Our Senior Technician Jim Hafner has prepared an explanation for the Creek
flows that I will share with you
(the elevation is feet above sea level):
"As you know, our area had very little rain last fall, a very low amount of
snow over the
winter and a dry spring. When rain did come in late spring and throughout
most of the summer it was not enough to restore the soil moisture,
wetlands, depressions, lakes and streams. Most of the runoff filled the
former before reaching the lakes and streams. Many lakes, streams and
wetlands never reached normal water levels all year. This was the case for
Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Creek.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has developed an operating
schedule for the dam at Grays Bay on Lake Minnetonka and has issued a
permit to the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) to operate the
control structure at the dam. The DNR used the historic outflow elevation,
the point at which water flowed out of Lake Minnetonka prior to any dam, of
928.60 as the benchmark for determining discharge at the dam. If water in
the lake reaches that elevation then the amount of water discharged is
determined by the time of year and the level of water in the lake. Below
that elevation the dam remains closed. This allows the lake to act as a
reservoir in times of high water and also during spring snowmelt.
This year, with the low water conditions and the lake not reaching the
928.60 elevation, the dam remained closed. While it meant the only flow to
the Creek came from stormwater runoff it also meant the lake was low and
it suffered from a lack of runoff as well. Nature moves in cycles as we
have seen before. Fortunately, the flora and fauna adapt to those cycles
and find a way to survive. We have experienced dry seasons in the past and
seen the water resources recover as rain and snow falls increased. While
the resources do not look good now they will recover.
Those of us who work at the MCWD and serve on the Board of Managers do so
because we care about the Creek and the lake and the other water resources
in our area. We do our best to protect them but we all must be patient
with nature.
We share in your concern and look forward to higher water levels and a
healthier Creek and lake. Let's hope that the rain and snow increase soon
and the Creek returns to normal sooner than later."
Submitted by Pam Blixt
Nokomis East Neighborhood
(but living next door to a dry creek)
