Kramer's Corner - A Brief official History of Watkins Lake

The Watkins Lakefront Owners Association first adopted Bylaws on February 23, 1976. They have been amended with the last iteration being on (approximately 7/22/20). This latest amendment updated 

• The Park Gate Operation Rules 

• Park Gate Operation 

• Boating Rules   

• Skiing Rules

All can be found on this website

 Few skiers in MI have had more success in State, Regional, and National Skiing as Watkins Lake Resident, Bill Chisnell.  His records include at least 10 state championships, 5 regional titles, 1974 boys national championships and 7 top 10 national open performances that were highlighted by a 3rd place finish in 1975 and 4th place results in 1976, 77 and 80.  Bill also became the preeminent innovator in slalom ski design wa and manufacturing.  First named "The Ski' and later the "Chisnell", his slalom skis were used by a few select National and International skiers.  Bills development was so successful that his desgin and technological advances have been incorporated into the construction of top competitive skis for the past 40 years.  Bill was recently inducted into the MWSA hall of fame in 2022.

Mechanical weed harvesting has been the selected choice for dealing with aquatic weeds from the very beginning. There was a very active WLOA Yachting Association that held regattas weekly on Sundays. But the weeds got in the way of their keels. Their solution was to employ mechanical harvesting. At present (2023) the harvesting operation has one harvester, 2 conveyors, one truck, a small pole barn and a shed. This is housed at the Park/Launch site. 

This comprehensive study was conducted by Restorative Lake Sciences in the person of Jennifer Jermalowicz Jones, Phd candidate. In her study the lake was "classified as mesotrophic which means that it contains low nutrients and algae but possesses good water quality and ample weed growth.". Mesotrophic in contrast to Eutrophic in 1982. Much healthier lake now. Changes have been made based on this report, filtering what goes into the lake for one example. 

• 1992 & 2000 Water Quality Studies by Wallace Fusilier, Phd

Previous report was July, 1992

• 1982 article from Spinal Column wherein Watkins Lake is Identified as "eutrophic" or dying.

Prior to the WLOA ownership the Park and Launch site was occupied by a number of small resort cottages. Mostly these appealed to fishing vacationers. Although the cottages were small and very basic, some were used as permanent residences. They sold to Watersports Marine which at the time was located across highway M 59 where Breen's is today. Watersports Marine intended to use the site to launch boats for demonstration purposes. However instead Watersports Marine put the Park/Launch site property on the market in 1993. Interested buyers were the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the riparians on Watkins Lake. Then president Dave Robertson and the WLOA directors initiated a plan to acquire the property. Not a small feat for a lakefront owners association. Alternatively the DNR had plans to build a public launch site with parking on the vacant lot across Claudia Drive.The DNR plan was to provide space for 32 trailers. There were a number of talented people serving on the Association including Terry Larkin who advised the Board on legal matters, and cleared the way for the lender to lend us the money. In 1993 the lakefront owners collectively agreed to purchase the property through the mechanism of a Special Assessment District (SAD} at an expense of approximately $1,700.00 per household. A Special Assessment District was established with over 90% support for self taxing our.selves to acquire this property. The SAD was set up so only lakefront riparians, i.e. no subdivision access sites, benefited from the improvement, and therefore paid taxes for the benefit. The property was purchased on September 14, 1993. 

Even though we beat the DNR to the acquisition of the Park/Launch site the State still controlled to some degree how we could improve it. For instance they required a beach, even though the de facto owners all have lakefront access; so a beach was built and has now gone to seed from lack of use and maintenance. The State also weighed in on the ramp design. 

Prior to the installation of the augmentation well Watkins Lake level was subject to the vagaries of nature. 1988 was a drought summer and many homeowners found they could not use their boats, and in some cases even get their boat off of the hoist. Hazards in the lake were marked to prevent damage to watercraft. Subsequently it was decided to pursue the installation of an augmentation well, and to establish summer and winter legal lake levels. (950 feet above sea level in the summer, 949.50 in the winter.) 

At a special meeting of the WLOA Board of Directors on August 12, 2002 Lake Level Management was reviewed in detail. (Click here for a link to historic primary documents.) Moore pdf 

This was followed by then president Jerry Meach diligently working with local engineers at Johnson & Anderson, the Drain Commission (now WRC), and many others. Several sites around the lake were tested in search of an aquifer that would provide enough water and not interfere with the Township's public water aquifer. The present site on Lakewood proved to meet all of the requirements and a 5 inch well was drilled and a sluiceway provided to feed the water into the lake aerating the water in the process. The Augmentation well was installed and operational on June 21, 2005.