Many people may not realize that when leaves and yard clippings end up in local bodies of water, it can cause some environmental issues.
Executive Director of the Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Council Kathy Clark recently shared a bit of information about what can happen when leaves, grass clippings and other organic debris get put into lakes.
She explained “It’s kind of like you’re feeding what people that enjoy using the lake for recreation don’t want to see, they don’t want to see an over abundance of weed growth within the lake.”
Clark noted that the decaying material can also spur algae growth.
Aside from the negative impact that weeds and algae can cause to the recreational use of the lake, the issue can also affect the animals that live there.
Clark shared, “The more growth you have within a lake, those weeds take up oxygen to grow so the more and the less oxygen in the water, the less fish can live in the you don’t want it,”
She continued, “A lot of the leaves, they carry in with them some chemicals so you don’t want any of that happening.”
Unfortunately, trash is another thing that often finds its way into lakes that can put aquatic wildlife in danger. Citizens are asked to refrain from littering at all times.
Executive Director Clark added, “Don’t promote trash. Don’t throw anything out of your car. Don’t throw even little cigarette butts. They don’t disintegrate so fish could eat them or turtles could eat them so just help us out and don’t do that.”
Residents are advised to make sure there’s no trash in their yards or in any of the adjacent streets where it could potentially wash into storm drain systems.
