Posted on August 28, 2017
By Kevin Passon, The Herald-Independent
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced his plans for a $12 million project to remove the algae-making phosphorous to clean area lakes has begun.
His Clean Lakes Community Forum Tour kicked off Monday at the Monona City Council meeting.
Work on the first phase of Dane County’s four-year effort to remove phosphorus-laden sediment from streams began in Dorn Creek two weeks ago. Design and engineering work on the project, known as “Suck the Muck,” is now underway along with preliminary site work that needs to be done in and along the stream prior to the sediment being vacuumed out.
Parisi and county staff presented research to clean up the lakes by removing hundreds of thousands of pounds of algae-making phosphorus from muck that’s built up in the streams feeding into the lakes.
The cornerstone of Parisi’s 2017 county budget was the initiative to clean up 33 miles of streams that feed phosphorus directly in the lakes on a daily basis. The work will remove 870,000 pounds of phosphorus, the chief culprit responsible for algae growth, from area waters.
The muck at the bottom of streams is at least 75 years old and is a much greater contributor to the health of lakes than earlier believed.
“This was an interesting discovery, and we figured it out and have a plan in place to extract it,” Parisi said.
Through hydraulic dredging, the muck will be removed, with the piles of it then seeded over to prevent further runoff.
Conservation efforts on farmland adjacent to the stream have reduced the amount of runoff getting into the streams.
Without another pound of phosphorus runoff, there’s so much material built up in these streams it would take 66 years to achieve the clean water goals laid out in the Yahara Clean Report. But, as runoff does continue – even at a slower pace than before – those 66 years will be extended to 99 years before the existing sediment is clear of phosphorus.
“Like you, I want clean lakes in my lifetime,” Parisi said. “The time is now.”
Parisi said $9 million will be spent on the dredging, with the remaining $3 million spent on habitat restoration, which will help bring animals back to the streams.
Source: The Herald-Independent
