About the Booth Lake Management District
Mission:
The members of the Booth Lake Management District are the stewards of the lake. Our mission is to maintain, protect and improve the quality of the lake watershed for the mutual good of the members and the lake environment.
About Booth Lake:
Booth Lake is a 113-acre waterbody. The lake is a seepage lake dependent upon the regional groundwater table and annual precipitation. The lake is characterized by shallow shoreline areas surrounding a single, deep basin having little surface inflow and no defined surface outflow. The lake is roughly circular with an approximately one-acre island and a maximum depth of 24 feet. The shoreline length is 1.79 miles. Residential lands (90 parcels) currently encompass approximately 75 percent of the shoreline with the balance comprised of recreational lands.
Water conditions in Booth lake are currently maintained at a good quality level. Groundwater flows from areas to the Southwest, West and Northwest and there are numerous groundwater discharges, or "springs" within the lake basin. Groundwater can be expected to have a direct affect on the lake level and is an important component of the hydrology contributing to the quality of the water.
About the Booth Lake Management District:
The Lake District was formed in May 1997 under chapter 33 of the Wisconsin State Statutes for the purpose of the protection, rehabilitation and recreational improvement of Booth Lake. It has a seven person board of commissioners composed of five elected members of the District, one representative appointed by Walworth County and one representative appointed by the Town of Troy. The District is governed under its by-laws and requires a quorum of three to conduct business. All commissioners are eligible to vote but must be present to do so. Commissioners are unpaid.
Since the Lake District has legal standing it is granted a number of governance provisions and powers including the ability to tax and receive state cost sharing assistance. The District is self supporting through its tax levy set at the annual meeting.
About the Booth Lake Management District properties:
The entire lake lies within the Town of Troy and is composed of 90 parcels, each having lake frontage or an easement to it. In 2005, the District added seven parcels to its membership. These properties all have lake frontage or an easement and some include portions of the Town of East Troy. The 90 parcels, which ring the lake, represent less than half of the property in the Booth Lake drainage basin. No further expansion plans are being considered at this time. Memorial Park and the Alice Chester Girl Scout camp are not members of the District. The equalized value of the property in the District represents a significant percent of the Town of Troy's total.
What is important to the District:
In 2002, the District enacted a mandatory septic system pumping and inspection ordinance.
The District promotes the use of no or low phosphorus fertilizers as well as natural shoreline plantings.
The District supports all types of water recreation, form the very passive to the active, respecting all existing laws, rules and ordinances including a permanent 15 hour, slow-no-wake period from 7:00pm to 10:00am. The lake is serviced by a well-trained water patrol supported by DNR and the Town of Troy.
The District operates one of the more successful Eurasian Milfoil control programs in the area, combining harvesting with limited, licensed chemical treatments and long term whole lake treatment.
Booth Lake is a fragile body of water. Water and habitat conditions are a concern and are continuously monitored. The District maintains a long-term management plan with positions on issues of actual or potential impact on the lake.
On the long-term agenda is the problem of run-off from shoreline properties, the approximately 247 surrounding acres of surface watershed, the nearby road and properties near the boat launch and beach.