Jerry Richardson, Forever Vigilant!

C'mon Secretary Holperin, you are the Secretary of T-O-U-R-I-S-M, not DNR. Koshkonong is as invaluable to tourism as the Tallman House or Milton House.

Doyle, state officials tour Rock County

From the Janesville Gazette

12:45 p.m.-Tourism Secretary Jim Holperin talks with Edgerton residents at the refurbished train depot.

Holperin also hits two other city pride points-Sterling North's boyhood home and the Edgerton Public Library.

Holperin doesn't escape without addressing the amount of water that is or is not in Lake Koshkonong.

Jerry Richardson says government facilitation is key to his Harbor Recreation marina, a shot at state Department of Natural Resources officials who have disallowed raising the lake level.

Holperin defends the DNR as a "beleaguered agency" under pressure.

Want Better Fishing?

Bark River Fish Hatchery Dinner
Wednesday Night
March 1st
Fort Atkinson
$40 per ticket

Contact Jerry Richardson at Harbor Recreation, Milton, for tickets.

Water levels dropping again

USGS 31-day graph

Wicket Gates Reopened

Thursday
3:00pm CST

Following completion of replacing the trash racks, both wicket gates were reopened to 100%.

All gates are fully open.

New Trash Gates Installed

Dredging Done

Wicket Gates Remain Closed

Work resumed this morning with the back-hoe reaching the lengths and depths we needed via the temporary rock path.

Divers returned to remove the last of the rock and sediment that prevented the steel racks from seating evenly along the span of 66 feet.

As of 1:00pm today, 5 of the 22 new steel sections had been placed.

Today's water level is 776.54. This is almost 14 inches over the winter water level target.

As you know, the RKLD has petitioned the DNR to end the winter draw down of the lake. If we prevail at the contested case hearing, the current water levels would be roughly 4 inches over the summer level target, within permissible summer operations.

See Graph

Water road to be done Friday

Another 10 feet to go.

Rock Road

With DNR approval, JP Cullen began building a rock structure to reach the far end of the powerhouse Wednesday afternoon.

DNR Approval

FROM: DNR
DATE: 1.10.06
TIME: 4:18pm

(RKLD) advised that the lift gates are all open. He said they were concerned that if the open the wicket gates they could sustain damage, so they prefer not to open them.

It appears they are making a good faith effort to get this done as quickly as possible.
______________

Given the facts as presented by Bill O'Connor and Mike Cain, and the need to give a speedy response so the work can be completed before water levels get out of hand I am going to recommend the following course of action.

Using riprap for backhoe access to the river should be used provided that is the fastest way to accomplish the work. The riprap needs to be clean (not a lot of fines) and removed immediately upon completion of the work. I am assuming that this work will be initiated tomorrow and completed soon after. The exception to this approval is if a barge could be brought in to be used as a work platform in the same timeframe, that option should be used.

We understand the water levels may rise above the authorized maximum until the work is completed. If it does not look like the work will be completed in the next 48 hours, we will need to explore other options to prevent water levels from getting too high.

Meg Galloway
State Dam Safety Engineer

Request to DNR

TO: DNR Legal Counsel
DATE: 1.10.05
TIME: 3:12pm

I am writing on behalf of the Rock-Koshkonong Lake District to memorialize our conversation earlier this afternoon regarding the trash rack replacement underway at the Indianford Dam.
The trash racks on the powerhouse end of the dam required replacement.

The District contracted for fabrication of replacement racks, which were recently delivered to the site.

District Chair Brian Christianson communicated with Sue Josheff by email to let her know that the District would need to temporarily close the wicket gates in order to do the replacement work. By responsive email, Sue advised the District Chair that the work could be undertaken. (I have not seen this echange of email. I understand that Sue referenced an NR code section and indicated that the operation should be done so as not to exceed level requirements under the water level order.

When the District's contractor removed the old racks and lowered the replacement racks into position, they discovered that the new racks could not "seat" properly due to an unknown obstruction. The District hired divers who investigated today and learned that rip-rap placed to secure the old racks had settled into locations that interfere with seating the replacement racks.

The settled rip rap is too heavy for hand removal by divers. The District is working diligently to devise a means to remove the rip rap by use of mechanical equipment and is aiming to get that done as soon as possible.

Depending on how fast the settled riprap can be removed, it is possible that the water level will elevate above the authorized maximum level. The District will take all necessary measures to complete these repairs and return the wicket gates to open position when the new racks are installed.

You requested that the District communicate by email with Sue Josheff and Ken Johnson to advise them of this situation.

I am sending a copy of this message to Ken, Sue and the District Chair for the record.

Please confirm that the Department recognizes that any increase in the water level as a result of this repair is an unavoidable consequence of the repairs and does not require any action from the District other than promptly completing the needed rip rap removal, rack installation and re-opening of the gates.

Thank you for your assistance.

Water Level

At 6:30am Monday, the wicket gates inside the powerhouse were closed. As of 6:30 am Wednesday, the gates remain closed for an unforeseen time.

We cannot risk damaging the wicket gates with the amount of rock and debris that would be flushed into the turbine pits through the unprotected opening.

The RKLD attorney is discussing options with the DNR attorney, as of late Tuesday.

Lake levels have increased about 1.56 inches during this time.

At 776.29, lake levels are approaching the summer maximum level.

We are nearly a foot over where the winter water orders mandate.

See graph

Divers Discover Rock

On each end of the 66 foot span -- 20 feet in each direction -- divers discover a 2-3 foot mound of large rock piled10 feet below the surface.

The rock must be moved before the gates can be reinstalled.

Options include either bringing in a barge with a back-hoe welded to the top, or building a road of rock for a back-hoe to drive out over.

Reaching 12 feet down and over 66 feet across is proving to be a tough obstacle.

Air Temp 22 Degrees

Divers Arrive

On Tuesday morning, and on very short notice, rescue divers Henry Sautin and Ron Betley are hired to examine why the new gates are not sitting level.

Old Gates

New Gates

Work Stops

The new gates are not seating properly at the bottom of the river.

We need to get divers to explore the problem.

Work Begins

Monday morning, JP Cullen began pulling-out the old, rusted, mangled trash gates.

Trash Racks to Be Replaced

On Monday, January 9, 2006, JP Cullen will be installing the new trash racks at the Indianford Dam/Powerhouse.

The powder-coated steel structures were fabricated by United Alloy.

PIER COMPROMISE IN THE WORKS?

Sen. Neal Kedzie, the chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Transportation Committee, says he is talking with the Department of Natural Resources, the governor's office and the authors of a controversial pier bill to find a compromise.

"I believe that we will reach a middle ground that will please the majority of people," Kedzie tells WisPolitics.com about Assembly Bill 850.

Offered by Assembly Speaker John Gard and Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford and the chair of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, AB 850 passed the Assembly last month on a 58-34 vote. The bill seeks to grandfather in nearly all piers that existed before Act 118, the Job Creation Act that put the DNR's pier planner in the statutes, took effect in early 2004.

The problem from the DNR's standpoint is with about 1 percent of the state's existing 187,000 or so piers toting decks of 200 square feet or more. The DNR says they're too big and that they obscure prime lake space considered public access. The bill's authors contend piers that existed before the law should not be subjected to the new rules.

Kedzie, whose committee will get the AB 850 and the tentative DNR rules, appears hopeful of a deal. "Any bill that is introduced is a work in progress," he said. "It's an issue that is quite delicate and is kind of a hot-button issue. But I think we will reach that resolve relatively soon."