Annual meeting minutes written by Tom Weyandt

From Tom Weyandt:

Bald Eagle Area Association Annual Meeting October 19, 2013

Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD)

Matt Kocian

1.         Review of Water Quality Data for Bald Eagle Lake

Things are looking better but there was a blip in the 2012 data.  This was caused by significant rain in the spring and then a hot summer.  The blip was common in many lakes and not a cause for great concern.  Overall the phosphorus count is down except for the noted blip in 2012.

2.         Curly Leaf Pondweed

            Due in part to a change in DNR regs which discontinued the entire lake treatment scheme only 97 acres were treated on Bald Eagle in 2013.  This was fine because that’s about all there was.  Total cost in 2013 was $26,000 whereas the prior years average from 05-12 was $40,000.

3.         Flowering Rush

            This invasive was found in a small area on the west side of the lake near the point that is south of the West Oaks dock.  The plant has small purple flowers that look a bit like a coneflower.  Herbicides don’t work particularly well for this plant and so the solution was to remove it by pulling up the entire plant.  Mr. Kocian felt this was successful in part because the area at a loose mucky bottom.  The DNR will continue to monitor the area and treat as needed.

4.         Oneka Ridge Water Quality Project

            Simply put this project is designed to take a small area ditch near the Oneka Ridge Golf Course and divert the water into a holding pond.  That pond will then be used to store water during high water periods and those waters will be used to irrigate the golf course.  Mr. Kocian suggested that up to 75 lbs of phosphorus would be removed from the Judicial Ditch 1, which contributes a significant amount to the BE phosphorus exterior load.  The added benefit is that it will reduce the amount of aquifer water that Oneka Ridge uses to irrigate the course.

            Detail can be found here:  http://www.ricecreek.org/index.asp?Type=GALLERY&SEC={63CA25BC-12D9-4281-86A4-3183F3E65413}

            Questions arose.  The first was a series of questions suggesting that any reduction in water input into Bald Eagle should be very carefully considered, particularly in light of the retrospective view of the ‘wrong decisions’ that were made concerning wells and storm water drainage that impacted White Bear Lake.  One man was very insistent that the loss of water would have a negative impact on Bald Eagle.

            The second series of questions concerned the ratio of project dollars cost to the amount of phosphorus being removed or locked up as in the alum treatment.  The alum treatment will lock up about 1,100 lbs for roughly $900,000 and the golf course project will only remove 75 lbs for a significant amount of money (cost was unstated).  Mr. Kocian responded by pointing out first that the phosphorus problem has to be dealt with in a number of ways and that cutting off additional external inputs is very important.  He said that the continued input from the golf course project would dramatically reduce the life expectancy of the alum treatment to maybe only 10 years effectiveness.

           

5.         Alum Treatment

            Plans call for two applications of aluminum sulfate, one in May 2014 and another in May 2016.  Mr. Kocian said that splitting it up into two treatments has been found to increase the life expectancy of the process.  He explained that the treatment will involved the use of some type of barge to spread the liquid that will be pumped from on-shore trucks to the barge and that each application will take 7-10 days depending on the weather.  Areas of the lake that are 10+ feet deep will be treated.  This process should dramatically decrease the amount of phosphorus in the lake.  The internal load that will be cut off is 44% of the total load and about 1,100 lbs.

            The application causes a white floc to form that will take 2-3 days to settle into the lake.  Concerns about the impacts on fish, invertebrates and plants are minimal.  The pH of Bald Eagle currently is about 8.5 and as long as it remains above 6.0 there should not be any problems.

            Mr. Kocian gave significant resource citations concerning issues about the possible negative human impacts on the application, including concerns about an increase risk of Alzheimer’s.  Quite simply based on his research those concerns are unfounded.

            The cost of the alum treatment is roughly $900,000.  Of that amount $400,000 will be a 10 year loan to be repaid by local residents through the Bald Eagle Watershed District fee.

Jessica Bromelkamp

6.         She is the staff person working on Rain Garden Projects.  She is anxious to get several demonstration projects in place and to arrange for tours.  She spent a considerable time explaining the cost sharing possibilities that RCWD.  She pointed out in particular the negative impact of oil and debris entering waters from roads and parking lots indicating that these products contain significant amounts of phosphorous.  Persons interested in finding out more can check the RCWD web page at Rain Gardens.

Steve McComas

            Mr. McComas gave a brief presentation about the likely impacts on the lake following the alum treatment.  He said that there will be a significant increase in the plants in the lake due to the clearer water.  While now the plants go out to around 10 feet he suspects that they will go out to 14 or 15 feet after the treatments. He was quick to point out that the new areas will most likely be native plants and so they are a positive thing.  He also said that there will be a cycle of increased growth for a couple of years and that will be followed by things leveling off.

            Concerns about curly leaf pondweed and Eurasian milfoil should not increase significantly but those will have to be continually monitored and dealt with.

            ChineseMystery Snails are still a problem in the lake and will go through up and down cycles that really can’t be impacted.

BEAA Annual Meeting

            Jim Moore introduced the current board as well as four additional people who have expressed and interest in being on the board.  The bylaws allow for 15 members and with the current slate of people the board will be 9 individuals from around the lake.  A vote was taken and all candidates were approved.

            The new bylaws were brought up and quickly approved by those present.

            The BEAA has about $22,000 on hand and has no need to begin a dues process.

            Communication with members has been hampered by a lack of current email addresses.  Mr. Moore asked that folks update their contact information so that BEAA can expedite the sharing of information.