Koshkonong water level opinion

Just from the bits and pieces I’ve read over the years and as a former homeowner and resident near the river in Fulton Township, this is what I understand about the dispute over lake levels of Koshkonong. The Lake District wants to raise the water level 7.2 inches by raising the height of the Indianford Dam. They want the higher water levels for two primary reasons: increase navigability and to raise their property values, possibly not in that order. They want to do this seemingly without regard to the impact up or downstream, the natural environment or wetland preservation. Without the dam, in its natural state, the area known as Lake Koshkonong is just a widening of the Rock River, very shallow and marshy.

The RKLD has posted their case on the web and enlisted the “expert” services of biologists and hydrologists. Unfortunately, their website is loaded and overdone with degrees and resumes almost to the point of coerced intimidation against those who oppose their viewpoint. Some testimonies have conflicting statements and imply they would rather have a return to the water levels when the dam was “broken” from the 60’s up until 2004. At the levels maintained now, “periods of low flow occur often in late summer and fall” said Robert J. Montgomery, consultant for the RKLD. Raising the level could possibly stagnate the lake during drought conditions. Montgomery also said, “the lake impoundment does not store water or alter Rock River flows to any material degree.” Whaaat? If that's the case, why have a dam?

I’m not a huge fan of the DNR, but their position is exactly what they are charged to do, protect the environment and help provide optimum use and accountibility for the states resources within reasonable circumstances. They want to maintain things just the way they are. They have a winter drawdown plan to reduce damage of the fragile Koshkonong shoreline and they have the dam at a height that sustains good flows and velocities of the river, without breaching the young shoreline any further during the summer.

This is important because it does seem if they raise the water any higher, water velocities could slow enough to lower the oxygen levels of the stream, thereby turning the lake into a giant cesspool of toxic soup, particularly during drought conditions. The consequential damage to the shoreline is more obvious and needs no explanation. If the DNR took into account property values as top priority or the recreational use of the lake, I’d think they are not doing their job or, that they have been bought.

JG excerpt:
About the DNR position “I was frankly shocked by the assessment – boating, navigation and property values were treated as minor and incidental things, “said Lake District attorney William O’Connor.

As you can see the Rock Koshkonong Lake District is not afraid to hide their true motivations so I would agree they have been transparent. Those behind the Lake District seem to be supporters of the latest trend in America for the past 10 years regarding public entities and natural resources, that private economic gain overrides all other causes. But that’s another issue for another time.

At the levels maintained for now, I have personally witnessed areas of the river downstream and in Janesville become very shallow where the bottom has been exposed for long periods of time during the summer. Near downtown Janesville, Spring Brook is oftentimes down to a trickle with heavy sediment buildup and huge trees toppling over with their roots exposed, and this is at the mouth of the river! Throughout the winter the water is up high and frozen, and during spring thaw the ice continues to tug and pull at the shoreline. I don’t need biologists to tell me this, I've witnessed this firsthand for years. This is a cycle that runs like clockwork with the dam manipulation at Indianford. Sure, Janesville has their own dams but they seem to be applied to improve velocities, not the levels. The point I am trying to make here is that the perceived gains at Koshkonong comes at the expense of levels and environmental damage elsewhere. They certainly do not have any more right to the water than anyone else.

The request to raise it only 7.2 inches seems minor, but just as a casual observer looking at the big picture, I would say the levels maintained now are generous and bordering on excessive, regardless of boatability. Sure, I would like to see a deeper Lake Koshkonong, too, but the Lake District's reasons unfortunately appear to be self-serving and not for the benefit of the natural environment. If they can prove that raising the water levels would enrich or improve the natural environment, (not economic environment), water quality, fishery, wetland preservation and most importantly shoreline integrity of the lake including up and downstream for the long term, I would support them 100%. But they cannot.

If the judge or DNR caves in to economic interests, they know as well as the District that it is a short term fix for more lake depth. During the natural ebbs and flows of rivers and lakes, they know it will speed up shoreline erosion, disrupt the water table, increase sediment deposits on the river bed and expand the reaches of the lake. They know that 10 years from now or 100 years later, they will have to raise the dam again to maintain the minimum depth they desire, this will be an endless cycle. And, it does not address the damage done upstream or downstream.

“I sure pray the DNR gives us back our lake, at least for a few years until it fills in some more.”--Evelyn Payson PS.“I think dredging areas like ours is going to have to be part of the ultimate solution for the lake (and it has to be dredging large areas, not narrow channels. Dredging a narrow channel is like making a ditch through maple syrup - it fills up right away.). What's been happening is that the lake's been filling in - that the bottom has, in essence, been coming up.”(blogger)

Turning a giant marsh into a giant lake is a big idea, and big ideas require big money. Through a special assessment on surrounding property owners the Lake District has raised $400,000 to pay mostly attorney fee’s, a minuscule amount of money when you consider what they want to accomplish.

If they want a deeper lake they need a deeper bowl, and the only way to do it is to dredge. Unfortunately, it would cost 10’s of millions of dollars if not more and disturbing the marsh bottom may pose worse unforeseeable problems and consequences. I’m sure if the Lake District could afford it, they would pay a group of biologists to write a favorable report on dredging and go to court all over again. But they will need lots more money to turn Lake Koshkonong into something it isn’t, lots more than their properties are worth.