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in everyissue : 24 – Port of Call: Lake Sherwood 45 – Waterway Levels

contentsOctober 2012 • Volume 21 • Number 7

8Race for the WRC office

Incumbent Republican Oakland County WaterResources Commissioner John P. McCulloch is

being challenged by Democrat Jim Nash in theNov. 6 general election for a four-year term

paying $138,999 annually.

19 In jeopardy Michigan lawmakers have introducedlegislation in order to preserve thestate’s authority over wetlandprotection regulations and permitting,after an EPA review found deficienciesin the state’s current regulatoryprogram and processes.

29 ‘Good fences’A dock dispute on Whipple Lake inIndependence Township has pitted oneneighbor against another, and one ofthose riparians against the townshipgovernment that is insisting that heapply for and obtain a local permitbefore installing his dock.

26 Bad approachSome people living on OxfordTownship’s Squaw Lake are questioninga resident’s practice of trimmingnuisance Eurasian watermilfoil andleaving the clippings in the water todrift about and eventually take root,causing the exotic weed to spread.

— Oakland Lakefront photos/Amy K. Lockard and Damon Tang


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index of advertisersOctober 2012 • Volume 21 • Number 7

John McCullochJohn McCulloch has served as OaklandCounty Water Resources Commissionersince 2001. He is a former chairman of theOakland County Board of Commissioners,served for eight years on the DrainageBoard, and was employed as an attorneyand certified public accountant prior to beingelected water resources commissioner.McCulloch is a member of the OaklandCounty Parks and Recreation Commission.He is also president of the MichiganAssociation of Counties Service Corp.McCulloch is the immediate past chairmanof the Southeast District of the MichiganAssociation of County Drain Commissioners.He also has authored numerous articles onwater quality that have appeared in bothnational and international journals andpublications, and he hosts the awardwinning cable television show entitledH2Oakland.

Jim NashJim Nash has been an Oakland Countycommissioner since 2004. He has abachelor's degree in political science with aminor in peace studies from Florida StateUniversity. While living in Florida, he workedfor the Florida Democratic Party doingcommunications work and research, as wellas the Florida Legislative Library. He and hiswife have owned a small outdoor furnituremanufacturing company and a flower shopin Southfield. Nash has served on the SierraClub Southeast Michigan Group Political andExecutive committees. He was the chairmanof the Southeast Michigan Group from 2003-2005 and is a member of the U.S. GreenBuilding Council and the Engineering Societyof Detroit. Nash currently serves on theNational Association of Counties' GreenGovernment Committee and was a presenterat a National Conference on the economicimpact of Oakland County's water resources.


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Incumbent Republican John P. McCulloch andDemocrat Jim Nash will square off in the Nov. 6general election for the Oakland County WaterResources Commissioner position. Formerly knownas the county drain commissioner, the position

name was changed to water resources commissioner inNovember 2008 to reflect the increased duties andresponsibilities of the office. The county's waterresources commissioner is responsible for designatedsurface water drainage systems, sewage disposal anddrinking water systems, lake level control structures,and soil erosion and sedimentation control.

The Drain Code — Act 40 of 1956, as amended —gives the county water resources commissioner powersand responsibilities to govern legally establisheddrainage systems within the county. The Oakland CountyWater Resources Commissioner also has additionalstatutory responsibilities (Act 342, etc.), along withother responsibilities delegated by the Oakland CountyBoard of Commissioners.

The water resources commissioner serves a four-yearterm and is currently paid an annual salary of $138,999.

The following are questions our staff recently posedto McCulloch and Nash, and their responses to thosequestions.OL: What’s your take on the condition of the dams andaugmentation wells that help control some county lakelevels? Do you anticipate the need to replace or upgradeexisting structures or facilities? What changes, if any, areneeded in the way the Water Resources Commissioner’sOffice handles lake level monitoring and control?NASH: They're very well maintained. I don't haveanything that gives me the whole view of the wholecounty. There's issues with some of them, but overall it'sfairly well done. It's all done on the basis of chargingpeople who live on the lakes for the levels. Absolutely,infrastructure has to be kept up and replaced from timeto time.

In a lot of areas in especially the southern part of thecounty, there's complaints about the way the localgovernments are treated by the Water ResourcesCommissioner's Office. They've kind of — at least inseveral communities that I know of — (the office) treatsthem not very well. They just leave them out of theprocess and tell them what they're going to do and that'sabout it. In terms of countywide, it varies depending onwhere you are. As we're expanding the suburbs out anddoing much more out here, we're ending up takingmoney from the inner-ring suburbs and spending it onthe outer-ring suburbs, which is really not fair at all, anda lot of people are upset about that.

McCULLOCH: Certainly, for those augmentation wellsand dams that we have jurisdiction over, we'recontinually monitoring their condition. As with any aginginfrastructure, there's always challenges and limitedfunds. But I think, overall, those structures are in prettydecent shape.

We inspect those lake level control structures on aregular basis, and there's always at some point a need topotentially either refurbish or to replace them. But Iwould say there's not an emergency situation that wouldprompt us to say these structures need to be replacedimmediately or are past due.

In recent years we've added certain remotetechnology that allows us to monitor the levels, asopposed to having somebody manually go out andgauge that. Our response time or reaction time is muchbetter given that technology. Secondly, in certain caseswhere historically only one (legal lake) level wasestablished by the court, we have gone in and providedfor basically two (legal lake) levels, depending on theseason. That provides us a better management tool andsome flexibility in managing these particular lakes. If youlook at this year, which was a drought year, for the mostpart we were able to deal with that challenge muchquicker, so our complaint levels and concerns were farless than what they had been historically. I compare thatto the last drought that we went through in 2002,where we had major, major challenges. We just didn'tsee that this year as we have in the past.OL: Which county drains should be a priority for thewater resources commissioner, and what needs to bedone there? Where do you anticipate having to replaceentire existing drains, or construct new infrastructurewhere none currently exists?NASH: A lot of it is, again, how the system is aging. Oneof things I really want to focus on in this campaign isstormwater issues. There are a lot of cities across thecountry that are changing the way we charge forstormwater runoff and allowing companies and landownersto change the way they've set up their drainage off theirproperties to lessen their impact. So that means they can,over time, save money on the stormwater costs. Whereverthere are impervious surfaces, whether they be roofs orparking lots or roads, you have runoff. And if you canchange the perviousness of both roofs through green roofsand bioswales and all the things you can do for parkinglots, you can eliminate the runoff from those surfaces. Ifyou can do that, that starts to eliminate the stormwaterproblem. We can work on that effort through changingfacilities, through landscaping, and through all thedifferent things that can be done.


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Lawrence Tech a few years ago put in a studentcenter where they have basically eliminated runoff inthat whole area. They store that water and use it forgray water. There's several cost paybacks on that. Youhave water that you don't have to pull out of the systemfor things like watering landscape and things, and youwould save money on what you are paying forstormwater runoff control. This would be a program Iwould be starting. We would look for ways throughregional efforts through SEMCOG (the SoutheastMichigan Council of Governments), which is doing a lotof work on that. It's called low-impact development, andwe would be able to start to eliminate that stormwaterproblem. This is something that's going to take a longtime to do, but we can get the ball rolling and startmoving on it much better than it's been done in thepast.

There's a lot of cost to that. Infrastructure, where it'snot been before, is generally speaking the issue ofsprawl — where you're sending more and moredevelopment out farther into the county into the ruralareas. To build that stuff from scratch is very expensive,and the people who are doing the development shouldbe responsible for paying for that cost. They shouldn'thave the rest of the county subsidizing growth in outerareas of the county because, in the long run, that's notsustainable.

Sustainability is a very important issue to me. I'vebeen talking about sustainability since I first ran (foroffice) in 2002. We have to do things now and make theplanning now to make sure that what we are doingtoday is not going to cost our future generationssomething they're going to have to make up in thefuture. What we have to do is make sure the drains thatare now being used are kept up. We have to havemaintenance on our infrastructure, and we have to makesure that we do things long-term that are going to makesure our infrastructure stays in the shape it needs to bein. But again, this is something that varies all across thecounty. We have issues in Walled Lake about weedcontrol, and we have issues along the western part ofthe county about both drains and how the water isaffected by runoff from either impervious surfaces orpeople using phosphorus lawn chemicals, which causesalgae blooms and a lot of problems in our recreationaland our drinking water.McCULLOCH: We have a couple hundred drainsthroughout the county that the Water ResourcesCommissioner's Office and the water resourcescommissioner has jurisdiction over. There isn't onespecific one that I would point to to say that takes No. 1

priority. We regularly inspect all our drains and put themon a maintenance cycle. But I would tell you that withthe old agricultural drains, those that typically are over100-years-old that were originally built to drain farmland as opposed to developed areas — which, of course,today we have a lot of those areas that have beendeveloped — we are limited by the Drain Code in termsof how much we can spend to maintain those. Those arethe ones that provide the biggest challenge because ofthe limitation as to how much we can spend in order tomaintain these old drains. These old Chapter 4 drainsthat are the agricultural drains and we're limited tospending $5,000 per mile (for annual maintenance andrepairs). In today's environment, that probably wouldn'tcover three or four hours of major machinery andpersonnel time to go out there and deal with that, letalone an entire mile. And the challenge is the issuedoesn't stop and start every mile, so if you're going togo in and improve or clean out a drain, you typicallyhave to do it for the entire section of drain or you'rewasting your money. So, the only way to overcome thatlimitation is through working with the localmunicipalities to see if there are additional sources ofrevenue or funding that would allow us to go in andaddress the issue. We're always looking for thoseopportunities and other funding sources to try toaddress these issues.

There's no specific drain that I would point to interms of maintenance priority. In terms of actual newconstruction, in light of the current economic situationand where we have been since 2008, there literally hasbeen a halt in the need for new infrastructure. So mostof our emphasis and focus is on repair and maintenanceof existing infrastructure. Again, whether it be drains orsome of these combined systems, their useful life istypically 40 to 60 years. In a lot of cases we're at 80years-plus, so we are primarily focusing in onrefurbishing or maintaining those as opposed to buildingnew infrastructure.OL: Many of the county's lakes are vulnerable tocontamination either through combined sewer overflows(CSOs) or sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), dependingon how sanitary sewer infrastructure is in place acrossthe county. What, if anything, would you do to addressthis threat if elected water resources commissioner?NASH: As I've said in the previous question, it's learningand adjusting to properties to avoid the runoff in thefirst place. In my city of Farmington Hills, we put inpervious pavement on several of our properties,otherwise before that the runoff in a storm would havegone into the storm sewers and contributed to the


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overflow. What we're doing by putting perviouspavement on these surfaces is the water is not making itoff the surfaces into the stormwater system. And as wehave low-impact development, we can use those in newdevelopments or when people are doing landscaping,when they are doing new parking lots, because again,you have to replace parking lots over time. We can dothings like have bioswales either within the parking lotor around the parking lot. So whatever runoff comes offthem is collected there and then slowly goes into theground. Only 100-year storms would have stormwateroverflow, so it's all in how we plan for the future andhow we help companies or developments plan theirpervious pavement, pervious surfaces to make sure wedon't have runoff from them in the first place. You knowwe've been keeping up with it with stormwater fees andtrying to control it when it happens, but we need to doso before it happens.McCULLOCH: With the combined sewer overflows,Oakland County has actually been ahead of the curve inaddressing those issues by either the expansion orimprovement of the old 12 Towns Drain, which is theGeorge W. Kuhn Drain, and then the building of thethree new basis in the Rouge Watershed that wereconstructed in the latter part of the 1990s. I'm pleasedto report that we're in full compliance with the CleanWater Act by the construction and maintaining andoperating of those four basins.

As far as sanitary sewer overflow issues, we havebeen fortunate enough not to experience a significantnumber of those. Unfortunately they still do exist. Wecontinue to work with the state agency in identifyingthose areas that have to be addressed, or those areasthat are potentially vulnerable to create sanitary seweroverflows to avoid them from occurring in the future.That's been my focus is on the SSO side of the equation,given the fact that on the CSOs we've already addressedthose.

I think the readers have to understand the CSOstypically about 25 times a year will capture flow andretain it in that basin. But there are three or four timesa year where it does overflow — it is treated and it isscreened and it does meet water quality standards underthe Clean Water Act, but they do occur. You can't build afacility large enough that would accommodate thosetypes of occurrences. We just don't have a control overMother Nature. So what we want to do is minimize themand obviously treat them to comply with the CleanWater Act.OL: Should the Water Resources Commissioner's Officehave a broader role relative to general lake issues, such

as water quality monitoring, for example, given both theimportance of these waterways to the quality of life inOakland and the the ongoing decreases in statecommitment of funds to help protect the waterways?NASH: One of the big issues right now to me — and themore I talk to people about it, people are upset,especially in the lakes region of the county — is thefracking leases that have been released and the waterquality issues around that. And I want to make sure wedo testing of groundwater and of lake water all aroundthese areas because several of these leases are right nearthe water on Orchard Lake and Cass Lake. That can haveserious infiltration underground; or if a well had blownout or something like that, which also does happen, wehave to make sure we have really good systems. I wouldcall for a moratorium on actually starting thisexploration until we have top-of-the-line resourcesavailable to us in case there is a leak or in case there is ablowout, to stop any kind of infiltration into the watersystems and to make sure if there is any kind of problemthat the people responsible, the people doing the drillingare in fact going to be able to cover any costs to bringour water quality back. So we need serious testingaround these areas where the fracking will be, inaddition to what has already been done. We must makesure we have a system in place to stop anything in casethere is a blowout or in case there is a serious accident.

We had the name (of the job) changed to WaterResources Commissioner and these are the waterresources we have. The recreational water we havewith all these very large lakes and expensive propertiesaround them, if we had a serious problem in one ofthese lakes, if we had a large fish kill or a largeinfusion of some of these fracking chemicals into thelake, it could affect property values, it could affect theability of people to get on these lakes. That would hurtour economy a lot. Our county government takes a lotof pride in our recreational waters, and several yearsago we did a study on the impact of our recreationalwaters on our county economy. It found it's verystrong in terms of just having the recreation availableto us and as a recruiting tool for companies when theyare looking for employees. They can say we havefantastic parks and some of the best lakes in Michigan.So if we really value that, we have to make sure weprotect it long-term. And that involves all the levels ofprotection for the lakes — lake levels, algae, invasivespecies, and the potential of chemicals coming inthrough runoff or from fracking. These are our waterresources, and I think that’s the most important thingthe office does besides regulating drains and sewers.

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McCULLOCH: I do believe there is the opportunity for agreater role. I've always indicated there's certain overlapbetween local jurisdiction as well as state jurisdiction onthese water quality issues. It follows my thinking thatwater doesn't stop and start at jurisdictional boundaries.So I really believe that by allowing the Water ResourcesOffice to have oversight on these issues that there wouldbe better coordination and more resources allocated tothose areas of concern. I've always felt that the stateagencies should have more of an oversight or auditfunction, as opposed to a regulatory function. They cancertainly set the standard, and then in terms ofimplementation in monitoring on a regular basis, that'ssomething that I think can appropriately be done at thecounty level. Given the number of lakes, rivers andstreams in our county, I think that's certainly a criticalapproach in order to maintain the water quality. OL: What are the three most important issues for theWater Resources Commissioner's Office at this time, andhow do you propose to address them?NASH: Collaboration within the county and localgovernments and regionally with Macomb, Oakland,Wayne, Washtenaw, Monroe — all the counties insoutheast Michigan really have to be working togetheron this, and this is something I absolutely will bepushing. In terms of mitigating stormwater, that's what Italked about earlier, finding a way to help communitiesand businesses and even developments control thatwater before it gets into the system. We need to havethe things in place that we aren't doing yet.

There's another program that I've been working onand I will make it as much as I can a part of what theWater Resources Commissioner's Office would do.There's a company in Oakland County that has come upwith a program that has the technology and everythingavailable to them to start putting in power generatingsystems along our sewer main. And what this does is itwould have little pulloffs along the sewer mains thatwould bring the wastewater flow through turbines tocreate power. And this could be done along large sewerlines where you would always have flow. There'sconstant flow, so there would be the availability of atruly non-environmentally disturbing power sourcewhere you could generate power from sewage flow overlong periods of time on a regional basis. This has beensomething I've been working on for quite some time.Again, I've been very involved with sustainability andalternative energy sources. This is something that thewater resources commissioner could do in the long-termthat would really have an effect on our ability togenerate clean power in this region.

McCULLOCH: As we just talked about, certainlymaintaining the current infrastructure and striving toidentify adequate funding to ensure we meet waterquality standards here in the county. I think that's whypeople are attracted to this county, is because of thenatural amenities.

Secondly, continue to strive to address the Detroitwater and sewer issues, since a majority of ourcommunities do buy water or sewer services fromDetroit. Given escalating water and sewer rates in recentyears, obviously we must ensure that they are runningthat facility efficiently, and minimize those increasesgoing forward.

Thirdly, I would say striving to put into placepermanent funding to deal with these infrastructurechallenges. Most of this infrastructure was built withfederal funds. In a lot of cases, 80 percent was fundedby federal funds. Those programs do not exist today.So, one of the main reasons rate-payers are seeingsuch tremendous increases in their rates is becausenow the financial burden to replace or refurbish thisinfrastructure solely rests on the rate-payers. I believeit should be a formula whereby the rate-payers kick inone-third, there should be a permanent federalprogram to assist in funding some of this replacementand refurbishment, and then I think the state has arole to continue to provide low-interest loans for theother third of the equation. So funding would be thethird issue of importance that I feel we need tocontinue to work on.OL: Why, specifically, should voters choose you over yourgeneral election opponent?NASH: I've been involved in politics and governmenthere in Oakland County for many years. This issomething that I've been working on for a very long time— sustainability, and collaboration regionally and amonglocal governments. So it's something I think I've gotexperience doing. I've got a fairly good reputation in thisarea as somebody who is really always ready to workwith whoever I can.McCULLOCH: I believe I've proven myself over the last12 years in terms of how I've operated the office, reallyinstilled continuous improvement in our operation andcustomer satisfaction. I truly view our operation as aservice-provider to the 61 communities in OaklandCounty. Because of the challenges that we just talkedabout, I'd really like to be given an opportunity to servefour more years to see if we can put into place animproved (Detroit Water and Sewerage Department), abetter funding source, and obviously enhance waterquality throughout the county. ❏

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Afederal review of the state's water protectionmeasures has spurred several proposedchanges in how wetlands are regulated inthe state under the guidance of the MichiganDepartment of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

The proposed changes — which include revampingsome of the rules regarding wetland protection andpermitting processes under Michigan's Natural Resourcesand Environmental Protection Act — are necessary forthe state to retain its ability to oversee wetlandpermitting under the federal Clean Water Act. However,some environmentalists are concerned that the proposedchanges could jeopardize some of the state's mostvulnerable land.

"The EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)conducted an audit of our (state wetland regulation)program and found that we have deficiencies," saidJennifer McKay, a policy specialist for the Tip of the MittWatershed Council. "Some (proposed) changes areincluded that we support. Unfortunately, other provisions(we don't support) were included."

McKay said the greatest concerns raised by the EPAregarded the state's wetland protection program and itspermit exemptions available under that program.

"Basically, Michigan is one of two states thatadminister the Section 404 (wetland protection)program for the federal government," McKay said."There are lots of benefits that come with that … and it'smore effective and efficient for the state (to regulatewetlands). In order to maintain the program, it has to beequivalent to the federal program. Some of this (newlyintroduced reform legislation) is broader than the federalgovernment requires."

The EPA found 22 instances where the state's wetlandregulations fall short of those required under the CleanWater Act. Internal changes by the DEQ addressed 19issues, with the remaining deficiencies requiring changesbeing enacted by Michigan lawmakers. Those changesrelate to permit exemptions for utility work nearwetlands, drains and agriculture practices regulatedunder the state's environmental protection laws.

Failure to address the EPA's concerns would requirewetland permit applicants to apply to the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers and the DEQ, rather than allowingapplicants to submit only one wetland permit applicationto the DEQ, as is currently the case.

In an effort to meet the federal requirements andmaintain the state's administration of all wetlandregulation in Michigan, state Rep. Jim Stamas (R-Midland) introduced legislation on Sept. 12 to establishuniform application fees and change current exemptionsfrom wetland permitting requirements. His proposal,House Bill (HB) 5897, also would expand the StrategicWater Fund to provide assistance to local governmentsto increase oversight rainwater, sewage, and septicsystems to improve water quality.

An identical bill, Senate Bill (SB) 1311, wasintroduced in the states upper legislative chamber onSept. 25 by state Sen. Michael Green (R-Mayville).

"We are embracing mitigation banks," said MaggieCox, legislative director for the DEQ. "It allows (permitapplicants) to buy into wetland areas that are alreadycreated. Under current law, if you impact more than athird of an acre of wetland, you have to create two timesthe size impacted … you can't preserve it, you actuallyhave to create it, which is expensive and not verysuccessful."

Wetland mitigation banks would include sites wherewetlands are restored, created or — in exceptionalcircumstances — preserved expressly for the purpose ofproviding compensatory mitigation in accordance thestate's wetland protection laws, in advance of authorized,unavoidable impacts to wetlands, according to a HouseFiscal Analysis Agency review of the recently introducedHB 5897.

The Wetland Mitigation Bank Funding Program wouldprovide grants and loans of up to $10 million to eligiblemunicipalities. Up to $500,000 could be used for grants,and funding could be used as long as it's available,according to a House Fiscal Agency analysis of the bill.The program would allow those destroying wetlands tobuy into preservation of an existing wetland in the samewatershed, according to the EPA. Furthermore, HB5673, which is tied to the Stamas bill, would establishthe Wetland Mitigation Bank Funding Program.

McKay said the watershed council supportsmitigation banks, but questions languageregarding where watershed banking projects

would be conducted in relation to those wetlandsdestroyed and those being created.

Ecoregions — of which the state is divided into four— are regional landscape ecosystems that are classifiedby their ecological needs and land use patterns.

McKay said the council would like to see bankingprojects done in the same watershed as those lost,rather than allowing created wetland locations to fallunder broader ecoregions as provided for currently.Additionally, she said the council opposes changes to theratio at which lost wetlands are replaced under state law.

"Some wetlands are very rare and have more publicbenefits," McKay said. "Coastal wetlands, for instance, ifyou destroy those, the ratio (for replacement) is higherbecause we've had so many lost. They (lawmakerssupporting the proposal) want to be able to reduce thatratio and have flexibility with it."

Cox said the DEQ supports changing rules to addressissues with replacement ratios.

"It would provide more flexibility in mitigation ratios,"Cox said of the recent reform legislation. "Right now, it'svery prescribed … what we are proposing to do is tolook at impacts of use, and then do mitigation andprovide for some flexibility on how much of an impactthe use will have. For instance, a farm going in willprovide for wetland benefits, while a parking lot takesaway use. This legislation directs us to do that."

Portions of the Stamas bill regarding changes todrains maintained by county drain commissioners — orin Oakland County's case the county Water Resources


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Commissioner's Office — has been met with overallsupport by the Oakland County Water ResourcesCommissioner's Office, according to Joe Colainne, anattorney for the office.

"One of the things I've been monitoring in respect todrains has been what kind of activities can be donewithin legally established drains — those that have beenestablished under the Drain Code — and what kind ofactivities can take place without a permit," Colainne said.

Historically, he said, projects involving generalmaintenance of drains established before 1973weren't required to first obtain a permit from

the DEQ."The issue here has to do with what is required to

maintain a drain if you need to pull a permit," Colainnesaid. "It takes time to do that, and that raises the cost tothe drainage district and essentially the taxpayers.

"We are monitoring this because we want to makesure we aren't adding additional costs to consumers foressentially doing what we are supposed to do."

The house legislation is tied to additional bills,including HB 5673, sponsored by state Rep. Al Pscholka(R-Stevensville); HB 5674, sponsored by state Rep. PaulOpsommer (R-DeWitt); HB 5675, sponsored by stateRep. Peter MacGregor (R-Rockford); and HB 5676,sponsored by state Rep. Eileen Kowall (R-White Lake), allwhich would amend the state's Strategic Water QualityInitiatives Fund and State Revolving Fund Grant andLoan programs.

Together, the bills would expand the current stateStrategic Water Quality Initiatives Loan Program andestablish a new state grant program. Additionally, theywould expand the pool of eligible communities to allowfor more access to funding for disadvantagedcommunities.

Kowall's bill would change the amount that could betransferred from the Great Lakes Water Quality BondFund to other funds. Specifically, $90 million — downfrom $710 million — could be transferred to the StateWater Pollution Control Revolving Fund, which providesloans to local governments to finance the construction ofsewage and storm water treatment facilities; andincrease the amount transferred to the Strategic WaterQuality Initiatives Fund from $290 million to $910million.

A fiscal analysis of the bills states:• The state Legislature has already budgeted

$725,000 more in restricted funding from the StrategicWater Quality Initiative Fund and authorized five full-timeemployees to the DEQ to cover an anticipated increase inadministrative costs under HB 5673; and

• The Strategic Water Quality Initiative Fund wouldreceive less funding in the future, as grant programsfunded from the fund don't require repayment. Grantsinclude individual grants of up to $2 million tomunicipalities for investments in sewage collectiontreatment systems and improvements in water qualityand pollution prevention programs.

The state Wetland Advisory Council, which is tasked

with examining existing wetland regulations, was set upin large part in response to the EPA's review ofMichigan's wetland program. The advisory council alsoworked with legislators, the EPA and DEQ officials, theMichigan Association of Drain Commissioners and otherstakeholders to offer recommendations for changes tothe wetlands program. Many of the proposed changesintroduced in the Stamas bill have been in the workssince 2009, when the advisory council was first created.

While advisory council members have agreed thatMichigan should retain authority over its wetlandregulation program and not let that authority lapse infavor of federal oversight, council members in their finalreport of 2012 to the state Legislature stated thatfunding for the program will be challenging in thefuture.

Council members looked at several long-term fundingoptions to continue the program in the future, with themajority of funds continuing to come from the state'sUnclaimed Bottle Deposit Fund. Additional revenue thecouncil recommended seeking were moderate feeincreases for permits and continued federal funding, aswell as that from the Michigan Department ofTransportation.

"The program has made significant efficiency stridesin the last several years, and additional streamlining andefficiencies will be gained by some of the initialrecommendations of the council," the council stated in itsfinal report for 2012. "Whichever funding methods arerecommended by the council, these benefits will have tobe strongly articulated so that all the beneficiaries(regulated community and general public) understandwhy the relatively modest amount of funding that thewetland program requires is so essential for resourceprotection and efficient economic development."

Michigan's wetland statute defines a wetland as "landcharacterized by the presence of water at a frequencyand duration sufficient to support, and that undernormal circumstances does support, wetland vegetationor aquatic life, and is commonly referred to as a bog,swamp, or marsh." The definition applies to public andprivate lands regardless of zoning or ownership.

W etlands are a significant factor in the health andexistence of other natural resources of thestate, such as inland lakes, groundwater,

fisheries, wildlife, and the Great Lakes. Wetlands provide flood and storm control through

hydrologic absorption and storage capacity; wildlifehabitat by providing breeding, nesting, and feedinggrounds and cover for many forms of wildlife,waterfowl, migratory waterfowl, and rare, threatened, orendangered wildlife species; protection of subsurfacewater resources and provision of valuable watershedsand recharging groundwater supplies; pollutiontreatment by serving as a biological and chemicaloxidation basin; erosion control by serving as asedimentation area and filtering basin, absorbing silt andorganic matter; and sources of nutrients in water foodcycles and nursery grounds and sanctuaries for fish. ❏

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Common sense would tell you that if the lawn is long, it's timeto cut it, so it should follow that tall aquatic weeds need to beremoved. Why then is Oxford Township resident Gary Ohlgartasking neighbors on Squaw Lake to stop pulling water weedsfrom their property?

"Just because you own property on the lake, it doesn't mean yourproperty stops right there," Ohlgart said, gesturing to the lake from hisbeach on the northwest side of the lake. "You have to think of everyoneelse."

There is an expectation among waterfront residentslike Ohlgart that neighbors will coexist for the benefitof their lake — a belief that what damages your lake,damages everyone's lake. That's the way it had beensince the 1980s, when Ohlgart was an up-and-comingbeef jerky industry expert and moved his family to theonce pristine shore off Harwood Drive. Then theweeds came.

Eurasian watermilfoil — or myriophyllum spicatumby its Latin name — has been creeping through NorthAmerican lakes since Gilligan's Island first aired ontelevision. It may arrive by boats, birds or watercurrents, but controlling the aquatic invader after ittakes root is more like a horror movie for Squaw Lakeresidents than a shipwreck sitcom.

Steve Arb said he started seeing more weeds abouttwo years ago, almost a decade after moving to shoreof Squaw Lake. Thick beds of Eurasian watermilfoilnow blanket most of the lake's bottomland, with theexception of two 50-foot holes near the center of thelake that provide scarce swimming locations free fromweedy entanglements.

"It's shrinking the lake because you can't go closeto the shore because the weeds are so thick," Arbsaid, steering his pontoon boat away from a patch ofEurasian watermilfoil poking up through the water."We used to water ski here and drop the kids off toswim. There used to be a rope swing there on theshore that they would swim to. They don't swim tothe rope swing now."

"It has spread like wildfire," Ohlgart said ofEurasian watermilfoil from the bow of his boat. "It'sruined the lake."

A closer look at the lake from Arb's boat providedmore perspective on the spread of Eurasianwatermilfoil in the lake. Along the shoreline, underdocks, dangling from boat propellers and floatingfreely in open water, mats of cut and raked Eurasianwatermilfoil fragments were abundant. Consideringalso the weed's ability to root and form new colonies

from just a single fragment, Arb and Ohlgart said anyefforts to rid their own lakefronts of Eurasianwatermilfoil is futile unless all the residents agree towork together.

Perusing the edges of the lake, Ohlgart and Arbpoint out a pontoon boat equipped with a hydrauliclift system attached to a raking grate on theunderside of the deck. They said one of the residentsthey hope to get on board with the Eurasianwatermilfoil mitigation effort uses the rig to pull upthe weed from shallow lakefront areas and push it outinto the deeper parts of the lake, eventually driftingalong the bottom or floating along the top to all partsof the lake until they take root or wash up on theshoreline.

They said they believe he is offering a service toproperty owners to clear their weeds, but it isultimately helping spread more Eurasian watermilfoilat new locations or properties that have beenharvested or treated with herbicides by a licensedapplicator.

Dick Pinagel, president of the Michigan AquaticManagers Association and owner of Aqua-WeedControl, said raking or pulling Eurasian watermilfoiland then dumping it back into the lake woulddefinitely contribute to the spread of the weedthroughout the lake.

Ohlgart said he acquired an herbicide applicator'slicense from the state in order to learn more aboutthe Eurasian watermilfoil problem. However, efforts tospeak to the person doing the raking in Squaw Lakehaven't been successful.

"He rammed into my paddle boat," Ohlgart claimed,recounting his story of trying to block the man'spontoon boat in a canal so that he would stop tospeak. "So, I jumped into the water in front of hisboat so he would have to talk."

Ohlgart said he wasn't able to convince the residentto stop dropping the trimmed Eurasian watermilfoilback into the lake after it's cut. Likewise, Ohlgart said

the man doing all thecutting insists he isn'tdoing anything illegalor anything that isn'tpermitted under thestate's environmentallaws because he isn'tadding or removinganything from thelake.

"The guy cutabout a week agoand there are stemsstill washing up," Arbsaid of the weeddebris. "All the beaches were clean a few weeks ago."

"It's like taking a dandelion and blowing iteverywhere," Ohlgart added.

Inspecting the shallow water in front of eachresident's shoreline, it was easy to tell where rakinghad been done. At some homes the thick, green bedsof Eurasian watermilfoil that ring most of the lakestop and start in relation to property lines; othershave mostly clear bottoms that are sprouting newweeds. With other vegetation, such as the celery grassthat's found in Squaw Lake, subsequently pulled outduring the raking process, new Eurasian watermilfoilreturns and crowds out the native aquatic plants.

"It's a very destructive process," Pinagel saidof clearing bottoms of weeds and leaving largeamounts of fragments behind. "Many times, itdoes more harm than the use of a selectiveherbicide that is made to go in."

According to the Michigan Department ofEnvironmental Quality's (DEQ) Water Bureau,

whichregulates

weed controlactions in

Michigan's publicwaters,

mechanicalharvesting of weeds

— such as cuttingplants above the lakebottom without soildisturbance — doesn'trequire a permit from thestate.

Likewise, insignificantremoval of vegetationdone by hand via pulling,raking or cutting, doesn'trequire a permit.

However, larger scaleremoval of plants may require a

permit from theDEQ's Land andWater ManagementDivision, accordingto the DEQ WaterBureau.

The DEQ'swebsite also statesthat the "disposal ofharvested materialwithin inland lakes,on Great Lakesbottomlands, or inwetlands isn'tallowed without

prior written approval" from the Land and WaterManagement Division.

Back at Arb's dock, Ohlgart reached into the waterand pulled up a handful of loose, floating Eurasianwatermilfoil. While Arb said he had his waterfrontproperty treated in June and July for the exotic weed,new roots spawned by fragments washing ashore hadalready been established by mid-September.

"I used to rake it up. When you get the roots out,you think that is going to help out, but…" he said,gesturing to the mats of Eurasian watermilfoil thatsurrounded the docks.

Pinagel, with Aqua-Weed Control, said while hewasn't familiar first-hand with the issues at SquawLake, individual property treatments probablywouldn't do much to control new Eurasianwatermilfoil from taking root if fragments areroutinely left in the lake water.

"If the whole lake was infected, we would approachthe DEQ and try to get a permit and treat the wholelake with a Sonar application … and take out all themilfoil for them," Pinagel said. "We do that all the time… those are the best ways to handle that kind ofproblem.

"Eurasian watermilfoil isn't much of a problem inmany of the lakes in Oakland County," he added. "InWhite Lake, for instance, it's been eradicated. Youwon't see any there."

Although Pinagel said herbicide treatments such asSonar have been successful in controlling Eurasianwatermilfoil, Ohlgart said Squaw Lake residents don'thave a lake improvement board or any centralorganization to work within as a group to apply forpermits and pay for whole-lake herbicide treatments,and that individual property owners go about weedcontrol on their own.

"Look at this," Ohlgart lamented while picking upmilfoil fragments from his own beach and adding to apile of weeds about the size of 5 pounds of cookedspaghetti he pulled from the shoreline the previousweek. "This was all clean." ❏


Article and photos by Kevin Elliott


Bad blood had already been brewing forabout a year between IndependenceTownship residents Darwin Moore and hisnext-door neighbor, Larry Osentoski, whena dispute about a dock took a long walkto Oakland County's 52-2 District Court.

"They wrote me a ticket," Moore said of theIndependence Township ordinance officer who citedhim for a civil infraction for installing a dock at hishouse on Whipple Lake without first obtaining theproper permits from the township.

Moore, who was first cited for the dock in April2011, was ordered in July by 52-2 District CourtJudge Kelley Kostin to remove the dock from thewater and keep it out until he acquired writtenapproval from Independence Township.

"I was putting a second dock in ... I have one docknext to our neighborhood outlot and only one side ofit is usable," Moore said. "I got along well with myformer neighbor, so we used his dock."

Moore, who said he believes his feud withOsentoski stems from a disagreement about a tree,acquired a second dock from a neighbor across thelake last summer.

He said he replaced the old wood, then installedthe dock at an angle across the waterfront. Becausethe bottomland directly in front of his propertycontains rocks and other buried debris, he said hehoped to use the second dock to give his fourchildren a better place to swim and his second boat agood location.

"The new guy moved in and wanted to cut downa tree on my property. Then he cut it when I wason vacation," Moore claimed, gesturing to a row oftrees he said he planted with his late father. "Iconfronted him. We haven't got along from the get-go."

Moore said township officials told him the citationstemmed from complaints they received from aneighbor.

Osentoski said he complained to the townshipabout the dock because his waterway and view of thelake is blocked when Moore docks his pontoon boatthere. While Moore has been ordered by the court toremove the dock, Osentoski said in a letter to Kostinthat his neighbor continues to dock the boat there byfastening the craft to dock pillars that were left in thewater after the dock deck was taken out.

Darwin Moore is battling aneighbor and the townshipover his Whipple Lake dock.


"These actions continue to perpetuate theunreasonable interference of my enjoyment of mylakefront property by causing the water to stagnatedue to restricted water flow to my shores," Osentoskiwrote in an Oct. 1 letter to Kostin. "This stagnationhas resulted in massive weed growth and murkywater in locations where there was good flow and fewweeds, resulting in my children not being able to fishthe lake from the shore."

Further, he said the dock pillars left in the watercreate a hazard,particularly oncecovered by snow andice.

IndependenceTownship BuildingDirector Dave Belchersaid the townshipmust now requireMoore to obtain apermit to install thedock because theissue is bound by thecourt order.

"The only way Ican see that gettingdone is by goingthrough the permitprocess in thewetlands andwatercourseordinance," Belchersaid. "The ordinanceregulates seasonaldocks anywhere onthe lake."

Moore claims thepermitting processcould cost himseveral thousanddollars, as it requireshim to pay for permitand application fees,as well as providing aretainer for a surveyof the area where the dock would be installed.

He also claims the township is attempting to stophim from installing the dock by claiming the seasonalstructure would impact wetlands. Further, he said theMichigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ),which regulates dock permits under state law, hasstated the department doesn't normally issue permitsfor seasonal docks.

"They won't give me anything in writing to put (thedock) back in," Moore said of the township.

Ultimately, Moore said he doesn't believe thetownship has been enforcing the ordinance fairly, andthat Independence Township shouldn't require apermit because it's not required by the DEQ.

"It's arbitrary and inconsistent," he said. "The statetold me it's their jurisdiction, but they don't go there(to issue permits)."

Andrew Hartz, the district supervisor of waterresources at the DEQ's office in Southfield, said whilethe department doesn't usually require permits for

seasonal docks, it'scompletely within amunicipality'sauthority to enactmore stringentregulations."If local

municipalities feelthere are issuesimportant to themregarding seasonaldocks, then theyshould put that downin an ordinance andenforce it," Hartzsaid.In general, he said

the departmentdoesn't get involvedin disputes betweenneighbors, except inrare cases when staffis subpoenaed by acourt to appear as awitness."It's not a resource

destruction issue,"Hartz said of Moore'sdock situation. "Theplacement of docksover a property lineis really a misuse, itisn't a resourcedestruction issue.Unless the dock was

abnormally long and caused a problem for navigationor something like that on the lake, it might be moreof a cause or concern."

Hartz informed Moore in an Aug. 14 letter from hisoffice that Moore wouldn't need a permit from theDEQ to install his dock. However, Hartz said thedepartment doesn't resolve local disputes.

"There are typically two property disputes betweenneighbors at every lake," Hartz said. "You can imaginethe number of calls we get." ❏

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Since 1978 6777 Highland Rd.White Lake, MI 48383

248-887-7855


800 S. Woodward Ave. • Birmingham, MI 48009

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“Homes of QualityAre

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151 FT. OF LOWER LONGLAKE FRONTAGE

Great location behind Kirk In The Hills Church.Walkout potential, nice elevation, the street has2-3 million dollar homes. Lower Long Lake is aterrific fishing lake and can also access ForestLake and Upper Long Lake by pontoon boat.$795,000

WELCOME HOMETO PRIVATE

ESTATE LIVINGBeautiful spring fed 470+ acre LakeAngelus is located just 18 minutesnorth of Birmingham. Designed by BillBaldner of Clifford Wright Architects,this one of a kind custom built 10,000sq. ft. home is on an 8 acre lake frontestate where horses are permitted.Spectacular views of private LakeAngelus from high ground with over250 ft. of lake frontage. First floormaster bedroom, family room open tokitchen, floor to ceiling windows,fieldstone fireplace, hardwood floors,3rd story cupola, 2 story 40’x10’ foyer,walk-out lower level with 40’x25’finished recreation room, and a 4 1/2car garage. Boat house with 2bedroom apartment above -- muchmore -- fabulous! $2,975,000LAK2025

ALL SPORTS - 189’ OF UPPER LONGLAKE FRONTAGE IN GATED HERON BAY

8000 sq. ft. of quality abounds. 1st floor master bedroom w/his & hers masterbaths. Open feel foyer, great room w/wet bar & beautiful family room & 11’ceilings. Library w/ solid cherry paneling & built in executive desk & shelves.Hardwood floor & back stairways, plant shutters, heated pool & heated 4 cargarage. Full house generator, kitchen & baths w/granite, family room with 16’wet bar with copper top, mirrored excercise room includes quality equipment.18’x14’ pool table room with great views. $1,695,000

LOWER LONGLAKE

FRONTAGE130 ft. of frontage on thismagnificent soft rusticcontemporary with elevatedwooded setting and southernexposure offeringspectacular lake views. Openflow for entertaining. Beautifulnewer $150,000 kitchen,master bedroom with largewalk-in closet jacuzzi,skylights, lots of westerncedar, stone and glass. Office15’x12’ with sliding door tocourtyard/could be 6thbedroom. $1,200,000LOC155


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2900 Union Lake Rd., Suite 210Commerce, MI 48382

248-366-7200Zillow - Preferred Agent

UNION LAKEFRONT PRICES - RISING - TIME TO BUY!•Great location, 75 ft. sandy shoreline, 200 deep-treed lot•Possible walkout site, seawall, Walled Lake Schools•Existing home, 2-3 bedrooms, 2 baths, basement

GORGEOUS LAKE VIEWS @$495,000#212088077 • EXT. #205

80 FT. OF SANDY SHORELINE ON ALL-SPORTS CASS LAKE!•2 separate buildable lots, newer 2 car detached garage•Existing 3 bedroom, 2 bath, great room, stone fireplace•Vaulted Florida room, family room, 1st floor laundry

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES @ $539,900#212084822 • EXT. #279

WEST BLOOMFIELD

WEST BLOOMFIELD

CHARMING HOME ON ALL-SPORTS UPPER STRAITS LAKE!•3 bedroom, 2 bath, walkout basement, jet tub bath•Great room with corner fireplace, kitchen with appliances•Huge party deck, lakeside deck & dock, 2 car garage

A MUST SEE @ $624,900#212100812 • EXT. #232

ORCHARD LAKE

GORGEOUS RANCH HOME ON ALL-SPORTS BRENDEL LAKE•1,488 sq. ft. & finished walkout, 3-4 bedroom, 2 bath•Great room/dining - hardwood flr, snackbar kitchen•2 fireplaces, deck, lakeside patio, dock, shed

MUST SEE @ $224,900#212084331 • EXT. #210

127 FT. OF BULLARD WATERFRONT - TREED .43 ACRE •Incredible views, 2,116 sq ft + walkout, 4 bed, 3.5 bath•Granite, hardwood, wet bar, part fin w/o + appliances•Circle drive, elevated/tiered decking, patio, 1st flr laundry

A RARE FIND @ $249,900#212091684 • EXT. #234

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WHITE LAKE TWP.

BEAUTIFULLY UPDATED HOME ON ALL-SPORTS DUCK LAKE•2,962 sq. ft., 4 bedroom, 2 bath, vaulted dining•Library, great room, stone fireplace, vaulted family room•Granite kitchen - ss appliances, 1st flr laundry, basement

PERFECT @ $349,900#212093248 • EXT. #246

HIGHLAND TWP.

LAKEFRONT RANCH HOME ON ALL-SPORTS LONG LAKE•3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, open floor plan, Florida room•Great room, new snackbar kitchen, new flooring•Covered deck, dock, seawall, 2 car garage

MUST SEE @ $299,900#212075900 • EXT. #241

ALL-SPORTS BRENDEL LAKEFRONT - 1.4 ACRE LOT•4,000+ sq ft, 5 bedroom, 3.2 bath, hardwood throughout•Living and family rooms, newer kitchen - appliances•Master suite, fireplace, sauna, 2 car + 1 car garage

GREAT VALUE @ $399,900#212103989 • EXT. #224

COMMERCE TWP.

GORGEOUS LAKE FRONT HOME ON WOLVERINE LAKE•2,514 sq ft + finished walkout, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath•Great room - fireplace, master - jet tub bath - deck •Deck, patios, dock, seawall, first floor laundry, 2 car

UNBELIEVABLE @ $499,900#212089282 • EXT. #255

WOLVERINE VILLAGE

The Stockton’s are the Lakes Area’s #1 Team!

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Lake Home Financing SpecialistLakefront Lending for over 10 years

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CLASSIC ENGLISH TUDOREnveloped by picturesque nature full of wildlife, all

on your own 10 acre mini estate! Hickory island kitchen,gleaming hardwood floors, bay windows, 2 story foyer,wrap around deck w/gazebo, large private pond and a40’x30’ heated pole barn armed with all of the tech.

necessities including geo thermal heating.10-HUM $399,900

HALLELUIAH! COUNTRY LIVING IN AN URBAN SETTINGEstate parcel w/pond frontage sets the stage for this

"model home" perfect treasure. Cherry cabinets,hardwood floors, granite tops, designer paints &

carpeting. Main level master, walkout lower & just astones throw to state of the art elementary and

conveniences galore make this a "10!" 67-CAN $299,000

BETTER KNOWN AS CLARKSTON'S "CASTLE"It's been said to cost $10,000,000 to build. Sited on a 4.5acre spread and with 476' frontage on Heather Lake. Oldworld charm t/o from complete stone & brick exterior to

leaded glass windows t/o and hand carved moldings, trim,railings and staircases. In-ground pool, 2nd garage w/guest

quarters. The creme de la creme! 44-NEW $1,490,000

Kenice Schooley Susan Tolstyka Darlene Darby Tracey Wertman Bob Newman Pam Ford MorganKaren & Jim Moreen

OWN YOUR OWN RESORT!Over 5,000 Sq. Ft. of captivating waterfront views.

This striking lakefront, complete with expansive decking, isideal for entertaining. Interior is the “Ritz” with special roomsfor every family member. Enviable kitchen/hearth, explosive

great room and a walkout finished to perfection.44-MAJ $659,000

$ $ Multi-Million Dollar Talent $ $

Emily Ford Ron Serafini

Darlene Goodwin Cheryl Karrick

ALL-SPORT LAKE

ALL-SPORT LAKE

PRIVATE POND

ALL-SPORT LAKE

INCREDIBLY BREATHTAKINGForested lakefront parcel. Site plan for (8) acreage

parcels on all-sports (235 acre) Lake Oakland. Oncein a lifetime opportunity! Build your dream home,

while seven other building sites serve as aninvestment. 00-OAK $650,000

CLARKSTON ALL SPORTS LAKEFRONT!Well maintained home on large double lot, homeincludes two sidewells. Don’t miss out on this

exceptional value. ”Be in by Christmas!” 1,362 sqft of Walter’s Lake Views. Three possible

bedrooms, third walkout closet and a huge loft area for guests.

49-LAK $154,900

ALL-SPORT LAKE

DESIRABLE LAKEFRONT WALK OUT Clarkston schools. 0.6 acre lot has tranquil views of

Foley Lake from the new rear deck. Remodeled kitchen& baths with granite and hardwood floors. Newer

carpet & paint throughout. Freshly painted exterior with2 car side entry garage. 2nd deck off master to enjoy

lakefront view with the wildlife. 42-COA $248,000


SPECIALIZING IN LUXURY LAKEFRONT & CUSTOM RESIDENTIAL HOMES

2405 LAKE ANGELUSROAD

Horses, horses, horses -6.25 acres - 4 bedrooms,2.5 baths, 3.5 baths,horse barn, pole barn,tack room, corrals,walkout lower level,3,200 sq. ft.

$999,900

2074 LAKEANGELUS SHORES

Fabulous 4 bedroomranch on “ShoresDrive”. First time onthe market. 3,000 sq. ft.,2.5 baths, sunsets, 6 carheated garage. Privatesetting.

$975,000

2378 LAKE ANGELUSLANE

Fabulous lake views. 4bedrooms, 4 baths,2,000 sq. ft. ranch with1,600 sq. ft. in finishedwalk out lower level.deck, paver patio, 2 cargarage, stone seawall.

$859,900

PRISTINE AND PRIVATE LAKE ANGELUSYOU’LL THINK YOU’RE IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN. Crystal clear, spring fed, 470+ acre private Lake Angelus.

Water Skiing and sailing. No jet skis. 15 minutes north of Birmingham/Royal Oak/Southfield. Call me for your personal tour.

LEE EMBREY248-283-8151E-MAIL: LEMBREY@ SKBK.COM

CHECK OUT LEE’S WEBSITE AT WWW.LEEEMBREY.COM OR WWW.LAKEANGELUS.COM

1160 LAKE ANGELUS SHORESUltimate Lakefront Estate - Newer construction,2.5 acres with 192 ft. Lake Frontage, 4 bedroom,4.2 baths, 5,000+ sq ft., boat house, 6 car heatedgarage with caretakers apartment - landscaping,gated entry, park like setting & landscaping.Every possible amenity and upgrade you canthink of. You will not be disappointed!

$2,799,900

850 LAKE ANGELUS SHORESFabulous South Shore Lake Angelus Home -Newer - 6 bedroom, 5 full and 2 half bath, 4,500sq. ft. above grade and an additional 2,650 sq. ft.in finished walkout lower level (with 13 ft.ceilings). First floor master suite, gourmetkitchen, open floor plan, stone fireplace, lowerlevel in-law quarters, 5 car heated garage, 1+acres, new permanent dock, fabulous deck acrossentire front of home to showcase the views.

$1,899,900

2260 PRIVATE DRIVE,LAKE ANGELUS

Fabulous South Shore ranch on a point with180 degree views. All updated in last 2 years,gourmet kitchen 6 mos. old, 5 bedroom, 4.3baths, 4+ car garage, 3.5 acres. Over 5,000 sq.ft. plus additional 2,500 sq. ft. in finished lowerlevel. Extremely private - hardwoods/granite/marble - too much to list.

$1,999,900

2445 LAKE ANGELUS ROAD - VACANT LAND2.38 acres - 106’ x 999’ - cash - land contract - $649.900

2478 LAKEANGELUS LANE

Very affordable LakeAngelus home withgreat views and ready tomove in for summer. 3-4bedrooms, 3.5 baths,3,672 sq. ft. above gradewith add’l 1,300 sq. ft.in finished walkoutlower level. 2.85 acres.

$699,000

415 S. OLD WOODWARDBIRMINGHAM, MI 48009

248-283-8151WWW.SKBK.COM


DENISE SIMMONS248.496.4847

[email protected]

16801 NEWBURGH RD. LIVONIA, MI 48154

Absolute Must see! Very Rare 5 Acre, Wooded Lake Front Estate With over 5900 square feet of living space on Private270 +/- Acre ALL sports lake. 250 Ft. lake frontage with breath-taking views. Nantucket-style home completelyremodeled exterior & interior in 2006-2007. 50 Foot Long Gourmet kitchen with 15 ft. granite island, double StainlessSteel Appliances. Huge master suite with fireplace & deluxe spa bath. Open floor plan. Oxbow Lake is one of the largerlakes in the “Lakes Area” and is 270 +/- acres and over 50 feet deep from end to end. This private lake has no off wateraccess or DNR boat ramps. Enjoy year-round activities, watch nature unfold, play on the 80 foot sandy beach. Thisproperty is pristine and a warm and welcoming family home. $775,000


560 N. Milford Rd.Milford

CYNDI ROBINSON23 Years of Successful Experience!

(248) 431-4571 cellwww.cyndirobinson.com

realestateone.com/crobinson

Thinking of Selling? Think Cyndi, Think Sold!LAKEFRONT AND ACREAGE SPECIALIST!

PUT YOUR HOME ON MY SOLD LIST

13 ACRE ESTATE IN MILFORD AREA!Exceptional all stone and cedar home with hundreds of feet of shoreline on private Downey Lake. Exotic woodsthroughout. Tigerwood floors, rosewood and walnut species used for custom cabinetry. Gallery style spaces and largeoutbuilding for workshop/storage. The house has a 60’ x 30’ hobby barn separate outbuilding with 14 ft. tall doors.A 2 car garage under the house and attached 3 car garage. $995,000 on 13 acres, and $1,145,000 on all 23 acres.MLS#211088932 (809H3)

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SPOTMain lake! 2,702 sq. ft. (approx.) Classic Cape Beach style withartistic landscape w/1,000 sq. ft. paver patio outdoor kitchen& firepit built-in gas grill. Sandy beach. Tile floors in kitchen,DR & GR. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths. C/A. Heated garage & radiantflrs. Room to park w/space by house/large driveway. Lakesidemaster w/jet tub & sep shower. Built-in wall of shelves/plantledges. 2-story. $464,900 MLS#212086175 (3252L)

STRIKING PROUD LAKE 1.5 STORYTucked into the hillside! A rare find! 3,112 sq. ft., 3 bedroom, 3 bath treasure onall-sports lake, leads to Huron River. Amid 4,700 acres of Proud Lake! Carriagestyle garage, perennials galore. 2 level deck. Seawall. Endless views.Hickory/granite kitchen, SS appliances. Desk nook. All paved roads. Main bodyof lake. Walled Lake Schools. $359,900 MLS#212080718 (3313G3)

HIGHLAND VALLEYOne of the nicest lots in the sub! Backs to private KylePark and Downey Lake. Enjoy wooded and lake views.Canoes and kayaks allowed. Home features 4 bedrooms,2.5 baths, an island kitchen with granite counters.Hardwood floors in entry, dining, kitchen and den!Unfinished walkout is bright with lake picture window.Beautiful decking! $314,900 MLS#212022371 (788J3)

BUILD SITE ON ALL-SPORTS 540 ACRE WHITE LAKE Not many lots on this size lake available without tearinga home down! A true walkout! All paved streets and in asub of mostly improved homes! New well to be in and anew septic for a 3 bed home. County approved-installedon the property! Seller did tear down & haul away. Stopdreaming & start building! Sandy beach. Views of wildlife& main lake. $142,900 MLS#212078005 (3908H3)

WALKOUT SITE

PROUD LAKE

LAKE ACREAGE

WHITE LAKE

LAKEFRONT

DOWNEY LAKE

DISCOVER MALLARDS LANDING IN HIGHLANDStunning home on 1 acre manicured lot. Over 200 feet ofshoreline. All brick, skillfully and artfully constructed, oneof the best values in Michigan! Quality radiates.Travertine floors, granite counters, 5 bedrooms, 3 areensuites, 5.5 baths. Finished walkout. 7,000 sq. ft. totalof fine living! 4 plus garage. A must see property!$546,000 MLS#212103268 (4534T3)

LAKEFRONT

LAKE LOT ON 2 LAKES!Now is the time to build! Affordable interest rates,builders are anxious for work! Located in MallardsLanding on Cul-de-sac. Fronts 2 lakes that connect!Beautiful homes in area. Almost one acre build site!Walkout possible. Past perk on file. EZ build restrictions.$69,900 MLS#212097696 (MAL3)

LAKE LOT

20 Years Solid Successful Experience in the Milford, Highland, Commerce, White Lake & Lakes Area.

2012 SOLDS & PENDING SALES!PUT YOUR HOME ON MY SOLD LIST!

1651 Kingsway, Highland3496 Harvey Lake Rd., Highland

4667 Windswept, Milford3433 Gadd Ct., Highland

8106 Heron Hills, Walled Lake790 Friar, Milford

2900 Hidden Pine, Milford

2833 Windwood Ct., Commerce3252 Lakeview, Highland1784 Lockwood, Highland214 Ravineside, Milford3045 St. Jude, Waterford

2974 Cloverdale, Highland1710 Imperial, Highland

2900 Pallister, Highland2845 Cherry Rd, Highland

10460 Davison Rd., Davison3066 White Oak Beach, Highland

10716 Oxbow Lakeshore, White Lake5670 Berkley, Waterford


Direct: 248.736.3000 ~ [email protected] ~ Email: [email protected]

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Deer Lake• 4 Bedroom Suites - 5.1 Baths• 52,000 Gal. Salt Water Pool• 7 Fireplaces - Cabana Guest Suite• 8,659 Sq. Ft. - 3 Car Heated Garage• Western Exposure - Clarkston Schools• $1,975,000

Lake Oakland• 5 Bedroom - 4.1 Baths• 2 Master Suites - Finished Lower Level• 187 ft Frontage - 1.64 Acres• 6 Car Heated Garage• 5,882 Total Sq. Ft.• $1,599,000

Middle Straits Lake• 6 Bedroom - 4.5 Baths• 2 Master Suites - 2 Kitchens• 129 ft Front-South Exposure• 3,729 Sq. Ft. - 2,448 Sq. Ft. Lower Level W/O• 2 Story Great Room - Walled Lake Schools• $997,000

Lower Straits Privileges• 3 Bedroom - 2.1 Baths• 2 Story Great Room• First Floor Master bedroom• 3 Car Attached Garage• SOLD IN 7 DAYS FOR FULL PRICE

Maceday-Lotus Lake• 4 Bedroom - 3.1 Baths• 2 Story Great Room - Western Exposure• 1 Acre Rolling, Hilly Wooded Lot• Multiple, tiered decking• Finished Walk-out

SOLDSOLD

SOLD

PENDING

Watkins Lake• 3 Bedroom - 2.1 Baths• Field Stone Fireplace• Hardwood Floors - 2 Car Garage• Open Floor Plan• Stunning Sunset Views• SOLD IN 7 DAYS

Walters Lake• 4 Bedroom - 2 Baths• 2-2 Bed/1 Bath Guest Apartments• Authentic Log Home Built in 1930• 2 Story Fieldstone Fireplace & Great Room• 6,000 approx Sq. Ft - Clarkston Schools• $449,000

Commerce Lake• Unique Lakefront Vacant Lot• West Exposure - Private Dead-end• 161 Ft. Sandy Shoreline• 262 Acre All-Sports Lake• Walled Lake Schools• $160,000

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SPECTACULAR LOWER STRAITS LAKEFRONT$1,350,000

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CASS LAKE$399,000

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WALNUT LAKE$1,999,000

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ORCHARD LAKE$749,000

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ORCHARD LAKE$1,290,000

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PINE LAKE$4,500,000

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UPPER LONG LAKE$999,000

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ORCHARD LAKE$2,190,000

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CASS LAKE$1,290,000

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LOWER STRAITS LAKE$1,290,000

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(248) 681-8500(248) 553-5050


Prospecting for waterfront listings? Hoping to move that speciallakefront home to someone already living on water?

Then make sure you cast in the right place — OaklandLakefront magazine, reaching over 17,000 lake homeownersin Oakland County seven times this year by direct mail.

It’s your best bet for putting yourself in the top tier when itcomes to listing waterfront property — by making yourself afamiliar figure to those who will be selling and/or buying.

If you want to hear more about how inexpensively you canreach this important real estate prospect market call your adrepresentative.

Guide to Lake-Related Sites on the World Wide Web

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHYAerial Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.aerialgraphics.comBEACH RESTORATIONTT&C Beaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ttcbeaches.comBOAT COVERSBev’s Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.bevscanvascovers.comBOATS/NEW & USEDLake Ponemah Marina . . . .www.lakeponemahmarina.comBOAT REPAIRS/FURNITUREAmerican Soft Trim . . . . . . . . .www.americansofttrim.comBOAT SERVICESToms Pontoon Service . . . .www.tomspontoonservice.comBOATING SUPPLIESBoating Supply Center . . . . . . . . . .www.boatsupplies.comDOCKS & LIFTSAmerican Marine . . . . . . . . . .www.americanmarinesc.comLAKE MANAGEMENT SERVICESAqua Weed Control, Inc. . . . . . . . . . .www.aquaweed.com

Go direct or reach these lake-related websites atwww.oaklandlakefront.com

Ask about promotion opportunities on our websitewww.oaklandlakefront.com by phoning 248.360.6397

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Following are the waterway level readings for lakes and rivers across Oakland County, as compiled by personnel in Oakland County Water ResourcesCommissioner John P. McCulloch’s office. Legal levels are denoted by elevation in feet from sea level. Current (one month prior to press time) levels are denotedboth in elevation from sea level and as plus or minus the legal level in hundredths feet. Prior year elevation from sea level is provided as a comparison. Riverdepths are measured from the river bottom, at the point of measurement.

Angelus 950.00 949.54 –.46 950.20

Bevins 910.40 910.31 –.09 910.72

Big 1017.30 1016.65 –.65 1017.36 Winter Lvl: 1016.70

Bunny Run 965.95 965.91 –.04 966.15 Winter Lvl: 965.45

Bush Lake 913.60 913.04 –.56 913.70

Cass 927.87 929.20 1.33 929.20 Summer Lvl: 929.22

Cedar Island 934.00 934.37 +.37 934.30

Cemetery-Dollar 968.50 968.12 –.38 968.35 2)

Clinton River 2.10 2.20 +.10 2.68

Commerce 906.80 906.97 +.17 907.30

Crystal 917.50 917.55 +.05 917.97 7) Winter Lvl: 917.00

Dawson Mill Pond 928.60 928.71 +.11 928.45 6) Winter Lvl: 927.25

Duck 1016.63 1016.57 –.06 1016.74

Fox 930.00 930.02 +.02 930.40

Huron River 1.08 1.00 –.08 1.66 5)

Indianwood 992.12 992.74 +.62 992.83 Summer Lvl: 992.62

Lakeville 952.30 952.30 Legal 952.28

Long (Commerce Twp.) 933.00 933.21 +.21 933.28

Loon 949.30 949.59 +.29 949.58 2), 3)

Louise-Huff 962.27 962.31 +.04 962.28 8)

Middle & Lower Straits 930.70 929.84 –.86 930.70

Mohawk 949.30 949.49 +.19 949.75 2), 3)

Oakland-Woodhull 957.50 957.65 +.15 957.52

Orchard 930.20 930.03 –.17 930.63 Summer Lvl: 930.50

Oxbow 942.75 942.77 +.02 942.73

Oxford-Multi 1017.80 1017.95 +.15 1017.96 1)

Pontiac 962.83 962.30 –.53 963.40

Schoolhouse 949.30 949.49 +.19 949.62 2), 3)

Scott 951.00 949.16 –1.84 949.78

Sylvan-Otter 928.60 928.71 +.11 928.70 6) Winter Lvl: 927.25

Tipsico 1015.39 1,014.46 –.93 1015.30

Union 927.07 927.12 +.05 927.30

Upper Straits 930.80 929.99 –.81 931.14

Van Norman 966.70 966.73 +.03 966.80 2), 4)

Walled & Shawood 932.80 931.63 –1.17 933.21 Winter Lvl: 932.10

Watkins 950.00 949.94 –.06 950.00

Waumegah 1049.90 1049.42 –.48 1049.60

White 1019.10 1018.60 –.50 1019.07

Williams 965.42 965.06 –.36 965.38 2)

LAKELEGALLEVEL 10.5.12 + OR -

PRIORYEAR NOTES & REMARKS

NOTES:1) Oxford-Multi includes: Cedar, Clear, Long, Squaw, Mickelson & Tan Lakes.2) Waterford-Multi (WML) includes: Cemetery (Middle), Dollar, Greens, Maceday, Lotus, Lester, Van Norman,

Williams, Mohawk, Wormer, Schoolhouse, Silver, Upper Silver and Loon Lakes.3) The Loon Lake control structure also controls Mohawk, Wormer, Schoolhouse, Silver and Upper Silver Lakes.4) The Van Norman control structure also controls Greens, Maceday, Lotus and Lester Lakes.5) Lake Angelus, Huron River and Clinton River levels not under the jurisdiction of this office.6) The Dawson Mill Pond and Sylvan-Otter Lakes are controlled by the Price Dam.7) Crystal Lake is controlled by the Walter Moore Dam.8) Lake Louise and Huff Lake are controlled by the Ruth Johnson Dam.

waterway levels

WEEKLYLake LevelUpdates @

oaklandlakefront.com

WEEKLYLake LevelUpdates @

oaklandlakefront.com


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