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The results of the study were good, and he made this point by actually drinking the water, attesting to its ÒpristineÓ quality with phosphorus levels measuring only at 2.6 parts per billion, he said. He added that he didnÕt see any change from the last 20 years.

The presentation took place at a regular Clearwater Township Board of Trustees Meeting March 20, and is one of seven others set to take place in the near future, Bretz said. Torch Lake Township will be the associationÕs next stop, and Milton, Forest Home, Kearney, Custer, Helena and Central Lake townships will also hear the presentation.

In 2005, Clearwater Township pledged $2,000 in support of the study. Bretz said he has enjoyed the water quality of Torch Lake since he was young and he has an interest in protecting that quality for future generations. Others interested in the futures of the lakes were Elk Rapids High School volunteers Samantha Fox, Derek Walton and Lauren Elbert, who assisted with the study, he said.

Three reports were completed regarding tests done on Torch Lake, Clam Lake and Lake Bellaire. The purpose of the tests was to develop a comprehensive model of phosphorus, the "keystone nutrient" for the three lakes, he added. Another interest of the association was to quantify and locate the sources of phosphorus coming into the lakes. Some possible phosphorus sources he cited were tributaries - in this case Clam River would be a tributary - ground water and precipitation. Bretz said that the association found that 90 percent of the phosphorus entering the lakes falls to the bottom sediment and stays there, and that they found that water clarity of these lakes is determined by calcium carbonate precipitation, not by plankton and not by phosphorus.

Bretz took the opportunity to advise the township to adopt a clause about water protection in their master plan, so that it stays clear. He added that the township may seek to monitor phosphorus levels in terms of water runoff and scouring into the lakes, and that they might look at septic systems and fertilizers use in the future.

The Three Lakes Association succeeded in creating a model that can serve as a basis for prediction regarding phosphorus levels, Bretz said.