Water Quality & Invasive Aquatic Vegetation

Big Star Lake Association has partnered with Restorative Lake Sciences to perform water quality and aquatic vegetation monitoring/testing, analysis and reporting. Water quality testing consists of:

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

Water Clarity (Transparency)

Phosphorus

Nitrogen

Alkalinity

Conductivity

Chlorophyll-a and Algal Species Composition

E. coli (new in 2025)

Black Sludge (new in 2025)

From the testing and analysis, Restorative Lake Sciences provides Big Star Lake Association with a comprehensive report detailing the health of Big Star Lake. Below is the latest summary of their findings and recommendations.

The overall condition of Big Star Lake is ranked in the top 15% of developed lakes of similar size in the state of Michigan. The water clarity in the summer of 2025 was 9.3 feet, which is very good. The other measured water quality parameters indicated a well-balanced aquatic ecosystem with ideal pH and conductivity. Although the nutrients in the lake are quite low, the lake has enough nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) to support some algae and submersed aquatic plant growth. Invasive species such as Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) can grow in moderate nutrient waters and thus are a challenge to the Big Star Lake ecosystem. However, management of the plant has been a large success over the past several years with a total of 3.9 acres requiring herbicide treatment in 2025. There was some evidence of tolerance of the EWM to the usual systemic herbicides previously used and thus a newer herbicide called ProcellaCOR® was used in combination with diquat to effectively reduce the EWM without resistance. Protection of the nineteen native aquatic plant species is paramount for the health of the lake fishery and these plants should not be managed unless they are a nuisance to lakefront property owners and possess navigational and recreational hazards (i.e., lily pads in swim areas only).

A sediment sample was conducted on the lake sediments to determine the percentage of organic carbon which was 30% and is thus considered moderate. In 2025, there were large accumulations of muck that were washing ashore on Bayak Beach. The origin of this material is likely from the nearest deep basin or the channel area. Those areas have the highest concentration of organic matter that may be transferred with wake boat activity or intense wave action. E. coli bacteria was sampled and was well below detection.