BLACK LAKE PRESERVATION SOCIETY

Thank you for visiting the website of the
Black Lake Preservation Society

Black Lake Helping Hands

The following services are available to you if you have been affected by the floods of 2026:

1. Free Drinking Water Testing

District Health Department No. 4, (LHD #4) in partnership with LMAS District Health Department, announced on April 28, 2026, the availability of free water sample test kits.
These kits are for residents in Cheboygan County and the Black Lake area of Presque Isle County whose water wells have been affected by recent flooding.
The free water sample test kits are available to residents while supplies last.
You can obtain the sample bottles at the District Health Department No. 4 Cheboygan office, located at 825 South Huron Street, Suite 1, Cheboygan, Mich. 49721.
Specific collection and drop-off times are designated for the testing process. Samples collected after 10 a.m. on Sunday must be dropped off by noon on Monday. Alternatively, samples collected after 7 a.m. on Tuesday are due for drop-off by 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Make sure you receive a requisition (lab) form when picking up testing kit and confirm drop off locations.
For additional questions, please call the LHD #4 directly at 1-800-221-0294.
BLPS is coordinating an effort to offer residents a local water sample drop off location then volunteers will run multiple samples to lab/DPW. More information to follow.

2. Mercy Chef Hot Meals

Mercy Chefs is serving hot, chef prepared meals in #Michigan.
If you or someone you know has been impacted by flooding in the Onaway area, we’re here for you.
St. Paul Catholic Church
20811 Washington St.
Onaway, MI 49765
Meal Times:
11 AM – 1 PM
4 PM – 6 PM
Please help us spread the word so we can reach as many people as possible.
Hope often begins with a hot meal.

3. Frequent Lake Level Updates

Lake levels, flows, insights re: dam operations, and forecasts for recovery are published most days on our Black Lake Preservation Society Facebook page. This reporting will continue until we stabilize at our summer level of 612.2 feet above sea level.

www.facebook.com/groups/971515989537076/

4. Black Lake Lost and Found

A very helpful lost and found page has been setup to help people reunite with their belongings.

www.facebook.com/groups/1903548163266632

5. Letter Writing Assistance

f you would like to lend your voice to our communities needs (better address the frequency, duration, and severity of flooding events on our lake and help for those in our community that have been affected by this most recent flooding event), but you would like help with what exactly to ask for, who has the ability to affect change, or the mechanics of wring an effective letter, then join the letter writing campaign. Attend a kickoff meeting on Wednesday, May 6 from 5-6:30 EST on Zoom.
us05web.zoom.us/j/89832004949?pwd=8fxbeeF9nYmQxd3TxfL5Dg9HZzo9uR.1

Send an email request for meeting login credentials to: [email protected]

6. Neighborhood Port-A-Potties

If your septic drainfield is flooded or you are without running water, you may choose to order a port-a-potty and make it available to your neighbors. If so, please send your address to [email protected] and we will include you on our list. The following addresses have offered use of their port-a-potties (BYO TP and hand sanitizer!) :

none offered at this time

7. Contractor References

To all flood victims in our area:
First and foremost know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. Living on Black Lake myself, I have personally seen the devastation caused by this unprecedented flooding. Though I am the Pastor here at First Baptist in Onaway, I also have been in the building industry for 30yrs, so I understand how overwhelming the process to recover can be. I also know how frustrating it is to try and get a hold of any type of contractor in this building landscape that we live in. With that in mind, I figured the best way I could help is to provide an opportunity to talk face to face with contractors you may have questions for. This is NOT to try and get work, nor am I saying that anyone can take on work. This is a free face to face consultation with professionals in their field.
On Sunday May 3 beginning at 5:00pm in the gym at First Baptist of Onaway, I will have every type of contractor you could have a question for available to talk to. Here is a list of who will be available:
General Contractors
Electricians
Plumbers
Mechanical
Drywall guys
Service Pro rep
Demo specialist
Clean up crews
Every contractor that will be in attendance are people that I personally know and work with. They are all licensed and insured, and they have worked local for years.
Again, I’m not guaranteeing anyone can be hired, but there will be a wealth of knowledge, resources, and contacts you could leave with to give you at least some clear direction and a starting point to work from, as you attempt to figure out a timeline and process.
Hope this is something that will help.
Josh

8. Cleaning Supplies

Pi ckup cleanup kits at the Grant Township Hall

9. Hauling Assistance

Members have had good things to say about these helpers:
1. Up North Movers 906 630-7700
2. Mitch LaPorte 231 818-0656

10. Hot Showers - UAW and Onaway State Park

Hot showers at the UAW locker rooms on Mondays and Fridays in May from 1-4 pm. The Onaway State Park is now open to all Black Lake Property Owners for showers, bathrooms, and drinking water. There are few if any staff there, but you can go through the gate, turn left toward the boat launch, then right at the stop sign to go down into the park. The hoses on the left at the bottom of the hill have been tested for drinking purity, so you can bring jugs to fill there. The bathrooms are open for you anytime.

11. Red Cross Disaster Assistance

*REGISTER WITH RED CROSS**
If you have damage to your home due to the flood, you are encouraged to register your name & address at the phone # below. There were Red Cross Volunteers here helping with supplies but there are disaster assessment teams still coming. The Red Cross desires to channel any help they can to you but you must register first.
1-800-733-2767 then press 4 for disaster relief, then press 2 to speak to a representative.

2025 Outlook

Our Guiding Principles are:

the right time to preserve and protect a lake is when it is healthy because there are few practical ways to restore a lake once it is impaired,
to maximize our impact, we cannot repeat, recreate, or replace what other groups have done. There are over 1,000 lakes of 100 acres or more in Michigan and similar numbers in Wisconsin and Minnesota. There are solutions out there that can be leveraged toward our needs
you cannot "outsource" your responsibility to protect the lake by simply writing a check to a group that takes responsibility for the lake's health. The vast majority of land around our lake is private property and all property ownerns must care enough to listen, learn, engage and adapt if our goals are to be met.

Who We Are

Our sole MISSION is to protect and preserve the ecology of Black Lake, its tributaries and watershed through advocacy and program development.

Let's Keep Black Lake Natural!

BLPS Strategy Overview:

Click the box below to view a summary of the BLPS Strategy and outlook.

Our 2025 Focus is Water Quality

Whether your main concerns are Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs), weed expansion, fish habitat/survival, or changes to the pleasant lake bottom sands, they all are impacted by invasive mussels and unnatural sources of nutrients: primarily phosphorous and primarily from (aging) septci systems. Look through the OUR FOCUS topics on this website to learn about the ways that you can reduce your contribution to the nutrient load (Self Assessment Survey tab), proper care for your septic system (Healthy Septic tab), how to prevent the introduction of new invasive mussels (Invasive Species tab). Also visit the HABs tab to become more engaged in this important topic.

Lake Association Challenges

2025 Water Quality Assessment

Most inland lakes have one or more associations that share a mission of preservation of the lake's water quality and suitability for recreation and lMost inland lakes have one or more associations that share a mission of preservation of the lake's water quality and suitability for recreation and lifestyle uses. Few are successful in the long term, and in this video, the President of the Black Lake Preservation Society, Rusty Gowland shares his views of why this is so.

There are many theories and assertions shared regarding the root causes of issues that we care about regarding the health of Black Lake. Mark Kieser of Kieser & Associates shares the facts derived from a multi-year, data centric study of our lake.

2025 BLPS Annual Progress Report

Scroll through or download the document below for a more detailed look at the activities of the BLPS in 2024.

How to Use Our BLPS Member Tools

This website and our Facebook page are for sharing our conservation oriented goals, plans, experiences, learnings, and ideas and we invite you and your like-minded or curious neighbors to join the conversation and be part of something positive. Please bookmark our website and follow our Facebook this page. Also, consider supporting us by joining/renewing your membership here at the Membership page or volunteer your time here at the Contacts page. Our impact is only limited by our collective people, time, and money.

Join the conversation on our Facebook page or email us with your ideas and interests. Click on the icon below to go to the Black Lake Preservation Society group page in Facebook.

Thank you for visiting the website of the​Black Lake Preservation Society