Evansville Observer: Lake Leota Update: Fred Juergens Pt 2

Monday, July 09, 2007

Lake Leota Update: Fred Juergens Pt 2

Second part of presentation of Fred Juergens on Lake Leota 7-8-2007 Finance Committee Meeting

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10 comments:

Anonymous10:33 AM
How many times has the lake been dredgeed? How much has been spent on it so far over the years? Now we want to spend more. Then how long before it has to done again?
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Anonymous12:54 PM
The "lake" hasn't been dredged yet, only drained. I noticed during the July 4th festivities that the creek didn't have the usual stench and slime as in past years. Maybe leaving it as a healthy creek the way nature made it is the way to go.
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Anonymous9:05 AM
The lake has been dredged maybe 2 or 3 times in the past. So here we are again.
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Anonymous1:46 PM
Something that Fred may have not included in his presentation is the fact that dredging alone will not cure the lake.
The problems upstream would need to be fixed in order for a long term solution to be effective.
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Anonymous4:22 PM
LAKE LEOTA - FROM A MILL POND TO A MUD PUDDLE
Lake Leota has existed-on and off-in one form or another-for about 150 years. It was created when Allen Creek was dammed in the late 1840s. Allen Creek has existed since the last ice age, some 10,000 years.
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Anonymous6:23 AM
According to Ruth Ann:

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/ruthannmontgomer/Lake_Leota.html

The first dredging of the lake took placed in 1931.
The lake was not dredged again until 1958....
In May 1975, the City was allowed to lower the water level in the lake and dredge the shoreline.
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Anonymous7:36 AM
To my knowledge, the lake hasn't been dredged since at least since the 1930's, and possibly earlier. (If anyone has definitive, documented information to the contrary, please post it here as well as sending it to me.) Money has been spent in the meantime to rip-rap the lake edges, but I don't have $$ details on that. The dam was rebuilt, at a cost of about $190K in the early 1990's.

It's true that dredging alone won't cure the lake forever, without attention to the upstream run-off. That needs to be done as well in order to effect a "forever" cure, and that will require cooperation from the upstream communities through which Allen Creek runs, and probably the counties and State as well. (And such attention may still be wise, even if the lake is not dredged.)

"Forever" is a long time. When the lake was averaging 4 feet deep, some 30 years ago, DNR estimated that dredging the lake to a 10 foot depth would probably be a 60-year solution, even without attention upstream. Is that good enough? Is it worth it to spend the money for dredging?

Dredging Lake Leota, as you can see in the video, and for which I'll be glad to provide documentation, has been the subject of two ADVISORY referenda in 1982 and 1990, both of which passed 2-1 in favor of dredging. Yet then, city council did not follow the advice of the citizens. I wasn't living in Evansville at the time, and can't speculate on why that happened. Anyhow that's ancient history, and the question is:

WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

Please note that I am not advocating any "side" of this issue. I am just trying to get the city, (which includes every resident, not just the City Council) involved in a decision, on what to do with the lake as it is today --
1. restore it to an 8-10 foot depth by dredging?

2. refill it and let nature take its course, postponing for a few years the time it takes for the lake to become a wetland? or

3. remove the dam, and let nature take its course?

There well may be other options, which I'll be very glad to see become part of the discussion. This is a serious issue, which deserves serious thought by all of us. How we come to a decision, and what we decide, can affect the long-term future of Evansville.

Please contact both your alderpersons, soon, to give your views on this important issue. If you don't know who they are, call city hall (882-2266) or check the city's website:

http://www.ci.evansville.wi.gov/city/governing.htm

Fred Juergens, Alderman, and Chair of Park and Recreation Board. 882-2489
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Anonymous1:46 PM
Fred Juergens writes again:

"mill pond" cites Ruth Ann Montgomery's history of Lake Leota, and says it was dredged in 1931 & 1958. I read her article in some detail and here's what she actually says:

"The first dredging of the lake took place in 1931. Only the portion of the lake used as a bathing area was dredged....... ......The lake was not dredged again until 1958 when dam repair became necessary. This project covered a large area of the lake and about 25,000 cubic yards of dirt was removed from the lake bed at a cost of $5,000."

Note that 25K cubic yards is about 1/10 of the amount that is currently estimated for removal, to restore the entire lake below the railroad bridge to a 8-10 foot depth. The "large area" noted by Ruth Ann was later described in her article as about 350 by 1650 feet. This is, according to my calculations, about 13 acres. The lake below the dam is about 20 acres, so about 2/3 of it was dredged. If you spread out 25K cubic yards of sediment over 13 acres, it would be about 2.6 feet deep. So, if I haven't made any errors, part of the lake was partially dredged twice, but not a complete dredging of about a quarter of a million cubic yards, to an 8-10 foot depth, as is now being contemplated.

The lake was drained again in 1967, when it became obvious that the dam was in danger of collapsing. Here's what Montgomery says happened in the aftermath of that drainage.

"Norman Thompson asked the City Council for permission to use his earth moving equipment to clean the lake bottom. The City Council refused his request and it was several years before there was any interest in dredging."

So, it would appear that the entire lake has NEVER been dredged, though some partial efforts had been made in 1931 and 1958, prior to the advisory referenda in 1982 and 1990. It's just been filling up over time, as four generations of Evansville residents have settled for half-way measures to postpone the inexorable conversion of mill pond to mud puddle.

It's worth every resident's time to read Ruth Ann's history, not just to get info on the dredging efforts, but also to note, (and if you're in the mood, applaud) the extraordinarily high amount of volunteer effort expended during the 70's to deal with the lake's problems.
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Anonymous6:14 AM
How much will it cost? How much to fix the lake and the decaying concrete channel the creek runs through? Will the “mill pond” rapidly become a “milfoil pond” similar to nearby Gibbs Lake? Will the city require payment to launch a small boat as they do at Gibbs Lake?
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Anonymous7:13 AM
Fred Juergens says: Milfoil's questions about cost will be answered soon, I hope.

First, the lake. At Park Board meeting tonight, I will propose a motion to get an engineering report from the City Engineer on costs of a definitive plan to dredge the lake. While SOLE has done a good job so far, they don't have the resources to pay for a serious engineering plan. We need good numbers, and soon, before we can move forward. If Park Board passes the motion, then it will come to City Council at its August meeting. I hope everyone will contact their council representatives to urge passage of this motion.

On the creek walls, I expect a report from the Dry Stone Conservancy by the end of the week. It will contain various options, at various costs, for restoring them. They've been here to examine the creek walls and to recommend restoration measures. Park Board paid for their visit here at the beginning of June. It's possible that DSC may come here to do a training workshop on wall-restoration for city staff this fall.

As always, I urge citizens to contact the Mayor and Council members with their concerns. Asking questions here is another venue for getting info out, but many council members don't read this blog.
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