LOPA offers its membership and the community at large many different ways to contribute to the preservation of Onota Lake beyond monetary donations by volunteering a few or sometimes many hours of individual time and effort.  The following is not an exhaustive list, but rather highlights some of the major LOPA volunteer activities:

Water Quality Monitoring

Five or six times per season, LOPA takes in-lake water samples and data measurements to obtain values for temperature, acidity, water clarity, total phosphorus, and dissolved oxygen.  This data is gathered at two different sites on the lake at the deep holes in the north and south basins.  Each session takes two people two to four hours.  Additionally, one (or sometimes two) people take similar water quality samples and data at the lake’s four main tributaries and at the outlet stream below the dam.

Macrophyte (weed) Monitoring

Annually, LOPA conducts a detailed assessment of the lake’s macrophyte community by surveying many sites around the lake to determine plant species, coverage and density.  This job requires a little easily acquired on-the-job training and is normally accomplished by two or three teams of two or three people with each team spending approximately three hours on the water.

Water Chestnut Hand-pulling

For the past several years, LOPA volunteers have been hand-pulling the invasive weed Water Chestnut (trapa natans) from the area north of Dan Casey Causeway in an important attempt to keep it from getting into the lake proper.  This activity usually involves multiple teams of two persons each in small boats/canoes/kayaks pulling and bagging the weeds.  It normally takes two to three hours on a weekend morning in early August with a clean up in September if necessary.

How can I help?

If you would like to be a LOPA Volunteer, great! Enter your information and area of interest, and we’ll get back to you via email.