A freshwater biologist and educator, Rob Karner has helped to care for the Glen Lake Watershed in Leelanau County since 1977.
A retired teacher with degrees in zoology and biological sciences from Michigan State University, Rob is now the watershed biologist for the Glen Lakes Association. He also serves as chair of Leelanau Clean Water, a task for created by the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners. Through 15 years of sampling, Rob has observed an increasing delay in lake turnover – that is the mixing of shallow and deep waters that normally occurs in the fall. We talked with Rob at his home near Crystal River in the Glen Lake Watershed.
Hi Rob,
Nice seeing you today, and meeting your son Chris.
If your research CLEARLY and Scientifically shows that bacteria is
leaching from septic systems into the 4 lakes you are monitoring and testing, then I would suggest the development of a county wide septic ordinance only for systems within 100 yds/300 ft. of a shoreline. Those septic systems would have 24 months for an initial inspection, and if needed would have to be pumped, up graded and/or replaced. Pumping every year for systems less than 200 gallons, every other year for 300-400 gallons. Every 3rd year for 500-1000 gallons tanks, and every 5 years for tanks in excess of 1000 gallons. It would need to be a county wide ordinance with the county health department implementing and managing same.
The above are only suggestions, of course if your research etc. show things to be quite different, then of course I differ to those judgmental facts.
Eric