Come HABs or high water: Local government roles in protecting water quality, property, and place

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Local government has significant roles in protecting the water quality of inland lakes. Water quality is tied directly to property values and both contribute to quality of life and sense of place. The challenge is knowing the right tools to use – from planning, to regulatory approaches, to educational and enforcement campaigns – based on the characteristics of the lake, the surrounding landscape, and development. This session will present various lake and landscape assessment approaches through the lenses of limnology and physical geography that will inform the next steps in local government inland lakes regulation. Whether to implement larger setbacks, minimum lot sizes, natural shoreline buffers or not will depend on the results of the assessment. Some regulatory tools might not be options depending on the shoreline characteristics, and in the presence of high water, what other concepts need to be considered such as floodplain regulation or hazard mitigation? Session participants will gain perspectives on planning approaches related to inland lakes, the variety of tools available to address concerns related to water quality and high water, and the varying roles of who can do what, where, and when with respect to inland lakes related regulation.

Presented by Brad Neumann, Mary Reilly, and Erick Elgin, Michigan State University Extension during the 2020 Michigan Inland Lakes Convention

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Come HABs or high water: Local government roles in protecting water quality, property, and place

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