THIRD LAKE, IL   — This village of 1300 people located about 40 miles north of downtown Chicago recently passed an ordinance prohibiting residents and commercial lawn care companies from using fertilizers containing phosphorus. Village officials took the measure to lessen the runoff of nutrients into two nearby lakes, Druce Lake and Third Lakes, popular boating and recreational sites.

Third Lake is the second community in Illinois to restrict the use of phosphorus fertilizers, following the lead of the nearby town of Antioch, also in Lake County. Antioch has approximately 8,000 residents. In both cases, the use of fertilizers containing phosphorus is allowed in soils deficient in the element and also for agriculture.

Laws restricting the use of phosphorus in lawn care and landscapes to protect streams and lakes have been spreading in recent years, first in Minnesota, then in regions of Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Phosphorus is a macronutrient, one of the three primary nutrients generally added to soils in fertilizers. Although phosphorus is essential for plant growth, mismanagement of soil P can pose a threat to water quality. The concentration of phosphorus is usually sufficiently low in fresh water so that algae growth is limited. When lakes and rivers are polluted with phosphorus, excessive growth of algae often results. High levels of algae reduce water clarity and can lead to decreases in available dissolved oxygen as the algae decays, conditions that can be very detrimental to game fish populations.

Click here for the article in the Chicago Tribune regarding the Village of Third Lake’s decision to restrict the sale and use of fertilizer containing phosphorus.