BLACK HAWK LAKE WINS OUTSTANDING WATERSHED AWARD
Black Hawk Lake is the recipient of Iowa’s Outstanding Watershed Award sponsored by the Conservation Districts of Iowa and the State Soil Conservation and Water Quality Committee.
This award goes to district sponsored watershed projects that have resulted in significant improvement in resource conservation problems through the watershed approach.
Criteria used are the accomplishments of community, state, or other significance; upland watershed treatment endeavors; the district’s approach to resource management; strong partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies; and the importance of the watershed in relation to community needs.
The Black Hawk Lake Water Quality Project was initiated in 2007 when two local groups formed. One leadership group was made up of city, county, state and federal officials. The other was led by the ISU Extension Service and was comprised of local citizens from the Lake View area. They came together to establish a direction for successfully improving the water quality of the 925-acre lake. The funding they raised allowed for the completion of a Diagnostic Feasibility Study and a TMDL was completed. This work identified what was causing the impairments and provided the actions that needed to be taken to improve water quality.
After these studies were completed the groups reached out to the Sac County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) for assistance. In 2008, the Sac SWCD went after a watershed development and planning assistance grant. One goal of this grant was to complete an assessment of the entire watershed including agricultural and urban land uses. The result of this assessment was the development of a 30-year Watershed Management Plan (WMP) which spelled out the path to improve water quality within the 13,156-acre watershed.
In 2011, the Sac SWCD applied for and was awarded an EPA 319 grant which provided funding to hire a watershed project coordinator to begin implementing best management practices in the watershed. The grant also included funding to assist farmers with a portion of the cost to implement these practices. We are fortunate that the Sac SWCD has been awarded extensions of the grant and the current extension goes through June 2021.
Since 2012, over $10.7 million has been spent on water quality improvements in and around the lake.
Twenty-four different practices have been implemented in both agricultural and urban landscapes which have been cost-shared by 13 different funding sources. Cost-share dollars have come from federal, state and local sources. Landowners, farm operators, residents and the City of Lake View have matched these efforts with $918,600 which represents nearly 10% of all funds expended during the project.
The success in the past eight years has led to a sediment delivery reduction to the lake of 4,163 tons per year and a phosphorus delivery reduction of 8,954 pounds per year. The sediment reduction is equivalent to approximately 297 dump truck loads of sediment prevented from reaching the lake annually and the phosphorus reduction is equivalent to 32% of the 30-year goal outlined in the WMP. The Sac SWCD gives the credit to all the landowners and farmers who have voluntarily installed practices to make these reductions possible.
The work in the watershed has also led to extensive water testing by Iowa State University through the analysis of multiple sites within the watershed which have different types and levels of practices installed. This testing has proven the effectiveness of implementing a variety of practices on the land. ISU plans to expand their testing into the future to gain more data and knowledge of additional practices.
Since 2017, the Sac SWCD in partnership with the Iowa DNR, has hired an employee four different seasons to do a creel survey around Black Hawk Lake to see if the improvements in the watershed have affected the overall use of the lake. Those lake users who have been interviewed have consistently given an improved rating to the water quality of the lake. Overall lake use and fish harvest numbers have increased proving that the whole watershed approach has been effective.
The Sac SWCD would like to thank the long list of partners who have made the success of this watershed project possible. They include the Carroll County Soil and Water Conservation District, City of Lake View, City of Breda, City of Carnarvon, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, USDA-NRCS, Iowa DNR, Iowa State University, Iowa Learning Farm, IOWATER, USDA-FSA, Sac County Conservation Board, Sac and Carroll County Board of Supervisors, the Black Hawk Lake Protective Association, and the landowners and farm operators in the watershed.
The watershed project has made great strides in providing those who use Black Hawk Lake with a great place to enjoy and recreate.
The Sac SWCD received recognition of its award during the Conservation Districts of Iowa virtual annual conference held in August.
Underline:
Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) presented members of the Sac County Soil and Water Conservation District with the 2020 Outstanding Watershed Award for improvements achieved within the Black Hawk Lake Watershed. L-r: Konda Slagle, District Secretary; Jim Frederick, District Chairman; Will Myers, IDALS-Division of Soil Conservation and Water Quality Field Services Bureau Chief; Ethan Thies, Watershed Coordinator since January 2020; TJ Lynn, Watershed Coordinator 2012 – 2019; and John Whitaker, CDI Executive Director.
Article on Black Hawk Lake by Ben Wallace, Fisheries Biologist, Iowa DNR
Published in Lake View Resort, Sac Sun and Chronicle
It’s been another great year for Black Hawk Lake and its watershed. Each year we look for new ways to work with all of our local partners to tackle water quality issues and improve recreational opportunities in Sac County. I’m happy to report on our accomplishments and I encourage folks to get involved in the good things that are happening.
Perhaps the largest project that we’ve recently completed was the dredging of the inlet area of Black Hawk Lake. This area of the lake was identified in our early studies as being critical to stopping phosphorus and sediment delivery to the main body of Black Hawk Lake. We removed approximately 320,000 cubic yards of sediment over the past several years to increase the volume and hydraulic residence time in this area. When water from the watershed is delivered to the inlet it will slow down and the sediment will settle out and the nutrients will be filtered by aquatic plants. This project was funded by the Lake Restoration Program of the Iowa DNR.
The DNR recently completed the construction of several wetlands in the watershed that are located on the Black Hawk Wildlife Management Area. These wetlands will intercept runoff and help filter water before it is moved on to the lake. Wetlands are extremely helpful in promoting clean water because they act as nutrient sinks and take up nitrogen and phosphorus. The wetland construction projects were funded by the Watershed Improvement Section (319) of the Iowa DNR.
Early on we identified the need to address shoreline erosion around the lake. Much of the lake’s shoreline has been armored and stabilized, but there are still some areas that need to be addressed. We have identified several priority areas that we plan to protect in the coming year, including the Shotgun Hill and Ice House Point portions of Black Hawk State Park. Whenever possible, we aim to improve shoreline accessibility along with stabilization too.
We are closing in our designs for a new fish barrier and water control structure for the inlet of Black Hawk Lake. The current fish barrier is ineffective during high water events and there are no water level management capabilities built in. The purpose of this barrier is to keep common carp in the main lake and force them to spawn in less than ideal habitat and in the presence of predators, thereby reducing their reproductive potential. If they can make it up into the wetlands and spawn, they are more successful and their numbers will build. The new structure will be effective under high flows and allow us to partially dewater the inlet. Doing so will encourage the growth of emergent aquatic plants, such as bulrush and cattail, and assist in removing carp that are in the inlet. Our design will allow us to dewater the inlet without having to take any water off the main body of Black Hawk Lake. This project will be funded by the City of Lake View (SRF sponsored project), Black Hawk Lake Protective Association, and the Lake Restoration Program.
Ben Wallace, Fisheries Biologist, Iowa DNR
Black Hawk Lake Continues to Improve Thanks to Watershed Successes Article by TJ Lynn, Black Hawk Lake Watershed Coordinator
The Black Hawk Lake Water Quality Project has been implementing conservation in the watershed since early 2012 and progress towards improving the downstream water quality in the lake has remained steady. Many landowners, farm operators and project partners have made investments of their time and finances that improve their land and have a positive impact on Black Hawk Lake.
All the efforts to this point have resulted in a sediment load reduction to the lake 4,161 tons per year. This is equivalent to 297 dump truck loads of sediment that are kept on the land and out of the lake. The phosphorus that drives algae blooms and many other impairments in the lake has been reduced by 8,950 pounds annually. As you may recall, the 30 year Watershed Management Plan set a goal of a 78% reduction in phosphorus inputs to the lake and your efforts so far have achieved 32% of that goal in 7 years. It will be important to keep up the pace of work and continue to implement practices that benefit both the production ground in the watershed and Black Hawk Lake.
To date, 24 different types of conservation practices have been implemented by 61 different individuals or entities in the watershed. To date, local match dollars have topped $315 thousand and the overall dollars committed from all sources since 2012 to the watershed efforts now exceed $4.56 million.
The project staff at the Sac County Soil & Water Conservation District would like to thank the many project partners that make this progress possible. They include the landowners, farm operators and residents of the watershed, the Carroll County Soil & Water Conservation District, the Iowa DNR (Section 319 Program, Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks), the City of Lake View, and the Black Hawk Lake Protective Association. Their involvement in and commitment to Black Hawk Lake is a very strong component of the long-term water quality in the lake.