Chapman Lakes Conservation Association, Inc.--Official Web Site

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Poor water quality (clarity) will reduce the value of lakeside real estate, according to dozens of studies in many states.

Some studies suggest that property values decline more than 20% when the water clarity (a measure of how deep you can see into a lake)  declines. A Minnesota study, for example, calculated "...if the water got clearer--so you could see down another 3 feet--a lake property's value would rise by $423 for each foot of frontage. For a 40-foot lakefront lot, that amounts to nearly a $17,000 gain in value." In the same study, a lakefront parcel would lose $23,760 if the water clarity decreased by three feet. (Deluth, MN, News Tribune, 5-27-03)

Heavy boating traffic also causes a decline in property values because excessive boating can reduce lake clarity significantly. Excessive lake use causes numerous other lake ecosystem problems as well, studies say.

A study prompted Orange County, Florida, to launch a Clean Lakes Incentive Program (CLIP) to encourage homeowners to undertake environmental improvements. The county pays a reimbursement for homeowners who voluntarily install berm and swales that divert storm water and irrigation runoff away from local lakes. They also reimburse those who restore a shoreline by removing white sand beaches and invasive exotic/noxious plants and then replant the littoral zone with beneficial native plants.

"Poor water quality and loss of habitat are two of the biggest problems impacting Orange County lakes, the county says. Degraded water quality is generally caused by nutrient-laden and contaminated runoff from landscapes, driveways, rooftops, parking lots, roads, and poor storm water management practices…"

"A clean lake goes a long way in maintaining and increasing property values," the Florida county declares.