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Residents urge council to fund Lake Watery algae cleanup as property values and recreation suffer
Summary
A Taylors Creek resident told Fairfield County Council that algae overgrowth in Lake Watery is harming property values and recreational use and asked the council to approve funding requests from the Lake Watery Association when they come forward.
A resident of the Taylors Creek area of Lake Watery told Fairfield County Council during public comment that dense algal growth is damaging recreational use and home values on Lake Watery and asked the council to take the Lake Watery Association’s forthcoming funding request seriously.
Pamela Woodland, identifying herself as representing Taylors Creek in District 2, said she and neighbors removed algae from the lake and documented heavy blooms that she said are concentrated in Taylors Creek near the launch and are “very smelly.” Woodland said the algae interferes with dog-walking and swimming and cited Zillow listings to argue that asking prices — including a cited $800,000 listing — are unrealistic given the current condition of the shoreline and water. She asked the council to consider funding when the Lake Watery Association appears before the council with a budget request.
Woodland said event counts and visitation matter to the local economy but emphasized the negative effect algae has on property owners' quality of life and the marketability of lakeside homes. The council did not take action at the meeting; staff and council members acknowledged the concern and the resident's request that they review any formal funding request from the Lake Watery Association.
