COEUR d'ALENE - Between power boats, polar bear dives and waves of wetsuit-clad Ironmen, it's fair to say Lake Coeur d'Alene gets a lot of use.

So how about we take care of it?

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality are kicking off a program aimed at just that.

The state and tribe will soon be launching a new Lake A Syst program to educate waterfront homeowners on how to reduce pollution in Lake Coeur d'Alene.

"It's a lot simple things," said Nancy Dooley of the Idaho Conservation League, helping to promote the program. "The lake's not going anywhere. More and more people are locating to the area, and we want to minimize impact on the lake."

The focal point of the program is a new Lake A Syst manual, spelling out management practices specifically for residents along the lake and its contributing rivers and streams, said Glen Rothrock, DEQ lake management plan coordinator.

The roughly 3,500 homes within 500 feet of the lake's shore have direct impact on what goes into the water, he said.

"The concept of a program for private property and homeowners on best management practices, particularly focusing on folks adjacent to surface water, was referenced in the Lake Management Plan," Rothrock said of the tribe and state's document to maintain lake quality. "We knew we wanted to develop that as education and outreach for private homeowners."

The manual includes guidance on myriad management activities for waterfront living. Those include managing stormwater runoff, maintaining septic tanks and nurturing shoreline vegetation.

Homeowners can use the manual as a resource for assessing and improving their own properties, Rothrock added.

"It's mean to be interactive," said Rothrock, who has been developing the program with Laura Laumatia of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. "It's an interaction with tribal staff and DEQ staff, to work with people to look for pollutants, and fix them in an economic way."

Keeping the water pristine is crucial for managing the heavy metals deposited in the lake, the result of historic mining activities that saw tailings dumped directly in the water.

When more nutrients like fertilizer enter the lake, there is greater risk of changing the water body's chemistry in a way that releases toxic metals into the water column.

The Lake A Syst program will kick off Monday at a Love Our Lake celebration from 5 to 7 p.m. at Bardenay Restaurant and Distillery in Coeur d'Alene.

Several environmental groups like ICL and Kootenai Environmental Alliance will be present to discuss the new program and protecting water quality.

CDs of the new manual will be available at the event. To request a copy, contact Laumatia at 667-5772, or Rothrock at 666-4623.

The agencies are still working out more details for implementing the program, Rothrock added.

"It's brand new," he said. "There's going to be a lot of learning curve for our staff."