2011

2011 December – Lake Committee Annual recap


Our community has 10 man-made stormwater retention ponds, we call them lakes, which have names and numbers assigned to them.  The lakes are connected through 4 mini watersheds (see below) that drain into the canals on either side of our community.  These 2 canals empty into Tampa Bay.  Our lakes are fed by our storm drain system and are connected by underground culverts.


Lakes 1-3 (Constance, Cypress, & Taranto) empty into the 54th Avenue Canal North via an outfall by Neighborhood B.  This 54th Ave. canal is a fairly long canal that cuts across Pinellas County.

Lakes 4-5 (Messina and Lucerne) empty into the 47th Avenue Canal North through its own outfall located by Neighborhood F.

Lakes 6-8 (Egret, Placido, Heron) also empties into the 47th Ave Canal North through its own out fall, located between Neighborhoods F and J.

Lake 9-10 ( Sandpiper and Flamingo) the last mini watershed also empties into the 47th Avenue Canal North through its own out fall, located by Neighborhood J.


All 10 lakes are having erosion issues in varying degrees.  All 10 lakes show some degree of salinity. 

Since we are connected to Tampa Bay, we are prohibited by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from using certain herbicides/algaecides in our lakes.  These necessary environmentally friendly restrictions does make treating certain types of algae more difficult compared to other communities in Pinellas County.


Over the summer, we met with our lake management company and discussed key topics.  We also met with the several key lawn care services within our community and discussed edging, mowing, fertilizing, and debris cleanup. In 2012, we hope to draft a planning document and a  request for proposal to further tweak the needs and methods of shoreline maintenance issues.


In Lakes 1-3 (Constance, Cypress, Taranto) we completed the Tampa Bay Estuary Program grant project (2010-2011) which funded the  planting of bulrush, lance leaf arrowhead, alligator flag, and spikerush in the lakes and sandcord grass along the shoreline.  This PBCA project was taken to help slow erosion and improve water quality through dense plantings as purposed in our “2008 Lake Bank Restoration and Stabilization Pilot Study Report”.  We presented a power point presentation to the TBEP in March highlighting the progress of this project.  Neighborhood B homeowners had to remove trees along Lake #1 (Constance) due to erosion issues.  Erosion ownership issues arise again.  Three homeowners on Lake #3 (Taranto) have seawalls.  Lake #3 (Taranto) continues to struggle with thick algae problems (we believe it to be lynbya, which has not fully responded to the permitted algaecides).  This algae flows into lakes #2 (Cypress) and #1 (Constance) then passes into the 54th Avenue Canal N.  PBCA has installed aerators in all three of these lakes over the last 2 years.  Our lake management company sprays herbicides and algaecides to help control the algae and nuisance grasses and weeds.  They also continue to experiment with a sonar solution device in lake #3 (Taranto) at no cost to our community.  In July, we contracted Mesa Landscaping company to physically enter the water and weed between the aquatic plants and remove as much of the persistence treated algae (lynbya) as possible.  They did a great job doing a very back breaking, dirty job.  Unfortunately, it was a short term fix to a long term problem.  We are hoping to contract with a company that will assist us on a regular basis with maintaining the aquatic plants in these lakes.  Most companies will sell and plant aquatics, but do not perform “aquatic landscaping maintenance”, other than by herbicide spray.  The aquatic plants do need to be manually weeded and trimmed due to weed growth, weather damage, and herbicide/algaecide collateral damage.  


Lakes 4-5 (Messina and Lucerne) were drained this past spring in order for PBCA to do a geo web and rock bank restoration along 130 feet on lake #4 (Messina), on PBCA common land.  Both lakes did not need to be drained, but the engineering firm did not plug the culvert which connects them.  There are some aquatic plantings in both of these lakes, mostly bulrush and lance leaf arrowhead and cattails.  We did have spikerush in the shallow end of lake #4 (Messina) to help slow erosion, but we had to remove it due to resident complaints.  Aerators have been installed in both these lakes in the last 3 years.  There are some algae and weed issues, but not as bad as lakes 1-3.  Our lake management uses herbicides/algaecides for control. We have experienced a lot of collateral damage or browning of the aquatic plants and the shoreline grasses in this area.   


Lakes 6-8 (Egret, Placido, and Heron) watershed begins at one of the smaller lakes, #6 (Egret).  Lake #6 (Egret) had geo web and planting fabric bank restoration in 2007 which was funded through a Tampa Bay Estuary Program grant and Neighborhood E.  The fabric used in the restoration is becoming visible a little more each month.  The individual homeowners along this lake have built seawalls to reduce erosion.  Aquatic plantings were installed in 2008, funded by a Tampa Bay Estuary Program grant and Neighborhood E.  During this summer, the lake was covered with duckweed, some algae, and masses of nuisance weeds which were choking out the aquatic plants.  In July the landscaping company used above manually cleared the lake of duckweed, algae, and nuisance weeds.  Our lake management company continued to spray the duckweed with herbicides as it recurred.  An aerator system was put in during the fall to facilitate water movement and hopefully reduce the duckweed and algae growth.  Lake #7 (Placido) is our largest lake and is enclosed by seawalls on 3 sides.  Due to erosion issues, the seawalls were built from 2000 thru 2003 at the individual homeowners’ expense. There is a long easement (we call it the “landbridge”), which is a shoreline area that separates Lake 3# (Taranto) and Lake #7 (Placido), and it is showing heavy erosion in several spots.  Water pipes and other infrastructure are buried beneath this “landbridge”.   Lake #7 (Placido) has 8 aerator diffusers  in it and is relatively free of algae, with some minor nuisance weeds along the shorelines.  Some individual residents without seawalls have planted golden cana, lance leaf arrowhead, and some pickerelweed along the shorelines.  The pickerelweed does not survive in this lake, we think the grass carp is eating it.  Bulrush was planted to help slow erosion in several test areas.   Lake #8 is the final lake in this system before entering the 47th Ave Canal.  It has 4 aerator diffusers in it and is currently clear.  It is surrounded on 2 sides by seawalls, ~ 2002.  Some of the seawalls were built by the homeowners and PBCA built a seawall on their common land.  Trees have been removed in past years by homeowners due to erosion issues.   Some bulrush is planted by the out fall and along a corner of the seawall.  Herbicides and algaecides used in these lakes have also caused damage to the aquatic plants and shoreline grasses.


Lakes 9-10 (Sandpiper and Flamingo) are in the back of the community and has the least number of stormdrains overall.  Lake #9 (Sandpiper) is surrounded by seawall (~2001 with the exception of 2 residents) including the common area along Cherry Laurel Dr. and has no aquatic plantings.  This lake experienced a major planktonic algae outbreak this fall and was treated several times by our lake management company.  Lake #10 (Flamingo) is mostly surrounded by seawalls in regard to individual homeowner properties, but the common area shoreline is not.  There are no aerators in these lakes.  Lake #10 has a few plantings of bulrush.  Herbicides/algaecides used in this lake has caused collateral damage as well.


Jean Catanese – Lake Committee Chair - January 2012