October 2024 Newsletter

October 2024 Newsletter

Message from the President

By Rick Stuebing

Hurricane Milton was a very large storm and many of our lakefront homeowners sustained significant damage. Our lake level went up approximately 27 inches which was close to the normal high-water mark.  Many docks are now under water so please stay away from them while boating or go slow at a no wake speed.  

The FWC treated our lake this Summer for hydrilla and although some parts of the lake still have a lot of hydrilla, most of the lake has less hydrilla than normal for this time of year. Hydrilla is almost impossible to permanently kill and the FWC allows some hydrilla to live since small amounts are good for the lake. 

The County recently closed our public ramp due to high water.  As soon as they open it, we will let you know via email and on Johns Lake Association and Johns Lake Life Facebook pages. 

The Johns Lake Holiday boat parade will be held on Saturday December 14.  We hope to see you then and a big thanks to Karen Quill and our sponsors! 

Scott Boyd has included an update on our outflow canal which is currently moving a lot of water out of Johns Lake but continues to require additional maintenance. 

Lana Larrivee interviewed Don Hickman who is one of the original members of the Johns Lake Association Board and built his home on Johns Lake over 60 years ago. 

I hope you enjoy our newsletter and hope to see you on the lake!

Rick Stuebing 

Click here to read the newsletter.

Boat Ramp Closed Following Hurricane Milton

Boat Ramp Closed Following Hurricane Milton

Hi Everybody:

I hope that all of our lakefront owners are safe from Hurricane Milton! Our public boat ramp is closed due to high water. According to John Schmidt, the lake has risen 27 inches so far since October 4 and is still rising due to drainage from Black Lake, Lake Tilden, and other sources.

We are approaching the normal high water mark, and the County may close the lake again to protect our docks and boathouses.

     

April 2024 Newsletter

April 2024 Newsletter

Spring has arrived as witnessed by the change in weather and the
end of the Oak leaves falling. I have recently seen the American
Eagles that nest in Oakland, are back on their nests and the bass
beds are back. And finally, some lakefront owners told me they can
now see the bottom of Johns Lake at the end of their dock for the
first time. These are all great signs that Johns Lake is healthy. Our
water level is currently low (93.99 on 4-1-24) for this time of year
but the good news is rain is forecasted for mid-late May and the
lake level will hopefully rise fairly quickly.

P. S. The lake is expected to be treated for hydrilla late May according
to the FWC’s plans!

For the full newsletter, please click here.

 

March 2024: Johns Lake Outfall Canal Evaluation Study

March 2024: Johns Lake Outfall Canal Evaluation Study

Background
The COUNTY requested the CONSULTANT to evaluate the reported erosion within the Johns Lake Outfall Canal (Motomassic Canal) following Hurricane Ian that impacted Central Florida on September 29, 2022. As a result of the damage, several impacted stakeholders reached out to COUNTY staff seeking additional assistance in developing a long-term plan to address both Capital Improvement Project (CIP) needs and long-term Operation and Maintenance (O&M) needs to improve stormwater management within the Johns Lake Outfall Canal (the Canal). The initial stakeholders seeking additional support from the COUNTY included …

Please see the full report here.

October 2023 Newsletter

October 2023 Newsletter

Newsletter Summary and a Message from the President

Oct-2023 Newsletter

It is hard to believe the Holidays are approaching and we are
preparing for the 22nd Holiday Boat Parade on Dec. 12th at 6:15 PM. On behalf of the board,
I would like to thank our sponsors of the parade and we welcome
additional sponsors.

The board continues to communicate with multiple government
agencies to keep the ball rolling for the required maintenance on our
outfall canal. This process is difficult and slow due to the number of
government agencies involved.

We have brought back our Stop Light Program to give you visual
feedback on where we believe we stand on the five quality indicators
that we identified in the past. This is subjective and we realize that
some of these indicators are worse in some parts of the lake than
others, but we try to use “average” ratings.

And finally, some information from the Environmental Protection
Division that describes proper shoreline maintenance critical to the
health of Johns Lake has been included.

JLA is a non-profit organization, funded by lakefront owners, focused
on protecting Johns Lake water quality. JLA’s mission is to preserve
and restore the high-water quality and the traditional character of John’s Lake, watersheds and related natural resources. The long-
term survival of Johns Lake is critical to present and future generations.

In the past the Board collected dues to support our expenses, such
as insurance, website costs, state fees, and more. Since we
converted to paperless Newsletters we have been able to get by for
several years without dues but now the Board’s financial balance is
getting low.

We can be reached at admin@johnslakeflorida.com and
please support our efforts to protect Johns Lake by donating to our
cause by going to the following link. Please Donate.

Boat Parade: Save the Date

Boat Parade: Save the Date

The Annual Johns Lake Boat Parade will be held on December 10th, 2023.

Stay tuned for details …

Johns Lake Update Aug 2023

Johns Lake Update Aug 2023

The county recently did some spot treating for the following invasive plants.

Cuban bulrush is an aggressively growing mat forming invasive plant that outcompetes beneficial native aquatic plants and impairs water quality by reducing oxygen levels near shore areas. Cuban bulrush will be targeted throughout the lake to maintain competitive advantage for the native aquatic plant community.

Water hyacinths are exotic, aquatic plants which clog waterways, making recreational activities difficult or impossible, and choke out beneficial native plants.

Although Johns Lake currently has less hydrilla than normal for this time of the year, there are some areas where the hydrilla is a problem. The County does not normally treat for hydrilla during the Summer since the ideal time is during the Spring and Fall. They will assess our hydrilla situation in the Fall and decide when they will treat Johns Lake next.  There is currently no budget for additional grass carp but this could change as it seems the carp that were added last Fall are having a positive impact on decreasing hydrilla.

The northern portion of the Johns Lake Outfall Canal that drains into Lake Apopka has recently been realigned and cleaned out.  The canal has also been cleaned out adjacent to Oakland Park.  The water is now flowing through the canal into Lake Apopka much faster,  but there is still a lot of maintenance to be done.  This additional flow will be helpful if we get any hurricanes and/or tropical storms this season. Orange County is studying the situation to determine what, if anything, the County will to support the City of Oakland and other’s efforts.

Please ask your neighbors to go our website at https://johnslakeflorida.com/subscribe-to-our-newsletter/ and submit their email information so we can send them email updates and Newsletters. Also , we deeply appreciate any donations that can be made on our website to support our cause!

Sincerely, Rick StuebingPresident, Johns Lake Association

April 2023 Newsletter

April 2023 Newsletter

April 2023 ISSUE OF THE JOHNS LAKE ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER 

[Click here to view the newsletter in PDF format.]

This issue covers the following topics:

    Message from the President

    Holiday Boat Parade

    Scrub Point

    Outfall Canal

    Lakefront Fertilizer Guide

I hope you enjoy reading the newsletter!

Rick Stuebing
President, Johns Lake Association

Outfall Canal Update (March 2023)

Outfall Canal Update (March 2023)

 

The town of Oakland commits to the first steps toward reconstruction of the Johns Lake Outfall Canal. 

Below is a summary of an article published by the WEST ORANGE TIMES & OBSERVER (March 22, 2023).

At the Oakland Town Commission meeting on March 14, Assistant Town Manager Jack Butler recommended the commission accept a bid from Solitude Lake Management for a contract price of $103,500 to reconstruct the Johns Lake outflow canal.

The town is committing up to $85,000 to reconstruct the canal and dredge a portion of the south side of Lake Apopka. The balance is expected to be contributed by other entities, including Landeavor, the developer of Oakland Park, and the Southern Oaks Homeowners Association.

Is this the only work needed? “We’re not done when this (initial project) gets done,” Commissioner Mike Satterfield said at the meeting. “We promise you we’re not going to walk away.” Town Manager Steve Koontz added that Orange County has agreed to update its most recent study.

The full article written by Amy Quesinberry can be found here

This has been an important issue for many years. The former president of the JLA, John Schmidt, has published several informative articles over the past few years, including the JOHNS LAKE OUTFALL STUDY (Oct. 2019), the JOHNS LAKE DRAINAGE STUDY UPDATE (Feb. 2020), and the JOHNS LAKE OUTFALL STUDY UPDATE (Oct. 2020).

The Oakland Park developer appears to be doing some major clean up of the trail adjacent to their development.

Hurricane Ian: Lake Level Warning

Hurricane Ian: Lake Level Warning

Warning!!!

October 1, 2022

Johns Lake is currently several inches above the normal high water mark which has not happened for many years and it will continue to go up!  Black Lake and Lake Tilden drain into our lake and those lakes are currently about a foot and a half higher than our lake. We don’t know how much it will go up but it could go up another foot or more. 

There is currently a no wake zone order for the entire lake to protect our docks, boats, and waterfront properties. Please respect this county order!  

The public boat ramp will also be closed immediately. Make sure you assess your boathouse and make sure there is room for your boat if the lake goes up a foot or more.  If not, please beach, anchor, or put your boat on a trailer. We have already had a hand full of boats float into the ceiling of their boat houses causing boats to sink, swamp, and go upside down.  Please do not let this happen to your boat.  

This is a very serious situation so please forward this message to your neighbors and let me know if you have any questions. In addition, see Johns Lake Improvement Association on Facebook for more information and to keep up-to-date. Be safe!  

Respectfully,  

Rick Stuebing,  VP Johns Lake Association

Update: 

LAKE COUNTY TEMPORARILY CLOSES BOAT RAMPS DUE TO FLOODING