Lake Kampeska Master Plan addresses possibility of dredging (Audio)

December 17, 2019
Mike Tanner

WATERTOWN, S.D.—The Watertown City Council received and approved the Lake Kampeska Master Plan at their meeting Monday night.

The plan will serve as a sort of “guiding document” that will help city leaders make decisions on future development around the lake.

Jon Jacobson of Confluence Urban Design helped to assemble the plan, and talked about the most important amenities people want to see in and around the lake….

Vanessa Victor of Infrastructure Design Group says good water quality is essential to having a good fishery….

Victor says the most effective way of improving water quality is through a process called alum treatments.

Jacobson was asked if the city did “spot dredging” in certain locations on the lake, how soon they’d have to come back to those same areas and dredge again….

Roger Foote of the Upper Big Sioux Watershed District says dredging is very expensive, and a time consuming process. He cited one lake in Iowa as an example…

The sediment removed from a lake during the dredging process is high in nutrients, making it valuable to some. But Foote says you’ve got to identify takers, and where you’re going to dump it….

The master plan includes three phases in which improved water quality could be obtained and amenities could be added. The total cost is about $36 million.

You can view the Lake Kampeska Master Plan in its entirety by clicking on “supporting material” on agenda item #7: https://www.watertownsd.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12162019-1294