2002 Draft Natural Resources Management

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The watershed to lake area ratia for Bennett is 26:1, meaning that it has 2b acres of Iand draining to it for each one acre of lake area. This is a much hi;her ratio than tnat for Langton Lake, which has an 8:1 ratio. Benneit Lake's ratio is in the rr�oderately high range for urban lakes and suggests that the lake is likely to receive high amounts of pollutant loads frotn its watershed. The Bennett watershed contains seven ponds, ranging in surface area from 1.4 to 13 acres. These ponds catch and temporariJy hold raw stormwater from the area that drains to them, partially treating the water before dischargin; it downstrearri to Bennett Lake. Ponds WP-I, in Willow Park, and BL-4 between Brooks and Transit Avenue receive runoff from watersheds af 3$0 and 57 acres, and have estimated phosphorus removal ef�ciencies of 50 % and 37%, respectively. They appear to play important roles treatin� stormwater before it reaches Bennett Lake. The lake has two aerators; the one to the northeast was installed in 1998 to prevent winterkill. Another aerator �ocated by the band sheli is mostly for aesthetics purposes. The DNR has managed the lake for kids fishing for many years. Musky was the popular choice for stockinb in Bennett prior to the 90's. More recent�y the MN DNR has stocked the lake seasonally with Walleye, Channel Catfish, Sluegill, l�Torthern Pike and Lar;emouth Bass. Frorn watcr level information obtained from the MN DNR, it appears that the water levels at Bennett between 1987 and 1996 follow a different regime than those from 1997 to the prescnt. Tl�cre is a c�il�ference of at least one to one and a half %et bctween the rrzean levels for the two periods. The lowest recorded water lcvel for Bennett was in July of 19$7 at 883.94 feet and the highest was in July af 1997 at 890.54. The recorded ranQe in elevation is around 6.5 feet. The last reading of 887.97 by the MN DNR was on October 25`'' of 2001. C�ry of Rosevil[e `�� Parks Natarral Resource Managemext