By David Ernes – Lake Management Committee

The 2023 season turned out to be a season of unusual weather coupled with unexpected observations. Despite this, for the third straight year, we ended the season with no algal toxin levels exceeding the EPA Advisory limit. We also added over 400 pounds of feeder fish to enhance the excellent fishery. This document includes a review of the issues we faced and the conclusions from the reports from our consultants.

The report Read more

Dave Ernes – Lake Management Committee

This article summarizes the Lake Management activities that were completed this past year. This is a brief overview, with more information available in previous articles available on the RRA website.

Algae Control:  One of the main focuses of the Lake Management Plan (LMP) is to control the appearance of harmful algal blooms or HABs. In 2021, this was accomplished with the use of VodaGuard C, a copper based product added to the Read more

Dave Ernes – Lake Management Committee

A Fish Survey was conducted on Lake Roaming Rock on September 12-13, 2022 by Jones Fish. Briefly, boats equipped with electrofishing apparatus travel throughout the lake. At each location sampled, the fish are stunned, collected, and assessed by measuring the length and weight. The fish are then returned to the lake unharmed. This process is done in as many areas as is feasible but is not intended to determine the population throughout the Read more

Dave Ernes – Lake Management Committee

Understanding how our lake behaves is paramount in any effort to improve it. During the 2021 recreational season, data was collected for our lake. This data has been compiled in the 2021 Water Quality Report recently received. It is one of the most comprehensive evaluations of our lake and its tributaries in recent years. This article gives a brief overview of this report. It should be noted that most of the data involved Read more

By David Ernes – Lake Management Committee

In order to reduce the incidence of algal blooms, one must reduce the nutrient load that feeds it. But first you need to know where to focus your efforts.  That is where a Nutrient Budget comes into play, something we recently contracted for Lake Roaming Rock. This is basically a modeling study whereby the various sources of nutrients (primarily phosphorous and nitrogen) are characterized. This includes measurements for both the internal Read more

By David Ernes – Lake Management Committee

As we have stated before, reducing algal blooms is the primary focus of the LMC in this phase of our overall Management Plan. The two common ways to do this are either through the use of algicides or though the reduction of nutrients. Chemical algicides are effective and fast, and are being investigated but they are a band aid and are not a long term solution. And they have some drawbacks that Read more

By David Ernes – Lake Management Committee

The Cleveland MetroParks Aquatic Invasive Species Program involves an assessment of around 200 bodies of water in Ohio’s Lake Erie basin. Our lake was selected as one of those locations. We have received the final report titled “2019 Aquatic Invasive Plant Survey at Lake Roaming Rock”. The intent of this report was to review the results of a survey completed on June 17, 2019 that involved identifying the plant species detected at Read more

Background: The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is conducting an investigation of methane dynamics in reservoirs. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is produced by microorganisms in reservoir sediments. The USEPA is supporting research to estimate the magnitude of methane emissions from reservoirs in the United States.

Lake Roaming Rock Work Plan: The USEPA will measure methane emissions from 32 reservoirs in Ohio, including Lake Roaming Rock, during the summer of 2016. Methane emissions will be measured from Read more

By David Ernes – Lake Management Committee

We are definitely seeing signs that the winter has left us and we can begin to enjoy our lake for yet another fun-filled season of swimming, skiing and kayaking. This also marks the start of the Lake Management Committee’s (LMC’s) efforts to monitor the water quality to insure that it is safe for these activities. In past articles, we have discussed the issues related to algae blooms and the toxins that may Read more