Iowa's impaired waterways: Making progress in Clear Lake
Citizens push to return lake to original condition
By Charlotte Eby, Journal Des Moines bureau | Posted: Monday, September 15, 2008
A dredge is in place on the west end of Clear Lake across from Lynne Lorenzen Park. The dredging involves removing 2.3 million cubic yards of sediment from the Little Lake at the west end of Clear Lake. (Photo by Jeff Heinz/The Globe Gazette)
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa -- When Randy Cram visited his grandparents' Clear Lake cottage in the early 1950s, he remembered the water was so clear he could watch the crawdads fight on the lake bottom through five feet of water.
Three decades later Clear Lake wasn't living up to its name.
"In the '80s, it was like pea soup," Cram said.
Since then, lake preservationists and community members have made a concerted effort to reverse the condition of the lake.
"It's a beautiful spot, and our vision is, hopefully in 50 years, it will be better than it is now," Cram said.
A public awareness campaign discouraged residents who lived in the watershed from using fertilizer containing phosphates. A city ordinance prohibits letting lawn clippings fall into the street, where they could get into the storm water and ultimately affect water quality in the lake.
New filtration systems help prevent storm water from heading directly into the lake.
"We haven't had an algae bloom in several years, and the water clarity a lot of times is two feet or so, which is great," said Cram, who has been involved in lake preservation efforts since the 1970s.
Citizens and local government officials also raised money for lake dredging, an effort that impressed state legislators enough to get them to pitch in for the project, which began this year.
David Knoll, a project coordinator for Clear Lake's restoration who works for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, said a study by Iowa State University found a high level of nutrients in the lake was creating the algae blooms.
"The clarity of the water was not very good. It was very green or brown, depending on the time of the year," Knoll said.
They worked with agricultural land owners on a nutrient and pesticide management program, providing incentive payments for them to use services that give them a more precise location of where they should place fertilizer. The fertilizer was a source of the nutrients that caused the algae blooms.
They also encouraged landowners to enroll in incentive programs to restore wetlands and prairie in areas that were often drowned out where farmers had low crop production anyway. Other acres were purchased or donated for conservation.
Close to 1,000 acres in the Clear Lake watershed of about 8,500 acres will see a significant change in land use.
"I don't think there was a lot of resistance," Knoll said. "I think most landowners were interested in knowing what they could do to try and help improve the water quality of the lake."
Mayor Nelson Crabb said residents have worked hard to restore the lake that gives the city an economic boost and is a center for recreation and tourism.
"This would be a totally different community without the lake," Crabb said. "We'd be like any other community in the state of Iowa of 8,200."
Crabb said just a few years ago the lake was green, with visibility of only a few inches. Now in some parts of the lake, visibility has improved to a foot, and new water plants and water lilies are springing up in the lake, he said.
Crabb believes the conservation practices that have led to those improvements will have to be a lifelong effort.
"It's kind of like a diet. You know once you get to your desired weight, you must maintain it," Crabb said.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Rich Leopold praised the partnership between the Clear Lake community and government to improve water quality.
"We want to see a community that takes charge of the entire watershed, and what's going in there, and Clear Lake has done that," Leopold said.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
Online
Search by county our database of impaired Iowa waterways at www.siouxcityjournal.com
Three decades later Clear Lake wasn't living up to its name.
"In the '80s, it was like pea soup," Cram said.
Since then, lake preservationists and community members have made a concerted effort to reverse the condition of the lake.
"It's a beautiful spot, and our vision is, hopefully in 50 years, it will be better than it is now," Cram said.
A public awareness campaign discouraged residents who lived in the watershed from using fertilizer containing phosphates. A city ordinance prohibits letting lawn clippings fall into the street, where they could get into the storm water and ultimately affect water quality in the lake.
New filtration systems help prevent storm water from heading directly into the lake.
"We haven't had an algae bloom in several years, and the water clarity a lot of times is two feet or so, which is great," said Cram, who has been involved in lake preservation efforts since the 1970s.
Citizens and local government officials also raised money for lake dredging, an effort that impressed state legislators enough to get them to pitch in for the project, which began this year.
David Knoll, a project coordinator for Clear Lake's restoration who works for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, said a study by Iowa State University found a high level of nutrients in the lake was creating the algae blooms.
"The clarity of the water was not very good. It was very green or brown, depending on the time of the year," Knoll said.
They worked with agricultural land owners on a nutrient and pesticide management program, providing incentive payments for them to use services that give them a more precise location of where they should place fertilizer. The fertilizer was a source of the nutrients that caused the algae blooms.
They also encouraged landowners to enroll in incentive programs to restore wetlands and prairie in areas that were often drowned out where farmers had low crop production anyway. Other acres were purchased or donated for conservation.
Close to 1,000 acres in the Clear Lake watershed of about 8,500 acres will see a significant change in land use.
"I don't think there was a lot of resistance," Knoll said. "I think most landowners were interested in knowing what they could do to try and help improve the water quality of the lake."
Mayor Nelson Crabb said residents have worked hard to restore the lake that gives the city an economic boost and is a center for recreation and tourism.
"This would be a totally different community without the lake," Crabb said. "We'd be like any other community in the state of Iowa of 8,200."
Crabb said just a few years ago the lake was green, with visibility of only a few inches. Now in some parts of the lake, visibility has improved to a foot, and new water plants and water lilies are springing up in the lake, he said.
Crabb believes the conservation practices that have led to those improvements will have to be a lifelong effort.
"It's kind of like a diet. You know once you get to your desired weight, you must maintain it," Crabb said.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Rich Leopold praised the partnership between the Clear Lake community and government to improve water quality.
"We want to see a community that takes charge of the entire watershed, and what's going in there, and Clear Lake has done that," Leopold said.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
Online
Search by county our database of impaired Iowa waterways at www.siouxcityjournal.com
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FishermanMike wrote on Sep 15, 2008 7:31 AM: