Summer is soon on the way. Now is the time to think about how to be "green" at the cottage of Lake Chalet. How can you use less water and be more "green" at your vacation haven - your respite from the world.

Are there ways to reduce your water use? First install that low flow showerhead that you have meaning to replace for years. Why wait for spring or in this case summer? Especially if long showered teenagers hang out at your cottage this is a great idea. A low flow aerator can cut the water flow by 50% to your lake.

Any water flow that you can reduce will keep your lake healthier. Human waste contains phosphorus, a nutrient that algae thrive on: too much or it and your lake will get algal blooms and a decline in water quality and beauty.

Inspect your septic tank and the surrounding areas periodically for odors or puddling. If you do detect trouble as they say deal with it. It may be difficult if not impossible to get a real professional to your tank. You may have to deal with it yourself or use a local of more limited skills than a true professional who may well be unlikely to head off to the bush.

As part of normal maintenance have the sludge pumped out every three to five years. And if you are having a major shindig it is always better to anticipate and plan ahead.

You are not in the city. You are at your Lake Cottage or chalet. Kick the manicured grass habit. Around 50 % of rainfall rolls right over short manicured grass lawns right to the water, carrying with it fertilizers. Laced with terrible ghastly to the lake and water life phosphorous. Even worse to the lake life are terrible pesticides which can roll off that carefully manicured lawn. Better to replace a lawn with no maintenance native plants such as dogwood and black eyes Susans, which readily absorb surface water - all the better for your lake. If you must be a turf head please keep the grass more than 100 feet from the shoreline, don't use pesticides, and mow the lawn no shorter than 2 /12 inches high (or lows)

When you need to gas up the lawnmower or power motors, say for fishing, it is best to refuel away from the waster. Chainsaws, generators, pumps and boat engines need gasoline and often oil as well. Best to do this away from the shore and if possible refuel over a tray and in a shelter with a hard floor. If possible use a rag for mopping to make clean up easier.

Lastly if possible hook up a rain barrel to your eaves trough. By catching rainfall before it hits the ground, you can greatly reduce runoff, yet attain. Even temporarily storing rain in a barrel until after a storm lets up, reduces erosion. Newer rain barrels are designed to keep out mosses so the water will not become a breeding pool for them.

In addition of course you have a ready source of the softest water you can find - great for washing your hair, for dishes, and for general water and washing uses.

We all want to be respectful of the bounty of mother earth. Best to think ahead and plan to be green at the lake cottage of chalet. When you get down to it is the only way to be.