Lake Muck is formed from the decomposition of aquatic and arboreal vegetation that is found on the bottom of the lake.  It is thick, muddy and smells wretched.  It also ruins lake access and water fronts by making them unpleasant and often difficult to pass through. 

Lake muck occurs when the death of the vegetation out paces the decomposition of the plant matter at the bottom of the lake.  When this happens, it begins to build up into thick layers.  

This lake muck is fantastic compost for other plant life and encourages the rapid and dense growth of Lily Pads among other aquatic plants.  When these plants die off, they sink to the bottom and the cycle continues, year after year until the lake fills in with muck and becomes a bog.  That bog then becomes a meadow, and the lake is no-more. 

The Lake Gerry Association has been investigating methods of mitigating the muck and where possible, removing it from Lake Gerry. 

These efforts are slow, tedious and expensive.  In a perfect world, we would contract a dredging service who would scoop out the muck and move it to another area, far away from the lake.  We, have had to be more creative with our resources.   

In 2021 with the advisement of SOLitude Lake Management, we began the systemic application of Muck Digester Pellets.  These pellets have been placed in target areas around the lake and are designed to speed up the decomposition of the lake muck by providing enzymes and beneficial bacteria that increase the microbial breakdown of the plant material. 

Much like our Lily Pad problem, this did not occur over night and is thus, a painstakingly slow process.  We hope to see the fruits of our labor in the coming years as we improve Lake Gerry. 

You can help us with our Muck Remediation program by donating money or volunteering to help us treat and remove muck.