The Land of 10,000 Lakes
I’ve grown up in Minnesota, outside of the city where I am constantly surrounded by lakes. One lake in particular, Lake Minnetonka, was the main place to hang out when I was growing up here. It’s so fun because lots of my friends and family live on the lake, so we spend a lot of time on it. When I became older, I spent more time with my friends on this lake than family. We started going to an island on the lake called Big Island, where on the 4th of July- hundreds of boats will line up and connect on the island and party. Sure, it’s a blast, but seeing all the garbage, bottles, phones, sunglasses, and overall waste that is left near this island in the lake is disturbing and awful.
Some actions have been enforced over the past 10 years to help this problem on Lake Minnetonka. Water Patrol has given out many citations for littering, along with the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District rallying up volunteer divers to swim around Big Island to pick up broken bottles, and other trash that will affect the lakes health in the long run. Annoyed lake home or cabin owners say it’s up to the boaters awareness to fix this garbage issue, which ends up in their backyards or on the shore of the lake. (1). Property owners say that they prefer the parties stay on Big Island rather than around their homes, yet the problem always ends up being their issue to deal with. The city of Orono, which owns a “56-acre nature park on Big Island” isn’t doing anything to help the garbage situation, therefore volunteer divers and lake property owners are the only ones making a difference.
This isn’t just a problem on Lake Minnetonka during the summer. Ice fishing is a huge contributor to human fecal waste, fish guts, and garbage being left out above the lake by civilians. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are dealing with these problems out on Lake of the Woods and Lake Mille Lacs, where they tend to see the worst offenders of this pollution. They are enforcing dates on these lakes where the icehouses need to be removed, so they can go a cleanup party. (2). Garbage debris left in the lakes only causes terrible things to happen. It affects the fish, other lake life, their habitats, the trash can transport chemical pollutants, and change the marine environment. Plastic trash is the most detrimental to our planet because it’s harder to decompose, and is found at the bottom of almost all water bodies in our current society. Birds and fish constantly eat these plastic debris, causing death and starvation. (3).
Hopefully in the future of Lake Minnetonka, more action is being enforced by the cities instead of relying on the property owners or divers to clean up after everyone’s poor decisions. If you are ever on any lake in the summer or winter, make sure you are conscious nothing is falling into the water, and keep a garbage and recycling bag on the boat- or in the icehouse- with you at all times.
Resources
1 → http://www.startribune.com/residents-tackle-growing-trash-problem-on-lake-minnetonka/318073521/
2 → https://patch.com/minnesota/saintpaul/ice-fishers-leaving-trash-mn-lakes-growing-problem
3 → https://www.epa.gov/trash-free-waters/impacts-mismanaged-trash
