Lake Lovers celebrate game-changing pilot for Lake County lakes
In a story that proves ordinary citizens can achieve extraordinary environmental results, the Lake County Lake Lovers 2025 Lake Monitoring Pilot successfully concluded its inaugural season with a year-end celebration Nov. 20, where they also announced plans for expansion in 2026.
Launched in January 2025 after global water-technology leader Xylem donated $15,000 in professional-grade monitoring equipment, the volunteer-driven initiative set out to answer a simple but critical question: If we offered access to the same real-time scientific tools used by professionals would any volunteers sign up to learn how to use the tools, and be willing to do so every other week from late March to early October — and share the data publicly?
Lake Lovers put out the invitation in January to lake groups, hoping to get at least five lakes, since that matched the five days of the week to share the equipment. The response was thrilling when 12 lakes applied, and Lake Lovers decided to say yes to all 12, trusting that a way could be found to move the equipment to support this large size and expecting that a few would drop out over time.
“Our global network of water industry participants suggests this is the first program of its kind in the nation if not the world,” said Mary Conley Eggert, founder of Global Water Works, the charity and 3300-member community that hosts Lake County Lake Lovers. “It is unique in matching passionate volunteers, professional equipment, data transparency, and a supportive scientific community for monthly engagement and coaching.”
From March through October 2025, 31 trained citizen scientists rotated sophisticated Xylem sondes across the dozen lakes on a daily, tightly coordinated schedule, receiving SAME DAY results at no cost. They also collected numerous water samples per lake to help locate the sources of their nutrient pollution.
For a low-cost lab, one phosphorus test alone could cost $200 and take four to six weeks to receive the results. Each testing day, lakes received the conservatively estimated value of $600 in free testing, meaning each lake received almost $6,000 in savings for the season.
The results were transformative:
• All 12 participating lakes completed the full seven-month season with zero dropouts.
• Volunteers contributed an estimated 2,800 hours, producing immediate, lab-quality results that saved the groups a combined $100,800 in testing costs.
• Real-time phosphorus readings allowed communities to pinpoint pollution hot spots, adjust treatment plans, and in at least one case, scrap an expensive dredging project after data revealed the true source of the problem.
Highlights of the year included over 100 lake lovers attending a sold-out “Lake Stories: The Good. The Bad. The Mucky.” celebration in July during Lake Appreciation Month (now on YouTube) where lake leaders shared how the data was influencing their actions.
Lake Lovers posted collected data to a public-facing Google Maps dashboard with easy-to-read trend lines (bit.ly/2025PilotMap).
Four lakes chose to participate in an optional capstone of the pilot: they prepared a scientifically rigorous analysis of their collected data, effectiveness of 2025 actions and proposed 2026 plans to a panel of esteemed regional lake experts to not only learn from each other but to improve 2026 plans.
“Lakes can’t fix themselves and there is no Magic Lake Fairy,” said Becky Sawle, co-chair. “They need to be adopted and loved to begin the rigorous journey of returning to health. I want to see Lake County’s lakes moving from the current rate of 70% impaired (per U.S. EPA) to a lower percentage because of the action Lake County Lake Lovers is empowering.”
Lake Health Lead Paul Spiewak emphasized the broader impact: “Many lake groups don’t know where to start. This program offers both the technology and the community support to take measurable, data-driven action.”
With interest already known from additional lakes, Lake County Lake Lovers is gearing up for a larger 2026 program and invites all lake residents to join the Lake County Lake Lover online community to stay apprised at bit.ly/LC-LakeLovers.
Lake Lovers offers monthly opportunities to learn about lake health issues and how to address them in our popular Third Thursdays, promoted in the Lake Lover Community. A video summary of 2025 presentations was shared at the year-end celebration and can be viewed on YouTube. Content is made public to help others and all are invited to join the Next Third Thursday on Jan. 17.
The 2026 Program details will be sent to news outlets in January and to those who join the Lake Lover Community, and the deadline to apply is Feb. 13, 2026.
One participant quoted anthropologist Margaret Mead at the closing celebration: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
In Lake County, Illinois, they just proved it — one lake at a time.