Emmetsburg, Iowa - Goals of the Restoration Project

Goals of the Restoration Project

There were two major goals for the project:

Increase the Water Depth
Improve the Water Quality

These were accomplished:

a. By shoreline stabilization to reduce shoreline erosion.

First action was to repair the lakeshore where it was crumbling as a result of wave action on the shoreline. Stabilization was accomplished by hauling rocks from farmers' fields and placing them on the shoreline. The first winter seven miles of shoreline were rip-rapped (this required 2,260 loads of rock). To date, ten and one-half miles of the 12 1/2 mile shoreline have been stabilized.

b. By hydraulic dredging to increase water depth and improve the water quality.

Emmetsburg citizens passed a bond issue that permitted the Lake Restoration Board to purchase a hydraulic dredge, plastic pipe and other necessary machinery to remove silt and deepen the lake and provided sufficient funds for the dredging operation. Since August of 1990 over five million cubic yards of silt has been removed and it has been replaced by the same amount of water.

c. By watershed management to reduce materials and sediment entering the lake.

Dredging alone is not enough to improve water quality to its maximum. Watershed management is equally important in its long-term control. The watershed here is 8,000 acres and only a small portion of that is within the City limits. The rural watershed is mostly farmed with corn and soybeans. Fortunately, many of the landowners along the lake use filter strips on their land adjacent to the lake to retard materials coming into the lake. Sediment return in Five Island Lake is the sixth lowest of all the lakes in the state.

The Natural Resources Conservation System and the Palo Alto County Conservation Board have conducted educational programs and worked with the Lake Board to develop watershed initiatives for farmers and townspeople.

d. By monitoring water quality to gauge the progress of our program.

We began a water monitoring program at the inception of the restoration effort. It is our gauge of progress in improving water quality. Because Five Island Lake is long and narrow, we take water samples from five sites at least once a month and submit them to a laboratory at Iowa State University for the analysis of chlorophyll, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and suspended solids.

At the same time we take Secchi disc measurements at those sites and also bacteriological samples at four swimming sites. Comparing these samples from year to year helps us determine our progress in improving the water quality.

City of Emmetsburg
2021 Main St
Emmetsburg, IA 50536
(712) 852-4030