Resident Area

LAKE REMEDIATION JUNE UPDATE 

 The remediation of both Belville and Berkshire Lakes continues at a swift pace. Seabreeze is currently installing the littoral plantings on both lakes and will most likely finish with those plants as well as the replanting of Horseshoe Lake by the end of this month. The Lakes Committee has presented the Board with an option to begin the remediation of Lambton Lake this fall.

Aeration began on Henley Lake today as crews installed the double diffusers which will circulate needed oxygen to the water in an effort to rid the lake of its phytoplankton overload. The next step is the installation of littoral plantings to soak up excess nutrients which allow the phytoplankton to propagate and stain the water that unpleasant yellow. The Lakes Committee is looking for homeowners who would like littoral plantings installed on their shoreline. The plants will not grow tall enough to block a view of the lake and will aid our efforts to improve the water quality of Henley Lake. Please give the office a call if you wish to help. Lakeshore owners are also asked to consider using no fertilizer, herbicides or insecticides in their backyards. All these chemicals wash into our lake with each rain.

Horseshoe and Belville Lakes have been visited with an extra dose of algae recently, due to a combination of factors. All our lakes are connected and empty eventually into Belville where the weir that funnels overflow into the Golden Gate Canal is located. This means that the pollutants which our lakes are designed to filter out can become concentrated at the end of their journey through these drainage ponds. Couple this with the “First Flush” and you get algae. Several weeks ago we received seven or eight inches of rain. This deluge washed an accumulation of fertilizer and other chemicals from our formerly dry yards and surfaces into the lakes. These pollutants feed the growth of Southern Naiad and other good and bad algae which mar the appearance of the water. Members of the Lakes Committee met today with Advanced Aquatics to discuss appropriate treatments which will begin immediately. Although the algae will dissipate naturally as the rains and wind progress, there are healthy alternatives which may be implemented to improve appearance. Horseshoe Lake, which receives trash filled drainage water from Berkshire Commons, will also be treated.

The invasive Apple Island Snail is beginning to lay eggs again on our shorelines. These exotic snails destroy beneficial plants and displace native species. Anyone who would like to join the effort to remove these unwelcome guests from our lakes, please call the office. We have formed a group who call themselves the Snail Slayers to patrol our lakes, destroy apple snail eggs and pick up trash in the process. Fun fact: The limpkins, nocturnal birds with an ear-piercing cry, located here several years ago when the exotic snails arrived. Removing their food source might ultimately improve one’s sleep. Perhaps this will be inspiration enough to encourage volunteers.

Sincerely,

Your Lakes Committee

BERKSHIRE LAKES NEEDS VOLUNTEERS!

Communities thrive on active participation of its members and our community needs help with some very important functions.

• COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE - This committee is charged with monitoring the neighborhood for Covenant violations and reports them to the BLMA office where letters are administered to homeowners.
• FINES COMMITTEE - This committee takes BOD recommendations to fine, and reviews the violation, listens to the homeowners response if any, and makes a decision to fine or not.
• SNAIL EGG COLLECTION - Pretty self explanatory, these little guys need to vacate our lake edges! Please if you can help collect some call or email the BLMA office for more info.

Berkshire Commons - NO OVERNIGHT PARKING ALLOWED!

The Property Manager for Berkshire Commons (where Publix, Walgreens, Starbucks, etc. is across from Berkshire Lakes) has advised us they are now ticketing overnight parkers in their lots. They ask that we and our residents NOT direct people to park their pickup trucks, or other vehicles there overnight as they will be ticketed. Thanks!

BERKSHIRE LAKES PRESERVES -  Berkshire Lakes has several areas which, for the most part, have been left in their natural state. These Common Areas include two parcels on either side of Lambton Lane near Vancouver; a long stretch on Belville next to the wall separating it from I-75 and another area behind Newcastle.  Of course, in a climate such as ours, the possibility of invasive plants is always an issue. During the dry season our landscapers, Green Acres, endeavor to remove the exotics and non-native plants and trim the palmettos to reduce fire hazards. As the Green Acres crew cleans out one area, they move to the next to remove and reduce the presence of unwanted species. If you are interested in learning about the effects of invasive plants, check out plants.ifas.ufl.edu.