Do

• When planting or replanting a lawn, use a seed mixture with a high percentage of fescue grass. It requires much less fertilizer which acts as a nutrient for the weeds and algae in the lake.
• Leave grass clippings on the lawn. They return nutrients to the lawn.
• Avoid fertilizing your lawn or garden. If you must fertilize, use a product with little or no Phosphorus such as 23-0-6, 30-4-4 or 26-4-4. Lake weeds and algae are good sources of nutrients for your garden.
• Rake your lawn (leaves) away from the lake. Leaves contain large amounts of nutrients.
• Start a compost pile using leaves and weeds raked from the lake. This compost is excellent for your garden and landscape plants.
• Maintain your septic system regularly. The septic tank should be pumped and inspected every one to three years, depending on usage.
• Reduce the amount of water used in your home by adding water dams to your toilet tank and installing faucet aerators and low-flow shower heads. This helps your septic system operate more efficiently, preventing sewage flow into the lake.
• When feasible, plant a shoreline (20 ft wide) of shrubs, bushes and tress. These plants utilize phosphorus and nitrogen and act as a buffer zone or filter before groundwater and runoff pass into the lake.
• Be sure there is proper drainage on and near your lot so that erosion will not take place.
• Use a bottom weed barrier such as Aqua Screen to control/eliminate small areas of invasive plants

Don't

• Drain any type of sewage into the lake.
• Burn leaves near the shoreline. Burning turns the leaves into instant fertilizer which is easily washed into the water. Rake leaves away from shoreline and dispose of away from the lake.
• Destroy the soil holding vegetation on the shoreline. These plants prevent erosion.
• Feed ducks or geese from your dock. Plenty of natural food is available in the lake. Ducks and geese may pass on swimmer’s itch and leave significant amounts of “natural fertilizer”.
• Use a garbage grinder in your kitchen. Ground-up food contributes to septic system problems and may add nutrients to the lake.
• Use cleaning products containing phosphates.
• Harm your septic drain field by adding fill, planting deep rooted trees nearby, or driving a vehicle over it.