2018 Meeting Minutes
Lake Independence Citizens Association
Making Waves Towards a Cleaner Lake
Lake Independence is a beautiful recreational lake in Western Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Lake Studies
Spurzem Creek Subwatershed Assessment is complete
County Environmental and Energy staff just completed a first draft of the Spurzem Creek Subwatershed Assessment. This assessment will help the county and its partners identify and assess the water quality benefit of conservation practices in the subwatershed, which includes all the lands that drain to Spurzem Creek and eventually Lake Independence. Figure 1 in the assessment shows the watershed area.
St Anthony Falls Laboratory selected Lake Independence for Boat Wake and Wash Study
The University of Minnesota’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory is a fluid mechanics research lab operated by the College of Science and Engineering. Engineers and scientists from the lab are conducting a research project focusing on characterizing and measuring the waves and prop wash produced by large recreational watercraft, and the impacts they have on lake bottoms and shorelines. The result will be scientific data to help state and local authorities make decisions about lake restrictions such as No Wake trigger points and safe distance from shore rules.
After surveying various recreational lakes in the Twin Cities, the team has selected the east shore of Lake Independence as the site for the study. The bottom sediment and bottom slope fit the criteria for the study. The field work for the study will be conducted in September and October. They will be installing sensor masts capable of measuring wave heights and wave energy and a sensor platform on the bottom of the lake to measure penetration depth and turbulent energy from propeller wash. The sensor masts will be visible above the water.
So watch for unusual activity on the lake this month and next, as the team of engineers and scientists conduct their experiments.
Several studies have been done about Lake Independence water quality.
