Tom Koren, owner of the Lure Bar & Grill, a waterfront destination on Lake Petenwell, depends on clean water for his business to survive. His Barnum Bay Marina, protected from the wind and waves of the big water of Petenwell, is the site of frequent toxic blue-green algae blooms every summer, caused largely by polluted runoff from upstream agriculture.
“Without the green on the water, there would be twice as many property owners on the lake. People are disappointed by the green. Others don’t come out here at all because of it. It’s an enormous amount of money that’s lost because of it.”
Koren stands to lose a vast portion of his annual revenue—vacant boat slips, lost watercraft rental fees and food and drink receipts—due to algae blooms. In the peak of summer, the mat of algae on Barnum Bay can get six inches thick and the nauseating stench settles over the Lure like a fog, keeping diners indoors and would-be swimmers and boaters off the water entirely. Koren’s business is suffering as a result.
The cost of polluted water at the Lure:
- $20,000 lost to install a culvert and aerator to pump algae from the marina to the lake
- $1,200 lost in annual electricity costs for aerator
- $800 lost annually per empty boat slip
- $200 lost per cancelled boat reservation
- $100 lost in food and drinks per cancelled boat reservation
- $50 lost in gas and oil per cancelled boat reservation
- $1,000’s lost for past algae removal efforts
Download a printable PDF of Tom's Story »