Have a Happy, Safe New Year!!

Why don't some creative entreprenuer out there start a Lake Koshkonong tradition - instead of dropping a crystal ball like they do at NY's Times Square, those of us on Koshkonong should be dropping a carp, or a walleye, to usher in the New Year.

Lake Level = 777.06

Koshkonong = Better Water, Better Fish, Caught by Better Fishermen - Because RKLD knows what we are talking about.....

(apologies to the Woodmans' slogan-writing people)

Merry Christmas

Happy Hanukkah

Koshkonong - Historical

ELS History

...One of these early immigrant pastors held a memorable service outdoors under an oak tree in September of 1844 at a place with the Indian name of Koshkonong, near Madison, Wisconsin.

Taylor's Hotel, Lake Koshkonong

Historic Maps

Rock County Snowmobile trail opens

Janesville--The Rock County Snowmobile Trail is now open throughout the county.

Trail conditions are reported as good with 6 to 8 inches of snow. Trails are being continuously groomed and more snow is expected to fall in the next few days.

Snowmobilers are reminded to curtail their trail activities when temperatures reach 34 degrees and warmer. All snowmobilers are reminded to use the official trail to prevent damage to the land the trail passes through and their equipment.

All owners and operators of all-terrain vehicles are reminded that at no time are they permitted on snowmobile trails and they are in violation of State Statutes if they do so. To snowmobile on private land, permission must be received from the individual landowner. Please remember that all snowmobiles must be registered with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

For more information or updates, call the Rock County Parks Division at (608) 757-5458 for a recorded message or visit www.co.rock.wi.us or www.travelwisconsin.com for snowmobile trail information.

Winter Lake Level

Is at 776.51 and steady (summer target is 776.2)...

...fishing reports from Lake Links (on right side of this page)are excellent.

Amazing what some water depth can do for the fish habitat.

Jefferson's Burger Corner to be resurrected

Daily Jefferson County Union

...Holly Merson, a civil engineer with RSV Engineering, said that to redevelop the existing site, it would have to be filled to one foot higher than the 100-year flood elevation. This would entail building an expensive retaining wall and railing, among other considerations.

"This intersection is three feet lower than the 100-year-flood level, and this summer, water was a foot above that level," she said. "The only way to truly fix this is to redevelop this intersection three feet higher, which would probably affect the bridge," she said.

Lake neighbors encouraged by assistance

Jaesville Gazette

...Rob Davis, DNR water management engineer, looked at the lake Nov. 7 and offered three possibilities:

-- Pump the lake. Other seepage lakes have been pumped to lower water levels, but that might not work for Clear Lake, Davis said. The lake is at the bottom of a basin, so water would have to be pumped up and out at least a mile to the nearest tributary of the Rock River, he said.

-- Install high-capacity wells. The wells could draw water from underground springs and deposit it in the Rock River, Davis said. That would lower the groundwater that is causing Clear Lake to rise, but it would be expensive, he said.

-- Floodproof homes. Davis suggested homeowners raise their homes or fill in their basements if possible.

Dane County lakes share Clear Lake's pain

Janesville Gazette

...A 2001 study from the U.S. Geological Survey said pumping would help, but the community needed money and permits. They eventually received $250,000 from state and county governments and formed a lake district to raise the rest.

The lake district—of which Melville is a board member—started pumping in 2006. So far, the project has cost about $600,000.

The project has not gone smoothly. The district originally installed 2 1/2 miles of pipe to pump water from Mud Lake into an infiltration base—similar to a retention pond—where water could sink into the ground and rejoin the water table.

The district tried several infiltration bases, but none worked.

Then this summer, the lake rose another 3 feet after record rains.

Oneida zoning acts to liberalize mitigation ordinance

Lakeland Times

DNR – at least one employee – opposes change

Under the current ordinance, an existing dwelling unit within 75 feet of the OHWM can be replaced, but if a portion of that house sits within 40 feet of the OHWM, mitigation kicks in. That requires an undisturbed vegetative buffer zone of at least 35 feet from the OHWM.

Because open decks and patios are not considered part of a principal structure, any deck or patio jutting into the vegetative buffer zone cannot be replaced.

That has created some oddities. For example, a person with a home 40 feet from the OHWM can remodel both the home and the deck because remodeling does not trigger mitigation. Similarly, that person could replace the deck so long as the house was not replaced.

So a homeowner is able to replace the deck but not the house and the house but not the deck.

Zoning panel votes to keep county pier regulations

Lakeland Times

The question is, do the regs violate state law?

Oneida County is the only county in the state that regulates piers and other berthing structures, and, for that reason, supervisors of the zoning committee have thought long and hard - for months and even years - about jettisoning them.

On Wednesday they decided to keep them in place, at least in part because of distrust of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

But some observers believe the county has no authority to impose some of the requirements it has on the books.

Snow and Ice

Lake Level = 775.74 and falling.

All gates are 100% open.

We could use sand now

From the Janesville Gazette - 12/3/08

Do any of you remember the flood of 2008? Do any of you wonder where all that sand went? It sure would be nice to see some of that sand dumped along the side of the road by stop signs so the locals could spread it out when it is icy.

Rock County must be too busy. Tuesday morning, two days after the storm, it was glare ice at Charley Bluff Road and County N. It is too bad the Department of Natural Resources and Rock County said we cannot use all the contaminated sand to spread on the road to prevent an accident that could be deadly! I think the town of Albion in Dane County was planning to do that. It was also OK for the DNR to authorize the cities of Watertown, Jefferson and Fort Atkinson to dump their raw sewage into the Rock River, which flows past your Rock County homes.

I wonder who contaminated the sand! If the DNR were doing its job, it would force these polluters to upgrade their systems to stop the pollution. I wonder how much it cost us as taxpayers to haul all that sand to the landfill. What happen to recycling?

“Recycle the sand,” Rock County and DNR. Do you get it? Duh!

TOM SHERMAN
Milton

Lake Delton's lifeblood restored

Milw Journal Sentinel

State DNR officials use an airboat Wednesday to add poison to Lake Delton, to kill the carp still in the lake’s system before the lake is restocked with game fish.
________________________________________________

And she's not referring to Lake Koshkonong...

"Things have gone surprisingly well," Galloway said. "It's atypical for this type of project to move so quickly."

And this...

...Then, in the spring, the dam will close again so the lake can fill up in time for anglers, boaters and the skiers at Tommy Bartlett's show.