PLM Lake & Land Management Corp

For many years, the Silver Lake Improvement Corporation has carefully monitored the quality and clarity of our excellent spring-fed lake water. We contract with PLM, a water testing and treatment company, to monitor the condition of water and to treat our seaweed. 

EURASIAN MILFOIL

As indicated above, the SLIC contracts for water and lake environment quality testing and has taken steps to control weeds on our lake, especially invasive seaweeds such as Eurasian Milfoil, using chemicals. However, in 2020 the SLIC board investigated using a more nature friendly, non-chemical approach called the DASH (Diver Assisted Suction Hose) method to remove milfoil from our lake. The DASH method has been used successfully for several years in other lakes and was pioneered by Higgins Lake in northern Michigan. After a careful investigation, and based upon the recommendation of the SLIC board, the SLIC membership at its 2020 annual meeting, budgeted funds to try this method. In 2021, the SLIC board applied for and received a 5-year Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy permit to use the DASH method to reduce Eurasian Milfoil in our lake.

RESULTS

In the fall of 2021, our annual PLM survey detected only low levels of milfoil in 10 areas of our lake compared to 20 areas out of 29 areas (before DASH) in 2020. The level of milfoil in our lake, as PLM measures it, declined almost in half, from 5.97 to 3.45, from 2020 to 2021. (The level of milfoil on our lake was as high as 9.48 in 2019.) The PLM surveyor indicated that our lake is in "great shape" regarding Eurasian milfoil and said that it appears that the DASH contractor did a "fantastic" job of reducing it.