Lake Spotlight: Lake Columbia
- Dustin Ford
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Michigan is home to over 60,000 inland lakes, and they share a lot of common ground, literally. These lakes often have similar wildlife and people, but we also share similar challenges. In this series, I plan to highlight several different lakes around West Michigan. Today we are covering one of our neighbors from Jackson County, Lake Columbia.
Back in the mid-1800s, Goose Creek was sought out as a milling outpost. It was mostly used for milling grain and flour. Over time, it became more industrial. After constructing a dam and several mills, the village of Jefferson was established. As time went on, this village was later named Columbia.
Everything changed in 1960 when investors started buying up farmland in the surrounding area. Their goal was to sell attractive land around a private lake and create a unique lake lifestyle experience. In July 1961, a new dam began construction to stop the flow of Goose Creek. It didn’t take long for the stream to get backed up. Water flooded the surrounding land into what is now known as Lake Columbia.
This lake now covers 840 acres of land. It stretches approximately 2.25 miles long and 1.75 miles wide. It has a maximum depth of 25 feet and a shore length of 14 miles. For comparison, Paw Paw Lake has a similar surface area, but is much deeper. There are two small islands located within the lake: one in the center and one at its eastern wing. Both of which are surrounded by sandbars. Archwood Circle is surrounded by canals and is connected to the rest of the shore by one bridge. While not exactly an island, you can find several peninsula-like land formations jutting into the water.
Along its shoreline, Lake Columbia has about 700 different homes. There are 9 boat ramps, 16 parks, and 8 bathhouses. In addition, there are 14 different golf courses within a 20-mile radius. There are plenty of activity spaces available to homeowners. As you can imagine, there are many different events held on the lake each year.
Lake Columbia is also known for its involvement in improving water quality. They were one of the biggest lakes known to use biochar bags in phosphate removal. In 2023, an initiative was launched to remove rapid contaminant buildup. Over 400 bags were used in this initiative. Huge amounts of harmful chemicals were taken from the lake over the last 2 years.
While data is still being collected on this initiative, reports thus far have been overwhelmingly positive. In certain levels of the lake the amount of prosperous dropped to less than a quarter of what they were before the initiative. Further documentation on this can be found in Lake Columbia’s Water Quality report listed below. We will be following along with anticipation as further data is collected.
Overall, Lake Columbia is a beautiful lake with a lot to love. It’s one of many lakes that makes Michigan so great. We are all a part of the Great Lake's watershed, so we must study our neighbors.
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