After more than a decade of restoration work, Lake Macatawa is clearer than it once was—but phosphorus levels remain well above the state’s cleanup target. Now, the Outdoor Discovery Center Network is seeking continued municipal support for a new phase of Project Clarity through 2030.
HOLLAND, Mich. — Thirteen years after Project Clarity began, the effort to restore Lake Macatawa is entering a new phase. The Outdoor Discovery Center Network says its work has made a measurable difference, but the lake remains impaired, and the improvements have begun to plateau.
On Thursday, September 3, ODC announced a plan extending through 2030, with the next phase expected to begin in early 2027. Executive Director Travis Williams and other ODC officials are visiting local governments to seek continued financial support.
The proposal expands the focus beyond reducing agricultural and stormwater runoff. It also considers ways to address phosphorus already trapped in the lake’s sediment, improve monitoring, and restore conditions that better support fish and other aquatic life.
For residents who have long known the lake by its unflattering nickname, “Lake Maca-toilet,” the question is straightforward: After years of investment, what will it take to make the lake healthy again?
The Macatawa Watershed covers approximately 175 square miles, including Holland, Zeeland, and surrounding townships. Rainwater from farms, neighborhoods, roads, and parking lots eventually flows through the watershed into Lake Macatawa and, ultimately, Lake Michigan.
Over generations, much of the watershed’s original wetlands were drained or filled to make way for agriculture and development. Those wetlands once helped slow and filter runoff before it reached the lake.
Today, heavy rainfall can carry sediment and nutrients from fields and developed areas into the watershed. Phosphorus, a nutrient commonly found in fertilizer, is especially problematic. In excessive amounts, it fuels algae growth, reduces water clarity, and can contribute to oxygen depletion that harms aquatic life.
Lake Macatawa has been listed as an impaired waterbody for decades. State regulators established an interim phosphorus target of 50 micrograms per liter, requiring a substantial reduction in the amount of phosphorus entering the lake. That target was intended as a step toward restoration, not the final definition of a healthy lake.
The Macatawa Area Coordinating Council led watershed planning efforts for many years before that responsibility transferred to the ODC Network in October 2021.
Project Clarity launched around 2013 as a public-private partnership, with approximately $12 million raised during its early years. Much of that support came from private donors.
The strategy focused on preventing pollution before it reached the lake: restoring wetlands, stabilizing streambanks, improving agricultural practices, installing rain gardens, and educating residents about watershed health.
According to ODC, the effort has supported more than 250 restoration and conservation projects and worked with 65 farms across tens of thousands of acres. The organization estimates that its projects prevent approximately 40,000 pounds of phosphorus and 46,000 tons of sediment from entering the lake annually.
ODC also reports that water clarity has improved to levels not seen since monitoring began in the 1970s.
Those accomplishments are significant. They demonstrate that investments in the surrounding watershed can improve conditions in the lake. But the latest monitoring results suggest that upstream restoration alone may not be enough to reach the state’s cleanup target.
The Project Clarity 2025 Annual Report, prepared by Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute and published in January, presents a more complicated picture of the lake’s progress.
Water clarity remains better than during some of the lake’s worst years, and monitoring found that algae toxins remained low enough for recreation in 2025. However, phosphorus concentrations remain elevated.
The lake’s average phosphorus level in 2025 was more than twice the state’s interim target of 50 micrograms per liter. Every surface-water sample collected during the year exceeded that goal.
Summer conditions were particularly poor. Average water clarity, measured using a Secchi disk, was approximately two feet—short of the local goal of roughly three feet.
Researchers have also observed an increase in the form of phosphorus most readily available to algae. That trend, combined with phosphorus stored in lake sediment, presents an additional challenge. Even when less pollution enters from surrounding land, nutrients already in the lake can continue contributing to algae growth.
The report’s conclusion is clear: Continued watershed restoration is necessary, but additional approaches may be needed to achieve meaningful improvements.
ODC’s proposed next phase would continue existing conservation work while exploring new methods to improve conditions within the lake itself.
One possibility is a treatment designed to bind phosphorus in lake sediment, reducing the amount available to fuel algae growth. A previous study examined treating the Macatawa River, but that approach was considered too expensive. Treating portions of the lake is now being evaluated as a potentially more practical option.
The approach would not replace upstream restoration. Reducing runoff remains essential because new phosphorus would continue entering the lake without those efforts.
Fieldwork during summer 2026 is intended to identify areas where sediment phosphorus is most concentrated, helping determine whether a targeted treatment would be appropriate.
The next phase also includes expanded monitoring. A buoy installed in summer 2025 allows researchers to collect more continuous information about lake conditions, rather than relying solely on periodic sampling. Additional tributary sensors and a public dashboard are also being considered to make water-quality information more accessible to residents.
Fish surveys will continue to help researchers evaluate whether the lake is developing conditions that support a healthier aquatic ecosystem.
The next phase will require continued financial support from the municipalities within the watershed. ODC officials are presenting the plan to local governing bodies as they prepare for the work expected to begin in 2027.
The organization has not framed the new phase as a replacement for the work already completed. Rather, it is an acknowledgment that restoring a lake affected by generations of land-use changes and nutrient pollution will require a longer-term commitment.
For local taxpayers, the discussion raises important questions about the cost of the next phase, the measurable goals it will pursue, and how progress will be evaluated.
Project Clarity has demonstrated that restoration can improve Lake Macatawa. The challenge now is determining which additional investments will move the lake beyond its current plateau—and how residents will know whether those investments are working.
For more information, residents can contact the Outdoor Discovery Center Network. Project Clarity monitoring reports are available through Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute.
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