Pope County has over 20+ years of monitoring data on various lakes that have been monitored by citizens. This information was gathered by the Pope County Coalition of Lakes Association and in partnership with Pope County Land and Resource Management Office. Currently Pope County Land and Resource Management office coordinates the monitoring efforts under this program and it is funded through the Local Water Management planning funding. Pope Soil and Water Conservation District administers the Local Water Management Planning activities. These reports on each lake help inform program and project implementation in the county. There are 20+ lakes that have been monitored through the years.
Pope SWCD also completed two lake shed reports for Lake Emily and Lake Minnewaska both are high recreation lakes in the county. There are currently projects and programs available to landowners in these subwatersheds targeted at improving water quality in these lakes.
The final report is a summary report to help Pope SWCD and its partners to prioritize work on those lakes that are most at risk. This information will be utilized with the implementation of the Local Water Management plan.