Youth Conservation Corp helping to Protect China Lake Water Quality

Image Credit: chinalakeassociation.org

The China Lake Youth Conservation Corp (YCC) continues to be a powerful and productive force made up of environmentally conscious young adults working to protect our lake from harmful storm water runoff.

The China Lake Association wants to thank and acknowledge all the 2018 YCC crew members: Sage Hapgood-Belanger, Antonio Jacobs, Maddy Boynton, Garrett Keezer, Cody Daigneault, Leanna laws and YCC Crew Supervisor, Sean Zubord. We also want to thank the Kennebec Soil and Water liaison, Josh Platt for being their sight expert.

YCC work completed during 2018 includes: infiltration steps to replace inferior accesses to the lake, applying erosion control mulch or crushed stone on paths to cover up bare soil, plantings to strengthen lakefront buffers, retaining walls to hold back storm water runoff from getting into the lake at steep downgrades at the buffer area, constructing infiltration boxes where there is exposed soil and a lot of foot traffic near the lake, creating water gardens to absorb run off on lawns, reinforcing stone at eroding banks at culverts, established drip line infiltration trenches at house and shed perimeters close to the lake to ensure phosphorous would not end up in the lake from heavy rains and removed improperly placed rip rap and replace it with infiltration steps .

The work they completed in just 2018 is estimated to remove 51.8 tons of sediment, 40.2 pounds of phosphorus and 80.5 pounds of nitrogen every year from China Lake!