Cleaning up Powers Lake

[Migrator Man]

http://www.minotdailynews.com/special-sections/progress/2018/04/cleaning-up-powers-lake/

POWERS LAKE – It is a long process, a very long process, but progress continues to be made on one of the most innovative clean-up endeavors in the state. As soon as practicable after ice is off the water, a dredge will again be removing silt from the bottom of Powers Lake. The dredging is entering its third year.

A lake with the same name as this northwest North Dakota community was once a show-piece and asset to the town. It was a recreational spot unmatched in the region for boating, swimming and fishing. In time though, the once beautiful lake began to experience a dramatic change in water quality.

No longer was the water clear and inviting. Instead, algae outbreaks became so extensive and frequent that the water quality in the lake regressed to the point where there was little public use. Visibility in the water had noticeably diminished and was progressively getting worse each year. The lake that once was the pride of the community had become so laden with chemicals, primarily due to runoff, that it had lost its earlier appeal. Something had to be done to reverse a disturbing and disgusting trend.

A group of concerned residents vowed to restore the lake to its former glory as a welcoming recreational facility that enticed extensive public use. It was a huge undertaking without any precedent in North Dakota. Nevertheless, the Powers Lake Watershed Project was born.

Committee members recognized that the first step to improving water quality in Powers Lake was to curtail the way runoff from melting snows and rainfall entered the lake. Studies showed that runoff into Powers Lake carried with it a very high level of nutrients, nutrients that had been settling onto the bottom of the lake for many, many years. Those nutrients were the fuel that triggered algae outbreaks that degraded water quality.

The first phase of the clean-up project began with the cooperation of landowners adjacent to the lake. The Watershed Project approached them with both a helping hand and a request for help in reconfiguring drainage into Powers Lake. It worked.

The Watershed Project built small earthen dams, planted grass buffers and otherwise improved the drainage into Powers Lake so that runoff, and the heavy nutrient load it carried, would be naturally filtered rather than run unchecked into the lake. Landowners benefited too. Not only did they show they were very interested in improving water quality but, in some instances, benefited by having some stored water on their land available for livestock.

With the inflow of nutrients reduced, phase two commenced with the purchase of a dredge to remove years and years of sediment from the lake floor.

“If the lake can come alive it will mean something to the town again,” said Kenny McDonald, Powers Lake Watershed Project.

McDonald, who holds a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries from the University of South Dakota, has been operating the dredge on Powers Lake since 2016. The eight-foot wide dredge is meticulously driven on the lake, removing about eight inches of silt in its path. The silt, or “slurry”, is pumped through a 900-foot-long, 8-inch-diameter hose to a collection pit. Last year the silt removed by the dredge contained nearly 700 pounds of phosphorus.

“The silt was super high rich in phosphorus,” said McDonald. “It tested as 33 parts per million, twice the range of normal farmland. Ours is double what average cropland is. Phosphorus causes algae blooms.”

Algae blooms were very limited on Powers Lake last year. That was a positive development but cannot be completely attributed to work done by the Watershed Project. Nevertheless, it was encouraging.

“There’s no way to tell,” explained McDonald when asked if watershed improvements and dredging was responsible for a relatively algae-free year on Powers Lake. “We’re trying to get as much done as we can. There’s no way you can do the whole lake. Maybe that’s for the next generation.”

Over time, as the dredge continues its work, it is expected to yield noticeable improvements in water quality.

“It’s a slow process, a very slow process,” remarked McDonald.

Last year the dredge was operating on Powers Lake for about 220 hours. McDonald had hoped for more than that but mechanical problems and an abundance of windy days that kept the dredge off the water limited the amount of work that could be done.

Among the younger generation that may some day continue the Watershed Project are participants in the Powers Lake Fishing Derby. The event was revived two years ago after an absence of many years.

“We’ve had pretty good success the last two years with our fishing derby,” said McDonald.

Northern pike are the dominant fish in Powers Lake, a challenging and enjoyable species for young fishermen. As water quality improves so too will the fishing, providing a source of recreation for both youth and adults in northwest North Dakota.

Funding for the Powers Lake Watershed Project received a boost from the state’s Outdoor Heritage Fund, insuring that the one-of-a-kind endeavor will not soon fade away from a lack financial support.

“We’re okay right now, doing pretty good,” said McDonald. “We’ll be in business the next two years for sure.”

In addition to removing tons of nutrient-laden sediment from the bottom of Powers Lake, the dredge is also responsible for the removal of an assortment of items that have been dumped in the lake, intentionally or otherwise, for decades.

“It’s quite a collection,” laughed McDonald. “It’s amazing how much you find.”

The most common item collected by the dredge is fishing line, miles of it. Other items include a decoy bag, buckets, fishing rods and reels and an assortment of bottles and cans from days gone by. What unexpected items turn up in the dredge this summer remains to be seen but, barring wind and mechanical issues, the removal of tons of silt will continue with visible results.

“Hopefully it all comes together and we get past that breaking point with a lot less nutrients in the lake in the long run,” said McDonald.

I get when people don’t like when others tell them what they can and can’t do with their land, but there has to be something done when people upstream are detrimentally affecting those downstream. It’s unfortunate that OHF had to be used for a project like this because the problem should not have existed in the first place. This is a problem throughout the state with other examples being the Devils Lake Basin and the RRV.

 

[1bigfokker]

Bravo to the Powers Lake watershed project.

 

[ndlongshot]

Thumbs UpThumbs Up

All hope is not lost. Maybe for RRV, but at least Powers Lake is doing something. And as you can shockingly see, it doesnt have to be controversial! Amazing!

 

[Migrator Man]

MOORHEAD — Higher flows caused by increased precipitation have elevated runoff of pollutants contaminating the Red River, according to a report by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The agency, in what officials call the first comprehensive look at the Red River’s entire 400-mile course as it flows through the United States, found that increased flows have elevated the river’s sediment load, bacteria and nutrients that feed algal blooms.

The deterioration in water quality — and the toll on aquatic species — becomes progressively more evident downstream, especially in Canada, Jim Ziegler, the MPCA’s regional manager in Detroit Lakes, said on Tuesday, Feb. 26, when the report was released.

“They’re having significant problems with their water quality in Lake Winnipeg,” which is fed by the Red River, Ziegler said. “Aquatic life is OK at the southern end, but by the time we get to Canada, we’ve lost 40 percent of the fish species.”

Still, fish generally are doing fairly well along the Red, the report concluded. “But the fishery would be more diverse and healthy if people took action to improve conditions for fish, especially in the tributaries.”

Bacteria levels sometimes are too high in some reaches of the Red River, including the Fargo reach from the Wild Rice River to the Buffalo River. Contamination from mercury and PCBs have prompted advisories for people to limit fish consumption.

Strategies including water storage will help to decrease contamination runoff, Ziegler said.

“The high flows are really hard on habitat,” he said, adding that “we need to continue to look at fertilizer management,” and more farmers should become involved in that effort.

Fertilizer and manure from livestock as well as leaky septic tanks or failing sewage disposal systems are sources of phosphorus and nitrogen, nutrients that cause algae blooms, including toxic algae that poses a risk to human and animal health, the MPCA report said.

Nitrogen is a rising health concern in areas including Kragnes, Hendrum and Robbin, according to the MPCA. Many communities draw drinking water from the Red River.

“Removing nitrogen is expensive,” the report said. “It’s easier and cheaper to prevent nitrogen contamination through fertilizer management and better drainage practices.”

Further study is needed to determine the causes of nutrient pollution, Ziegler said.

Water storage projects are in development both in Minnesota and North Dakota. So far, there are about 20 projects, with “more on the books.”

Meanwhile, officials in the U.S. and Canada are discussing possible phosphorus contamination targets, with an eye toward reducing levels to improve water quality, he said.

“I would suggest that’s years in the making yet,” Ziegler added. “If we can limit phosphorus, we can limit the amount of algae that grows.”

Collaboration to take steps to increase water quality also is going on between Minnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba as well as the federal governments of both countries and the Red River Basin Commission.

The efforts, including increased water retention and better fertilizer management, likely will take 10 or 15 years to show results, said Ted Preister, the Red River Basin Commission’s executive director.

“If we could do it real quick, it would already have been done,” he said. “There’s a lot of complexity to the problem.”

Still, Preister said, progress is being made. For example, he said, hundreds of old septic systems have been replaced in Minnesota and North Dakota.

Large sub-basin water retention projects are in the works, including a project capable of storing 20,000 acre-feet in the Buffalo-Red River Watershed District and a project involving integration of tile drainage systems in a 26-square-mile area by the Cass County Joint Watershed District, Preister said.

https://www.inforum.com/news/977496...-of-water-and-aquatic-species-new-study-shows

 

[Zogman]

I think it was the summer of '78 or '80 was out in Powers Lake for a 3 day Quarter Horse show. And went swimming in that lake. Glad they are active in a much needed project.

 

[Retired Educator]

Fertilizer runoff is certainly one of the problems. It took years to get to this condition and it will take years to solve the problem. I do see some improvements from quite a few farmers. there was a time when farmers just spread the fertilizer with little testing, more of a, if some is good, more is better. Today more farmers are leaning towards only spreading what is needed. Makes sense to reduce input costs where possible as another way to increase profit. With today's technology it's relatively easy to keep track of every acre and determine if it's possible make a profit on every acre. It comes down to "If it's not possible to make a profit on that acre, does it make sense to have an input cost only to lose money." Storage like in the Powers Lake area, along with only applying the needed fertilizer, will reduce the time needed to improve the water quality.

The good news with the Powers Lake Project is that when it's successful the state will have the evidence needed to apply to other lakes in the state. Certainly worth the cost to do a test run.