(Spirit Lake)– Concern over runoff in the area of 28th Street and Francis Sites Drive in Spirit Lake and the impact it’s having on East Lake Okoboji was a major topic of discussion at today’s (Tues.) Dickinson county board of supervisors meeting.
Bill Maahs, President of the East Okoboji Lake Improvement Corporation, says what’s going on in that area is cause for alarm…(click here for comment.) “Our concerns are twofold, first the safety issue because of the 400 and some acres that drains through it only drains through in one place and it comes over the road down at the bottom of 28th Street and so we have a concern for the safety there. But then also along with that fast moving water and things, what’s happening is we’re starting to see a delta build out into the lake and the problem is we don’t want it to go as far as it did like over at East Okoboji Beach, you know, where we have acres of land that have actually formed in the last 40-50 years, so we need to do something about it. Our purpose today was not to come with hands out to get some money to do some things, but we need some help in the planning.”
What’s complicating the issue, according to Maahs, is the fact that two different governmental bodies have jurisdiction in that area… “The problem we have is that 20-30 percent of this is, part of it is comes from the city of Spirit Lake and part of it comes from the county, so we’re working across boundaries. But some settling ponds would do some wonders to make sure we keep the silt out of the lake and slow the water down so we don’t have people running through the water on the roads.”
Maahs says another option would be to put in a larger culvert, but he says that wouldn’t solve the environmental issue of sediment washing into the lake. He stopped short of recommending the formation of either a drainage district or Storm Water Utility… “The problem we have is the fact that the laws of Iowa are not conducive right now to forming something that would be acceptable and make complete common sense to everyone, and so yeah, something like that is probably what we’re going to end up with unless we can change the laws in the state of Iowa somehow, which we have good legislators, maybe they can come up with some better solutions along those lines.”
Maahs added that now is the time to address the problem while land is available and before any additional development takes place in the area.
The supervisors were acceptable to the concept of forming a joint committee of representatives from that group and the Spriit Lake city council to look into the matter.
The issue will be brought up at this (Tues.) evening’s city council meeting.
