Loon Lake wetland project gets $390,000 grant
Dec. 28—JACKSON — A wetland project designed to keep pollutants and sediment from reaching Loon Lake got a shot in the arm with a $390,000 grant from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources.
The lake, which receives water from Jackson County's Judicial Ditch 8, along with phosphorus and sediment from that ditch system, suffered an
influx of sediment following ditch repairs and storms in 2018 and 2019, and formed a delta of sediment and nutrients
. The new island and sand bar, which moved from year to year, left landowners and boaters alike displeased, particularly as the lake wasn't that deep in the first place.
Jackson County brought in IGN to develop a plan to fix the issues with a 4.6-acre wetland area with 17 alternative side inlets, which will capture about 320 pounds of phosphorus annually.
Phosphorus fuels algae blooms, which negatively impact lake quality.
The project will also allow an estimated 513 tons of sediment to settle in the pond before it reaches the lake each year.
"It's a unique project in that we are working with some Minnesota funding and some Iowa funding," said Chuck Brandel, vice president and leader of the water group for IGN, which worked with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on the plan to fix the water issues.
The project also received a $75,000 grant from the Dickinson County Clean Water Alliance in Iowa, because water from the lake eventually ends up in the Iowa Great Lakes, where much of the local economy depends on tourism, including lake-related activities.
In addition, benefited landowners throughout the watershed were assessed a total of $1.2 million for repairs to the ditch and its drainage, which includes 8,300 acres of land from Interstate 90 to near the Iowa border.
The wetland area to be built will include 17 "alternative side inlets," which are a bit like small holding ponds. The ditch system itself has an established grass buffer, and within that buffer, vertical tile will be placed in a way that allows water to be stored for 24-37 hours, allowing the sediment to drop out and soil and nutrients to remain on the land.
The wetland will need to be maintained about every 10 years, Brandel said, but it will be designed so that sediment can easily be removed.
"This ditch system has been there 100 years. There's been times this has happened before, but we had some really extreme heavy rains in 2018, 2019," he said.
Once the sediment is stopped from entering the lake, the next focus will be working with the landowners and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on the sediment already in the lake. Dredging could potentially be an option.
"It's exciting that we're working with farmers, the lake land owners and the county, the Soil and Water Conservation District and then both states on getting some funding to help improve water quality of the lakes and maintain a drainage system that we need for the farmland," Brandel said.
