The recreational sports department will also likely assume regular maintenance of the trails, a measure that will enhance considerably the safety of the woods, according to Denny Byrne, director of recreational sports. Curtailing erosion from the trails is another priority. Sediment flow into Matoaka occurs at a rate 10 times higher than normal for a natural lake of its size. Levels of urban pollutants in the lake, particularly phosphates, skyrocket 10 to 100 times their normal levels after a heavy rainfall. This leads to the accelerated growth of underwater plants that reduce the oxygen levels in the water and choke off other aquatic life.
Urban development is the primary contributor of runoff and pollutants into the lake.
But erosion from trails in the College Woods is also apparently significant. Hoover and other student volunteers have begun constructing a series of trenches along the paths to divert runoff into the leaves instead of the lake. The Student Environmental Action Coalition is helping with this initiative, recommended by the State Soil Conservation Agency. Mathes believes that controlling runoff from the trails will also reduce sediment inflow that poses a long-term threat to the lake's viability. Mathes, Professor of Geology Gerald Johnson and members of the remediation committee are holding a series of meetings with representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine options for removing sediment, particularly phosphates, from the lake.