser commented: “I was born in my family home on Pleasant Lake where I now live. Like many I moved away for school and then married but returned to the lake in 1999. I helped create Citizens Respecting Our Waters (CROW) to protect the lake from a nearby gravel mine that posed a threat to our lake and wells. Later I joined the PLPOA Board and have been an active member for nearly two decades and am proud of the good relationships we have developed around the lake and success we have had with lake management, education and safety.”

New Pleasant Lake Study and Second Special Assessment District

In August, 2011 several Pleasant Lake residents attended the PLPOA Board meeting and voiced concern about weed growth in the lake and requested action. A Lake Management Committee was formed to research, collect funds and after a competition, selected Aquest Inc. to perform an in-depth lake analysis. Twenty-one different types of aquatic plants were identified in Pleasant Lake.

With the support of both a majority of lake residents and resolution approval by the Freedom Township Board in 2013, the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioners Office established a Special Assessment District to fund lake management activity via Public Act 185. The five-year Pleasant Lake Management Program funded by a Special Tax Assessment District was initiated in the summer of 2014. This program is being managed by a team which includes PLPOA, Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office, and contractors. This program has been a success and has been renewed for three 5-year cycles from 2014 until 2029.

Mary Sue Moore stated, “Overall the lake is in better shape now than it ever was 50 years ago. It has always been a weedy lake and without the treatments we have done over the years it would be a mess!”

Frank and Maria Lobbestahl added: “After the weevil project basically failed, we decided to go with herbicide treatments in 2014. This has been a tremendous success! More people are using the lake now than we have ever seen. Kudos to PLPOA and support from the Freedom Township Board for making this happen and keeping it going. Our lake is back!

Beth’s dock 2012. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Lake weed training July 2015. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Winter 2014-2015. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Former State Representative Donna Lasinski D-52nd District Michigan presenting at the 2017 PLPOA annual meeting. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Facing new challenges

PLPOA has also been active in annually putting out buoys in shallow areas to support safe boating, managing a launch site for lake resident boats, lake testing to monitor changing conditions, and cooperating with county and state agencies, environmental groups, and universities to test and protect the lake and watershed. PLPOA and residents have worked hard to coordinate with Freedom Township, Washtenaw County, and state level agencies and elected officials to maintain local lake zoning and enforce regulations and, improve safety.

We have seen cottages replaced with larger houses, new homes added on small lots plus more rental units around the lake. The lake experienced more serious invasive species such as Starry Stonewort, hybrid milfoil and heavier pondweed plus, repeated algae blooms. Now there are more, larger boats, jet skis and wake boats. In the last two years heavy rains have caused silt runoff into wetlands and Pleasant Lake with water covering Hieber Road weeks at a time.

The addition of the ET Rover 42-inch natural gas pipeline along Reno Road between the gas plant and lake gave Freedom Township the highest concentration of pipelines in the state. We have also seen the modernization of the gas plant, additional industry, and farm development. Now the lake area has the threat of data centers, biodigesters, new energy plants plus commercial and residential development. Pleasant Lake will require continued support by government, residents, visitors, industry, and other parties in order to preserve and protect the lake, support safety and recreation, and maintain property values.

Hieber Rd., the road on the south side of Pleasant Lake, runs through a wetlands area in the east near Schneider Rd. and after heavy rain the road is frequently under water which is a danger to traffic and causes increased road maintenance. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

42in ET Rover Pipeline installed near Pleasant Lake in 2017. Freedom Township has 52 miles of pipelines as well as the gas plant, storage tanks, high power electrical lines running over the lake wetlands and other dangers, much are located near Pleasant Lake. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

This is what a small blue green algae outbreak looks like in a lake. A harmful algae bloom (HAB) can cause rapids growth of algae that can be dangerous to humans and animals. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Hybrid milfoil in Pleasant Lake. The invasive growth pushes out native plants, impacts fishing, boating and use of the lake for recreation. Photo courtesy of Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association.

Thank you

Thank you to the hundreds of lake residents who have served on the PLPOA Board and volunteered their time over the past 65 years to protect Pleasant Lake and look forward to support from future lake residents.