The Lake Project
Project History
Recovery began March 2008 with adding sterile carp to eat the algae that had formed due to the lake’s lower depth. This was caused by silt upstream being carried into the lake over the last twenty plus years. Also, along with adding the carp, the spillways were raised by Gary Lohr and Gary Theisen to increase the water level in the lake. In 2009, with the help of county storm water engineers, it was determined that a forebay had to be built between the stream and the lake in order to stop the encroachment of the silt. The algae was slowly disappearing so, twenty more Carp were added. Constructing the forebay began in 2009 with 80 tons of rock being moved by Gary Lohr and Gary Theisen (then president of the HOA) with a rented bobcat. In 2010 we began to see the algae diminish. Raising the lake level and adding the carp seemed to have solved the algae problem. However, the forebay was only about twenty-five percent complete and more silt was coming in with every storm.
In the fall of 2010 the completion of the forebay began with another 180 tons of rock being delivered to the lake site. The rock was then moved and formed into a forebay with a rented bobcat. With a rented backhoe, the silt was dipped from the back, front, and sides of the forebay and placed on top of the rock and smoothed.
Finally, in October, two and one half months after beginning the project, the forebay was complete and was raked and then planted with winter rye grass to stop erosion of the top soil. Then, looking to the future, we realized that we must dip the forebay about every three to five years to manage the silt. Therefore, we created access to the forebay from the back side of the lake.
The final phase of the renovation part of this project was building two bridges and installing a culvert pipe to allow for a walking path completely around the lake. Most of the old dead trees that had fallen over the years were removed and chipped or used to make path markers. This will also help to minimize fire hazard in the lake area. More chipping is still required. Fishing is for residents only. Non-residents may only fish when accompanied by a resident. Catch and release is the fishing policy in place. If you have the opportunity, please check out the lake and enjoy the new path around it.
After completing the first three phases of the lake renovation project, 1) raising the dam spill ways, adding grass carp to control the major algae problem, 2) building a forebay to trap the sediment in the creek so it could not continue to flow into the lake from the creek, and 3) installing two bridges and a culvert to complete a path completely around the lake, Phase Four began in 2011 with dredging the lake. The lake is actually a large retention pond constructed to control storm water runoff that occurs when a community is constructed. The holding capacity of the pond had been compromised by 23 years of sediment entering the lake. The solution called for dredging but bids from dredging contractors were in the range of $100,000 plus.
The board approved the purchase of a mini dredge and discharge hoses which was purchased in Baton Rouge, LA., transported to our lake and put to work. The dredging of the lake continued for two years and was accomplished for less than $10,000. After completion of the dredging, the mini dredge was sold and 75 percent of its purchase price was recovered.
When the dredging was complete, the HOA contracted with ILM, a lake management company, to monitor and maintain the lake’s health through regular water testing, algae treatments, wildlife and aquatic plant monitoring, trash removal from the lake and around the shore.
In 2014, one of dam’s spillways had breeched and required immediate repair. The cause was a separation of the cement dam spillway from the large pipe that carries the over-flow lake water through the dam and down stream. The breech was caught early and a contractor was hired to repair it at a reasonable cost to the HOA without the Board of Directors requiring a special assessment to the homeowners.
This year 2015, the sediment buildup, within and upstream from the forebay, was removed with rental equipment. Trees that had fallen across the creek were also removed. Although this will be an ongoing HOA responsibility, it should not be required again for several years. A new bench was added to the trail in September.
