This is a place to ask questions and share with your Duck Lake neighbors. Please keep the discussion cordial.
Duck Lake
Property Owners Association | Highland, MI
This is a place to ask questions and share with your Duck Lake neighbors. Please keep the discussion cordial.
Duck Lake 
June 9, 2021 at 1:55 pm
Hello,
We on the White Lake road area had seen that they were starting the enzymes around the 1st of June. Just a quick question. Can someone please let us know when, and to whom they will be dropping the enzymes off to. We will take care of spreading them. Appreciate your help.
June 9, 2021 at 4:35 pm
June 1st has already came and went.
June 9, 2021 at 6:24 pm
And your point is anonymous person????
June 9, 2021 at 10:15 pm
EverBlue Lakes has been on site this week doing line-cut repairs. The bio/enzyme treatment was delayed a week due to some chemical weed treatments by Aqua-Weed. You’ll see red pools (and some yellow ones dedicated to our lake too!) show up next week. Someone will reach out to the White Lake Rd. posse to discuss the logistics your way.
June 9, 2021 at 11:00 pm
Thank you very much for the update.
June 7, 2021 at 7:42 pm
The bubbler is bubbling. Thanx!
June 4, 2021 at 8:45 am
It has been nearly two weeks since the water line was cut by the narrows. When will this be fixed?
June 2, 2021 at 6:37 pm
Well here I go again. Cindy and I don’t have grandkids. But if we did, the animal zoo would be the most important time on our lake with them. It was good before, but it is great and greater ever. Our thanks to those who take the time and risk their safety to make the “little ones” laugh and giggle when they take the tour of the Zoo.
Hank d
June 2, 2021 at 6:55 pm
Hear Hear!
June 3, 2021 at 10:54 am
I just want to give credit where credit is due. The man behind the Duck Lake Zoo, is Jeff Jolokai. There are others involved, Bruce and Alex, but I know first hand how much dedication my dad puts into the Zoo. He’s constantly thinking of new ways to make it better. It makes it even more unique because a lot of the Zoo Animals were made by my grandpa.
Reading this makes me so happy. I love that little kids are enjoying it and even adults get excited about it. It definitely brings something special to Duck Lake that other lakes don’t have.
Thank you for taking the time to write this and being appreciative of the hard work and him risking his safety.
June 3, 2021 at 10:57 am
My grandkids absolutely love the zoo. Thank you to all who make the zoo happen. We so appreciate all you do.
June 4, 2021 at 8:17 am
We completely agree , Jeff puts in hours of work keeping the zoo looking good. I’ve offered to help in any way, we do put in and take out and maintain our 4 characters each season. Thanks again to Jeff and family.
June 1, 2021 at 9:40 pm
Thank you Matthew Robert for sending aqua weed out to spray by our docks .now we just need more rain
June 1, 2021 at 9:16 am
When do they start bio augmentation?
June 1, 2021 at 9:58 am
They are due out next week, and then will be spot treating on a regular basis for the remainder of the summer. FYI
May 30, 2021 at 8:43 am
there is still a line cut in the narrows.
May 28, 2021 at 7:25 am
Does anyone know if the fireworks are still a go with the inclement weather for the weekend?
Bruce & Barbara
May 24, 2021 at 9:30 pm
I am asking for some one to check out the weeds in front of our dock. Had problems wit the jet ski intake filling up with weeds. Please do some weed control.1581 Ludean
May 24, 2021 at 10:19 am
Here is some info on the water level in an attempt to educate and help with any confusion…
1. Duck Lake is a “basin lake.” That means the main source of the water in the lake is rain and runoff. There are no rivers flowing in or out of the lake.
2. The lake has an augmentation well located on Harvey Lake road. The well, well pump, and surrounding area are maintained by the Oakland County Water Resources Commission. They decide when to turn on the pump based on water level and reporting from residents. This well is up and running now. There was a problem with the well pump this spring, but that has been resolved. The size of the well pump is designed only to maintain the water level, not raise the level of the lake.
3. The lake has a drain located at the south end of the lake by the South Bay Shores sub. This drain contains boards that allow for spillover when necessary. Each winter, boards are removed to drain the lake down to winter level. In the spring, boards are added back to allow the rain to fill the lake back up to summer level. The boards are in place for summer level as of a couple months ago. In fact, the boards are set to 2″ higher each spring than the level level in order to hold in more water for the hot summers.
4. The legal level was set by a judge back in the 1950s. It contains a winter level and a summer level to allow for different activities based on the season, to protect seawalls from ice, and to allow residents to help clean out the lake.
FAQ:
Why is the lake so low? Basically it is due to lack of spring rains and a drought last summer. Usually we get spring rain that fills the lake back up to summer level. That has not happened this year. We are well below average for rainfall and summer is coming up soon.
Who’s fault is it? Really, no one’s. Again the boards were placed in the early spring to allow for the rain fill-up that did not come. Sure, the county could have tested/repaired the pump sooner, but again it is not designed to fill the lake, only maintain. Maybe it would have helped to start it earlier, but no one is for certain. They were short staffed this year due to covid like a lot of other businesses and got a late start.
Who can I sue? Well, not sure on this one. Also not sure what good it will do. I suppose you could sue the county, but they will just blame it on the lack of rain.
How can we get the level adjusted? You would have to petition the county and the courts to change the levels. You would most likely need a yes from every riparian on the lake because a higher level may flood some people’s property.
What about a second well? We have begun the long process of this solution. There will be a lot of hurdles to overcome. Where will it go? Who will sell us the land on which to place it? Is there water down under the ground that we can remove and that will not effect the surrounding drinking water? Will the state of Michigan even let us build a second well? We are hoping to find the answers to these questions in the coming months but it will be a long process.
What can I do to help? You can come to the meetings. You can volunteer your time when needed to collect signatures if necessary for a new well. You can stop calling each other names on message boards. You can realize that every home owner is having the same trouble. You can hope it rains soon and a lot.
May 24, 2021 at 10:40 am
That was very informative. Thank you Matt Robert!!
May 24, 2021 at 11:57 am
Excellent summary Matthew, thank-you! Can you post this on the Duck Lake Friends site to help spread the word and eliminate a lot of confusion? Lastly, should we stop watering our lawns from out of the lake for a while or does this not have an impact on the lake level?
May 24, 2021 at 12:10 pm
There are varying opinions on irrigation. Some think it doesn’t make much difference, but others do. Ole had broken down the numbers and found that if everyone ran their sprinklers every day, then we would lose a half inch of water. We really can’t tell people not to water, but maybe everyone could cut down a little. I guess bottom line in my opinion is to just water your lawns sparingly. You generally only need one inch per week according to MSU, and for most systems that’s about 20 minutes per zone 3 times per week, depending on your system and amount of heads, etc. In my opinion again, some people water way more than necessary. You can see how long it takes a zone to get 1/3 of an inch of water by placing a cup in each zone (1 inch total for the three times in the week). You may find that you don’t need to water as much and can save yourself the electricity, and help with the lake at the same time.
May 24, 2021 at 12:28 pm
Thanks Matt for this detailed information. I had been told Duck Lake was spring fed so now I know. It is a frustrating situation for sure. We are dealing not only with the super low water level, but also extremely high muck so our area is a disaster. Threatening lawsuits or name calling really doesn’t solve anything. We all need to pray for heavy rain, hopefully at night on weekdays!
May 24, 2021 at 12:42 pm
Technically the springs are part of the same water table pushing up from the ground sources. When it rains, the water not only fills the lake, but as it penetrates the surrounding soil and makes its way to the ground water, the new pressure pushes that ground water back up and sometimes through the bottom of the lake. At least, that’s my understanding.
The muck is frustrating for sure. the “perfect storm” last summer and this spring has happened. Low water levels and a lot more boat traffic because everyone is/was home all the time. This upsets the bottom layers and releases more and more muck that had settled over the past years. The only good news is that just like turning over a compost pile, the more muck that gets loosened up, the faster it will get broken down by the bio-augmentation.
May 30, 2021 at 10:35 am
Heck, if mother nature will give it to us, I will take it 4 o’clock in the afternoon on Sundays!!!++
May 30, 2021 at 10:37 am
Above was me.
May 30, 2021 at 7:17 pm
This is, in my humble opinion, the most correct comment on our lake level problem. I like, so many. are having water level issues. But I think that we should not miss the fact that we all have a great team of VOLUNTIERS that continue to work to solve the water level issue. I am confident that what can be done today and in the future, they will implement. I say, thank you for not tossing up yours hands and walking away. I hear little praise for their work. It is easy to complain but little about others that want to help with solving our mutual problem. Hank d