Tips to keep your lake healthy

Last updated on December 11, 2025

When in doubt, stay out!

Concerns about drinking or recreational water

If you have immediate concerns related to drinking or recreational water use, contact your local health authority.

If you or your pet feel unwell after contact with water that you think might be contaminated with blue-green algae, we strongly recommend that you seek immediate medical or veterinary attention.

For spills and environmental violations

To report a spill or other contamination source, contact the Provincial Emergency Program spill reporting line at 1-800-663-3456.

To report an act of pollution, contact the RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) line at 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP), or report a violation online.

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Yard maintenance, landscaping and gardening

  • Minimize the disturbance of shoreline areas by maintaining natural vegetation cover
  • Minimize high-maintenance grassed areas
  • Replant lakeside grassed areas with native vegetation
    • Do not import fine fill
  • Use paving stones instead of pavement
  • Stop or limit the use of fertilizers and pesticides
  • Do not use fertilizers in areas where the potential for water contamination is high, such as sandy soils, steep slopes, or compacted soils
  • Do not apply fertilizers or pesticides before or during rain due to the likelihood of runoff
  • Hand pull weeds rather than using herbicides
  • Use natural insecticides such as diatomaceous earth
    • Prune infested vegetation and use natural predators to keep pests in check
    • Pesticides can kill beneficial and desirable insects, such as lady bugs, as well as pests
  • Compost yard and kitchen waste and use it to boost your garden’s health as an alternative to chemical fertilizers
 

Agriculture

  • Locate confined animal facilities away from waterbodies
    • Divert incoming water and treat outgoing effluent from these facilities
  • Limit the use of fertilizers and pesticides
  • Construct adequate manure storage facilities
  • Do not spread manure during wet weather, on frozen ground, in low-lying areas prone to flooding, within 3 meters of ditches, 5 meters of streams, 30 meters of wells, or on land where runoff is likely to occur
  • Install barrier fencing to prevent livestock from grazing on streambanks
  • If livestock cross streams, provide graveled or hardened access points
  • Provide alternate watering systems, such as troughs, dugouts, or nose pumps for livestock
  • Maintain or create a buffer zone of vegetation along a streambank, river or lakeshore and avoid planting crops right up to the edge of a waterbody
  • Ranchers are encouraged to have Environmental Farm Plans and can contact the local Ministry of Agriculture for more information
 

Onsite sewage systems

  • Inspect your system yearly, and have the septic tank pumped every 2 to 5 years by a septic service company
    • Regular pumping is cheaper than having to rebuild a drain-field
  • Use phosphate-free soaps and detergents
  • Do not put toxic chemicals (paints, varnishes, thinners, waste oils, photographic solutions, or pesticides) down the drain because they can kill the bacteria at work in your onsite sewage system and can contaminate waterbodies
  • Conserve water: Run the washing machine and dishwasher only when full and use only low flow showerheads and toilets
 

Auto maintenance

  • Use a drop cloth if you fix problems yourself
  • Recycle used motor oil, antifreeze, and batteries
  • Use phosphate-free biodegradable products to clean your car
    • Wash your car over gravel or grassy areas, but not over sewage systems
 

Boating

  • Do not throw trash overboard or use lakes or other waterbodies as toilets
  • Use biodegradable, phosphate-free cleaners instead of harmful chemicals
  • Conduct major maintenance chores on land
  • Use 4 stroke engines, which are less polluting than 2 stroke engines, whenever possible. Use an electric motor where practical
  • Keep motors well maintained and tuned to prevent fuel and lubricant leaks
  • Use absorbent bilge pads to soak up minor oil and fuel leaks or spills
  • Recycle used lubricating oil and left over paints
  • Check for and remove all aquatic plant fragments from boats and trailers before entering or leaving a lake
  • Do not use metal drums in dock construction:
    • They rust, sink and become unwanted debris
    • Use Styrofoam or washed plastic barrel floats
    • All floats should be labeled with the owner’s name, phone number, and confirmation that barrels have been properly emptied and washed