Mona Lake Watershed Council

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Mona Lake Watershed Council

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Mona Lake Watershed Council is dedicated to protecting our lakes, streams, wetlands, and groundwater.

10/28/2026

Our Mission & Approach
Our mission is to restore, protect, and maintain the Mona Lake Watershed as a viable natural resource for future generations and to inspire greater awareness, behavior, and knowledge through the use of science and education.

10/27/2026

During the Spring of each year in 2021-2023, the Mona Lake Watershed Council funded three alum treatments totaling $276,000 to 150-acres of East Mona Lake to address problematic lake-bottom sediment phosphorus release. This area was identified as the primary impediment to water quality causing cyanobacteria ("blue-green algal") blooms during the recreation season. MLWC also completed water quality monitoring before, during, and after the alum applications monitoring the results.

🎣Now in 2026, we continue In-lake water quality monitoring costing $15,000 which enables MLWC to determine Alum performance and benefits…as we know over time may begin to subside in future year. From this monitoring, a technical report of findings is analyzed to assess the efficacy of the Alum treatments in relation to the goal of mitigating those harmful blooms through reduction of sediment phosphorus release.
2026 Data continues to show Alum is wildly successful controlling >95% of historic phosphorus releases resulting in far fewer and much less severe harmful (toxic) algal blooms. Consistent and successful control of sediment release has now been observed for three years since the 2023 alum application. Prior to treatments, soluble phosphorus levels in July and August would spike to over 400 parts per billion in bottom waters of the lake. With strong southwesterly winds off of Lake Michigan, these bottom waters would then fully mixed with warm surface waters from sunlight, and high phosphorus levels would spike causing frequent blooms in the upper, wide portions of the lake and be carried downstream to Lake Michigan.
Since these alum treatments, phosphorus levels in bottom waters continue to remain below 10 parts per billion as water clarity has improved greatly, proving that the 2021-2023 treatments continue having a long-lasting impact.

MLWC continues yearly water quality monitoring of lake-bottom sediment phosphorus releases, as well as continued efforts to limit upstream sources of phosphorus loading from tributaries, which will remain a MLWC priority to ensure water quality improvements are sustained.

10/14/2026

Make a donation to support the Mona Lake Watershed today!

https://monalakewatershed.org/donations/

09/29/2026

About the Watershed

The Mona Lake Watershed spans over 45,500 acres and covers 2,400 acres of lake and pond area. The majority of the Watershed lies within Muskegon County, with the exception of a small section of the northeast corner located in Newaygo County. It contains almost 23 miles of natural streams and creeks, with almost 40 miles of maintained drains. In the watershed, 23,600 acres is undeveloped consisting of forest, open fields, wetland, water, or dunes (roughly 52% of the watershed), 7,500 acres are used for agricultural development, and 14,500 acres are used for residential, commercial, and industrial use.

09/16/2026

DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT MONA LAKE:

Overview and Geography

Size: Covers about 655 acres with a sandy bottom and depths reaching over 40 feet in its central basin.

Connection: Flows directly into Lake Michigan through the Mona Lake recreational channel.

Tributaries: Fed mainly by Black Creek, Little Black Creek, Cress Creek, and Celery Pond

08/31/2026

First full day of school for Mona Shores! We hope you have a wonderful 2026-2027 school year.

08/05/2026

For those who have lived on Mona Lake for years, have you noticed a difference in the water quality? 🎣

07/22/2026

Mona Lake Watershed
The Mona Lake Watershed spans over 45,500 acres and covers 2,400 acres of lake and pond area. The majority of the Watershed lies within Muskegon County, with the exception of a small section of the northeast corner located in Newaygo County. It contains almost 23 miles of natural streams and creeks, with almost 40 miles of maintained drains. In the watershed, 23,600 acres is undeveloped consisting of forest, open fields, wetland, water, or dunes (roughly 52% of the watershed), 7,500 acres are used for agricultural development, and 14,500 acres are used for residential, commercial, and industrial use.

07/03/2026

What are your holiday weekend plans? Mona Lake is looking beautiful!

Address

PO Box 4072
Muskegon, MI
49444

Telephone

+12317407521

Website

http://www.monalakewatershed.org/

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