778.38 - And Dropping

From NOAA

Newville - Year 'Round Fun

Whitewater applies for DNR lake management grant

From the Janesville Gazette

...McCormick said many municipalities have established lake districts or associations to manage their lakes.

An association usually is a voluntary group of lakeshore landowners pooling resources for management costs, said Jeffrey Thornton, principal planner for the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

Thornton said a lake association might not be the best option for Whitewater because much of land around the lakes is publicly owned.

A lake district taxes all property owners within the district, which typically extends beyond lakeshore owners and probably would include all of Whitewater, he said.

Most lake districts levy 25 to 50 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation to pay for lake improvements and management, Brunner said.

The goal is to restore the bodies of water.

Years ago, families flocked to Tripp Lake to swim and lie on the sandy beach.

The high dive was one of the community swimming hole’s favorite attractions. The lake was 12 to 14 feet deep.

Today, Tripp Lake has spots 8 feet deep but has an average depth of 3 feet, said Heidi Bunk, a water resource management specialist with the state Department of Natural Resources.

Wisconsin regulators approve new rules for fishing tournaments

From the WI State Journal

...The new permit system is designed to combat crowding at landings and on water bodies as well as reduce the number of fish that die in catch-and-release tournaments, said Mike Staggs, director of the DNR's fisheries bureau. The fees would go toward paying for the permit program's administration, estimated at about $33,000 per year, Staggs said.

The Natural Resources Board, which sets policy for the DNR, adopted the regulations on an unanimous voice vote after a two-hour hearing.

Steve Hjort of Oregon, Wis., conservation director for the Wisconsin Bass Federation, told the board the fees will hurt local bass clubs. The federation also will have to pull money from its youth and conservation programs to cover its fees, Hjort said.

He suggested the board require tournament anglers to purchase a $10 stamp instead.

"We can do better than this," Hjort said. "Our youth and conservation projects are going to be the first to go."

Chris Jones of Neenah told the board he works as a director for the Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail, a nonprofit, faith-based tournament series. The regulations would add $2,000 in expenses to the six tournaments he runs in Wisconsin, he said.

"Two thousand dollars for a nonprofit guy like me, that's a lot of money," Jones said, although he didn't answer board members' questions about how much money he gets from revenue sources such as entry fees.

...The board amended the rules again to remove the three-fish limit, but added a provision that allows the DNR to impose such limits whenever conditions warrant

Dredging - Lake Trafford Restoration

...Its aim was to rid the lake of tons of muck that had been choking it. The dredge worked around-the-clock to finish the job last week.

...The South Florida Water Management District estimates crews have removed some 4 million cubic yards of muck - about 222,000 dump-truck loads - but there's more to do...He said he is negotiating a price for a possible second phase that would dredge more muck closer to the edge of the lake.

...Tears estimated that 1 million cubic yards remains to be sucked out of the lake. Removing what's left could take another five months

...Computers and GPS keep track of where the dredge has been and help the dredge follow the bottom contours of the lake.

...The pipe that had carried the soupy mixture of water and muck to a 400-acre disposal site a mile away looped out of the back of the dredge, floating on the lake surface.

FLA Dredging

USACOE Lake Trafford, FL report.

Resource Problem:
Lake Trafford has poor water quality, extensive muck accumulations, loss of native submergent plant communities, periodic aquatic weed infestations, and numerous moderate fish kills. A massive fish kill occurred in April 1996 which was caused by poor water quality conditions, including high biological oxygen demand, lethal ammonia levels, and depressed dissolved oxygen content. Poor water quality is attributed to internal nutrient cycling from extensive organic muck deposits throughout the lake basin.

Below 778.00

Lake Level Today = 777.99

The USGS gauges at Fort is frozen and nonresponsive.

Bikes on Koshkonong II

Anyone know who owns the amphibian car?

So, if you left Koshkonong for the winter, this is what you are missing.

Bikes on Koshkonong

From the Janesville Gazette

BLACKHAWK ISLAND — A TV crew from California may have picked the best—or worst—weekend to visit Wisconsin to film a motorcycle stunt team performing on the north end of Lake Koshkonong.

“Completely insane,” was how Jason Britton, host of Super Bikes! on the Speed channel, described the stunts being performed Saturday afternoon as the wind chill dipped near 20 degrees below zero.

Bikes on Koshkonong I

Crest is Today

The ice has brought an earlier crest than NOAA had originally predicted.

Lake Level Today = 779.2 and dropping.

Inflow Drops By Half

Flow as measured in Fort Atkinson was 5300 cfs yesterday, today, 2350 cfs.

Outflow at Indianford reamins constant at 4910 cfs for the past 2 days.

Ice-up is a good thing right now. And the current is pulling strong down river past my place.

Winter Levels Still Rising

Lake levels jumped 7.8 inches over the weekend. We are at 779.17 today - almost 3 feet OVER the DNR summer max orders.

Blackhawk Island Observations

From a previous POST

Are we at Flood Stage yet? No.

Saturday, 1-12-08 = 778.8
Inflow = 5530
Ooutflow = 5010

Today = 778.14

Advanced Hyrdrological Prediction Service

Levels Jump Up

Lake levels jumped over the past 24 hours, to 777.36 - just over a foot above the summer max.

Certainly the rain and snow melt have contributed - the inflow from Jefferson as measured by gauges at Fort Atkinson show an increase of roughly 1500 cfs to roughly 4500 cfs.

With outflow at Indianford at 2830 cfs, we should expect lake levels to continue rising.

The ice cap is a concern now - please use caution.

And for those who email and call - YES, all gates are fully open and have been for nearly a year now.

Water Levels Inching Down

Lake levels dropped from 777.26 to 777.14 today -10 inches ABOVE summer max.

Snow melt has been rapid.