friends-of-lake-glenville-152649

What's That Smell? Turnover in Lake Glenville

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:30:58 GMT

That smell? Some of us old enough to remember the '70s song by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynard may have recently been wondering if it applies to Lake Glenville. Starting just after March 15th, we started seeing signs that the Lake was going to have a more significant "turnover" than we have seen in years.

On Saturday, April 4th, we saw it (very turbid water in undisturbed areas) and smelled it (decomposing plant material) as the Lake did a rapid turnover, basically bringing water and material from the bottom to the top, and vice versa.

What's Turnover?

This handy article by Nathan Wissenbach of the New York Rural Water Association does a good job of explaining it, but in short: lake turnover is a natural phenomenon that occurs during winter and spring in which the lake's layers are rapidly mixed due to rapid temperature changes.

In the case of Lake Glenville, the causes are the ongoing drought in the area and because of reduced cold-stream flow into the Lake caused by the drought, a relatively quick change in temperature at the surface.

The majority of the effects should dissipate within 48 hours and be completely gone in less than 2 weeks.

Thank you,

David Feist

Director of Water Quality

Friends of Lake Glenville

Photo courtesy of FLG Board member, Tom Albert.

Water Quality Report - December 2025

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 19:56:29 GMT

Test Results from Six Sites in the Lake Glenville Watershed

Water quality sampling occurred at six sites within the Lake Glenville watershed on 12/10/25. All sites were located as close as possible to sites sampled in previou s monitoring years; the location for the Glenville Creek sample was again sampled downstream at its standard location. A very light rain had occurred in the early morning prior to sampling on 12/10/25, the area received 0.2 inches of rain on 12/04/25 and 12/05/25, and 0.08 inches on 12/08 (Figure 1). Stream flows were normal base flow. The suite of parameters sampled included water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, specific conductivity, turbidity, fecal coliform, E.coli, ammonia, nitrite/nitrate, phosphate, and alkalinity.

New Year, New Look

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 18:55:43 GMT

New Website, Member Pages & More

Our members, donors, sponsors, and volunteers are the lifeline of our organization and the work we do. That's why we've spent the last year looking into ways to streamline and improve both our internal systems and the user experience for you all.

Over the coming weeks, we'll be transitioning to a new platform with new features. Please bear with us during this time. And if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us: flg@friendsoflakeglenville.com .

Can't wait to see you on the other side!

Water Quality Report: July 2025

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:11:44 GMT

Water Quality Report for July 2025

Water quality samples were collected from Lake Glenville at seven (7) locations. Five of the locations are in coves near the outlet of major streams within the watershed: Mill Creek, Hurricane Creek, Norton Creek, Cedar Creek, Glenville Creek, and Pine Creek. The seventh location is known as “Thalweg”. Thalweg is of German origin and literally means valley way. In fluvial geomorphology, the thalweg is the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse.

The aforementioned creeks are also routinely sampled for a suite of water quality parameters, increasing the knowledge and understanding of the specific issues of the watershed, such as identifying potential sources of pollutants which may be degrading water quality. Samples were analyzed for water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, specific conductivity, turbidity, Ammonia-Nitrogen (NH3+), Nitrate/Nitrite-Nitrogen (NO3-/NO2-), Total Phosphorus (TP), blue green algae-phycocyanin, and Chlorophyll-a. All water quality samples collected for analysis of Phosphorous and Nitrogen were collected from the upper two (2) meters of the lake using a depth integrated water sampler. Other parameters were measured using an In-Situ Aqua Troll 600 multiparameter sonde.

FLG Takes Visionary Step Forward in Upholding Its Mission

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 16:05:21 GMT

Guiding FLG Toward a Proactive Future

In 2020, FLG established a partnership with Equinox Environmental to provide regularly scheduled water testing services as part of an ongoing water quality program for the lake.

Now that partnership is taking another step towards FLG’s mission of ensuring the continued protection and preservation of the lake through the establishment of a Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan. Visionary in its design, this plan will provide a roadmap moving forward, guiding FLG toward a future where our work is proactive rather than reactive.

Who are Equinox Environmental?

It was vitally important that FLG partner with someone who not only knows the area but has as vested an interest in preserving it as we do. Based in Asheville, NC, Equinox Environmental seemed the perfect fit. The award-winning planning and design firm whose focuses on conservation, sustainability, and environmentally responsible projects that mirror our own values. Their talented and passionate staff have diverse backgrounds in natural resources, ecology landscape architecture, land planning, recreation planning, conservation planning, environmental science, and Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED). They have conducted regionally and nationally recognized projects for water resources planning, greenways & parks, sustainable design, residential developments, ecological design, and stormwater management.

Why is FLG Partnering with Equinox?

The Friends of Lake Glenville’s mission is to preserve and protect the continued beauty, integrity, safety, and survival of Lake Glenville. At the cornerstone of this mission is our work to monitor the lake’s water quality and implement the measures we can to ensure it remains healthy and safe for its own benefit and those who live, work, and play around it.

Our ability to do this relies heavily on regular testing of the lake and tributaries that feed into it.

In the past, Friends of Lake Glenville has endeavored to monitor the water quality of the lake through independent testing conducted by volunteers and in a pilot program initiated with Western Carolina University. However, the onset of a global pandemic put in stark relief the need for a consistent and professionally managed strategy that would ensure this vital work could continue regardless of circumstance.

After receiving a grant from Duke Energy to support and continue FLG’s water testing program and upon the recommendation of Dr. Kimberlee K Hall, PhD of the Environmental Health Program at WCU, we determined a partnership with Equinox would best suit our needs.

What Will Equinox Do?

Equinox services to FLG are two-fold. While continuing the water testing services contracted in 2020 , FLG has now engaged Equinox to develop a Watershed Management Plan that provides clear and actionable strategies, serving as a guide to both professionals and residents alike.

This plan will communicate the desired management goals, provide a framework for landscape maintenance, and establish guidance on how to manage the various landscapes within the Lake Glenville watershed. The plan combines specific practices that can be used to implement the watershed management plan with a schedule of maintenance practices. The scope of this plan includes the following:

Assess existing conditions through the collection and analyzation of data to establish a baseline for water conditions, soils, plants, and water resources
Develop a Landscape Management Plan based on the above findings and with input from an advisory committee of FLG members to develop a clear vision and goals for the management plan.
Provide a Watershed Management Guide crafted so FLG and local homeowners can follow the guidelines and implement the actions and recommendations of the plan overtime.

What Will FLG Do?

Friends of Lake Glenville was born out of and continues to thrive on the concern, dedication, and support of its members and those in the community who both recognize and cherish the integral role the lake plays in the ecosystem and our daily lives.

Our goal in partnering with Equinox to establish this visionary plan is to provide FLG and the larger community with the knowledge, understanding, and guidance to ensure that role remains and sustains far into the future.

FLG will serve as gatekeepers and champions of this plan, ensuring its distribution, accessibility, and implementation to the best of their ability, now and in the foreseeable future.

What Can You Do?

There are many ways to be a part of this work. While this plan provides yet another tool in our arsenal towards achieving our mission, any contribution of time, talent, or resources -- no matter how seemingly small -- is both vital and greatly appreciated.

In 2020, FLG established a partnership with Equinox Environmental to provide regularly scheduled water testing services as part of an ongoing water quality program for the lake.

WHO ARE EQUINOX ENVIRONMENTAL?

It was vitally important that FLG partner with someone who not only knows the area but has as vested an interest in preserving it as we do. Based in Asheville, NC, Equinox Environmental seemed the perfect fit. The award-winning planning and design firm whose focuses on conservation, sustainability, and environmentally responsible projects that mirror our own values. Their talented and passionate staff have diverse backgrounds in natural resources, ecology landscape architecture, land planning, recreation planning, conservation planning, environmental science, and Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED). They have conducted regionally and nationally recognized projects for water resources planning, greenways & parks, sustainable design, residential developments, ecological design, and stormwater management.

WHY IS FLG PARTNERING WITH EQUINOX?

Our ability to do this relies heavily on regular testing of the lake and tributaries that feed into it.

WHAT WILL EQUINOX DO?

Assess existing conditions through the collection and analyzation of data to establish a baseline for water conditions, soils, plants, and water resources
Develop a Landscape Management Plan based on the above findings and with input from an advisory committee of FLG members to develop a clear vision and goals for the management plan.
Provide a Watershed Management Guide crafted so FLG and local homeowners can follow the guidelines and implement the actions and recommendations of the plan overtime.

WHAT WILL FLG DO?

FLG will serve as gatekeepers and champions of this plan, ensuring its distribution, accessibility, and implementation to the best of their ability, now and in the foreseeable future.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Follow the Watershed Management Plan : We encourage you and your communities to adopt it as part of your own thoughts about, interactions with, and care for the lake.
Join Friends of Lake Glenville : Membership to FLG provides both financial and personal support to everything we do. We offer varying levels of membership and encourage you to engage at whatever level is most comfortable for you. Join now .
Become a Sponsor : Corporate sponsors are companies, homeowners’ associations, non-profit organizations, or other business entities that wish to support FLG. Corporate sponsors may contribute towards a specific event, initiative, or other designation of their choosing, or may donate to the general fund, to be used at FLG's discretion. Contributions are tax-deductible. Become a sponsor here .
Volunteer : The donation of time and energy are immeasurable in the success of everything we do, from conducting the work that supports our mission to arranging social events that give us the opportunity to meet and learn from those who hold the lake in as high a regard as we do. Volunteer here .
Stay in the Know : Educating ourselves and our community on the work we do and the ways in which individuals can contribute is just as important as the work itself.

FLG Awarded Duke Energy Grant

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 15:49:27 GMT

New Grant Provides Philanthropic Support to FLG's Mission

The Board of Directors of Friends of Lake Glenville proudly announces that we have been awarded a $5000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to support and continue our work with water testing. Duke Energy Foundation provides philanthropic support to “address the needs of the communities where our customers live and work. Annually, the Foundation funds more than $30 million in charitable grants, with a focus on three areas: K to career (education), the environment and community impact.”

Our Board Secretary, Karen Odell, was responsible for collecting and providing all the necessary information and data on the grant application and submitting the request to the Duke Foundation, and she obviously did an outstanding job! Thank you and sincere appreciation for Karen’s hard work and diligence.

The Board would also like to recognize Duke Energy not only for their financial support, but also for the strong working relationship we have forged over the years. FLG’s core mission to Preserve , Protect, and Educate to maintain and enhance the unique natural resource of Lake Glenville can only be accomplished through teamwork with Duke. We look forward to continuing our partnership with them as we launch more initiatives that will support our core mission of solid stewardship of beautiful Lake Glenville.

Revisiting the Mercury Problem (July 2017)

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 19:46:52 GMT

Updated: October 2017; March 2025

Near the end of 2014 a tsunami-like wave of concern swept over the Lake Glenville community; mercury (Hg) concentrations sufficient to merit posting of human health consumption advisories had been measured in Lake Glenville walleye. It should not have been a surprise.

State-wide advisories for largemouth bass have been in effect on all NC lakes since 2006, and had been extended to walleye in several regional lakes as more were tested. Still, I was surprised at the very high Hg concentrations that had been found in our walleye. The average Hg content of 20 walleye from Lake Glenville (1.67 parts per million) is 75% to 150% greater than that of other lakes in the area that have been tested, more than three and one-half times the threshold for ocean-caught market fish to be avoided, and in fact higher than the average for any market fish that has been reported by the FDA .

Although NCDEQ estimates that over 13,000 newborn children per year in NC have blood levels of Hg that put them at risk of neurological deficits such as learning disabilities, fine motor and attention deficits, and lowered IQ, some folks deny that there is a problem. Herein I will try to deepen member's understanding of our mercury situation. Perhaps such a review should be written by a medically trained person, but the issue also involves the physics, chemistry, and biology of the lake, so I will presume. Hyperlinks are provided to document important information sources.

Hg is a naturally occurring metal in the earth's crust. More dense than lead, it is about as plentiful as silver, and about 20 times more plentiful than gold. Unlike our experience with other metals, it is a dense liquid at temperatures above -39° (either F or C) and, like other liquids, it evaporates, becoming airborne vapor. Volcanoes, forest fires, coal burning and other industrial processes all release Hg in elemental, ionic, and particulate forms into the atmosphere where it slowly falls out over six months to a year, and hence can be carried and deposited as either dry deposition or washed out in rainfall (wet deposition) at great distances. It has been used in industrial processes and consumer products like dental fillings, mercurochrome, medical thermometers, electrical switches, florescent light bulbs, etc., for many years. Its occurrence in the surface environment has increased by a factor of 3 to 5 since preindustrial times. It has been much-used in mining operations, mostly in the west, but also in north Georgia, and if there were any of those in the Lake Glenville flooded area or watershed, there may still be some Hg leaching out from those sites.

I remember, as a young sprat growing up on a farm in the far northwest, coating seed potatoes with a Hg-based fungicide before planting. That procedure probably was used here in NC also, and there may still be some residues hanging around and leaching into our waterways. However, I do not believe that such legacy sources are of importance in Lake Glenville. Along with waste incineration, most uses have been phased out or banned in recent decades. Smokestack emissions from coal-burning electrical power plants are the major remaining cultural enhancement of environmental Hg. Coal contains only about 0.2 parts per million Hg, but a lot of coal is burned, and with Hg small concentrations matter.

All heavy metals are known for their toxicity, and Hg is the most dangerous of the lot. It has no known human metabolic function, but it is a potent neurotoxin in all its molecular forms. Most public notice has been in connection with its neurological effects, especially among developing children and fetuses, but Hg poisoning is also a causal or aggravating factor in adult maladies like hypertension, cardiovascular, and renal afflictions. Early neurological symptoms of Hg poisoning are loss of motor skills and dulled sense of touch, taste, and sight. Extreme cases can be crippling or fatal.

Brief contact with liquid elemental Hg is not notably dangerous. I played with some found in an unused high school chemistry lab. It would coat pennies or other metallic objects to bright silver color, and could be “cooked-off” using a candle flame. The cooked-off vapor is very dangerous. Luckily, I lost interest in it early on; in later years two of my professional colleagues suffered debilitating effects from breathing Hg vapor in poorly ventilated laboratories. The principal remaining human exposures to Hg poisoning are respiration of elemental Hg vapor and, most commonly, consumption of Hg-contaminated seafood.

The greatest exposure to humans results from Hg that is deposited from the atmosphere and finds its way into water bodies, where microorganisms use it in their metabolism, converting it to a different form, methyl mercury (MeHg). Hg in this form is far more toxic, evidently because its molecule mimics a common amino acid, enabling it to cross the blood-brain barrier, where it resides for a long time with destructive effects, and the placental barrier to affect the fetal brain The biological half-life of MeHg is 2 to 3 months. Older and larger piscivorous fish typically are more contaminated than smaller and short-lived omnivores. Minute amounts of MeHg are usually tolerated by organisms, but its persistence means that as small organisms are eaten by progressively larger creatures their MeHg content is cumulative, or biomagnified , so the largest and oldest fish, like the humans who consume them, get the largest dose and also accumulate MeHg. Biomagnification factors exceeding one million are not uncommon.

Another name for acute MeHg poisoning is Minimata disease, named for a coastal region in Japan where over 2000 people were afflicted, of which more than a thousand died, from eating MeHg-contaminated fish. Similar but lesser disasters have occurred in Canada and Iraq, the latter due to consumption of seed grains that had been treated with Hg. It is commonly said that terrestrial animals are not subject to MeHg contamination. That is mostly true; you will not experience Hg damage from eating rabbit or venison, as these animals are herbivores, but there are exceptions. Fish-eating animals, like seals, otters, or osprey, understandably suffer the effects of Hg poisoning. There are consumption advisories for some species of wild ducks harvested on peripheral waters of the Great Salt Lake, which has extremely high Hg concentration. Another interesting example is the Carolina wren. It accumulates MeHg by eating spiders, which in turn biomagnify MeHg by preying on insects. Early effects observed in such species often include reduced reproductive success.

I have found no reports of measurements of HG in water from Lake Glenville, or any other lakes of the Southern Appalachian region. Only about 10% of the Hg deposited on surrounding forest lands finds its way into lakes. The major part is either stored in the trees and soils or re-emitted to the atmosphere. Using best guesses based on mercury deposition data from the Southern Appalachian region, the area and volume of the lake, its watershed area, and several research papers, I estimate that the mercury concentration in Lake Glenville is about 2.2 nanograms per liter (ng/l). For those not conversant with nanograms or liters, that is the equivalent of dispersing about three-fourths cup of liquid mercury into the full pool volume of Lake Glenville. My estimate of 2.2 ng/l is not a particularly high value. It is 20% less than the average of values measured by the USGS and Canadian counterparts in 277 lakes of New England and eastern Canada. All of these states and provinces issue fish consumption advisories including total avoidance because they have some lakes with Hg concentrations approaching 20 ng/l. Even these levels pose no threat to human health from contact with the water. The EPA standard for drinking water is 2000 ng/l. The Hg content reported for our walleye amounts to a magnification factor of about 750,000 relative to my estimate for Hg in Lake Glenville water. Considering that about 10% of Hg in lake water is in the MeHg form, but 90% of that in fish is MeHg, that highly toxic form is magnified by nearly 7 million.

Several factors converge to make Lake Glenville and other regional reservoirs especially susceptible to occurrence of MeHg. First, Hg emissions are a global problem (yes, some of our Hg originated in China), but sites near a source experience more exposure than do more distant areas. The Tennessee Valley region has numerous coal-fired power plants and our heavy rainfall provides ample local washout of atmospheric Hg. Also, we have frequent thunderstorms which extend to greater height in the atmosphere than other rainstorms, and bring down Hg from more distant sources. The bacterial conversion of Hg to MeHg is enhanced in oligotrophic lakes with low or no dissolved oxygen and low pH (i.e., acidic water). All these conditions are characteristic of Lake Glenville, and probably of all deep reservoirs in the Southern Appalachians. Our lake is manifestly oligotrophic; it is always acidic due to the acidity of our rain and the chemistry of the regional rock and soil. Notably, the same power plants that release Hg also spew carbon dioxide which increases the acidity of rain, and of our lake. At the end of every summer water at depths greater than about 30 feet contains little or no oxygen. The bottom sediments probably are perpetually anoxic, exactly the conditions the troublesome microorganisms need to convert Hg to MeHg. Lake Glenville may in fact have a more favorable outlook than some other regional reservoirs. Due to activation of the Hg stored therein by flooding of uplands, young reservoirs typically experience elevated Hg concentrations in water and fish for 30 years or more. At age 76 our reservoir should be well along with disposal of that initial charge.

Another factor, particular to Lake Glenville, is that due to years of spawning failures, all, or virtually all, of our walleye are 9 years or more of age. By having consumed more and larger prey, older and larger fish typically have accumulated a higher body burden of Hg than younger fish, so our walleye population has a higher average level of Hg than would a population with a more normal age distribution. It is also conceivable that the spawning failures might in turn be a result of Hg contamination. As noted above, reproductive failures have been seen to result from Hg poisoning in other species. The recent advent of spawning failures suggests a recent increase of Hg concentration in the lake, perhaps due to change of lake management practice. Two possibilities come to mind. Prior to about year 2000 the lake had been lowered in winter to about the 80 foot datum, but under the recently negotiated agreement Duke Energy lowers it to only the 90-foot level. In consequence the nominal “flushing” of the lake has been reduced from about 40% to 20%. The total flushing is of course strictly determined by the amount of rainfall received, so what really has changed is the timing of the flushing process. How that might affect the biomagnification of Hg is unknown, Also, perhaps due to anomalous weather, early season water levels have been higher than historical, which increases erosion of the shoreline and falling of trees into the lake, releasing the Hg contained tin both. Or, it may be that the Hg concentration in the region is in fact increasing, and began exceeding a critical threshold for walleye in Lake Glenville about a decade ago.

Mercury contamination is a global problem, and applies to market fish, mostly marine, as well as sport fish. Over one-third of US exposure to Hg is believed to be due to consumption of tuna. Tuna are only moderately high in MeHg, but a lot of tuna is eaten. Over the last 50 years large reductions of mercury releases have been made in both North America and Europe, reducing Hg inputs to the North Atlantic Ocean by both atmospheric deposition and coastal and riverine waste discharges. In consequence, an 80% reduction of Hg has been measured in North Atlantic waters between 1990 and 2009. This is similar to the 80% reduction of lead in North Atlantic water between the mid 1970's and the end of the century following the phaseout of leaded gasoline in the U. S.. In consequence, scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography reported results from a review of 2662 analyses of Hg in fish done between 1969 and 2012. They found that the concentration of Hg in fish is decreasing, most notably in the North Atlantic, but that there are large regional differences. Part of the decrease of Hg concentration in the North Atlantic may be due to vertical mixing which is particularly vigorous there. Closer to home, it was reported in 2016 by staff of NOAA and Duke Univ. that bluefish, a popular coastal sport fish known for accumulating Hg and other pollutants, caught in North Carolina coastal waters in 2011 contained 43% less Hg than the same species collected in the same way during 1972. The Hg content is still too high, but 10% per decade reduction came as a pleasant surprise. On the other hand, it was recently found that Hg in tuna from the Pacific Ocean have been increasing at a rate of 3.8% per year since 1998, resulting in a near doubling of their Hg concentration. This increase of Hg in Pacific tuna is attributed to the increased Hg releases associated with rapid industrialization in east Asia.

A report on temporal trends of wet deposition of Hg using data from U. S. and Canadian mercury deposition networks published in October 2016 reveals that wet deposition of Hg had declined overall from 1997 to about 2008, then, up to 2013 it became more or less steady. Results are still uncertain because the data are highly variable, and the term short, but they support an hypothesis that post-2008, deposition continued to decline as a result of reduced emissions in industrial areas of the U.S., but began to rise in mountainous rural areas of the west due to increasing global atmospheric transport from rapidly developing parts of the world. The nearest and most relevant measurement site to Lake Glenville is in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, where deposition is found to be increasing at 1% to 2% a year recently.

The basis for fish consumption advisories merit special consideration. Such advisories have been vigorously criticized, mostly by the seafood industry, but also by power companies and their advocates due to the implied threat of restrictions on burning of coal. Because great individual variability exists of both the accumulation of MeHg from diet and the response to dosage, setting consumption limits is difficult. Toxicity experiments cannot be done on human populations. Data from extreme poisoning events like Minimata or Iraq identify the results of gross exposure, but the exposures resulting in gross effects were not well documented. Studies of populations of the Faroe and Sechelles Islands and New Zealand with heavy dependence on seafood have provided the basis for evaluating the accumulation of Hg from low-level chronic dietary exposure. The problem is complicated by the facts that there probably is no exposure to MeHg below which there is zero adverse effect, and that there are no human populations with zero exposure to Hg. It has been determined that the most sensitive susceptibility is to neurological damage to fetuses and children. Standards were iestablished at which no more than 5% of additional children above the most sensitive 5% should suffer adverse effects at the highest level of consumption. Then an extra factor of 10 was applied to allow for uncertainty of the determination. It has been necessary to assume that modest relaxation of advisories based on neurological development of children will provide an adequate safety margin for other, adult, effects.

There is some merit in the argument from the seafood lobby that seafood contains beneficial nutrient elements such as omega-3 that are essential to fetuses and children. Some of these elements have in fact been found to offset the detrimental effects of MeHg. This benefit is limited to low dosage however, while adverse effects of MeHg continue to increase with dosage. The beneficial effects of eating seafood have been evaluated by the FDA and are factored into the most recent advisories.

The question has been asked “What can we, the FLG or its members, do to help alleviate the problem?” We cannot change the physical and biochemical laws that move Hg through the ecosystem. An easy start would be to support or seek support for some actual measurements of Hg in lake water to help define the problem. Stocking to restore the walleye population to a more normal age distribution might reduce the average Hg concentration to below the State action level (take away the signs at the boat ramps) as well as improve the walleye catch, but the body burden of Hg in the most-sought older and larger fish would likely be as great as at present. I have seen virtual floating islands of fallen leaves that Lakeside property owners had blown off their property onto the lake. Bad practice! The largest component of mercury deposition into the surrounding forest is from litterfall (leaves, twigs, blossoms and nuts/fruits), but only about 10% of the Hg content of this material finds its way into the lake. If dumped directly into the lake 100% soon sinks and provides the resource for microorganisms to deplete the oxygen and convert the contained Hg to MeHg. Also of course, take care with disposal of fluorescent light bulbs and other Hg-containing refuse.

A geoengineering solution that has been applied in some lakes is to to eliminate the seasonal anoxia condition by pumping oxygen deep into the lake. This technology would also benefit our cool and cold water fishes, walleye and trout, that are seasonally pinched between near-surface waters that are too warm, and deeper, cooler waters that are oxygen deficient, but is certainly beyond the resources of the FLG, and probably would be a hard sell to the County, State ,or Duke Energy.

Perhaps the most important action is to persuade our congressional and state representation that elimination or enervation of the EPA and other environmental agencies is not a good idea, or to replace these representatives with more enlightened individuals. To expect that state-level government can or will prevail over the interests of big business, foreign governments, or even other states, is naive or disingenuous. The global community has been reasonably cooperative in regard to mercury and some other environmental pollutants, but, if the U. S. defects, probably all is lost.

As a boon to fishermen, every bass or walleye taken out of the lake carries its burden of MeHg with it, a singularly fun way to take mercury out of the lake. Catch all you can; just be careful of how many you eat, and don't forget about the tuna sandwiches and any other Hg-laden items tn your diet.

Donald Hansen, PhD

Dr. Hansen holds a BS in physics and an MS and PhD in physical oceanography from the University of Washington in Seattle. Throughout the course of his career, he has served as a meteorological officer in the US Army, an engineer with Boeing, a science teacher, a researcher with the National Oceanographic and Meteorological Administration (NOAA) and adjunct professor at the University of Miami. He began summering at Lake Glenville in 1992 where, in 1996 and to satisfy his own curiosity, he began making simple water quality measurements. Now in league with FLG, these measurements have progressively improved in number, scope, and instrumentation. His findings can be found here on the FLG website and in the FLG Archives.