All GATES CLOSED

All slide gates and both wicket gates are 100% CLOSED.

No aquatic invasives on Lake Koshkonong, but plenty wetland/upland invasives....

Aquatic Invasive Species Workshop

 

When: September 28th, 2013 from 9 AM to 2:30 PM 

(A paddle on the Oconomowoc River will be held from 12:30 - 2:30).  Lunch will be provided!

Where: The workshop will be held at Camp Quad, located at 6886 County Road Q, Hartford, WI 53027

Camp Quad is located on the corner of Hwy 83 and County Q. (From Hwy 83, turn east onto County Q. The entrance driveway is the first left (north) from Hwy 83).

Record Rainfall Thursday

Cloudy Friday, then sunny, dry stretch to follow much-needed record rainfall

3 HOURS AGO  •  JEFF RICHGELS | MADISON.COM | JRICHGELS@MADISON.COM | 608-252-6449

Several days of postcard perfect weather are in the forecast for south-central Wisconsin in the wake of Thursday’s pounding thunderstorms that produced record rainfall in Madison.

Officially, the National Weather Service reported that 1.94 inches of rain fell at the Dane County Regional Airport on Thursday, topping the old record of 1.88 inches set in 1931 and boosting Madison’s September and meteorological fall (September through November) precipitation total (rain plus snow converted to liquid) to 3.02 inches, 0.97 inches above normal. For 2013, Madison’s precipitation total rose to 39.5 inches, 12.63 inches above normal.

The area saw multiple severe thunderstorm warnings on Thursday, but no major damage was reported. The storms did produce hail, strong winds that knocked down some trees and blew objects around, and some localized flooding, including at the intersection of University Avenue and Midvale Boulevard where several cars got stuck in rapidly rising water Thursday evening.

There’s a slight 20 percent chance of showers Friday after 3 p.m. in Madison as the high rises to near 72 under mostly cloudy skies with west winds at 10 to 15 miles per hour, the Weather Service said.

After an overnight low around 46 under mostly cloudy skies, skies are forecast to turn sunny on Saturday and stay at least mostly sunny through Thursday, with just light breezes during the period, ushering in calendar fall on Sunday with gorgeous weather.

Highs in Madison Saturday through Thursday are expected near 64, 66, 69, 73, 76 and 78, and lows Saturday night through Wednesday night should be around 43, 43, 50, 52 and 55, the Weather Service said.

27 Storm Track meteorologist Ben Burkel also forecasts a mostly cloudy and breezy Friday followed by several days of sunny and beautiful weather.

Burkel expects highs in Madison Friday through Thursday near 71, 64, 66, 70, 73, 76 and 78, and overnight lows around 47, 41, 44, 50, 52 and 55.

Thursday’s high in Madison was a muggy 87 at 3:24 p.m., 16 degrees above normal and 6 degrees below the record high of 93 for Sept. 19, set in 1948.

Thursday’s low in Madison was 67 at 11:17 p.m., 18 degrees above normal and 35 degrees above the record low of 32 for Sept. 19, set in 1956.

Koshtoberfest Pub Crawl Oct 19th - Article forgot to publish the date

‘Koshtoberfest’ aims to be state’s longest pub crawl

Posted: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 10:43 am

Covering over 25 miles and 20 establishments in the Lake Koshkonong area, the Koshtoberfest Pub Crawl will be the longest of its kind in Wisconsin.

The day-long Fall celebration is sponsored by the Rock Koshkonong Business Association and features its member businesses. Shuttle buses will run continuously from noon to 8 p.m. and participants may choose to visit as many stops as they wish, enjoying the fall colors as they meander around the lake area.

Participants will have a chance to visit a wide variety of businesses, from a cheese store, to fine dining establishments, to small intimate pubs. The restaurants and bars will be offering a variety of food and drink specials and live music.

“The Rock Koshkonong area offers such a great variety of dining and entertainment options, and the Koshtoberfest Fall Pub Crawl gives us an opportunity to showcase the unique flavors of them all,” said Therese Oldenburg, Rock Koshkonong Business Association’s marketing coordinator. “Fall colors should be peaking at this time and it will be a beautiful time to come explore Lake Koshkonong.”

Tickets are required to participate in the pub crawl and include shuttle buses and keepsake cup. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the event. Tickets can be purchased at any of the participating establishments or online at www.koshfun.com. A complete list of participating establishments is also online.

Powerboat races return to Lake Koshkonong

September 19, 2013

RELATED INFORMATION

IF YOU GO

What: Hydroplane powerboat races at Lake Koshkonong hosted by the Rock-Koshkonong Business Association and Badger State Outboard Association. More than 60 racers from throughout the Midwest compete in multiple divisions in the American Power Boat Association racing season finale.

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22.

Where: Lake Koshkonong at Lakeview Bar and Campground, 1901 Highway 59, Milton. People with boats can watch the races from the water.

Cost: Free.  

For more information: Visit koshfun.com.

NEWVILLE—It's getting late in the year for the usual buzz and whine of squadrons of personal watercraft and ski boats on Lake Koshkonong. But that doesn't mean the lake near Newville will be quiet this weekend.

For the first time since the 1950s, nationally sanctioned powerboat racing is returning to Lake Koshkonong.

Organizers for the Badger State Outboard Association, an affiliate of the American Power Boat Association, say they're bringing in more than 60 hydroplane powerboat racers from Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan for races at the lake all day Saturday and Sunday.

Spectators can watch the races from the water or for free from seats along the beach at Lakeview Bar and Campground, where the race's one-mile, oval-shaped watercourse will be buoyed off. 

The course's “hot pit,” a starting line, which boat racers cross at speeds up to 85 miles per hour, will be on the water right in front of the beach, organizers said.

If you're new to hydroplane powerboat racing, Badger State Outboard Association boat-racer Ryan Burdick says you'll see:

- Racers kneeling in the single, open cockpits of low-slung, fiberglass boats which measure 9 to 13 feet long.

- Boats that look similar to wheel-less Indy-style race cars with small, modified outboard motors flying around the watercourse at full speed. At any given time, just 4 to 6 inches of the back ends of the watercrafts contact the water. They literally hydroplane.

- Racers using their own weight and body English to maneuver the boats around turns and over wave chop amid a field of powerboats buzzing along, just a foot or two from each other.    

“In these little boats, it feels like you're doing well over 100 and to the spectator it looks just as fast. It's exhilarating,” Burdick said.

 A commercial jet pilot from Delavan, the 33-year-old Burdick has been racing boats since he was eight years old and is racing this weekend at the lake. The races Saturday and Sunday, include age classes for youths to adults in their 60s, Burdick said.

The event, which organizers say will wrap up the national powerboat-racing season, could become an annual season finale boat race at the lake and a new, late-season draw for lake tourists.

“The business association is making an effort to extend the tourism season later into the fall. We want to give people something more to do, to keep coming back,” said Jim Bowers, a race organizer for one of its sponsors, the Rock-Koshkonong Business Association.

“When you have a year like this, when it was so cold and wet in the spring and early summer—the lake tourism industry, the businesses, they really need a draw. That's what these late-season events are about,” Bowers said. 

For years, the lake had powerboat races at Newville. Boats would race on a course that passed underneath the low-hanging Highway 59 Bridge. Jerry Richardson, a manager at Harbor Recreation at Newville, said the races stopped because it was too dangerous to have boats flying beneath the bridge.

Bowers said the lake's business association approached the Badger State Outboard Association, which used to race on the Rock River near downtown Beloit, and negotiated the group wanted to hold its season-ending race at Lake Koshkonong.

Lake Koshkonong has a reputation for being unpredictable. A north wind can whip up whitecaps on the lake in a hurry. Organizers said they chose a spot for the race's watercourse that's relatively protected from wind by a ridge and has a relatively low amount of wave- producing boat traffic.  

The forecast calls for sunny weather in the 70s with light winds this weekend. Bowers said organizers and racers will just have to wait and see how the lake responds.

“This year is a test run, so we'll see how well it works. Hopefully, we can turn the lake into the spot for this an annual event—just keep it coming back, and keep those tourists coming back,” Bowers said.

Gate Change

With recent rain, lake level has jumped above DNR Summer Target.

Both Wicket gates will be 100% open later today.

Work at the Dam

Agreement seeks use of Indianford Park for dam work

 0  0  0 

By Catherine W. Idzerda

September 9, 2013

INDIANFORD—A portion of a Rock County park will be temporary closed for trash pickup.

That's the easy explanation of what will happen in October at Indianford Park.

The more complicated explanation involves sediment build up, water levels and clogged wicket gates.

At a meeting Tuesday, the Rock County Parks Committee will consider an intergovernmental agreement between the county and the Rock Koshkonong Lake District. The agreement, which still has to be approved by the county board, would allow the lake district to use part of the park as a staging area for equipment needed for work near the Indianford Dam.

The work will be done north of the powerhouse, said Brian Christianson, chairman of the lake district, and will include the draw down of water, cleaning of trash gates and the installation of an automatic debris cleaning system.

“We've had a number of complaints about the water not going completely through the wicket gates,” Christianson said.

The wicket gates are mechanical, underwater gates that allow the water to flow under the powerhouse. Trash racks in front of the gate prevent debris from clogging the gates. But even with the removal of trash that accumulates around the gates, the wicket gates still didn't seems to be handling the proper amount of water. 

Lake district officials are concerned gravel from a previous project and objects such as sunken logs have formed a barrier at the bottom of the racks.

This year, the dam is due for its 10-year state Department of Natural Resources inspection, and lake district officials decided that now would be a good time to tackle the wicket gate problem.

The work will begin with the construction of a cofferdam, a kind of temporary scaffolding that will divert water in that area over the spillway.

Then, when the area is dry, crews will clean the debris from the bottom of the gates. 

“We decided we weren't going to do this halfway,” Christianson said of the project.

The final portion of the work would involve the installation of an automated trash rack cleaning system.

The estimated cost of the project, which includes engineering and the inspection of the dam, will be between $15,000 and $30,000, depending on how long the work takes and what kind of problems encountered, Christianson said. 

The agreement with the county would give the lake district a 30-day window to get the work done.  Only a portion of the 2.5-acre park would be closed. Access to the park would be limited to the West Riverside Drive entrance.

Work is expected to start about Oct. 1, and will be completed by Oct. 15,  Christianson said.

The park is used primarily by anglers, who like to fish in the waters below the dam.

Lake Koshkonong BELOW DNR SUMMER minimum

All Gates are ALL closed.

6 slide gates...

2 wicket gates....

CLOSED.

Dry end of summer a far cry from cool start

By Nico Savidge

September 8, 2013

JANESVILLE—After a first half of summer marked by mild temperatures and lots of rain, the past few weeks of hot, dry weather might have those cool June days feeling like a distant memory.

Janesville saw more than double its average rainfall level in June, but since then has been well below average.

With just 1.8 inches of rain in July and 1.4 in August the area is seeing less precipitation than in those two months of the 2012 drought.

Looking ahead to next week, the only opportunity for rain in the National Weather Service's forecast is a 20 percent chance of showers on Tuesday.

The good news is that while rain has been scarcer temperatures haven't reached the heights they did in 2012, which UW-Madison assistant professor and turfgrass expert Doug Soldat said has spared lawns the destruction they experienced last summer.

“Even though the rainfall totals might be lower, the drought came last year coupled with temperatures in the 90s and 100s,” Soldat said. “This year temperatures have been moderate … and that makes the drought a lot less stressful.”

The forecast for next week calls for high temperatures ranging from the upper 70s to low 90s through Thursday—hot, to be sure, but not as bad as 2012.

Lawns might start to wilt without water, Soldat said, but the grass is going to survive. Even if the area doesn't see much rain for the next few weeks, Soldat said, it won't pose a great problem for the future of your lawn.

“I don't expect to see anywhere near the amount of turf lost that we saw last year,” he said. “The days are shorter, the nights are cooler and there's less water that's being lost from the plant leaves and the soil.”

Soldat recommended residents hold off on mowing if it looks like their lawns are drying out—mowing will just make it worse, he said. And if your lawn sees a lot of traffic from kids and pets, Soldat said, consider irrigating it to reduce the stress.

For crops, this weather has been beneficial in some ways.

A cool, wet spring got the growing season for corn and soybeans off to a late start, UW Extension crops and soils agent Jim Stute said. The heat has helped those plants mature as farmers get closer to harvest.

But as anyone who has driven past a yellowing cornfield in the past week can tell you, the lack of rain is evident.

“It is definitely dry and the crops are showing some moisture stress,” Stute said.

That could hurt yields, particularly of soybean crops that still need water to fill their pods at this point in the growing season, Stute said. A lack of rain could mean smaller pods, and a lower yield when the crops are harvested, he said.

But how big an impact it will have remains to be seen.

“To be determined,” Stute said.

As for what farmers around southern Wisconsin will want to see in the next few weeks, Stute said, “A couple inches of rain would be real nice.”

- See more at: http://gazettextra.com/article/20130908/ARTICLES/130909805/1059#sthash.k5L2iAmF.dpuf

Blue Green Algae INFO

DNR INFO ON BLUE GREEN ALGAE

WI Dept of HEALTH - BLUE GREEN ALGAE

August rain history

From 2 years Ago