2017-05-10 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

5/2/2017 Peltier Lake drawdown rescheduled l News l presspubs.com http://www.presspubs.com/quad/news/article 4cl4b002-29cb-11e7-ba43-3bdf6013l8d2.htmi Peltier Lake drawdown rescheduled By Shannon Granholm/Editor Apr 25, 2017 Updated Apr 27, 2017 w� Twin Cities —40.32 in2016 Wettest Year on Record •datasime last so• 40' Breakdown by month Jan 0.31 Jul 5.09 Feil 1.09 Aug 7.82 Mar 2.26 Sep 5.47 Apr 2.84 Oct 3,41 May 2.42 Nov 2.98 Jun 4.49 Dec 2.14 ,2016 30' zor7rta � Yearly Precipitation Accumulation Graph.-�—' 10` or felt fMel +i%3 MqI W,t 01 *"1 *1 Qat Nrnt nets National Weather Service i Submitted According to the National weather Service, 2016 was the wettest year on record for the Twin Cities area with 40.32 inches of precipitation. Due to the wet fall, the drawdown of Peltier Lake was unsuccessful. The temporary drawdown project of Peltier Lake was unsuccessful, but plans are in the works to try again. Last September the Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) began the drawdown to reduce the water level in Peltier Lake by approximately 3 feet. The goal of the project was to manage invasive plants, particularly curlyleaf pondweed, and improve water clarity. "With the rain we had in September, we knew that we were going to have to get some dry weather in order to make up for the wet starting conditior said RCWD lake and stream specialist Matt Kocian. "As the fall went on and we kept getting rain, we saw our chances diminishing to reach that to elevation." According to the National Weather Service, 2016 was the wettest year on record for the Twin Cities area with 40.32 inches of precipitation surpassing the previous record of 40.15 inches in 1911. This year, 5.47 inches fell in September, 3.41 inches in October and 2.98 inches in November. "For a while we did leave the stop logs on the dam out, hoping that we might hit some intermediate mark and see some benefits from that. So even if we didn't hit our target elevation, we might still be able to draw it down a foot or two and see some benefits," Kocian explained. "But the rain just kept coming and the drawdown structure wasn't able to keep up with all of the water that was coming through from the watershed" Around the holidays, RCWD made the decision to put the stop logs back in the dam, not only because the drawdown was unsuccessful, but also for safety concerns. "At that point solid ice was starting to form on the lake and there was a concern that if we were able to draw the lake down after ice already formed on the lake, then it would just make a messy situation on the edge of the lake with the ice sheet continuing to fall and continuing to break up around the shoreline," he said. http:/twww.presspjbs.com/quad/news/article 4c14bW2 29cb-11e7-ba43-3bdf61121iaftnl 1/2