Cold Water, Falling Temperatures, Frozen Forecast

Clean Lakes Alliance annual Mendota Freeze contest open

Winter is quickly approaching. With the cold temperatures, people around Madison start to ask themselves, “When will our lakes freeze?”

“We experienced a colder than normal November in Madison, with temperatures averaging about five degrees below normal,” said Clean Lakes Alliance Meteorologist Karin Swanson. “The forecast for the next week calls for temperatures near or below freezing, which will help lake temperatures continue to fall.”

Clean Lakes Alliance partners with Rooster Events

Rooster Events, LLC signed a 5 year agreement with Clean Lakes Alliance of Madison to produce the Shoreline Open Water Swim and have it added to the Big Swell Swim Series races. Clean Lakes Alliance will remain the nonprofit partner and receive a portion of each registration for the event.

This is an exciting partnership for both groups as the Big Swell Swim brings many swimmers from all over the country to our state and will focus on growing this race in Madison as part of the series. With this growth and donations from the swim race, Clean Lakes Alliance, a nonprofit out of Madison, will continue their efforts to protect and improve our lakes. Large swim events like those in the Big Swell series draw attention to our lakes as a core component of Madison’s thriving race culture.

About Rooster Events, LLC and the Big Swell Swim: Rooster Events is a niche events company owned and operated locally by Jackie Hering. The Big Swell Swim series now includes 3 races around southern Wisconsin (Devil’s Lake, Lake Monona, and Lake Michigan) each showcasing Wisconsin’s beautiful landscape. Each event offers a short and long distance option and caters to open water swimmers and triathletes of all levels. More information: www.bigswellswim.com

About Clean Lakes Alliance: Clean Lakes Alliance is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization dedicated to the improvement and protection of the lakes, streams, and wetlands in the Yahara River Watershed. Through community support, advocacy, and education, Clean Lakes Alliance is working to restore and protect our lakes.

Recent heavy rain storms flush algae-causing phosphorus through storm sewers into lakes

MADISON, Wis. — Heavy rain events over the past two weeks in the Madison area are setting up its lakes for toxic blue-green algae blooms in the coming months. With one pound of phosphorus having the capability to create 500 pounds of algae, the need to slow or divert runoff is imperative.

“The heavy rain storms we’ve had over the past several weeks have made harmful runoff issues visible to the naked eye,” says Clean Lakes Alliance Executive Director James Tye. “From our Foley & Lardner donated offices in Verex Plaza next to James Madison Park, we’ve witnessed huge plumes of sediment wash into the lake multiple times over the past few weeks.