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Lake Protection Tips
Some Do’s and Don’t for Maintaining Healthy Lakes

Activities that increase the input of phosphorus and sediment erosion into lakes are not good; however those that decrease these inputs will greatly help prolong the health of lakes. Listed below are activities that lake watershed residents and others can do to help reduce phosphorus and sediment inputs.

• Pump out your septic tank every three to five years, or whenever the sludge level exceeds one-third of the tank capacity.
• Maintain your septic system properly. Be sure your system is designed to handle the load it receives. A leach field should be increased whenever the frequency or volume of use increases.
•  Check your leach field for soft or wet areas or septic smells. Replace faulty systems.
• Do not bathe, shampoo, or wash boats, pets, or other objects in the lake with soap or phosphorus containing detergents. Do not wash automobiles near lakes where the detergent can run into the water or storm drains which lead directly to a lake.
• Use low or non- phosphate detergents or cleansers.
• Mulch or cover bare areas of soil in your yard or garden.
• Do not over use phosphate fertilizer. Use fertilizer with no or very low phosphorus content.
• Soil test to know how much fertilizer is required for good plant growth.
• Do not dump brush, leaves or grass clippings in storm drains or near the lake. They add nutrients to the water.
• No dumping in storm drains.
• Do not allow pets to urinate or defecate in the lake or near the lake. Phosphorus in their manure can be washed into the lake by rain.

Adapted from New Hampshire Department of Environmental Service Fact Sheet BB-9.

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