About White Lake AOC
White Lake is in Muskegon County along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. In 1987, it was declared an Area of Concern on the Great Lakes under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and the first remedial action plan document was completed. The White Lake Area of Concern was delisted in 2014.
The area was highly degraded because of contaminated surface water and groundwater, wastewater and sewage. Some of those degradations were:
- Restrictions on consumption of drinking water
- Restriction on consumption of fish and wildlife
- Eutrophication or harmful algal blooms due to discharges of untreated and partially treated wastewater
- Decline of benthos, fish and wildlife populations
- Decline of habitat
The Area of Concern includes:
- White Lake, which measures 2,571 acres along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in Muskegon County
- White Lake Montague Dump site
- The White Lake Causeway
Beneficial Use Impairments
- Restrictions on Dredging Activities - REMOVED 2011.
- Eutrophication or Undesirable Algae - REMOVED 2012.
- Degradation of Benthos - REMOVED 2012.
- Restrictions on Fish and Wildlife Consumption - REMOVED 2013
- Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat - REMOVED 2014.
- Degradation of Fish and Wildlife Populations - REMOVED 2014.
- Restrictions on Drinking Water Consumption and Taste or Odor Problems - REMOVED 2014.
- Degradation of Aesthetics - REMOVED 2014.