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Birch Lake <br />Birch Lake is located within the City of White Bear Lake and is 127 acres with a maximum depth of 6 feet. Land is <br />completely developed around Birch Lake and there are 4 storm sewer inlets around the lake. Birch Lake is a rare find <br />in the metropolitan area because of its clarity. Secchi disks are continuously visible at the bottom of the lake. Results <br />of CLA and TP are very low for such an urbanized water body. <br />VLAWMO staff collected samples twice over the summer from 3 culverts that bring water into Birch Lake to analyze <br />whether pollutant sources are coming from a certain area. The culvert with the higher pollutants overall is the one on <br />4th St. The culvert at Birch Lake Avenue has a storm scepter which was installed in 2002. This removes solids from <br />the storm water runoff. Based on the data from 2007, the Birch Lake Ave culvert delivers the least amount of <br />pollutants. <br />A Sustainable Lake Management Plan is in the process of being written for Birch Lake with the help of Steve <br />McComas of Blue Water Science. As part of the plan, an aquatic plant survey was conducted as well as a shoreline <br />survey and homeowner questionnaire. Steve and Kristine will be doing sediment sampling on Birch Lake in the winter <br />of 2008 in order to have more information on the workings of the lake. <br />Birch Lake is surprisingly clean for an urban lake. The research done through the SLMP may give some insight as to <br />how the water stays so clean and clear amidst the urban landscape. One theory being looked into is that the wealth of <br />aquatic plants may play a large role in filtering out contaminants that would otherwise cause algae blooms and murky <br />water. <br />