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Protecting lakes from pollution

Blake Faith Above: Litter can be seen alongside Hall Lake near the Channel Inn in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT — Fairmont’s Director of Public Works and City Engineer Troy Nemmers wants the community and everyone to do their part in keeping pollution down in the lakes so that they can be preserved as resources. The lakes are used for numerous amount of recreational activities and that the lakes are an asset in this way.

Usually, the city crews go down and clean up around the beaches and pollution isn’t a noticeable thing. Nemmers and his crew were down there earlier this week and noticed trash, logs, a propane tank, and other things alongside the lake close to the Channel Inn.

The pollution impacts the water treatment by every piece adding up and accumulating into the lakes. The water treatment process itself is set up to treat pollution and surface water that has trash and other things in it.

“My goal with this is to remind people that our lakes are a big asset for our community,” Nemmers said. “When they’re out cleaning out their yards this spring, spreading fertilizer, washing their cars or sweeping off their driveways that they just don’t brush it out into the streets, because our streets all drain to our lakes and that all builds up over time.”

Nemmers stated that to preserve our lakes and resources, everyone needs to keep that in mind.

The city has a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency that is required for all municipalities. The city is going through an updated permit right now and there will be more rules that regulate runoff from construction and how the city uses its street sweepers.

“The city is doing the cleanup just like everyone does in their yards we’re doing it on a big scale with the streets, the parks, the beaches, and the lake-shores that the city owns and has access to,” Nemmers said. “That’s all part of everyone does their part to keep the pollution out of lakes.”

Nemmers stated that the pollution is more evident in the transition from winter to spring, with the buildup from winter with sand and salt and then everyone doing their spring cleanup. It can also be there all summer as things are swept into the street, thrown onto the streets like trash, and can end up down into the lakes due to runoff and rain. Nemmers sees a lot of leaves and dirt, but fertilizer cannot be seen as it dissolves.

Nemmers’ overall message to everyone in the city is to remember that the streets and the storm sewer under the streets all drain to our lakes. Even if someone doesn’t live on the lake they can impact the lakes by what they do or don’t put in the street.

“Anything that goes in the street: you blow the leaves out in the yard, or you blow grass clippings out into the street, that it all gets washed down to the lake,” Nemmers said. “It has different impacts on how the lake functions.”

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