The Healthy Lakes Initiative

Heritage Oaks Golf & Country Club
The “Healthy Lakes Initiative” began as a Task Force in 2021 following a massive fish die-off due to oxygen depletion and high nitrate levels in three of our lakes. This initiative is now coordinated through the Lakes & Wetlands Subcommittee of the Common Properties Committee. Our Initiative is patterned after the Healthy Pond Collaborative developed by the University of Florida in partnership with Sarasota and Manatee Counties and the Suncoast Waterkeeper. The purpose is to restore our aging lakes to obtain ecologically stable ecosystems that are sustainable with minimal maintenance and reduction in chemical dependence, and to maintain aesthetically pleasing lakes that attract a diversity of shorebirds and flowering vegetation.

Communication Briefs

Since implementing the Healthy Lakes Initiative in 2021, we have issued several Communication Briefs to maintain full transparency on the Initiative and to explain the various components and underlying rationale to restore the integrity of our lakes.

  1. 1 Healthy Lakes Initiative Flyer Provides the objectives of the Initiative and briefly describes the two major components: the Buffer (No Mow) Zone and the plantings in the Littoral Zone.
  2. 2 Cost Benefit of Healthy Lakes Initiative Explains the cost savings to Heritage Oaks by implementing the Initiative, particularly by stabilizing the banks and reducing herbicide use.
  3. 3 Challenge of Maintaining Buffer Zone An explanation to residents about the buffer or no mower zone and what to expect on a seasonal basis.
  4. 4 Littoral Zone Management at Heritage Oaks Assuring residents that the plantings along the shore zone have a specific purpose and will not take over the lakes.
  5. 5 Maintenance of No Mower Zone Explains the process by which the No Mow or Buffer Zone will be maintained by Heritage Oaks Common Grounds staff.
  6. 6 Overview of the START Program for Heritage Oaks START (Solutions To Avoid Red Tide) has provided Heritage Oaks with a 2-year grant for littoral shelf plantings that will assimilate nutrients and reduce outflow of chemicals to the watershed.
  7. 7 Sampling for Water Quality Analyses in Lake As an additional component to our START grant, we are getting free analyses from the University of Florida via water sampling by our volunteers.
  8. 8 Story of the Fish Kills In the summer of 2020 we experienced fish kills in a couple of our lakes, for which our BOT President formed a Task Force to investigate and make recommendations. Our Healthy Lakes Initiative began with that event.
  9. 9 Algae on Our Lakes A thorough explanation of the occurrence of algae blooms and our plan to minimize and reduce those occurrences.
  10. 10 Bank Replacement of Our Lakes Although our bank stabilization efforts aim to reduce the need for this expensive procedure, we do have situations where we need to construct an artificial bank using geotextile tubing.
  11. 11 Fishing at Heritage Oaks Describes the fishing amenity at Heritage Oaks and the key species of fish desirable for the fishing experience.
  12. 12 Tilapia Harvesting On occasion we use an outside service at no cost to Heritage Oaks to reduce our Tilapia population through extensive netting because Tilapia are invasive.
  13. 13 The Importance of Our Wetlands and Stormwater Ponds Describes the various benefits of our aquatic resources to Heritage Oaks, the County and State, as well as universal importance.
  14. 14 Our Lake Conditions as of June 2022 Early in our Initiative we reported on conditions as of 2022 and our plans going forward.
  15. 15 Summer (2023) Status of Our Lakes At the end of our very dry summer of 2023, we reported on the condition of our lakes.
  16. 16 Sarasota County Healthy Pond Scorecard for Buffer Zone Developed by the County, this scorecard can be used by associations to judge the condition of different aspects of the Buffer Zone and identify areas for improvement.
  17. 17 Sarasota County Healthy Pond Scorecard for Littoral Zone As with the scorecard for the Buffer Zone, this scorecard helps in identifying both the status and areas for improvement to the Littoral Shelf within the Littoral Zone.
  18. 18 What Is Going on with Our Lakes (Summer 2024) A periodic overview of the condition of our lakes. In 2024 we experienced severe drought and then overflow conditions caused by hurricanes and tropical storms.
  19. 19 Water Quality Condition Assessment in Lake #5 Lake #5 is behind the Patio Homes on Legacy Ct and collects stormwater from all of Heritage Oaks. This assessment recommends rehabilitation measures.
  20. 20 Why We Want Alligators Intended to be informative of the benefits of alligators in our Florida waters.
  21. 21 Ecosystem in Balance An explanation of the underpinnings of our Healthy Lakes Initiative and what we are trying to achieve in each of our 25 lakes.
  22. 22 Why Do Fish Die in Our Lakes in the Summer? Tilapia are not indigenous to Florida and are more sensitive to heat and oxygen differentials, and we will lose a few each summer.
  23. 23 Notice to Landscapers In both English and Spanish, we provide instructions to the mowers of our contracted landscapers on leaving a buffer zone around the perimeter of each lake.
  24. 24 Grant Support for Healthy Lakes Initiative As of 2026, we have procured $34,000 in outside grants, batting about 50% in success.
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