Hey Answer Man!  Who is responsible for maintaining the lakes in the Southern Hills subdivision? — Eric Merritt, Springfield

I researched your question and I'm surprised at the answer: No one.

First, Eric, I'll give you the short answer.

Southern Hills, a subdivision in southeast Springfield, was first developed in the early 1950s by John Q. Hammons and partner Lee McLean Jr.

There are three lakes — which some call "ponds" — in Southern Hills.

One is near Utica Street and is roughly 4 acres. The other two are farther south. They are divided by Avalon Drive. One is about 7 acres and the other about 10.

The homeowners do not own the lakes.

From the inception of the development, the lakes have been owned by a company named Baker Smith Jones Inc. It has no employees and no assets — other than the lakes.

Jacqueline Dowdy, chief executive officer of John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts, tells me that Baker Smith Jones  is a "shell company." It was created to protect developers and homeowners from lawsuits. The shell company has no legal obligations to maintain the lakes, she says.

Dowdy has worked for John Q. Hammons since 1972. She also is the president of the board of the shell company.

She tells me Hammons and McLean realized the potential liability of the lakes.

"Neither one of them wanted to be responsible if someone drowned in the lake," she tells me. "And a lot of children used to fish in those ponds."

Hammons was more than willing to deed the lakes over to the homeowners who border them. But homeowners said no thanks.

Hammons died at the age of 94 in May of 2013. His company, his trust and his various other enterprises are tied up in bankruptcy proceedings. Company officials filed for bankruptcy in June.

Now, Eric, here's the longer answer.

Southern Hills was built on what was once nine farms, ranging in size from 40 acres to 223 acres, according to McLean, now 92. The lakes were an added amenity to those purchasing nearby lots.

"Most of those lots going down to the lakes have always been maintained by the owners," he says. "They have mowed it like they owned it."

Mowing is not the issue. Algae is, says Robert Smith.

Since 1977, he has lived in a Southern Hills home on South Eureka Terrace with a backyard that leads to the 4-acre lake.

Smith, 78, says his property ends 6 feet from the lip of the lake. He personally knew Hammons, who also was a Southern Hills resident.

"John Q. called the lakes 'non-performing' assets," Smith says.

"They are nothing but a liability," he adds.

Smith says the lake has deteriorated as many small, stagnant bodies of water naturally do.  As nearby Sunshine Street has been commercially developed, open fields that once absorbed rainwater have been replaced with impervious asphalt and concrete. As a result, rainwater carries more dirt and silt into the lake, along with fertilizers homeowners use on their lawns and gardens.

The dirt and silt have settled at the bottom of the lake, making it shallower. Smith says the deepest point of the lake near his house was once 10 feet. Now it's 6 or 7 feet.

Because it's not as deep, the lake heats up easier, which is conducive to algae growth. The addition of the nitrogen and phosphorus found in fertilizer also breeds algae.

As a result, for four months every summer, he says, 85 percent of the lake is covered with algae. The other two lakes, he says, have the same problem but to a lesser degree.

It's an eyesore, not a health menace, he says. As yet, there is not a major mosquito infestation.

"Other factors in these lakes are goose and duck fecal matter which contribute to the nutrient load as well," he says. "Mix these with dirt that is swept into the lake during storm events, and you have the makings of lake problems.

"Unless there is a way for these materials to wash out of the lake, you are left with nutrient-rich sediment at the bottom of the lake which continues to cause algae problems every spring when the water warms and through fall of the year when the first frost causes the algae to die."

The reason Smith knows so much about the lake is because he spent eight years researching its decline while trying to persuade someone to restore it to its once pristine condition.

Smith tells me he and a few neighbors became the "squeaky wheel" and several years ago convinced the city of Springfield to take a stab at restoring the lake, with homeowners splitting the cost.

John Q. Hammons gave his OK for the work.

"The city did an excellent job — after some pushing — and did everything they could to work with us," Smith says.

The city hired a water expert and an algae expert. The city put  in several aerators, which looked like little fountains. The homeowners paid the electric bill to run them.

Smith describes the city's financial investment as "minimal."  Officials were well aware that this was a private lake, he says.

The aerators ran for two years but didn't fix the problem, so the city put carp in the lake.

"That didn't work either," Smith says. "They couldn't eat the algae fast enough."

Next, the city used chemicals to try to destroy the algae. This failed, too.

Today, Smith and his wife are resigned to the fate of the little lake where their children once swam and fished.

After all, Smith says, algae reigns only four months of the year.

"We wait for cool weather," he says.


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