(Wahpeton)– Dredging operations continue this spring in the heart of the Wahpeton canal system on the west side of West Lake Okoboji.
Tim Ireland, President of the Lakewood Parks Association, says Turtle Lake in that area is now six to seven feet deep, a far cry from what it was before the dredging took place…
“Before the operations I would say Turtle Lake was about two to three feet in most areas. The problem with what Turtle Lake was they dredged some canals out there and left the islands as we talked about before, and the islands melted into the system. We dredged out about 40,000 cubic yards of material over the last three months and it’s going to be a really good fishing spot and we’d love it if people came out and checked the area out after the sediment is dissipated.”
Ireland says there’s a possibility Turtle Lake could reopen to boat traffic as early as this Friday. Now, he says, the dredging project will be entering a new phase…
“Starting Monday they’re going to do some work in the Crescent Circle there where the Crescent Beach Park is. They’re going to do about half of that, I think. It will improve water flow for Turtle Lake and then Crescent Beach Resort is going to have some of their area cleaned out as well. After that they’re going to move over to the DNR area which we call Wilderness Way and Paddler’s Path. Wilderness Way and Paddler’s Path are DNR owned waterways. They don’t have the funding to dredge that. We have the equipment here. We’re trying to raise enough funds to get that dredged out. There’s a walking bridge, a pedestrian bridge there. We got permission from the DNR to remove that bridge and they will be replacing that in fiscal year 2028. The only way we can dredge back there is to remove that pedestrian bridge. The reason being is once the trucks are loaded, they’re too heavy for any roads that are back in that back side.”
As Ireland mentioned, fundraising for that part of the project continues…
“We’re looking to raise about $800,000 to make that fully dug out to eight feet depth. It will be spectacular for Dickinson county, it will be spectacular for Wahpeton, it will be really good for the state as well. It’s a great kayaking and canoeing area.”
Tax-deductible contributions can be made online at okobojifoundation.org. Select the Waterway Restoration Project/Save Turtle Lake fund.
