Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
A 10-acre site adjacent to the Wright State University’s Lake Campus in Mercer County will be sold to the Grand Lake St. Marys Lake Facilities Authority to become the future home of a wetland and improve the lake’s water quality.
Algae blooms in Grand Lake St. Marys have altered the quality of the water in the lake, ultimately impacting tourism in the region. About 10 years ago, Grand Lake St. Marys was one of the most polluted lakes in the country based on the algae overgrowth, Wright State said.
The high algae levels are caused by an overabundance of nutrients, mostly from farming runoff, according to Wright State, but having wetlands around the lake can filter out many of the nutrients before they reach the lake.
Ohio’s wetlands have declined by 90% in the last two centuries, and the state is now trying to bring back some of those wetlands to protect the many rivers and lakes in the state.
The 10-acre plot was sold for $520,000, and Wright State contributed $130,000 to the project, leaving the university with $390,000 in net proceeds.
Stephen Jacquemin, a professor of biology at the Lake Campus, has been conducting water quality testing with his students at Grand Lake St. Marys and surrounding wetlands for almost a decade.
