/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

Recovering along Lake Shetek

concerned lake homeowners (from left) Lena and Lars Johansson, Dan Schak, Jon Hoyme and Jamie Thomazin recently met to discuss details about starting a multi-lake association in order to tackle big challenges ahead because of the flooding.

MARSHALL — Boaters were spotted on Lake Shetek this past weekend, a day after a month-long no-wake restriction was lifted for all lakes in Murray County.

While homeowners around the lake were thrilled to see some things getting back to normal, they acknowledged that there was still much work to be done in the months and years ahead to recover from all the damage the heavy rain and flooding caused.

“Sunday was a nice day and we saw some boat action, finally,” Dan Schak said. “The WhyKnot (boat) was out and people were out driving around. It was fun to see.”

Lake Shetek is the largest lake in southwest Minnesota, offering water-recreation opportunities for a large number of visitors as well as those living on its shores. To many, it’s a natural resource worth preserving, which is why a handful of people gathered recently to discuss the need for a lake association.

“We want to protect what we have out here,” retired Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employee Jamie Thomazin said. “We know there’s help out there, but we need to get organized to be able to reach out for it.”

A public meeting is scheduled for Aug. 25, from 9:30-11 a.m. in the dining room at Shetek Lutheran Bible Camp on Keeley Island. The informational meeting is for any area lake homeowner affected by the recent flooding or for individuals or organizations willing to help make a positive difference.

“Our purpose will be to find out how many people are interested in having an association,” Lars Johansson said. “I believe we’re in need of it, specifically after this catastrophe we had. Basically, we want to improve the present situation and prevent major damage in the future.”

Lars and Lena Johansson have lived on Lake Shetek for about 30 years and said they’ve never before witnessed this level of flooding or water damage. Together with Schak, Thomazin and Jon Hoyme, a former Shetek Bible Camp director, the Johanssons are encouraging other lake homeowners to rally together and try to come up with viable solutions.

Lars Johansson said dry dams could help slow down floodwaters.

“In these heavy events, it holds back that water, so it doesn’t just flush through the culverts,” he said.

Thomazin said some Murray County townships plan to install bigger culverts so that there’s less of a chance of roads washing out during flash flooding, but that it will likely cause more headaches for lake homeowners.

“It can save the roads, but it will be very detrimental for people living around the lake and for the lake itself,” he said. “We need to slow the water down.”

Another solution might be to develop more wetlands or create additional areas that can temporarily store water during storm events.

“The watershed starts all the way over by Current Lake and then all the way to Balaton, through Lake Yankton, and eventually to (Lake) Shetek here,” Thomazin said. “I know a lot of studies have been done through the Soil and Water (Conservation) Districts and watershed for some water retention areas out that way. Either it would be dry dams or wetland restorations or some kind of area where they can temporarily store water.”

Schak said area lakes are picking up more drainage all the time.

“Everybody’s draining,” he said. “Now with the disaster we had, the county and townships are putting in new culverts — bigger culverts — so this is going to create a huge problem for us because it’s going to be more rushing water. That water is going to be rushing in here with no place to go.”

While much of the flooding in the area has receded, Lake Shetek is still higher than normal, which hinders the ability to estimate the full extent of the damage done.

“There’s so much damage that we’re not even seeing right now,” Thomazin said. “There’s still shoreline damage that people are just now finding because the lake is still going down. We’re still above normal level, so you can’t really fix anything right now. It’s going to be this fall or next year.”

Water quality is another concern.

“Anytime you have this much stuff coming into the lake, it turns septic, just with the foliage that’s in there from our lawns and fields,” Thomazin said. “It turns to a silage. It’s a mess.”

Johansson said a lake association was started in 1990, but that it ended up dissolving many years ago.

“We got the dam fixed at that time,” he said. “They said it couldn’t be fixed, but we did it.”

Through the group’s efforts, 13 counties in southwest Minnesota were able to install an emergency management system for disaster signals. There was some resistance from association members, however, when there was talk of putting a sewer system in. While it wasn’t necessarily the preferred design, a sewer system was eventually put in for residents on Lake Shetek and Lake Sarah.

“The reality is that it saved the lake,” Thomazin said. “(Now) we have a little over 700 hookups — between commercial and private hookups — to the sewer district between the two lakes.”

Thomazin added that they want people to know that they are serious about forming a strong alliance.

“We have an issue out here that’s not going away,” he said. “We’ve done improvements on the lake in the past and now we want to make sure we’re keeping the value and the use up.”

The organizers want to encourage membership at a low cost, which is likely to be about $10.

“All the contributing factors are still here for something like this to happen again,” Thomazin said. “That’s not going to change. So we need to change how we’re managing this. If we had the support of 650 people out here, it would make a huge difference, especially when we go to talk with the legislators, commissioners or whoever.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today