WICOLA 2014 Accomplishments

by Jo Kovach - President

At the beginning of 2014 your WICOLA Board set the following priorities:

1.Continue water quality monitoring, expand the volunteer base and tell others how to do this. Completed. All planned monitoring accomplished, full slate of volunteers trained, two lake associations assisted.

2.Follow-up on the septic information collected by KWPP. Completed. Results of e.coli testing reported in the Fall 2014 newsletter.

2a. Create One Community Assessment Report which would yield individual inspections of septic system. Not Completed, but in process. The area where this could be beneficial has been narrowed down.

3.Continue to focus on AIS. Completed. Crayfish trapping expanded, additional public education on Rusties and Spiny Water Flea; Testing Ca (Calcium) levels showed that zebra mussels are unlikely in our lakes.

4.Education regarding shoreline management. Progress on the related issue of education of property owners regarding guidelines for safeguarding their properties from wildfire.

5.Also added a 5th priority of beginning to address the issue of maintaining clean water in the face of plans for copper nickel mining in our watershed.