Puslinch Lake Restoration History.

It all started in 1997 when a concerned group of 5 local residents decided it was time to try and get the Lake back to it’s natural beauty. It has taken almost 20 years [2024] to reach this point

1997 - PLCA, a non-profit, volunteer organization, was founded to protect and enhance Puslinch Lake.

1998 - Pickerel spawning stones where placed near Harvey’s Island to promote fish spawning.

1999 - Andy Gemza was hired to compile the Puslinch Lake Adaptive Management plan, [PLAMP].

2000 - Started pilot program to dredge McClintock’s ski run and west by approximately 1000 feet.

2001 - 2004 - No dredging done these years

2005 - A four acre de-watering site located just south of McCormick’s Point was prepared. This involved tree removal  (Olive grove), grading and the formation of earth berms and drainage control gates. 

2005 - 2009 - Weevil introduction/conclusion by EnviroScience.

2006 - No dredging done but setup site was located north/west point dock at McCormick’s -15,000 weevils added.

2007 - Dredging starting in July and an order for another 24,000+ weevils in 3 locations, to arrive in June.

2008 - Dredging started in July at the west end of the south shore slalom ski course and worked eastward. An additional 12,000 weevils were introduced for two locations. 

2009 - Dredging near the ski area on west side - our most productive year to date. No weevils added this year.

2010 - 2012 - No dredging - waiting on permits

2013 - New dredging equipment/concept started on July 31st. By far, the most productive year since inception.

2014 - Continuation of Dredging area ( Bayview, S/W side of I.C.E. & along west ski course ). 

2015 - New dredge area - along the south shore (ski school course) with off-loading from the east side of McCormick’s Pt.

2016 - Dredging started on the 31st of August (major repairs were needed to the equipment). A large portion of time was taken up to remove large boulders in the channel; enabling a successful start-up on the east side of the Lake for 2017.

2017 - Permits have to be obtained from the GRCA & the MOE for continuance in 2017.

2018 - Another successful year of Dredging. Loads of silt hauled from the South/East shore area.

2019 - Mostly private dredging along south shoreline.

2020 - North Shore - private dredging, some on the South shore the easterly shore and Eagle Point.

2021 - Dredging was done in the North/West area near Bayview. The PLCA dredged a deep hole/channel approx. 300’ out from the shoreline.

2022 - Resumption of 2021 dredging was completed and was followed with Private dredging along the Bayview shoreline.

2023 - Shoreline dredging started on July 21st. Water levels were up from all the rain we had received. The shoreline dredging in the South Shore area was paid for last year but not accessible due to very low water levels. PLCA funded dredging was at the tail end of the season. On Dec. 5th the last shoreline dredging was completed. We had a total of 180 barge loads taken from shoreline dredging and 40 barge loads from donations received through the PLCA. In total over 1000 truckloads and more than 400,000 tons of sediment was removed from the Lake bottom.

2024 - Dredging has come to an end. Pit rehabilitation will commence in 2025.

2025 - The lake is still heavily populated with Milfoil and we are excited to learn that a new more environmentally friendly product is now approved for use in Canada. Procella COR FX targets Milfoil and kills the entire plant and root system for lasting control. Although more expensive up front, the claim is that it only needs to be applied every 3 years. Some lake residents are having this product applied this year. If this works as projected, you can see how this will significantly reduce the amount of silt being added every year from dying vegetation. The PLCA is looking into mid lake application as this product can be applied to a higher percentage of lake areas according to MOE.