"ACL has not been successful in reducing the nutrient intake into the lake." That sentence appears in the June 20, 2026 board minutes, in the Conservation Commission's report. The same report says the lake gets treated for invasive and nuisance species, and it recommends asking lake consultants for proposals to guide what comes next.
That was the middle of summer. The campground and golf course are now closed for the season, and the golf carts came off on November 2. The water question stays open. Over the past year it has moved from treating what grows in the lake to measuring what sits at the bottom of it. Most of what happens next will be settled at board meetings between now and spring, while the lake is quiet.
Where the phosphorus comes from
Apple Canyon Lake catches what drains off a lot of land beyond its gates. Illinois EPA keeps the Apple Canyon Lake watershed-based plan, written in 2016 by a group of farm owners, farm operators, association homeowners, agency staff and POA personnel. It puts the watershed at about 9,776 acres, with over 400 feet of elevation change in typical Driftless Area terrain. Water runs south through Hell's Branch into the lake, a 418.88-acre impoundment that the Branigar Corporation built in 1969.
The plan says plainly that soil erosion and the phosphorus attached to it are the main concerns. Here is how the land splits:
- About 75% of the watershed is in agricultural production, divided evenly between row crops and hay or pasture.
- The Apple Canyon Lake Property Owners Association covers 2,366.1 acres, or 24.2% of the watershed.
- Hell's Branch, the largest subwatershed and the main tributary, contributes about 67% of the loading.
So roughly three-quarters of the land feeding the lake lies outside the association. That's why the Conservation Commission told the board in September that it wants to work with area farmers to reduce nutrient runoff. Nothing done inside the gates alone touches most of where the phosphorus starts.
The second source is already in the lake
The 2016 plan also describes a slower problem. Its water quality assessment calls total phosphorus the main nutrient of concern for the lake's aesthetic quality, and it says phosphorus settles into the lake's sediments. When the plan was written, the lake had been collecting phosphorus for more than 40 years. The plan expects that legacy sediment to stay for years even after less phosphorus comes in, and to keep affecting water quality results after conservation practices go in.
The same assessment notes that neither the lake nor its tributaries were listed as impaired by IEPA at the time. Phosphorus samples were being taken at three spots in the lake through the Illinois EPA Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program.
Two sources, then. Runoff keeps arriving from upstream, and the lake bottom holds decades of what already came in. That pair explains the order of the 2026 decisions.
What the association tried in 2026
The year opened with a change in treatments and their cost, and by September it had reached a request to test the lake bottom.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | New lake chemicals plan cut zebra mussel treatments from two to one; each had cost $25K | April 2026 Apple Core |
| June 20 | Commission reports nutrient intake not reduced; board agrees to try electric aeration and floating islands at Nixon Beach | June minutes |
| July 18 | Board approves up to seven floating islands at Nixon Beach, up to $11,500 | July minutes |
| September 19 | Presentation on lake conditions and phosphorus binding; requests for a Lake Manager, a remediation RFP and spring 2027 sediment testing | September minutes |
For context, the earlier approach shows up in the April 19, 2025 minutes. That spring the board approved McCloud Aquatics' proposal with EarthTec QZ zebra mussel treatments across the whole lake, including Nixon Beach and the Marina. It also approved a lake contract that called for keeping the swim area at the beach clear of weeds while letting healthy native plants grow elsewhere, along with control of curly-leaf pondweed. The same discussion said work would continue on reducing phosphorus coming into the lake.
The floating islands at Nixon Beach were the first 2026 step aimed at nutrients themselves. Natural Resources Manager Tyler Hesselbacher presented nutrient management technologies to the board in June. In July the commission's report called the islands, going in outside the Nixon Beach swimming area, "the start of a larger goal of trying to reduce the amount of nutrients in the lake." The commission was also checking progress against the 5- and 10-year milestones in the watershed plan. The 2016 plan aimed for 25% of its load reduction goals by 2021 and the full goals by 2036.
September turned the focus to the lake bottom
At the September 19 meeting, the board renamed an agenda item "Conservation Commission Presentation on Lake Conditions." Steve Nelson then presented on lake conditions and phosphorus binding. The commission made four requests:
- Approve and post a Lake Manager position.
- Authorize a request for proposals for water quality remediation.
- Approve the related funding recommended by the Budget Commission.
- Let unused 2026 zebra mussel treatment funds pay for sediment testing in spring 2027.
The board took the requests under advisement.
These requests line up with the two-source problem. Sediment testing measures the phosphorus the 2016 plan said was stored on the lake bottom. A remediation RFP is the formal version of the outside expertise the commission asked for in June. In the same September minutes, the commission repeated its recommendation for a full-time Lake Manager so the Natural Resources Manager could focus on land-based natural resource projects. The upstream work with farmers and the in-lake work would then each have someone on them.
The funding swap ties it back to April. The cheaper mussel plan is what left money in that line, and the commission wants it spent on finding out what the lake bottom holds.
The winter calendar for the lake
The budget sets how much of this moves forward. In September the board agreed to review the proposed budget informally so it could be published in October and adopted in November. The October 17 agenda listed a 2027 budget discussion.
Dates to keep in mind:
- November 21: Board meeting, 9:00 a.m. at the Clubhouse. Board meetings are held the third Saturday of each month.
- December 19: The last scheduled board meeting of 2026.
- Spring 2027: The proposed window for sediment testing, if the board approves the funding swap.
Minutes are posted on the ACL board minutes page, and the Treasurer's Report is on the association website.
Other things are still on the calendar this season. Holly Jolly Winter Wonderland runs 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on December 5. From October 1 through March 31, the Solid Waste and Recycling Center keeps winter hours:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8 to 10 a.m. |
| Tuesday | 4 to 6 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 2 to 6 p.m. |
| Friday | Closed |
| Saturday | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sunday | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
The Lake Manager position, the remediation RFP and the sediment testing all came to the board as requests in September, and spring 2027 is the first date attached to any of them.
Lake property is only as good as the water it sits on, and our agents watch Apple Canyon Lake's board decisions the same way owners do. If you'd like to talk about what the lake's plans could mean for a property you own or are considering, Sullivan Realty is glad to sit down with you. Contact Us.
