Bass Lake, located northeast of Winnebago in Faribault County, has had deterioration of its water quality for some time.

Now a group called Bass Lake Clean Water Coalition wants to try and do something about it.

They will be holding an informational meeting on the Bass Lake water quality issue on Thursday, May 11, at the Delavan School building. It is scheduled to last from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Topics will include the elimination of bacteria and toxins now present in the lake.

A recent newsletter produced by the Bass Lake Clean Water Coalition points to numerous field tiles draining into the lake, and failing septic systems as major causes of the robust growth of blue-green algae that clouds and contaminates the water.

“Not all blue-green algae are toxic, but the specific kind that plagues us, called microcystins, is particularly harmful,” says Doug Krueger of BLCWC. “Last summer we hired a lab in Indiana to test our water and the results were sobering. Our microcystin levels were off the scale.”

Krueger says the coalition wants to take aggressive steps to reverse the clear and present danger Bass Lake increasingly poses.

They want to treat the problem using a chemical called Phoslock. When distributed in the lake the Phoslock attaches to phosphorus in the lake and converts into an inert material. It also drifts to the bottom and will continue to have beneficial results.

The cost of this first step in treating the problem in the lake is $175,000 and the BLCWC is actively seeking grant funds for the project, Krueger says. He adds that it will be necessary to curtail high speed boating and use of jet skis, so as to not stir up the water this summer and allow the water treatment to work.

“This is not just a Bass Lake residents’ problem, but a Faribault County area problem,” Krueger says. “For many decades people have learned to swim, water ski, fish, boat and relax on Bass Lake. It is the only multi-use lake in Faribault County. Please help us save Bass Lake for future generations.”

For more information, go to www.basslakecleanwater.org