State of the Lake
How clean is the water?
Runoff from the densely developed urban areas includes a variety of sediment and toxic chemicals; and the water quality of Lake Wingra has been a concern for several decades. Concerns include excessive nutrient loading, increasing levels of chloride and heavy metals from stormwater runoff, and bacterial levels that sometimes interfere with safe swimming.
Can the lake be improved?
Though urban lakes have numerous management challenges, they can still be healthy ecosystems and provide high quality resources with the cooperation of many partners in the watershed community. A high density of people living within a watershed creates both challenges (e.g. stormwater and invasive species) and opportunities (citizen involvement) for watershed management.
In Madison, lakes are integral to the social and cultural fabric of our urban communities. There are many Madison residents who care about the condition of city lakes, including Lake Wingra. A group of such citizens, the Friends of Lake Wingra (FOLW), is working to promote a healthy Lake Wingra through an active watershed community.
FOLW has played a central part in bringing together partner organizations (e.g., neighborhood associations, interest groups, and government agencies) that have a role or interest in the management of Lake Wingra and its watershed. Collectively, Lake Wingra partners are working very hard to protect and restore Lake Wingra through individual projects as well as coordinated planning. There are lots of ways we, as individuals, can help to improve and maintain the health of Lake Wingra by making small changes in our actions and in our own backyards.